I’m in the process of cleaning out and reorganizing my quilt room and thought I would let you come along.

Step #1 Purge

We’ve lived in this house for two years now. Even though I use it a great deal for sewing and other projects, my sewing room had become the catch-all for all the house odds and ends.  It was a mess and it had gotten completely out of hand.  It was so bad I moved my sewing machine into the dining room so I could work unencumbered.

Earlier this year I got a bee in my bonnet and started cleaning it out.  I cleaned out cupboards and drawers and bins.  I dusted shelves and vacuumed corners and edges.

 I went through all my fabric.  There was a lot and it was time to say goodbye.  Some of it I have had for 25 years. 25 YEARS!  Holy cow!  If I wasn’t going to use it in 25 years, chances are I wasn’t going to use it at all.  We’ve moved a lot and  I’ve learned to be pretty good about getting rid of stuff but the one exception? Craft stuff.  I’m not sure why but I hoarded that stuff.  Everything from glitter to fabric paint to finished and unfinished projects I thought I could use later,  as well as an enormous amount of fabric.

It felt good to get rid of all those projects finished and unfinished and all those little odds and ends.  And I threw out so many scraps!  What in the world was I keeping them for? I donated anything that was useable and threw out anything else. I took stock of my quilting tools and I organized my knitting stash and tools as well.

It hadn’t occurred to me that I would blog about this so there is no before picture. 🙁

#2 Figure Out What You Need

I spend a lot of time in my sewing room, and I want it to be a place where I feel inspired and excited when I get to spend time there.

I’m not a very organized person but I’ve learned that I am happiest whenI know where things are and can find things quickly.  Also when I can clean up quickly and that only happens when everything has a place.  Because I don’t come by organization naturally I needed help.  I spent time of several different blogs and Pinterest.  It is good to see what has worked for others and to honestly consider what will work for me and what will not.

For a usable quilting room, I really just need four things.

I need a place to store fabric/tools/books/patterns/inspiration and current projects.  They need to have specific places.  This is my storage at present.

The eclectic shelves and cupboards I have work okay too but can get jumbled quickly when I’m digging around looking for fabric or other supplies.   I wish I had something a little more uniform.

I’ve been on the search for good looking ways to store fabric and yarn and tools.  Right now I’m leaning toward these shelves, with see through plastic buckets to organize my fabric and other craft tools and projects.  The adjustable shelves will make it possible to get all the my bolts out of the closet so I can use it for other things.  I’m not really crazy about the plastic buckets but I can’t see anything that will do the job better.  Suggestions??

I need a place to cut/plan.  Love my cutting table and area.

 
My friend Gretchen gave me the counter hight table and it fits perfectly  in the window sill.  The only thing I wish I could add is an inspiration wall/board.  Sometimes I need to live with a pattern or fabric for a while to decide how best to use it.

And, well, I could live with out that ugly brick wall but it reflects the most scrumptious light in the afternoons.

I need a place to iron.

I need to upgrade on my ironing board or maybe just a new cover. (I know gross.)  Even though I’ve washed it I always use a towel on top, as a precaution. I don’t trust that is sin’t going to stain my fabric.

My iron works fine, it puts out the perfect amount of steam for pressing seams.  The only problem is that it is top heavy so it tips over and falls all the time.  I’m wondering if should get a new one that I don’t have to fight with.

And of course I need a place to sew.

Paul bought me this sewing table ten years ago and I have loved it.  Not too big not too small. The only thing I want to change here is thread and bobbin storage.  That’s it right there to the left of the machine.

#4 Make A Plan

I’ve written a map of the room and what I want it to look like.  I have also made a shopping list.  My parents are going to be here this week and I want to take advantage of my step dad Roger.  I’ve already warned him that there will be some shelves (among other things) to be built when he gets here.

I’ll let you know how it turns out.