Ready to cry over my quilting clutter!
03-06-2011, 09:14 PM
#181
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Richmond, Va
Posts: 218
Originally Posted by Rettie V.Grama
I think I solved my clutter problem when I moved into a 4 room apartment. My bathroom floor (that is where I sew) is covered with bits and pieces every day I sew. I try to drop them into the waste basket but I'm not a basket ball player, so I fail miserably. To solve this problem at the end of the day, I use a dustpan and it's attached brush to clean up. Push the sewing machine on its "typewriter table" into the corner in front of the linen closet. I'm slowly de-stashing. So far, so good, had 4 shelves of stash and now have 2 plus some in a plastic tote can. I do lots of searching when I'm ready to make something. I do most of my cutting in the Living Room (I don't watch TV) I listen to Easy Living music. My bed is a display ???table??? where I lay out a pattern, I've just drawn or when I lay out blocks getting ready to make a top out of blocks found in my stash. Then there is the entry way between the kitchen and a coat closet (thats where I keep my ironing board and iron).
When I iron, I pull it out of the coat closet, set it up in the entry way where I need to skirt around it to get into the kitchen, the coat closet and go out the door. I decided just today to get a portable ironing board as it will fit over the vanity in the bathroom.
Oh, by the way, I use my office desk which is for the computer in the Living Room for a sewing chair. When the sewing machine and the chair are both in use in the bathroom, to get to the toilet, I have to move both. I just pray it is not an emergency.
So don't cry over your quilting clutter, mine is worse.
When I iron, I pull it out of the coat closet, set it up in the entry way where I need to skirt around it to get into the kitchen, the coat closet and go out the door. I decided just today to get a portable ironing board as it will fit over the vanity in the bathroom.
Oh, by the way, I use my office desk which is for the computer in the Living Room for a sewing chair. When the sewing machine and the chair are both in use in the bathroom, to get to the toilet, I have to move both. I just pray it is not an emergency.
So don't cry over your quilting clutter, mine is worse.
03-06-2011, 09:23 PM
#182
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Richmond, Va
Posts: 218
I have no excuse. Thank you for reminding me what it was like before I had my own little room to keep my things. I too used to sew on my $69 Singer that was also my bedside table and stowed everything under the bed. I made all my clothes, drapes, all my son's clothes.
Then after my son was out college for Christmas my hubby bought me a embroidery machine. I started quilting and life will never be the same!! I have come to the conclusion that I don't need a fabric stash. I'm going to use it up and then only buy when I have a project. Now I have FQ and pieces of fabrics that aren't enough for the patterns I want to make. Never again I PROMISE MYSELF!!!
Then after my son was out college for Christmas my hubby bought me a embroidery machine. I started quilting and life will never be the same!! I have come to the conclusion that I don't need a fabric stash. I'm going to use it up and then only buy when I have a project. Now I have FQ and pieces of fabrics that aren't enough for the patterns I want to make. Never again I PROMISE MYSELF!!!
03-07-2011, 01:25 PM
#183
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Eastern MA
Posts: 230
I had been feeling that way since all my craft things had to migrate to the sewing room after a flood last year. A VERY good friend came over for the weekend and we emptied much of the room, sorted everything and made 6 bags of "goodwill" donations, installed two new shelf units. After yet another 2 days of work and sorting on my own it is ready to vacuum and move in. Granted i still have a "nest: around my evening TV chair, but that rotates pretty frequently. I will never let this happen again, but it was well worth cleaning out.
03-07-2011, 02:17 PM
#184
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Grants Pass, Oregon
Posts: 3,360
No need to cry. Clutter is the sign of a mind at work. Some of us have a "small" amount of clutter that is put into drawers that you can just close and no one will ever see. Some of us have closets that you can just shut the door to never be seen by others...and then there are those of us that have entire rooms that if it was organized, we would never be able to find what we are looking for because we know that we set "it" right there on top of that magazine that was published in 1956 that I KNOW was sitting right there on top of that....is that a COFFEE TABLE? Oh my gosh...IT IS A COFFEE TABLE...hmm wonder how long its been there. Awwww there it is....I KNEW it was there. You will get it organized one day, but for now, do it in small strides. I am sorta fortunate, I do not have much sewing things, fabrics, etc. I DO have 3 pairs of scissors though And I ALWAYS know where at least one pair of them are...under my computer desk on that pull out shelf. Hey you never know when you might need them. LOLOL.
03-07-2011, 04:09 PM
#185
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Western CO
Posts: 688
I just finished a class on organization .. here is the jest.. at $9-10 a yard your fabric deserves to be treated better. The cheapest way is to buy $30 dollar bookcases and by using a 6x24 ruler fold your fabric and get it on the bookcase... Totes don't work most of us too old to keep moving them around.
I'm including a couple pictures of what someof us have done.
Good luck
judy
I'm including a couple pictures of what someof us have done.
Good luck
judy
03-08-2011, 09:07 AM
#187
Junior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Iowa
Posts: 100
Misty, I so understand you quilt to de-stress hand on your life is full with all you have going on
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!
03-08-2011, 04:12 PM
#188
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Richmond, Va
Posts: 218
Originally Posted by JJane
Misty, I so understand you quilt to de-stress hand on your life is full with all you have going on
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.
Oh I understand. I was a divorced Mom(no help from ex) worked full time & did a travel soccer team with my son. I had appts. nights, weekends etc, no family within 300 miles. When I look back I wonder how in the world did I manage?? I wish I were close to you I would help you without comments- you have to have been there to understand. Maybe you should let "Mom" spend the entire day with you & do everything you do!! Mom did not understand either why I had a 1X week cleaning lady.
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!
Oh I understand. I was a divorced Mom(no help from ex) worked full time & did a travel soccer team with my son. I had appts. nights, weekends etc, no family within 300 miles. When I look back I wonder how in the world did I manage?? I wish I were close to you I would help you without comments- you have to have been there to understand. Maybe you should let "Mom" spend the entire day with you & do everything you do!! Mom did not understand either why I had a 1X week cleaning lady.
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!
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