Organizing in the Sewing Room

November 16, 2015
Quilt Notebooks, Kennedy

Quilt Notebooks, KennedyGood Morning, Quilters!

I have been busy, busy, busy in my sewing room:  cleaning and organizing and working on a wide variety of projects, old and new.  I can’t wait to share them all with you!

First, The Paperwork...

I sorted everything into white binders (decorated with some fun tape).

I always feel so much better when the paper mountain is sorted!

CRAFTSY PLANNING

I went through my Craftsy designs…

Good News…another Craftsy video is in the works!

Limited Time Offer:  50% Divide and Conquer:  Creative Quilting for Any Space (All five-star reviews!!!)

Quilt Notebooks, KennedyIf you watched the video, you might remember theses quilts?Quilt Design, KennedyOnce the paperwork was complete, I stitched and sewed and stitched and sewed…

Lots of fun stuff to come!

What about YOU?  Did you sew or organize anything lately?  We’d love to hear!

FRANCE

Fleur de lis, Free Motion Quilting Tutorial,
Fleur-de-lis, Symbol of France Tutorial HERE

To all our French readers and all the people of France…our condolences! 

We stand with YOU!

Lori

PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only.  Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt.  For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com.  Thanks!

 

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28 comments

  • Marta, south Georgia

    I just discovered I had saved the Nov 16 post but had never read it. But how timely for me now. After living with us since Sept. our kids/grands, 2 dogs and 2 cats are moving into own house. Because I was in rehab after surgery ( 3rd one of 2015) when they moved in, my/our stuff was just “moved over” to make room for them. Needless to say, we can’t find anything but fridge and computer and TV !! Time and opportunity for giant reorganization now. I have 8 quilts waiting since the planning and buying stages in last part of 2014. I’d rather be sewing those! IF I win a lottery, I will hire a reorganization crew! But short of that, my 74 year old body and mind will be tackling the job. Husband is incapacitated with back injury. A couple years ago when he was able, husband put up a 6 foot long shelf with heavy duty brackets on a wall in guest room. He attached a heavy duty metal rod underneath . I fold fabric, place it on clothes hangers and hang them as if in a closet. The shelf holds shoe box size clear plastic boxes with notions and scraps, etc. We have a basic 2 BR house with one catch-all room used for sewing, one screened porch, one uncovered deck, and an acre yard. I am envious of my own yard with all its space.. LOL. There is a 16 inch tall stack of papers of all kinds (sewing and crafts) teetering on top of a bookcase in the hall. I see your wonderful binder/notebooks in the photo above, Lori. Notions and left overs are all over everywhere. Advice for organization from any merciful quilters will be welcome!

  • cynthia

    I’m in organizing/throw it out mode for the entire house! All at once, of course. I can’t figure out how to sort fabric! I quilt, sew clothes for my brand new grand daughter, and do some home projects so there’s lots of different types of fabric. I like things in closed containers because there is a lot of dust (wood stove, 3 dogs) here. Ideas?

  • Barbara H

    Love your site, Lori — yes, last week I spent parts of three days organizing my beads.
    I had “completed” a wall quilt top of 3D appliqued sunflowers and decided it needed a few beads. It’s not possible to use the little buggers when they’re still attached to the original hank ! So, after three trips to the craft store purchasing little (clear) containers, I’m almost finished — clear rather than semi-opaque, and then put into organizer boxes like those my machine threads are in.

    Now, to find my horizontal work surfaces again. I’ve also got to locate the application forms for a 25-year extension on my life 🙂

    • A

      What are horizontal work surfaces? They don’t exist in my world–at least not clear ones!

      • Barbara H

        Lori — minet are not clear either — that is the problem — they are everywhere in the house and totally opaqued with clutter

  • Hi Lori,
    I have recently – finally – started on a much-anticipated room swap! A number of years ago I realized I had outgrown my sewing room (in a spare bedroom) and suggested to my DH that we knock out a wall and build out over the garage. He suggested that I swap the sewing room and guest room (which is a bit larger) instead. Life got in the way until now. Drew has ripped out the old crappy carpet in the guest room and painted all the nasty avocado trim white, so now it’s time for the swap.

    This will be an ongoing and big project, requiring much shuffling of furniture (king-sized bed, two dressers, cedar chest, two nightstands), sewing machines and tables, fabric, books, project bins and so on. I keep throwing organizing ideas in a manila folder and now I have to start organizing the notes and make a graph paper floor plan to try to figure out the best arrangement for everything. I bought and borrowed books and magazines on sewing room organization and have read them and taken notes. I hope to have the swap completed early next year, so that I can start making some real progress on my mountain of UFOs! Wish me luck!

