I want to see your stash storage!!

[shell.scraps]

I am looking for ideas on how to get my stuff in order....I have yardages, fat quarters, charm packs, layer cakes, jelly rolls, turnovers.....oh what a beautiful mess!! I just need to figure out how to get it all put away so that I can go through it easy and see what I have....

so let me see those photos....I want to see all your beautiful messes!!

[toggpine]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

Wow Shell!

It looks like you may have found the one thing we aren't willing to divulge! I will get some pics for you tomorrow morning when I actually have some good photo light in here. BUT.... You have to promise to not send the mental health people out to pick me up if I share.

[sewhot]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

hahaha, yikes.....are you sure you really wanna see that!??!

Oh heck, I'd like to see it too. Come on ladies.....pictures please!!

[shell.scraps]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

Wow Shell!

It looks like you may have found the one thing we aren't willing to divulge! I will get some pics for you tomorrow morning when I actually have some good photo light in here. BUT.... You have to promise to not send the mental health people out to pick me up if I share.

if you're willing to share pics I"m willing to forego the call to the men with the nice white coats that tie in the back...

[toggpine]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

OK, here it goes. I think this could also double as an entry for the most messy sewing room too. I took the first ones this last spring when I still had grand plans for remodeling this space over the summer. I do have to say that I made some serious progress in getting through some of the projects. The photo of the wire bins I took this morning is after I have cleaned out and used up a bunch of the fleece that took up the corner. I no longer have to turn sideways to get through the room.
[attachment=4:22qaxghp]IMG_4920.JPG[/attachment:22qaxghp]This space is also our computer/office space and leftover storage for the odds and ends from when we moved in.
[attachment=3:22qaxghp]IMG_4925.JPG[/attachment:22qaxghp]The cutting table is a great place to store stuff under, but if I had shelves on the wall I could get a bunch of this put away properly.
[attachment=2:22qaxghp]IMG_4923.JPG[/attachment:22qaxghp]Yes, that is a TV tray my serger sits on. I have high hopes for having a real counter top in here one day.
[attachment=1:22qaxghp]IMG_5452.JPG[/attachment:22qaxghp]I got these bins at Ikea. They are perfect for yardage and projects in the works. Please notice that I have managed to clear out enough stuff to actually see these bins! Progress is being made daily on this.
[attachment=0:22qaxghp]IMG_5453.JPG[/attachment:22qaxghp]These plastic snap top bins fit a fat quarter perfectly. I have one for each of the major color groups and I am looking for a shelf the right depth to hold them and get them up off of the floor. Those mean I don't have to dig through all of the fabric for the little pieces of color. I have a bin for big scraps, one for ribbons & trims, and a paper bag for collecting selvedges.
I hope to have this space redone before too long, but I said that in May too! :roll:

[ginampls]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

Here is my stash. i am new to this so i don't have a large collection of fabric, but i am learning to collect.
perhaps next week i shall organize it.

having a great time, Gina from Mpls[attachment=0:346lf4qe]100_0680.jpg[/attachment:346lf4qe][attachment=1:346lf4qe]100_0679.jpg[/attachment:346lf4qe][attachment=2:346lf4qe]100_0675.jpg[/attachment:346lf4qe][attachment=3:346lf4qe]100_0674.jpg[/attachment:346lf4qe]

[toggpine]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

Hey Gina!
I'll switch! I'll come to your place and organize your stash if you come and handle mine!

Shell,
I found that Ikea has a lot of great organizational boxes, trays, etc at a great price. I bought the fat quarter boxes at Walmart for cheap. The will fit on a 12 to 13" shelf, if I ever get one! I like the spool rack and IF I ever get a counter with a cabinet under it, i am thinking about mounting the thread spools on the inside of the doors to protect the thread from light and dust.

I think the key to the whole thing is to start out with a plan when your stash is small, and then you will be OK. This place currently has no plan, and it looks like it.
I can usually get one big re-do project in a year while my husband is away on the semi-annual guy trips (Skiing & mountain biking). He didn't go skiing this spring and I was judging at the State Fair this fall during the bike trip. So there goes the sewing room re-do! Ugh.
He HATES painting and re-decorating, so I try to do it while he is out. If I do it during the week, he feels guilty about not helping, and wants to get in & help "Git 'er Done!" Then I can never find anything after it was put it away with non-quilter logic. Besides. I don't think he wants/needs to know how much fabric is really stored in here. :shock:

I know Gina's & my sewing room can't be the the only ones out there. So 'fess up ladies!

[quiltingtrish]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

Sure am enjoying the photos you have posted. I haven't figured out the photo part yet but I can tell you what I use to organize my stash.

Any fabric that is a fat quarter I have separated into categories like seasons (holidays and time of year), kids, and fat quarter packs that I bought together. These are in desk drawers in an old metal desk. The others go in a color category. These are in a very large under the bed storage box so it's the perfect height for them. It's easy to see what I have since they are standing up.

