My OCD Is Kicking In....

Confronted with the overwhelming amount of projects that I have to do and have planned.... I came up with a great stash-organizing method. When new stash is acquired for a specific project, it goes into a 2-gallon ZipLoc bag. Everything goes in that bag (with exception of batting).... all precuts, yardage, notions, and pattern. That way, when I'm ready to start a new project, all I have to do is grab one of the bags. Cool huh?

Well.... I really hate to admit this, but my stash acquisition has been faster than I can keep up with it, resulting in a huge plastic basket FULL of stuff! All is earmarked for specific projects, but I haven't had a chance to sort thru all of it and get it put away.

The other hurdle I've encountered with my little system is that, for some patterns, it's not logical to put the pattern in the bag with the materials because it's in a magazine. I've got two BLOCK magazines that I'm planning on making more than one quilt out of, and I don't want to put the magazine in one and forget about the other. And I'm NOT ripping pages out :(

So.... I did a little searching online and found these really neat printable sheets to help keep your projects organized.

From Pixels to Patchwork

The OCD part of me is screaming YES! YES! YES!!! Totally going to be getting these together for all my planned projects and it'll hopefully keep me sane with all these projects I have to get done by Christmas!!

Just thought I'd share :D

I have my projects in the ziplock bags as you described. For those in my books or magazines, I just made a copy for my project. You can copy something for yourself, just cant copy and sell. I love this system. I am at my limit for the moment unless I see a pattern and already have fabric to hanl
Dle it.

I have used zippies for project bags for a few years now. They are perfect to organize with. I download a picture if the project is in a book or mag I don't want to forget about and a reference to where the book or mag is.

Way too organized for me! But it looks great.... I do use plastic bags for some things, though...such as bunches of 4 patches ready for a project, or blocks ready to go... I just don't put everything in the bags.... And I never write anything down.... My stash is not large, so it's pretty easy to keep track of most things....though I have to admit that I al always looking for something.... Right now, I've lost a foot for my new machine....it's got to be somewhere in that room.... Right?

Love those sheets. I too recently made quit kits out of all my stuff. They have these great "project bags" at the dollar store in the closet organization section- not the food ziplock section. I have all the material in each bag and a pattern if applicable. What I might do is keep these sheets in a binder and number each project along with the corresponding bag. This way I can easy see what other materials or notions I might need for specific projects without ripping out each bag.

Good luck.

Your organization idea sounds great! You sew so fast that I'm sure you will catch up with your stash soon.... or not LOL

Thanks for the link. I keep my fabric and precuts a 2 gal ziplock bag that is labeled with the project name. But I have a three-ring notebook that I keep all of the information in. It has dividers for ideas, fabric (no project but love & picked up the fabric), quilts to make, quilts in progress, waiting to be quilted, to be finished, finished quilts. All of my notes are kept on the pages so I can look back if I need to. I also keep a master list of the projects that I have done. The one thing that I have done is take pictures of each quilt/project that I have done but have yet to get those printed and put in the notebook.

This has been a huge help for days when I'm wanting to quilt but not sure what I want to do or needs to be done. As well as keeping track of where each project is. For large quilts, I send them out to be quilted but can not always afford to get them all done at once. So this helps keep track of which one I want to send out next.

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Originally Posted by Marebear

Your organization idea sounds great! You sew so fast that I'm sure you will catch up with your stash soon.... or not LOL

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Bwahahaha!! I don't think I will EVER catch up with the stash!! As it's going right now, for every one project I finish.... I add three more to the list! That basket I have is going to be completely overflowing after my order from here today comes in!! Lol

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Originally Posted by KnitWitRosie

Bwahahaha!! I don't think I will EVER catch up with the stash!! As it's going right now, for every one project I finish.... I add three more to the list! That basket I have is going to be completely overflowing after my order from here today comes in!! Lol

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Yup, I hear you! It's too bad it's so difficult to make a living from crafts :)

I admire people who can be organized. I prefer the rifling through piles of stash for just the right color and then changing in the middle of that search to a totally different pattern. I'm sure there is a term for that too. lol

I guess I'm a neat freak............I use plastic bins, everything is in color order, material that I've chosen for specific quilts are bagged, tagged and cc's of pattern with it. The "grab and go" quilt ideas have their own storage cabinet. Working on the design wall, that was a conundrum where to put it (?), then turned to answer a question by DH and realized my door was like WAVING at me, yeah, work's like a champ! Refrigerator box lined with felt, and tacked up and expandable, zippo bucks as I already had that............and removable to boot. All my notions are in an old physicians cabinet. Next is the ironing table next to machine, and a solid wood doors to elongate my work space behind and beside where I sew (more plastic bins and wood goodies for my DH to build! Nothing like zipping around in my chair to wherever or whatever I need!

Thank you, I love those printables!!!!! But I can't edit them - can you? I wanted to erase the "Project Title", so I could put my name on the sheet. Oh well... I know I will never get "caught up" - my dilemma is who do I 'will' all of my stuff to???! My daughters and DIL are not sewers - and I just don't understand how this can be.... But hopefully these papers will help me accomplish much more; am looking forward to it! Thanks again for sharing. :D

I also use the two gallon bags to keep all related pieces together. I refuse to admit how many of those bags I have on the grounds it might tend to incriminate me!

I will have to check out the printables, when I have a printer!

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Originally Posted by TamiLee

Thank you, I love those printables!!!!! But I can't edit them - can you? I wanted to erase the "Project Title", so I could put my name on the sheet. Oh well... I know I will never get "caught up" - my dilemma is who do I 'will' all of my stuff to???! My daughters and DIL are not sewers - and I just don't understand how this can be.... But hopefully these papers will help me accomplish much more; am looking forward to it! Thanks again for sharing. :D

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I had no problem with either the pdf or the Word document. You have to have Office on your computer in order to open the Word document, but the pdf is an editable file too. Just click on the blue highlighted boxes and you should be able to type in your own.

Hope that helps....

Rosie, thanks for the link. I never dreamed there was anything that good out there.

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Originally Posted by KnitWitRosie

I had no problem with either the pdf or the Word document. You have to have Office on your computer in order to open the Word document, but the pdf is an editable file too. Just click on the blue highlighted boxes and you should be able to type in your own.

Hope that helps....

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The problem was that I hadn't "saved" it first, then gone in to change it and print.
Thanks again, so much!!

So... yea.... I just created a sheet for each one of my projects on my list that I have supplies for and are ready to start. Wanna guess how many items are on that list???????

36!!!!

Holy Moses am I going to be busy!! About half of those are Christmas presents!!