Have you ever completely reorganized your organized studio?
 

We have two homes. One which we are currently living in and one we will be living in when current home sells. Our new home is 350 miles from the current home. This living arrangement has been on going for about 3 years. We spend mostly scattered week ends and a few one week at a time 'vacations' at our new home. It's not convenient to go back and forth even though I'm retired. My husband is still working.

We have moved a tremendous amount of stash and sewing supplies to the new home and a lot of household furnishings. The problem with the new sewing studio is, no shelving in the closets. My husband is planning on making the shelves for me.

Meanwhile there are a lot of tubs of fabric sitting in the middle of my new studio.

I've stopped and started a lot of different ways of organizing in my years of quilting and stashing. I'm looking to streamline everything once things are settled for us.

I want to change how I fold and store fabric and think I'll go with Bonnie Hunters method of folding to fit the shelves. This will be a big help with the yardage; now, I have to move bundles to find whats hiding behind.

I have approx:

50 to 100 folded large bulky yardage pieces.

3 or 4 hundred pieces of fabric on comic book boards.

25 or more sterilite containers that are 15 x 11 1/2 x 6.

10 or more sterilite containers that are 15 x 11 1/2 x 3 1/4.

5 or more sterilite containers that are shoe box size.


With fabric in both places and the 'hunting to find' I feel everything with my once organized quilting life has become unraveled.

Any suggestions would be appreciated and thanks for a place to vent!

You are right Tartan. I'm definitely in a holding stage. All the fabric stored in the large tubs is temporary, usually I don't use tubs, but this was how it was moved. I also have a huge pile of scraps that have no home. All the containers are stacked on top of each other and they are full of fabric of different sizes and colors. I'm looking at ways to incorporate everything I have into a workable organized room. I'm really concerned with the fabric on the comic book boards. The shelves will be too deep to utilize the boards. I think it means refolding to fit the shelves. Man, just when you think you have it right, things change. But I am grateful for my new sewing studio!

I was in a situation where I was transforming a bedroom with 2 full closets into my sewing room. I took off the doors to the closets and needed to have shelves installed. While I waited for the shelves I folded the fabrics with the ruler method and placed them in tubs by category ie. flannel, 30's, solids etc. after the shelves were in I just took them out of the tubs and placed in the the order that I wanted. It is so easy to find what I need and it helps me return the fabric to the right place.

Thanks mamagrande, your reply gives me hope. My husband says the shelves will be at least 20" deep, so I've been folding a few pieces to fit that space. We'll be going to our new home in a couple of weeks, (I'm hoping it will be permanent, if not it'll just be another visit) so I"ll take what I've folded from here and begin the new method. I like your idea. What would we do without bins! I'll have this one full before we leave!

I'm glad your new space is working for you. It sounds wonderful to have a place for your fabric.

Wow Rhonda, I could have written that post! Our new home is about 1,000 miles away from our current home. I have been trying to get rid of things for the eventual permanent move to our second home. My husband is still working also and we have only had our second home for 3 months. I hope our situation does not go on for years. I have not taken anything quilting related to the new home yet although I am planning a trip with another quilter to stay at the house in late May. We plan to take our machines and some tables. I will leave that machine and table there so I can sew anytime my husband and I go there. I have two huge closets in my new sewing room and have to wait until my husband puts shelves in also. I may give it a try myself when I go with my friend the end of May. I just started cleaning my sewing room yesterday. It is slow going. I don't know how I accumulated so much. Most of my fabric is already folded on the same type of shelves I plan on installing in the new closets so I will just pack it in bins the way it is. Wishing you happy sewing days in your permanent home.

I'm in a similar situation - DH has been retired for 9 years tho, and I retire in November. We've been transitioning to a house 500 miles away for years, but we do spend our vacation time there. I can't wait for the final move to my new quilt/sewing rooms. I keep a good sewing machine there for whatever my current project is, and have been moving things like future projects I plan to do in retirement (fabric for charity quilts, quilt tops that need finished, hand sewing, etc).
Anyway, my fabric is on shelves that are 20" deep. I used cardboard from fabric bolts (like from Joann's) to wrap yardage on, and less than two yards of fabric are wrapped on smaller boards. So the taller bolts stand in back, shorter bolts stand in front, and there is still room to put fat quarters or other items in front of that. It's all sorted either by theme or color, and I think it looks somewhat organized. Hope that makes sense.
Lyn

