I’m busy making my main studio space more usable… check out my progress AND enter my giveaway!
I give you a BEFORE tour
My main studio space is where I work all the time. It has my projects in progress, machines, computer, and most of my fabric.
About 3pm I started pulling all the projects out of my studio space to resort them and put them into better size container and more effective & productive spots for my use. I did a video for you
For the post part I’m not doing fabric, just projects.
That includes all the different products I review or test. PLUS I had some UFOs in my main space that were not being worked on and taking up valuable work space. They needed to be moved.
Taking it out is EASY.
Deciding how to regroup and where in my studio should it now be, is more difficult. I started when I got up.
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For our family business we work at home, so our whole small home has become our office.
We have no basement and no usable attic. So my business takes up 4 rooms in our home.
- My studio is my main work room and what you see all the time. It is the family room of our home, it’s what in the videos with my beautiful Koala Furniture and my Baby lock machines
- The shipping department has one room as his office.
- We have 1 other rooms for quilts, batting, notions, projects not being working on, other fabric, books, etc.
- AND the ‘over flow’ room right now is our dining room as it can’t all fit in the one room upstairs. The photo above is one wall in my dining room. On the wall is my village quilt (BUY the pattern here), and the blocks are from my Triangle book (HERE)
In my studio I keep JUST what I’m working on and my main fabric. On that video I talk about it being messy. It is ‘messy’ in that projects were not in optimum work places, split across areas, and things got put in spots that took up valuable space in my small room
Now for a few photos of my ‘after’
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Keeping it organized keeps my sanity 
Hope you enjoy watching as I make progress!
If you are new here, welcome! I run a lot of fun projects
These are my 2 latest FREE sew alongs, join me!
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1,818 Responses
Loved the video and I did not think it was messy at all. My biggest problem is that I cannot throw away anything. I always think I’m going to do something with them but I don’t. Once I took some skinny triangular pieces of fabric and rolled them into beads. It was such a mess. I still have those beads somewhere because I can’t throw them away but really…what am I going to do with them?
I have a problem with putting things away where they belong. Then the next time I need it, I spend hours looking for it. And when I do get things reorganized, I don’t label the drawers or totes and find myself having to go through all of them to find the needed item.
Trying to keep projects together, while keeping stash fabric in an orderly fashion, so I can find it easily. I like to have order when I start so things are where I know they should be. Getting there, but it is easier said than done.
I broke my wrist in 2013 and while I was recovering my son helped me organize ALL of my UFOs into plastic shoe boxes. My biggest problem is being intimidated by the size of the stacks! I also don’t know which ones are in what state. It’s time to update the list … but it’s scary.
Not having enough shelving. I finally got some bins for works in progress but I don’t have enough shelves to put them all.
My biggest problem is too many projects and not enough time!
I would love a new Olisio iron. I have seen them in many videos and they look like they would be very handy.
My threads. I have roughly 210-220 embroidery thread spools and around 65-70 spools of quilting thread. Then there are just my sewing threads that are about 20. I’m the worst at pulling them from their storage box for a project, and then throwing them in a large basket when the project is done. Then I’ll want to start a new project and have to go searching around for embroidery threads that were not put back in their box. I waste more time looking for colors sometimes than I use time to do the project. The worst thing is, I bought clear plastic storage boxes to sort the threads, mark each box with the color in it and bought a wire rack (like used in a garage) to store all of them on.
My biggest problem is using the space I have the most efficient way possible.
My biggest organizational issue is having too many UFO’s out at one time. I love starting new projects and lose interest when I hit a snag or see those special pieces of fabric just waiting to be put together so I can see the design they will make.
My biggest problem is not having a better sewing table where my machine can sit down and the surface is level. It makes it very difficult to quilt my quilts on my home machine.
I tend to forget about things I can’t see.
We just moved in with our daughter her husband and 2 adult children and two boys 11 and 12. We are in a new home and my husband and I reside on the second floor. I am struggling with a way to organize all of the quilting tools, rulers, etc. I don’t have very much walls space as I have three very nice cupboards that are taking up much of the space. I do have a nice kangaroo cabinet with the added joey cabinet and need to make better use of that space.
My biggest organization problem are fabrics other than cottons for quilts. I use the plastic bags that zipper close for my left over steam a seam 2.
My biggest problem is too many started projects, and too little space!
Don’t hate me. I was born organized. No big organizational problems. Just not enough space….
Just trying to find a better way to store fabric, templates and small tools.
My biggest problem is being in a creative fury and destroying my entire sewing room in the process. We as well have a very small house and my room is the spare bedroom which is tiny causing it to become disastrous in a flash. So ultimately I try to quick clean which results in me not putting things back where they go or worse changing my mind in how things were previously stored. So really space is my challenge I have very little room and not enough functional storage options for my many half done projects!