Anything that is larger than a fat quarter gets folded and put in a very large old metal cabinet from a garage. I lined the shelves with shelf paper to make it a little more prettier when I open the doors. It has two huge doors on it so they open out wide. These are put away in color categories and I can see what I want without too much rumaging. The bottom of the cabinet holds a large basket that has my fleece and flannels in.
I bought a double sized gun cabinet at an auction for $1.00 that my husband will put in shelves for me for the materials now in the old metal cabinet. The front of the gun cabinet is all glass so I can't wait for the shelves so I can see my material peeking out at me. I've had the cabinet for 2 years and the shelves are still awaiting so I think I'll ask for that for Christmas since we already have the wood for the project.

I love those wire baskets that lots of people have but since I don't have the money for those, I just looked around the house to see what I already had that I could use. I even check out the Salvation Army and Goodwill now and then to see what goodies they might have. I picked up a large 3 drawer storage unit at Goodwill that sold for $10. and have my cross-stitch projects in there.

Can't wait to see more ideas popping up here.

Hugs,
Quilting Trish

[emilyjp]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

Ok - now I don't feel so bad about my sewing area! It's so full of fabric, yarn, paper... that I have pulled my sewing machine into another room in the house! I'll try to get pictures up. I was inspired by these PDF downloads for fabric wraps http://justsomethingimade.blogspot.c...-remnants.html

I printed out a bunch and had a great time wrapping up my pieces - anything bigger than a fat quarter. The smaller pieces I put into shoe box sized clear plastic containers with lids I got at Dollar Tree.

I will post pictures sooner or later if I can figure out how...


Emily

[ginampls]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

wow hey i could try that too. since my stash is new i could do that. okay i'll work on it then picture my tidy area.. hah ha.

[jrchapman]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

We moved house recently so I was going to wait until we were organised to post here but it looks like that isn't going to happen for a while so you can see all my storage in it's beautiful messy glory.

Start with the sewing/computer room. It's the one room in the house we haven't unpacked yet so it's an utter tip.

[attachment=3:1x54gyc8]box room.jpg[/attachment:1x54gyc8]
This is where all our fabric is stored. There's quilting, dressmaking, knitting and all sorts in there. The boxes used to slide into a purpose built wardrobe in our old house but when we moved we thought it would be easier to just carry everything in the boxes and replace them with empty ones. Now we have to find something to do with them.

[attachment=1:1x54gyc8]fabric storage.jpg[/attachment:1x54gyc8]
Projects on the go are spread around the house. These two quilts are ready to be quilted or ready to start quilting and are cluttering up the living room.

[attachment=0:1x54gyc8]living room.jpg[/attachment:1x54gyc8]
I have 2 quilts to make for christmas and 3 other quilts planned. The fabrics for these are in another box which gets carried around the house with me so I can get motivated by the heap of stuff I have to do. At the moment it's in the dining room where I'm actually getting something done at the moment. As much as it annoys mum because we have to move everything to have dinner.

[attachment=2:1x54gyc8]dining room.jpg[/attachment:1x54gyc8]
So there we go, my quilting has officially taken over the house.

[emailjeanie]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

Still trying to figure out the storage thing. Got several bins and bags, as well as rolls of Home decor stuff hanging around. Looks like a sewing store threw up in my bedroom window corner. Here's a pic from my everyday blog... my sewing area... the sanitized version:

http://lowdownfromlois.blogspot.com/...lled-home.html
I don't think it will ever be that neat and clean again. Enjoy it now while you see it. LOL!

A closeup shot that gives you an idea of all the stuff.... somewhat unsanitized
http://www.loiscreates.com/2009/10/m...isappears.html

I tend to operate under the "if I don't see it, it doesn't exist" philosophy. Scraps go into a recycled vinyl blanket bag. Projects in progress get bagged in ziplock bags -- that way stuff doesn't wander... Embroidery blanks go in a big bin, Fat quarters in a small bin on top of my sewing desk, and fabric yardage stuffed into several large bins. Large rolls of home decor stuff stand up against an armoire.

I also sew while on the road in our RV... I store stuff in a huge plastic bin and my notions in a sewing basket/box thingy. I keep that under the dinette table in the back of our airstream. I discovered another scrap bag in the RV... gotta bring that home and get it all together...

[so-many-dogs]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

Okay, I've got to show my husband these photos. He thinks I have more than enough fabric and that I am not very organized. Silly Man! What does he expect? I will never have enough fabric and organizing just kills my creativity. Anyway, I love your sewing areas. They look so familiar and comforting with lots of fabric,thread and goodies.

[QuiltingBug]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

I find I'm more creative when I'm organized. That being said, I find myself with a mess at the end of each project. But here are my pictures...
[attachment=4:1i5vxryr]Sewing room 1.jpg[/attachment:1i5vxryr]
[attachment=3:1i5vxryr]Sewing room 2.jpg[/attachment:1i5vxryr]
[attachment=2:1i5vxryr]Sewing room 3.jpg[/attachment:1i5vxryr]
[attachment=1:1i5vxryr]Sewing room 6.jpg[/attachment:1i5vxryr]
[attachment=0:1i5vxryr]Sewing room 7.jpg[/attachment:1i5vxryr]

So there it is...

[shell.scraps]

Re: I want to see your stash storage!!

WOW you guys...I am impressed with all the stashes.....oh and the storage isn't bad either!!...I am still piling mine up in the corner...no organizing in sight...but maybe that will encourage me to get some sewing done rather than stockpiling it?...okay proabablynot!!