Don't envy you .. When we moved here (our retirement place), we decided to get rid of stuff. I did but hubs didn't. So I was stuck putting my material into tubs and tubs. Along with boxes of sewing items. We have a large 4 car garage-it sits behind the 2 car garage. So my portion of the garage is my now sewing room. We had boxes galore until he decided to get rid of stuff, and more stuff. Then his parents moved next door, so we have some<correction: alot of their stuff> of their stuff in our sheds as his mom doesn't like clutter at all. So If she cannot get into her garage, stuff goes over to our house.
Anyway .. back to matter at hand: I would fold to 18-19 inches, that will give you a bit of space on the shelves. Then by type, color (while folding by type).
Good luck in your move and HOPEFULLY you will get things sorted out ..

sw1902, thank you for your reply. Somehow it's just reassuring not to be the only one dealing with what seems to be an overwhelming task .. like moving! And...moving a quilters stash of all things! Like you, it's been a wake up call on how big of a stash I really do have. I have been able to let go of some of it, the stuff I just 'might use' has been given away to those who will use it. It sounds like you have a fun trip planned. Enjoy!

TinkerQuilts, Wow, kindred quilters on the move! I too, have stockpiled projects to do after the move and after my husband retires, and when everything is settled. Thanks for the ideas on organizing. And yes the suggestions did make sense.

Caswews, I picked up on the frustration you have had to deal with, man do I relate to not liking unorganized chaos. I hope things have gotten better for you. Thank you for your suggestions, they sound similar to what I have in mind. Thanks for your kind encouragement.

I had to pack up my sewing room a few years ago when we had water damage in our house. I spent lots of time in my basement, which took a big hit, planning where everything would go. It really gave me some time so get a handle on how I wanted to organize things. I'm really pleased with the way things turned out. I organized my fabric on comic book boards and put them on shelves. There are pictures of how I organized things on my profile page if you are interested.

This post resonated with me, too, as we are considering a move from Vermont to Kansas. Tough thing is that part of my kitchen is my sewing area - large cutting/ironing table, Sweet Sixteen, and now a baby Jem Janome on small table. My living room has my good sewing machine and closet there has most of my stash, plus stuff accumulating around the room as I pull out for projects. In order to sell, everything has to be neat and tidy, but houses here take years to sell, so I don't know how to manage it all. Tough choices! At least you have a place to go, and I hope it all works out for you without too much stress. Some good suggestions here!

ksdot417, I checked out your profile page and enjoyed seeing your sewing room. It looks like your organizing skills paid off for you. Very inviting and so workable. Loved the quilt that's on your long arm frame. I'll be getting a long arm after we move, (clapping hands here). Also I noticed the portable design wall (it has wheels!) I don't have a lot of wall space to work with so I've been looking for ideas for a new design wall. (the list goes on and on). My new room is not square or rectangle, it almost has a octagon feel to it. It has nice windows though! Thanks for your reply and inside view of your wonderful sewing room. It helps!

LynnVT, to Kansas from Vermont, wow what a change for you. Yes, the keeping of the neat and tidy for showing a home is so daunting and intimidating. My home is relatively clean and not too cluttered. But, that being said, our agent says it's important to have a very sterile look. Coffee pot, toaster, canisters, and the like are put out of sight when someone tours the house. My sewing studio has a door I can close if need be, not now. When I'm not working on a project things are put away, when I am....everything is out and about. I usually have several things going and so this has been very difficult. Sometimes I think I just need to move all my sewing stuff and not do anything until this house is sold!

I have no idea what to tell you. I am happy to have a place to put the things I'm not using all the time. Maybe a storage unit would be the answer, but that takes extra money and I would not want to be paying for one for the 3 years we've been in this situation.

For so many years I was in the same boat as you. I called it kitchen sewing. That's when I had a house full of children and did much more cooking too. But if there's a will there's a way right? I'm certain you'll find that way. Let us know and good luck to you too. Thank you for your reply.

I'm in a similar boat. And, wow, it is so overwhelming to look into my sewing space with all of its stuff. We hope to put our house on the market in mid-May and are plugging away at sorting, purging and packing. I'll have a mini sewing setup in Maine and the second bedroom in Florida when all is said and done (and this house is sold). The house next door just went on the market this week and we've seen three sets of people there already today so that's encouraging. (It's a ranch with only one bath and we have a two story cape with two baths).
Next trip down to FL, I'm packing fabric and then again in July. Not so much because I need to, really, just to feel like I'm making some progress in that area. I have a featherweight there already and one to keep in Maine and will do the same with two regular sewing machines.
Good luck to you, Rhonda Lee, and all the rest of you. It is very encouraging to know that others are dealing with this, as well!

