oksewglad

Yes, Rob, ziplocks work well. I have a decorative placemat with several ziplocks sewn into the middle with a strip of grograin ribbon sewn over the bottom edges. I have 1" strips stored by color in mine. Here's a couple of ideas...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oVudI_tJJA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ3Qo-bcVOY

http://obsessivelystitching.blogspot...oject-kit.html

SusieQOH

I've opened up a can of worms, but in the end it will be a good thing.
We're having our interior painted, and of course there are lots of messes all over. But....... I'm finding so much stuff I don't want anymore. Been to Goodwill several times in the last weeks.
Also finding stuff I do want and forgot about.
It's a process for sure.
My sewing room now houses my new Juki- had nowhere to put it until now. Sewing room is shaping up nicely.
I just can't believe how much stuff accumulates. I'm definitely on a "minimalism" kick.

zozee

Oksewglad--kudoes. What a job. Going through books and magazines to donate or keep is not easy work, but keeping only what you truly enjoy is a wonderful feeling. Open, breathable spaces means more productivity in the long run. My, how quickly order can atrophy in a creative space, though!!!

kristijoy

I went through my sewing room this morning! It's small, and I needed to find a place to put my new 'vintage' machine, plus get rid of stuff that was just filling it up without being inspiring. I pulled out a number of books, old patterns, odds and ends that I don't use, kids crafts supplies that my son has outgrown (that was HUGE part of the stuff taking up space), and 4 bags of batting bits that were trimmed off of quilts that were taking up residence under my table.

Then I cleaned up my cutting board, wiped down the surfaces, and vacuumed!! Now I'm resting my feet...can't wait to spend some time sewing this afternoon!

Here's a picture of it now! The closet has the fabric, projects, and machines. Above the desk are 3 kitchen cabinets with notions and books.

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oksewglad

Kristi..you've gotta feel good about what you've accomplished...yeah!

Meanwhile I'm back at mine..I just feel like I'm bursting at the seams. I'm trying to clean off horizontal surfaces yet again.

tscweaves

Between hanging shelves in the closet and finally finding a place for some pegboard, I think I have my sewing area set up as well as it is going to get. I have been envious of all the pegboard I have been seeing in peoples sewing areas and found a spot for a 2'×4' piece, great for my rulers. I can get to all of my machines in the room, I have LED lamps where I need them, and there is enough room to get around all sides of my cutting table. I had a number of cutting mats and I was tired of them sliding around, so I taped them all down on my cutting table. They almost cover it all, and it has been working well. Surprisingly if I actually put everything away when I am done with it, it goes back into good shape quickly - imagine that! LOL
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oksewglad

Looking good tscweaves....

I trimmed some scraps tonight. I'm looking for my ivory and gold fabric pieces...mostly chunks of scraps, but enough for setting triangles on a mini quilt. And since I can't find them I am annoyed so the cleaning continues!

Now going to watch my Sunday shows and trim some HST's for my mini house quilt...

rryder

Great ideas OKsewglad. I have a bionic gear bag with stuff for my sewing machines, but have been reluctant to make another because of the time it takes. Those placemat ideas would be a great alternative for the little stuff that tends to get lost but that you don't need to be able to just reach out and grab. Unfortunately I can see them getting buried under my stuff when I'm working on non-pieced projects. So, here's what I came up with:

The tin and the paper cups were already in my studio and now they are home to all my cutting stuff for that room. Plus, it doubles as a glue bottle holder for my current project. And it's tall enough that I'm pretty sure the layers of floating stuff will never get high enough to bury it! The lid holds the scissors and tweezers that I'm using for the current project right beside the project so they have a place to land which means I'm not just putting them down any old place on the table to get buried while I'm working on the collaged piece. And the ziplock baggies hold the already sorted but not being actively used colored scraps YAY!

Rob

tscweaves

Good idea, Rob. I keep losing track of things like scissors and seam rippers on my cutting table. I was thinking of using a coffee cup, but I did not want glass. Your solution is a much better idea.

NoraB

thanks for sharing your progress and photos....inspires me to "keep at it". I think right now, I have many projects to complete...so my room is in utter chaos. I've got a quilt to add a label to, 1 quilt that is quilted and needs binding sewn and label, 1 quilt on the long-arm being quilted, 1 quilt waiting to be quilted. I think once I get those done, I will feel better. Right now, I'm just moving stuff from one surface to another so I can complete the task at hand.

Here's what I do that seems to help me keep a little neater: Once I've trimmed the quilted quilt, I dispense with the trimmed fabric and batting immediately.

If the fabric is less than 2 1/2" wide, it gets cut up into confetti and goes in my dog bed stuffing bin (a pop-up, mesh laundry basket thingie that sits under my cutting table). Otherwise, it is folded and put away to be used.

If the batting is less than 4", I also confetti it and it goes into the dog bed stuffing bin.

If the batting is 4", I cut the batting to use in "hickory nut" hexagon charity quilts (see other posts about hickory nuts on the board). Those are put away in the box that I'm keeping for hickory nuts.

If the batting is at least 12" wide, (which usually never happens), I roll it up with my batting scraps to be used later.

Then, I pull out my trusty vacuum (which is always in my sewing room, plugged in and waiting underneath my pressing station) and vacuum my design board, my cutting area, the pressing station, the long arm leaders and the carpet.

When the dog bed stuffing bin is full, I pull out dog beds I have "pre-made" and stuff those puppies and walk them down to the pet store (they collect for our local animal rescue group).

Then, onto the next project. I started doing this because it seemed I always had strips of fabric piled up, along with the left-over batting. Now, I find if it is cut up, it takes up less space AND when I just feel like "stress-sewing"...I can pick these up and do something constructive.

But, for me...I've got to get some of these long-standing projects completed! I've been working on quilts for family made out of pieces of my Mother's cotton clothing and her stash. She wore a lot of cotton and much stash, so I've been able to make and gift 14 quilts. I have enough to complete 3 more quilts and they are almost done (2 more to quilt). I had purchased bolts of fabric for the backing and borders and rolls of batting for these gifts. So, once they are all completed, I can put those back in the regular fabric and batting stashes and use them as I can. I've managed to gift these quilts to all my siblings, their children and now my mother's 3 sisters. I'm thinking any additional fabric can be used in baby quilts for the great-grandchildren.

So, this was my 5+ year project. My Mother has been gone for a little over 5 years and EVERY day I think of her....every time I sew....every time I touch fabric she used to make other quilts. Grateful to pass on her legacy.