My biggest problem is ufos. I start lot’s of projects because I like so many things. Before I get it finished I get distracted by another project or class. When I go to organize, I find all these projects and think I will get them finished so I never get rid of anything.
Biggest problem? Too much stuff. Too many ideas working, no good way to keep them together. Fabric in bins in the garage, bins and piles in the living room, bins in the front bedroom, and quilts stacked in the various rooms. At least the teaching materials are mostly in the same closet. I’m still a few yards away from being on Hoarders.
Biggest organizational problem is keeping all my quilt projects at a manageable number and then deciding which project to work on next.
Trying to figure out how to organize my fabric…
My biggest problem is…remembering the previous sewing room and trying to do the same projects but with 50% less space.
My biggest problem is trying to fit crafts, die cutting supplies, and quilting fabrics and all that goes with that , into one room. And I hate to part with anything. How many others have this problem? HELP!! Ha ha!
Looking forward to seeing the finished room!
My biggest problem is probably fabric organization. I have boxes of stuff that I acquired and “put away” years ago. I have more recent fabrics that have been organized for designated projects. I have stuff that I put away just to get it out of sight and I have stuff that I have pulled from the stash with specific projects in mind and because I am always working on multiple projects at the same time, my work space becomes a mess really quickly.
Scraps, scraps and more scraps. I can’t throw them away. Try to organize according to size (1″ plus) and then there is color. /sigh I love scrappy quilts.
Pat, i love the way your mind works. You are awesome..
I have too much fabric stash, and not enough space to put it in.
My biggest problem is remembering what is in the bottom of each basket even though I try and keep them organized by project type or color
Taking on new projects while having so many info’s piled up in bags and boxes really cuts into my workspace. I need to organize the info’s and work to complete them.
My biggest problem is finding the pattern I want. I have to many patterns. Not enough notebooks to keep them all in.
Sorting and organizytge still usable bits. I have tried bind for strips and squares but struggle when i get busy !! Yikes
Space!!!!! Need to reorganize by donating that which I will never use (what was I thinking when I purchased that yardage) so I will have more space.
My biggest problem is not enough room.
I just finished remodeling and painting my sewing room. It turned out lovely. I sorted it by craft. Sorting my scrap fabric has always seemed to be a problem.
My biggest problem is cleaning up after one project before I start another one. All in all I’m fairly organized, but I tend to leave a pile of scraps laying around before getting out all my materials for a new project. I don’t have enough sewing space to do that!
Not enough space or shelves in my small room
Biggest problem is space coupled with the fact I may not finish a project before I get excited over a new one and which leads to UFO’s taking up needed space.
I have done very little quilting myself, but I want to do more. My Grandmother was an avid quilter and she lived in a trailer. I know I have more room than she did, but I want to adopt her way of keeping things organized; one project at a time. I have completed one king size quilt. I now have two projects going; a table runner and a lap size quilt. I don’t have oodles of fabric or quilting tools. My daughter moved out recently, and I plan to use her old room as my sewing/crafting room. So, I will have your help to plan out and organize this space. Thanks for all you do for the quilters.
My biggest problem is too many projects in process at one time.
My biggest organizational issue is too many none sewing things in my sewing room. There are 3 roll away beds and a dresser (which I am using so I guess that’s not so bad). I would like to be able to have all of my sewing bins in the same room and have more room for storing my sewing stuff.
My sewing room is my living room. Including my long arm and all fabric storage, Did I say my daughter is a dancer and would like room to dance
I don’t have a dedicated room for quilting. I have a desk I use for cutting and sewing in my home. I have a table and ironing area in the garage with space on a wall for design. Also storage bins and a cabinet for tools and fabric.😃 I make do.
My biggest problem is all the scraps people have given me. Or maybe it’s just me that’s the problem. It’s hard to part with them.
My biggest organizational problem is sewing at the table where we eat, because that room has the best light, and having to move my sewing supplies around when we eat.
I’m new to quilting so am currently using an old dresser to store my materials. It works for fat quarters but the larger amounts of materials are stacked so I have to go through the piles to see what I have. I have space to expand in my sewing room so I’ll keep chatting with others to figure out what works best for me. My Mum has an old CD stand that twirls so she has organized her material by color and she just spins it to find what she needs. I’ve been looking for one but can’t find one. Will keep looking!
My biggest prois stroring Fabrics I just had to reclaim the linen closet because in my sewing room there is a lot of sunlight and my fabrics were getting ruined. Just finished doing that, still a little more to do.
Fabric organizing. Cannot find what I am looking for
My biggest organization problem is keeping my room uncluttered so I have space to work. It’s a real mess right now and will take a week to clean and put in order. I’m not sewing up there now and am on my dining room table instead.