Organize. Sewing and Design Inspiration Book

I've taken one sewing class.  It was Home Decor Sewing, I took it my second to last semester of college, and wish that I would have taken it much sooner.

I had a great teacher, whose name escapes me at the moment, but along with teaching me how to operate a serger, and sew a mitered corner, she also instructed me on how to make a handy dandy inspiration book.

One of our class assignments was to make a design book that cataloged all of the different sewing techniques and stitches that we learned.  We also had sheets full of fabric swatches so that we could keep track of the different types of decor fabric.  

Sewing Samples

Tips, Tricks, and Trims

I wish that I was an inherently neat and organized person.  I enjoy having an orderly home, but it is a challenge to keep it that way.  I feel like my crafting time is stolen time, and I often don't have the time to put things away like they should be.  On Saturday I decided that it was time that I showed my trims and laces the respect (and order) that they deserved.  

 I have an old wipes case that I use to house my bias tapes, ric-rac, piping, and scraps of ribbon and lace. Often times if I just have a piece left, I'll wind it up, secure it with a straight pin, and throw it into the container.

I found an old cardboard box that was floating around our basement, but it into small rectangles (about the same size as my packages of bias tape), and created a nice little home for my trims to rest.

I simply cut one slit on the side of the rectangle.  I slid in the end of the trim, and then began wrapping it along the length of the rectangle.  I was able to fit multiple pieces of remnant trims on some pieces of cardboard.

 My larger laces and trims received larger pieces of cardboard.

 It might not look perfectly organized, and it isn't, but it is an improvement.  It is a great way to store remnant trims and laces, and to keep any trim purchased off of the spool a nice little home.

What craft room organization tips do you have to share?

Project Organization: Color Coded Sewing Machine Needles

It seems like it is all I can do to keep my house tidy and clean.  When it comes to keeping my craft supplies and closet clean I am a complete failure.  Over the past few months I have been trying to find little ways to organize my craft life.  One little thing that I did was color code my sewing machine needles.

I know that some brands of machine needles have different colors of bands at the base of the needle shaft (singer), but the particular brand of needles that I use do not.  I decided that it would be rather helpful if I could keep identify what kind of machine needle in my sewing machine when I went to sew.   By doing so I can very quickly identify whether or not I need to switch out my needles (without having to closely examine each point).

To color code my needles I simply collected the nail polish that I had on hand, added a small dab at the base of each needle, and one to the corresponding case.  Now each type of needle (universal, ball point, leather, heavy duty, ect.) has it's own color marking. It would have been  great if I had access to my nail polish collection from 1995, then maybe I could use blue, green, orange, and purple instead of three different shades of reddish pinks. None the less I have found it helpful.

What organization techniques do you use with your craft area and supplies?

I'll be partying here.

A Tisket a Tasket-My Little Knitting Basket

Last year in an effort to recapture the sanity that I felt like I once had, and also to carry out my plan to become a true lady, I decided that it was time to learn how to knit. I am not sure why, but at some point in my life I decided that true ladies, or fancy ladies, know how to knit. So my dear sweet husband bought me a beginners knitting kit, complete with a pair of knitting needles, some denim blue yarn, and a booklet of instructions to teach me how to knit and purl. I soon set off on my new knitting adventure which resulted in a less than perfect scarf. Knitting has helped me regain some of my sanity, but I have yet to become the fancy lady that I long to be. I love that I can knit in the car on a long ride, or while we sit together at home watching a movie. My son is of course up in my knitting business, but it is a nice escape. It is a project that I can pick up and put down at anytime without too much frustration (I hate being interrupted while working on a project).

I haven't done much knitting since the weather warmed up. I think that knitting will be a cold weather activity for me, but I am learning to love it. I am learning to read patterns, and I am in the process of knitting a baby blanket. Luckily I have quite a bit of time to finish it-seeing that I am not expecting.

Enough rambling though-I started knitting in December-around the same time that family members start asking "What do you want for Christmas". That is generally a pretty difficult question for me to answer. I finally told my Mother in Law that if she could teach me to knit or get me some additional knitting supplies. She is a wonderful and thoughtful lady. She ended up buying me this adorable basket along with some skeins of yarn and some additional knitting needles. I love the basket-it was originally a picnic basket, but it works so well as a knitting basket that I thought that I'd share. Here are some of the reasons that I love it:

• It is collapsable
• It is polka dotted
• It has this lovely pocket in the front for storing patterns or needles that can easily get lost while not in use.
• It has these lovely handles to transport it wherever I might be going
• It is waterproof (maybe not a big selling point for knitting baskets, but I think that it is cool)
• The drawstring top makes it expandable for growing projects.
• You can use it as the intended picnic basket during the off season.    

