When I first started quilting I would buy any book that appealed to me and I collected many over the years. Even after getting rid of some yearly I still had a lot. Well when we made our last move across the country I decided it was time to get rid of more than just a few. So I got rid of many by listing over 150 books on Amazon. I sold many and then I gave the rest to my guild. If they already had them I am sure they gave them to members that wanted them. I would rather give them away than sell them for a dollar. Just doesn’t seem right.

I kept books that still interested me or if it had a technique I would want to delve into at a future date. I kept a couple of the block books as they are always a quick reference but with EQ and Blockbase it is just as easy to find them on the computer.

Now we have moved back across the country and I just set the books into the shelves because it would be one of the last things I would organize in my sewing room. I am also going to show you photos of the 2 bookshelves I am left with and how many more books I will manage to get rid of  before all is said and done.

 For example some technique books, once you do them you already have the knowledge so why not pass that book on and make room for a new book in the future.

Also if a book is older but not a collectors edition I will tend to get rid of it especially if it is geared toward beginning quilters.

My books in my sewing room consist of books with general categories of  quilting and knitting.  Under the quilting category I have books that cover everything from Applique to How-to books to Quilting. I also have collector series quilting books. Under the knitting catergory they cover how-to books, colorwork, patterns etc.

Now before I start organinzing I have to think about how would I look for a book when I need to find a particular topic or even a particular book by name or Author.

Finding a particular book comes in handy when you want to make sure you don’t already own it. Ask me how I know!!

Usually when I want inspiration I either look around the interenet or I pull out some books. I may feel like finding a book about a specific technique but I can’t remember the name of it or the author. Once I have them organized I can just go to the technique books I have grouped together and look for it there. This is much easier than trying to remember the name or author. Also by having them in groups I don’t have to look at every book to find the one I am looking for.

Here are the ways I group my books to make it easier to find one:

• Applique techniques and inspiration by hand or machine. This usually is an entire shelf for me.
• Block books: on how to make a particular block or even what it looks like. I also use EQ or Blockbase for this so I don’t need more than a couple of these.
• Technique or how-to books that teach how to use particular tools, how to do particular techniques such as binding or make new technique projects such as Stack and whack, Inchie Quilts etc.
• Color, books about color and how it applies to quilting
• Threadplay books on how to make thread quilts or add dimension to an existing project.
• Quilting either on a domestic or longarm machine.
• Collector or series books like the Rodale series I collected about 12 years ago and can’t seem to part with.
• General books that cover everything else such as just a book of patterns.

Now bearing all this in mind it is time to organize. I will separate my books into groups. Applique, block books, color, techniques, threadplay, quilting, collector and then general. Once I have all these groups done I will then put them aphabetically by book name. I find that to be easier than by author. If I have a group of books that have all hand work versus machine work I don’t separate them unless it is the Machine versus hand quilting group.

Now as you notice I have two bookshelves, they also serve to help me organize even further. One cabinet holds all the General and Collector Books and the other cabinet holds all the speciallty books.

Photos of my shelves as they are after Organizing

I will get these added after I get them organized

Click on the photo to see a much larger version.

Wouldn’t this be a wonderful room to sew in? All that natural light and the views out the windows so you can watch nature. What you don’t see of course is the fabric and that’s because they would be stored in wall cabinets on the other side of the room.

Of course my sewing room looks nothing like this. I have finally go everything where I want it and now it will have a longarm in it. So yes we must make room for that. Come along on my journey as I share tips and photos on how to get and stay organized.

Organizing can be fun!!

Today I saw a link to look at Eleanor Burns new studio area. They show the before and after photos which I truly enjoy.
Here is the link to see the photos, Eleanor Burns Studio

When I clicked on the “before” photo I was so surprised, I couldn’t believe how her studio looked so plain and generic from what I thought her before photo would look like. I really expected her old sewing studio would be more glamorous. It wasn’t unclean or horribly cluttered, it actually looked like most of our sewing areas. Now with that being said most of us can’t afford to run out and buy new cabinetry but it was still nice to see what she liked.

I personally only like white furniture in my sewing room, when you have a small space it seems to not make the room feel even more crowded. It also in my eye doesn’t conflict with what I am working on.
The one benefit to what she has is that everything is put away behind a door or organized nicely on a shelf.

I hope you enjoy looking at her and Nancy Zieman’s studios.

Here is another link at Cloth Paper Scissors to photos of other studios. I really enjoy this one as the submissions are from everyday folks from many crafty areas.

Sewing Room 2007-2008

As you can see I changed the colors from Blue to Green and Lavender. I also added cubicals as they allow flexibility for height. I can line them up against the walls or I can stack them. My original bookcase was taller and large so I had less flexibility.
I had put a shortarm quilting machine in their and have since sold that. I just found it too limiting. I did manage to quilt a couple of quilts on it though.
This color scheme didn’t last long as you will see in future sewing room gallery photos.