I am happy to report I just finished machine quilting four table toppers. I am like you—I have a very busy life. I wanted to share my organizing tips and time management ideas on how I accomplished this. I had a time frame that needed to be met.
•I made it a priority in my day. Things get in the way so I literally set a time when I would go into my sewing room and quilt. I turned on my book on tape and listened and quilted.
•Get up one-half hour earlier and work on projects before anyone else is up.
•I didn’t let the phone interfere; I took a break after the first one was finished and I then listened to messages and returned calls.
•I quilted for an hour and then I worked for half an hour and repeated this until I was done.
This is a great way to accomplish projects of any kind. I like the ratio of 2 to 1. Do the fun things twice as long as the ‘have to’ things. This way I work harder, smarter and faster on the ‘have to do’ things so it all gets done anyway.
My friend Aby from Simplify101.com has generously donated her beautiful book on scrapbooking. She is the co-author of this book and has autographed it.
To get your name entered in the drawing leave an organization tip as a comment and say something like “I want to win, count me in on this free giveaway”. On Wednesday, June 11 we will have a drawing for the winner which will be live on video.
There are some other select prizes we will be drawing for also. We will then mail the prizes to the lucky winners. So, come on and have fun, leave a tip.
Another beautiful day at the quilt retreat. Organizing for women by women quilters giving us tips to help with time management and organizing small spaces.
Another beautiful day at the quilt retreat. Organizing for women by women quilters giving us tips to help with time management and organizing small spaces.
Another beautiful day at the quilt retreat. Organizing for women by women quilters giving us tips to help with time management and organizing small spaces.
You are in for a real treat. These women aren’t professional organizers, but they have great tips on how to organize for women using both fabric and notions.
I quilt, I am a quilter, I love quilting, and I love to quilt. Quilting has enriched my life in ways I never dreamed of. I have learned interesting facts about history because of quilts. I have made a ton of friends; and I have traveled because of quilting opportunities.
I know when I have my sewing room organized and I can find things fast it is much more fun to quilt and sew. It is so frustrating to have to hunt for things like my ruler, rotary cutter or scissors. So I have organized so I don’t have to hunt because it drives me crazy to waste my time. Here are three tips that work for me:
1.Have your sewing machine, ironing board, and cutting table arranged so they are easily accessible. Get a system going so you can take fewer steps between the cutting table, iron and sewing machine which will save you time.
2.Use baskets or other containers fabric and quilting stores store sell to store your tools in. Keep them close to where you will be using them.
3.Sort your fabrics by color and then organize within color group. Or organize by lights, medium, and darks within the same color. Clear plastic boxes/bins work well to hold and contain fabric.
By organizing your sewing room or sewing space in a way that your supplies and tools are easy to find and are convenient to use you’ll have more fun and more time to sew rather than spending your time hunting for what you need. It takes time to get everything like you want it but it will be worth it.
Happy sewing/happy quilting.
What have you done to make your sewing room a more efficient place to sew in? How has quilting enriched your life?
I just have to say I go all agog when I go to The Container Store. (We don’t have one here in Utah). I know, it’s sad but true. I use containers all the time in every room. Maybe I could go so far as to say I love containers. They are great to store things in, contain things in, make things get magically organized and stay that way.
Having said all of that here are two containers I suggest not buying:
This type of shoe rack—-
The reason is: the shoes just won’t stay on, I finally figured out by putting them on backwards they will stay. Even then they have to be placed gingerly on the rod for them to stay on. Everyone in my home finds that to be a bother. They just want to slap them down and be done. Don’t get me wrong—I like shoe racks of all kinds. I just found one in The Container Store catalog that holds 30 pair of shoes and fits on the back of a door. There are other over the door racks that hold fewer, there are free standing ones that work great as well as some that hang from the rod inside the closet.
Here is my other container I say not to waste your money on:
Now these look wonderful and you can sort and file by month, date and alphabetically but they are a pain. Why? Because they take two hands and the chin and shoulder to get anything in or out of them. Knowwhatimean? It is a waste of time to me and I don’t like wrestling my containers. If I need a wrestling fix I will turn on the T.V..
In the February/March 20089 issue of Shop Smart magazine they list four NOT SO HOT organizing tools that just add to the clutter.
1.Accordion files. (enough said)
2.Space bags. (I agree)
3.Cardboard Boxes. (not good in humid climates)
4.Plastic containers with rims (can take up valuable space)
5.There are a plethora of containers for all of our wants and needs. Buy what you need and what you like, don’t just buy to buy as then it becomes clutter rather than containers.
Do you have a container you would recommend NOT buying and why? We would love to hear from you.
I am happy to report I just finished machine quilting four table toppers. I am like you—I have a very busy life. I wanted to share my organizing tips and time management ideas on how I accomplished this. I had a time frame that needed to be met.
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I quilt, I am a quilter, I love quilting, and I love to quilt. Quilting has enriched my life in ways I never dreamed of. I have learned interesting facts about history because of quilts. I have made a ton of friends; and I have traveled because of quilting opportunities.
