Great tips, Margo! And timely, because I'm re-organizing my sewing/office space. I don't have as many wonderful shelves as you have, but I've bought a bunch of the small baskets, and they'll work for my fat quarters.
Thank you!

I need better ideas on keeping the (smaller than FQ) scraps sorted. I am thinking lights, mediums and darks.

Any other ideas???

Any good ideas for notions, rulers and equipment ???



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Anna, I store my small scraps in shoe-box sized containers by color. I use a small piece of cardboard (cut to the right size) to fold the larger pieces to fit so that only one folded edge shows, and it makes the boxes look neat, and easy to see what its there.

More photos about how I store fabric can be found here:

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/563306368ujRyrP?vhost=good-times

QuilterLynn wrote: Lynn,
I think it's because they've made it a larger issue. Hopefully, it'll go back to its old price.
eileenkny

I use a small rolling cart with four wire shelves to store my light box, plastic boxes of thread, plastic shoe boxes of templates and rick rack, etc. I like the clear boxes. This cart rolls under my cutting table. I also have stackable plastic drawers to store fabric in--I bought a dark blue at Target to protect the fabric from light. I'm still in the process of purging my fabric that I have stored in a closet in plastic baskets. Office supply stores have some wonderful desktop scissor/ruler/pen holders that revolve. I keep mine at the end of my cutting table for easy access. I have six of those plastic project boxes with a handle where I keep all my current projects--I keep those stacked on top of my stackable drawers under my cutting table.

I have one of those wooden racks with the grooves cut in to hold my rulers standing against the wall at the end of my cutting table. I do have an organizer hanging on the back of the door but on the table I have an old basket that my DH found at an estate sale for cheap. It's got 6 or 8 compartments that hold cutters, scizzors, basting spray, fusible web roll, etc. I think it was made to hold the silverware for picnics.

I do use those inexpensive plastic dresser kind of things under the tables to hold fabric. Each drawer holds a different color. I use clear bins for certain collections of fabric such as 30's, batiks, etc.

Hope that helps! nancy

That new magazine by Interweave entitled "Studio" will have some good idea, I'll bet. But now is $14.99 and used to be $9.99.

Ouch.

I like the hanging shoe rack idea (back of door) as I've still so adverse to throwing anything away. I could understand it is I had lived during the depression or WW II, but I was born at end of WW II. Guess my parents did a good job of "indoctrination."

LadyRags wrote:

WELL MY FIRST REORGANIZATION IDEAS DID NOT WORK!

I did cull down my fabric stash ... got rid of the 70s and 80s, home dec fabrics from my mom's draprey business, my less than stellar fabric selection (Ugly fabric went to charity quilts where paired with more and appropriate fabrics they were no longer ugly.) All fabrics went to good home with charity quilters... SO I DO FEEL VIRTUOUS.

My stash is now color sorted and project sorted ( If I bought fabrics for a specific project at one time I keep them all together.)

I need better ideas on keeping the (smaller than FQ) scraps sorted. I am thinking lights, mediums and darks.

Any other ideas???

Any good ideas for notions, rulers and equipment ???

Lorchen we actually had a half door to our kitchen where we lived when the kids were little. There was originally a big heavy swinging door that my husband cut down to half. It worked out great with the babies. Karen

Lorchen wrote:
I think we call them DUTCH DOORS they were / are popular in New England / New York region when the area was settled by the Dutch before the American Revolution. I have not seen one in several years but I bet my hubby could fabricate me one for the play room.

My sewing room is small but I have always had a small corner devoted to the children & now GC. They have learned to tidy up their creative messes as I have had to learn to deal & organize my different projects. I like to involve them unless it is dangerous to do so. One item we both love & use often is my wide & deep 2 step stool: countless possibilities.

A storage tip for your old machine needles: an old film canister. It can be recycled when full!

I don't know what you call them in the US, but a friend of mine used to have a 'stable door' between her office and the main living area where the kids played. It's a door that is split horizontally across the middle, and you can close the whole door, or just the bottom half and leave the top half open. It was perfect for keeping an eye on the little ones, or talking to them, and they could see Mum.

Storage: I have used metal cabinets from office supply companies (you can sometimes find them cheap second hand) for a lot of the bits and pieces. They can be painted any colour, and are indestructable. Mine have 10 drawers each. Every drawer would take standard (A4 in Europe) size paper and is about 3 inches high.

Lorchen

Mine's not really a room, it's part of a great room-kitchen, family room and sewing area. So I don't have a door.
I keep thinking of Libby's label maker. I have lots of bins but I forget what I put in them. So I put one on my wish list over at Amazon.
eileenkny

The door into my sewing room is glass in a wood frame- that way I could see the kids coming and going and still block out teenage noise - or block in my music!