Anyway, I am a beginner knitter, but I sure do love my basket.  It's just one more way to keep my craft life organized. The basket was made by a company called Picnic Time and I believe that she bought it at TJMaxx. By the way, I received an email from fabric.com saying that they are having a 50% off sale on yarn.  I am trying not to give in (because it is my off season), but if you are still knitting away you might want to check it out.

My Felt Needle Book

This is a project that has been on my Craft To-Do List for quite some time. I am known for misplacing needles-my husband seems to be the one that normally finds them (in his foot, or hand). So in an attempt to organize my craft life (remember my blog post with craft room organization ideas) I finally made this needle book. It was so simple and fun to make. I used Kunin Rainbow felt, embroidery thread, a button, and some thin white batting for the pages (I didn't have any white felt on hand). I cut out 3 pages for the inside and rounded the corners. I then wrapped my gray felt around the pages and cut to fit the bulk of the book form. I rounded the corners of the cover, and stitched around the outside of the cover with my bright pink embroidery thread. After stitching I added my little pink rosettes and attached them to my cover with a few quick stitches. I sewed my pages into the needle book, attached a small flap that I cut out with a button hole, and sewed on my button to the front of my cover. That's it and that's all. It was such a fun and quick little project.

I love how the pink and gray felt coordinate with the pincushions that I made earlier.  The button flap was an afterthought so it isn't shown in all photos, but I am quite pleased with my kitchy little needle book. Have I mentioned that I am becoming quite fond of felt. I really am...wool felt is too rich for my bones, but maybe one day.

Craft Room Organization Inspiration

I think that I am the kind of person that is a pretty good mix of Right and Left Brain. That might explain the constant battle that I fight with myself. I long to be an organized and orderly person, but no matter how much I try my organization efforts always prove to be unsuccessful. I'll spend a day rearranging the boxes where my craft things are stored, but it seems that by the time I finish my next craft project things are a mess again. I don't know how it happens, but it inevitably does. So I have decided that it is time for a craft room update...if only I had a craft room. Like many of you my "craft room" is a shared space, and is in no way dedicated to crafting. Most of my supplies are stored in the small closet of our spare room which also serves as our office, library, and sometimes mud room.

My sweet husband seems to know what he has coming. He has a pretty good idea that one day in the near future the shared space will be a craft room. It just doesn't seem like I should have to move my sewing machine and all of my supplies to the kitchen table everyday. It would be great if I could give up cooking and turn the larger kitchen space into a craft room, but I like eating probably even more than I like crafting...so in all reality, that is not going to happen.

So now it is time for me to devise a plan. Some of the things that I really need to tackle when organizing my craft space are:

• Organization of materials. There really has to be a better way than storing supplies in old baby wipe containers. I need storage for fabric, scissors, buttons, scraps, ribbon, paint, book making supplies, ect.
• Having a workable sewing space
• Storage space for printing and shipping supplies for my shop
• Easy access to computer/printer
• Toddler-proof workspace...ha ha ha, is that even possible

Now it is time to hear your ideas, I really need some inspiration. Looking online I have found some great ideas, here are some of my favorites.

I found this great idea on everything etsy. This beverage cart is a great idea for utilizing a small space. I love the cork board on the inside of the door, but I think that I will definitely need additional storage space. I love the green/yellow/blue. Look under "Art Studio Inspiration" for more great ideas on their site.

I love this color pallet. They did a good job of making the room feel very open and light. Most people think that red and green will automatically make their space feel very festive, but if the colors and chosen appropriately it can feel really fresh. I also really love the slotted board and shelf unit. That would be great for me, because I love to adjust my system of organization. I found this image on HG tv.

I love the lighting in this red room, I also love the storage unit that is built into the workstation. I need something compact like this. I am very in love with the wrapping station on the wall. One day I am going to have a gift wrapping room, wouldn't that be a dream?

Filing cabinets are also a must for my craft space. I need a much better system of organization for all of my receipts and invoices from my etsy shop. I have plenty of Mason jars, so that might be a great solution for storing some of my supplies. And how in the world am I going to get that great yellow chair. Check this and other great ideas out at Home Designing.

I love this idea for many different reasons. I love the glass top work space. It is beautiful isn't it. I love the pattern below it-I am not sure if it is painted or if it is fabric, but it sure is great. I also love the stretched fabric in the embroidery hoops. I think that fabric is SO great, and what a great way to display it.
I heart beadboard, and this is one more way that I could use mason jars for storage.

Okay who can guess what my favorite aspect of this room is? The clipboards. I have a lot of artwork that isn't framed and I think that this is a creative way of displaying images. I think that I must try this. The pegboard would probably by helpful as well.

Let me know if you have any great organization solutions or ideas for my small shared workspace.