Thursday, June 11, 2009

Hi-tech storage solutions

The other day, I took some time to catch up on my Jane Stickle organization. I know I'm curious how people keep themselves organized (particularly on projects like this-- BIG!), so I thought I'd share what I do.

making mess to get clean
I have this habit of just stacking all my blocks in a pile once they're finished. Then, when I have a few (or a couple months worth, as in this case) I start organizing. This is me finally sitting down to get everything going. I keep a scrapbook for my Jane Stickle quilt, and have a page for each block. On each page, I have a picture of the completed block, the name/number of the block, the date completed, the number of pieces, notes—all the things which I also post here on my blog. In addition, I paste swatches of the fabrics used onto each page (thus all the fabric mess you see here).

my scrapbook
This is my binder/scrapbook. I insert each journal page into a sheet protector and then keep them in here. They're in order of date completed. The downside to this is when I attempt to actually try and find a specific block. So I may at some point just put them in order by block number. And someday, I hope to actually decorate the outside of my binder!

labeled blocks
Also part of this process is labeling the blocks. I write the block number on a small piece of freezer paper and iron it to the bottom right corner of the block.

Once those steps are complete, I then utilize my high-tech storage device:

block storage
Yes. A ziploc baggie. Which is now getting rather full. I'll probably need to start another.

triangle folder
Because I worry about my triangles distorting, I try really hard to keep them flat (which would be tough in a baggie). So with those, I use file folders. When I get enough, I'll probably separate them into four folders: top row, bottom row, left side, and right side. But for now, they're all in one folder.

In other Stickle news, I've been doing well at setting aside some time to work on them each night. I've completed one and have two more all prepped and ready to stitch. Yay, progress!

5 comments:

  1. Oh my. You are quite organized. I can never invite you over to my sewing closet. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great system :) I just keep mine in a binder organized by row. But I like how you are making it like scrapbooking.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm so glad you posted about this. I have my first two blocks done (finally!) and so it had just occured to me that I needed a way to store them so that they would stay organized and not distort. I even e-mailed Anina at That Quilt a few days ago to see how she stores hers! I love your method, but I know myself and I wouldn't be able to keep it up. I think I might steal your idea of labeling with freezer paper, though! Thanks for sharing.

    Kathy in CA

    ReplyDelete
  4. great idea. Aren't baggie a great invention? I use them all the time for my quitly stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  5. LOL! I am so glad that I'm not the ONLY one that has such high tech ideas ... ;)

    ReplyDelete