Ready to cry over my quilting clutter!
03-03-2011, 09:35 PM
#141
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: South Africa
Posts: 946
Strange idea? There are so many lonely ladies in old age homes find out if one would not like to come and help you, I"m sure she would like the outing and a special bit of attention like a cup of tea and cake in a restaurant.
03-03-2011, 10:35 PM
#142
Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: River Grove,IL
Posts: 202
maybe get the family or a few friends and have a sorting party... have snacks and fun going threw stuff assign a section to each maybe just folding and stacking a box for notions to be sorted later you know like the old help me paint or move parties. just a thought...
03-03-2011, 10:45 PM
#143
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Southern California
Posts: 1,548
I know how you feel, my quilting stuff has really outgrown the space I have. It has migrated to my bedroom closet, my guest room closet, under the beds, everywhere I can find a little space. I have decided that I need to get rid of some stuff and keep just what will fit neatly. I had my fabrics all organized by color, style, etc., and it looked so nice. Then I bought more fabric and started pulling fabrics out to use and things got messy really fast. I could use an organizer too, but don't want to spend my fabric money on an organizer. I am going to retire in three months and getting myself organized is at the top of my to do list for then. Wish me luck.
03-04-2011, 04:27 AM
#144
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Winter PArk, Florida
Posts: 1,145
Originally Posted by MistyMarie
I have spent the last two hours working on my former sewing area (in my laundry room) and don't feel like I made a dent. A few months ago, the mess actually forced me out into my dining room so I could sew without cleaning off my machine each time, but now the dining room is getting messy too because I keep pulling stuff out of my laundry room to work on and don't want to just dump it back into the room when I am done.
I think I am too messy to be a quilter.
I am feeling overwhelmed. I have a room downstairs where I keep a lot of my fabric and my mid-arm frame, but it doesn't have enough room for my machines, so I keep bringing fabric up to use. Lately, I am buying more fabric and notions because I get tired of looking through a mess to find something. I need to hire a professional organizer if I am going to keep quilting because the mess is driving me NUTS and I am not a naturally organized person, but once I get organized, I seem to be able to stay that way for quite a while.
Does anyone else get that overwhelmed feeling about their quilting spaces? (Or lack of it?) Am I the only one who loses their notions and what-nots in a clutter?
I think I am too messy to be a quilter.
I am feeling overwhelmed. I have a room downstairs where I keep a lot of my fabric and my mid-arm frame, but it doesn't have enough room for my machines, so I keep bringing fabric up to use. Lately, I am buying more fabric and notions because I get tired of looking through a mess to find something. I need to hire a professional organizer if I am going to keep quilting because the mess is driving me NUTS and I am not a naturally organized person, but once I get organized, I seem to be able to stay that way for quite a while.
Does anyone else get that overwhelmed feeling about their quilting spaces? (Or lack of it?) Am I the only one who loses their notions and what-nots in a clutter?
03-04-2011, 04:33 AM
#145
Super Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Stacyville Iowa
Posts: 1,608
Originally Posted by smitty
Originally Posted by MistyMarie
Originally Posted by lots2do
Misty - good luck, it sounds like you've already made some great progress. (And it sounds like you are being a bit hard on yourself, you're juggling an awful lot of plates right now. I teach and I've done the grad school thing but not with a husband who was deployed or little kids).
I shouldn't have started those classes... but they were free since my husband is in the military and he is retiring in October, so I figured I better take advantage of the free classes.
I already have my masters... but since I need to make a few more $$$ to support my quilting habit, I need to get those classes done. :P
My husband keeps telling me to hire a cleaning lady so I can focus on getting organized instead of cleaning house. I am seriously thinking of taking him up on that!!! It just makes me nervous having another person in my house that is not a "guest" or related to me.
I cleaned houses---but I never cleaned people's clutter.
I just "cleaned". sounds like you are just trying to get too
many things done with the time you have. you have kiddos who need & want your time. maybe for just a short time, you need to set quilting aside. you just have too much on your plate. pamper yourself with the gift of time.
put fabric,etc in lg, clear containers. don't even try to sort for a while. just get it off the floor. then read quilt books & magazines to get your daily "fix" until your life calms down a little. and after the areas are clear==get that cleaning lady for a while. pure luxury !
Have fun with those Kiddos ! they are the fabric of
your life right now. love & hugs
I don't think you would regret the cleaning lady- especially if you like a clean bathroom. You can hire one for weekly, biweekly, monthly, etc. The cleaning would take one headache off from your plate.
Another question- do you have a different area to set up your sewing so it is not in the open as much? Or can you get a cabinet that your machines could nest in when you are done sewing for the day? Like a computer armoire?
03-04-2011, 04:55 AM
#146
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1,388
Last night I watched the show with organizational guy on OWN help a lady with 2000+ pounds of quilting clutter. It made me feel better about my little clutter. One thing I did get from watching that is the need to set a limit on how much I keep. What doesn't fit on my shelves downstairs in my guest room, or in organized containers under my quilting frame, doesn't stay. I have too much fabric that I won't ever use. I have another storage area that has about eight large totes full of non-quilting fabric that needs to be gone too. So... I probably will be giving away more fabric over the next few months.
I also told myself that I wasn't going to start a new project until I finished at least two UFO or WIP quilts first.
I also told myself that I wasn't going to start a new project until I finished at least two UFO or WIP quilts first.
03-04-2011, 05:33 AM
#149
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Peru, Indiana
Posts: 1,511
My mom does that to! My house is never at her standard! lol. Good Luck and I hope the kids feel better and your DH comes home safely.
Originally Posted by MistyMarie
Last year, my sister and I got my fabric downstairs all organized. However, I bought more, pulled more out of storage, and was given a bunch more. A few months ago, I brought down a bunch of it to get organized. However, I haven't found much time to do that. My dh is deployed, I have two young kids, I am a full-time middle school teacher, and I am currently taking 15 hours of graduate classes, so when I find a few minutes here and there to quilt, I hate using it to organize.
My kids are both home with the flu today and my mom is coming in a few hours to spend the next couple of days helping me out, so I have been cleaning. My mom is a neat person and she always gives me such grief about not being like her. She drives me nuts when she tries to organize for me, because it always comes with a lecture.
My mom was a stay-at-home mom, so she just doesn't understand how hard it is to juggle everything I do. She tells me to clean instead of quilt, but I quilt to de-stress. However, lately, the clutter is actually causing more stress.
I better get back to my laundry room and keep cleaning. Wah!
My kids are both home with the flu today and my mom is coming in a few hours to spend the next couple of days helping me out, so I have been cleaning. My mom is a neat person and she always gives me such grief about not being like her. She drives me nuts when she tries to organize for me, because it always comes with a lecture.
My mom was a stay-at-home mom, so she just doesn't understand how hard it is to juggle everything I do. She tells me to clean instead of quilt, but I quilt to de-stress. However, lately, the clutter is actually causing more stress.
I better get back to my laundry room and keep cleaning. Wah!
03-04-2011, 06:40 AM
#150
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 48
My 'sewing room' is so full that I am back to sewing on the dining room table again. Also, the living room couch is a great place to stack fabric. Old quilt magazines make great placemats if your family insists on eating and of course, the good old ironing board never gets put away. I am thinking of donating my living room furnitre (except the tv) to charity so that I will have more room to sew.
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