    • WordPress.com Support

      Can’t wait to see the finished rooms! How exciting!!

  • Karen Quilts

    Crammed three friends into my sewing room so we could have a day of sewing together and lots of laugh time

    • WordPress.com Support

      I bet it was a blast!

  • ceile

    Hi Lori! new to your site, I was just wondering what type of foot you use for your free motion quilting? Also- do you use the circle guide when you sew your designs? they are gorgeous!

    • WordPress.com Support

      Oh and I don’t use any other attachments

    • WordPress.com Support

      I use the Bernina 24 open toe free motion foot

  • Thanks
    Muriel
    France

  • Monique

    Thank your support Lori. This fleur de list comes at the right time for me.

  • Debbie Brug

    You asked about reorganization! I had a flood in my basement, which includes my sewing room. It was a forced reorganization, but it was good! I didn’t lose any machines…thank God we were home or it would’ve been a different story!

    I donated a lot of stuff to Salvation Army, pitched a lot of stuff and have a new color scheme now! Love it! God is good!

    Loved your Divide and Conquer Class!

  • dorothymatheson

    I spent the day yesterday working on my organization. I keep an informal journal in a notebook by writing about things I do and putting in photographs I print out on my computer. It is interesting to look back at what I did two or three years ago. I did get way behind. At least I had most of the photographs printed out already. So I placed them in the notebooking (I use double stick tape) and wrote the notes about when I did which project who I sent it to and what I have gotten back in exchange. I took the photographs for the two postcards and the two sets of block I am sending out this month. Things are in much more organized shape now.

    • WordPress.com Support

      I love the idea of adding the photos!

  • Peter Sylvie

    Merci Lori ,thanks for this thought and support in form of this fleur de lys.

  • This weekend I cleaned out a closet in my sewing room and I am feeling pretty righteous about that. But I need help— Will I ever use those 3 queen-sized bedskirts now that I have a king-sized bed? I need help to throw them out or donate them but being a quilter, I think that I will use that green cotton, white eyelet and blue denim— also the silk ties that I have been saving and the men’s shirts made out of beautiful cotton and the linen garments that I want to cut up. It is difficult being a quilter as there is a potential for everything!! So many quilts to make- so little time 🙂

    • WordPress.com Support

      You will feel so much better if you let all of it go. Someone needs this!

  • Laroletta Petty

    I also am in the organizing mode. Today is for paper work. I don’t know how I accumulate so many ‘important’ scraps of paper!. If they are not labeled they are going in the basket for trash. I am an ongoing organizer-in my sewing room and in our home. I clean out an organize one drawer or one closet shelf every day. I am a believer in the ‘one touch’ philosophy. That works well everywhere except the sewing room. There is just too much stuff needed for each project-big or small. I do try to get it all put away after each project. I love this blog and the helpful information-I have a notebook labeled ‘Inbox Jaunt’. I also have a big notebook with Craftsy classes and materials.

    • WordPress.com Support

      Could you make a house call? I’m not naturally organized and every once in awhile I go on a mass organizing binge!

  • Janet Gagneur

    I love the way you organize!! We recently moved so I’m still in the process of organizing my new sewing room. I bought some mesh drawer units from Ikea that are great space savers and organize my stash beautifully! You can see the colors through the mesh, so I know exactly which drawer to go for when I want a specific color of fabric.

    I really like the tape you used on your binders, where did you find it?

    • WordPress.com Support

      Could you send a link to the ikea mesh drawer! Sounds great!

      • Janet

        They are the Algot frame shelving. The units come in all different configurations. I bought the 6 self frames which I stacked and bolted to the wall and the 4 shelf frames are the perfect height for a wide ironing board! You can buy casters so they can be easily moved and you can buy tops to put on top of the units. Everything is separate so it can be a bit overwhelming to figure out at the store. Just ask someone how they work. They are pretty sturdy, they all made it through our recent moved with just a couple of dents in the mesh but they pushed right back out. They are really easy to put together as well…a plus for me who is a bit challenged in that area of life! Lol! Enjoy!

  • Thank you for your support.

  • Thank you so much for these fleurs-de-lis Lori. France is mourning, but France is standing !
    Katell, France

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