Just to add to my previous post. I am going to pack most everything away. Realistically, I won't have much time to do any real sewing since I also have a classroom to purge and pack up. (First the house, then that chore)... Won't it be great to be retired and have the time to use the stuff we've already invested in! I can't wait!

lots2do, it sounds like you are getting a head start on your moving adventure. Good for you! I am happy to be retired. If I was still working it would be so much harder to deal with what needs to be done.

Hopefully your home will sell quick and you won't be in limbo. I am seriously considering what you said about being realistic with sewing time. I think it's getting to be more frustrating to do anything within the quilting realm because I know I have to put everything away as soon as I start sewing because someone might want to look at the house! Maybe if I just have one quilting project to work on here and take everything else to the new home it just might work to my advantage. It's a new way to look at how things are being done. Then I could concentrate on getting my home sold.

I have a huge yard and need to spend time with it. I worked all day in the yard yesterday and it does look better but it still needs a lot of TLC.

There is so much to do and think about. Thanks for your reply and good thoughts. I hope all goes smoothly for you too.

Rhonda Lee, I understand your pain. We moved again a year ago. The requirement for the new house was a room big enough to put my long arm and sewing machines. Even though I repeatedly told my realtor I had to have a room over 12 feet in length to house my long arm it took her quite a while to understand. But we eventually found our new home and I took over the master bedroom since it was a 12x17 with a walk in closet. I hate to say it but I am still trying to organize it to suit me so it may take you some time to get it all together but don't loose hope it will come. My walk in closet is perfect to store all my fabrics. I bought bookcases from IKEA and Walmart and have them all around the walls. It was perfect to house all my fabric bolts and and supplies. I will try to send a pic tomorrow. My long arm fit in nicely with room to walk around to the back. We are going to install another window. Always need more light. I bought some neat pieces from IKEA for storage under my longarm. My last dilemma is how to get three machines set up. Two for my sister and I sew to on and one to be embroidering. Take a deep breathe and know it will all come out right. Just take your time. When my room seemed to be taking too long I just set at the machine and sewed something simple to calm me down and to remember that I am lucky enough to have this room.

Rhonda Lee, I have been wrestling with a similar problem for about 6 months. Our new home is about 1/3 the size of the old home. I lost a lot of storage and when we moved in, all my fabric and sewing was put in the garage -- in both cardboard boxes and plastic totes. I am slowly organizing things, but it does get overwhelming. The biggest issue I have is that the folks who packed (I was not able to do much) failed to label things. My DGS is helping me unpack and organize and we just opened a box labeled books and it had only fabric in it (sigh)... I still can't find my serger (the only machine that I did not have an original box for).

I would not try to organize and unpack until I had all my shelves in -- since my room is still a work in progress, I clear a space around a machine and play for a while since all work and no play make me grumpy. We rented a POD for a while so we had room to move around the garage (literally) -- only needed it for a few months but it sure helped. I wish I could have bought tubs for all my fabric because the stuff in the boxes is a mystery.

Nettie, thank you for your information on how you handled such a large task! I also liked reading about sewing something simple. Only quilters would understand the need to just sew something!

I believe you have made significant progress, such encouraging words! The fact that you have done it and it is doable, lifts my spirits considerably, also you said that it does take time. I needed to hear that again. I know I have to back off a bit and just do what I can do at this point. Even if it's to just cut up some scraps! Would love to see pictures. Thanks again for your information on how you reorganized because of your move.

QuiltnLady1, I understand the lost storage space. My new room actually measures larger but the arrangement of the room is different. I do not have as much wall space because of windows and doorways. So when you said not to organize until I get my shelving in, I completely agree with you. I think that is where most of my anxiety is coming from..I feel like I can't do anything... me, who likes a 'place for everything and everything in it's place' person. Maybe I'm getting a huge lesson on patience!

I like you, have cardboard boxes with unknown contents (unlabeled because of others helping) along with the tubs and plastic drawer units free forming their own environment. I do have some of my books on a couple of free standing shelves that looks good!

I lol when I read about you sewing away on your machine in a cleared area! All of us are such kindred spirits in this world of quilting...thanks so much for your input. It all helps with the adjusting mindset.