Taking Inspiration Where I Can Get it

As if I don't have enough to do already, I decided to take a detour and do a little organizing/purging in the studio.

Late at night I try to play 'catch up' with some of my favorite blogs that I may not have time to read daily (or sometimes longer :( ). Anyway, I read with great interest that Lane was doing a bit of cleaning in his studio. He was talking an inspiring game about his pulling things out of the closet that he hasn't regularly used, which made me want to evaluate my pattern storage plans.

I subscribe to all of the quilt magazines, and while I hoard absolutely no other magazine, I just cant seem to let these go when I'm done with them. So I file them in the Ikea cardboard magazine holders, and when I've got a full shelf of holders, I transfer those to the guestroom hutch and start a new set of files on the studio bookcase. I just got smart about a year ago and now when I read these magazines I put a Post It flag on the pages with patterns I'm interested in. Makes it easier to put a hand on later in the year and reevaluate that selection.

Anyway....prior to becoming a magazine collector I picked up a lot of patterns at shows and in quilt shops, and I downloaded a ton of interesting ideas off the Internet, which I printed out. For years they've taken up an entire shelf of my bookcase, filed in plastic page protectors in 3-ring binders. Yeah, that's handy.

I bought myself a box of hanging file folders and a plastic bin to hold them and set to work filing those patterns in a more user-friendly manner, purging all of the patterns that have become 'what was I thinking when I printed that one out?. I ended up with more room on the book shelf for books, and there's even space for a basket that's holding my next quilt project. (It's a modern quilt, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to not drop everything and start on it.)

 

Not too shabby. Managed to cut some scraps from the project below into the scrap drawers this morning before I left for work, so now the cutting table is clean and tidy..

 

I was even motivated enough to hang my cool pin cushion shelf that I picked up at Ikea not too long ago.

 

 

Now they're all spread about on the various shelves in the studio and there's room for more. So we'll be on the prowl (not to mention we've got a few to make -- maniacal laughter).

 

Anyhow, not as major an undertaking as some would go for, but I do keep things pretty neat and well-organized, so the little purges when I've got a couple of free hours before or after work are the ones that work best for me.

 

Speaking of work....we're probably gonna flit (back) to one more project tomorrow.

 

These are my wonky patriotic table runners. The panel on the right is the top, the panel on the left is the back--it's just a 'scrapped' back from leftover fabrics from the two quilt tops. There are two runners hanging there...one for me, one for Jenifer. She was having second thoughts about taking one...said she could think of someone else whose year-round Americana decorating might better lend itself to this, but I pointed out that this is just a table runner that she can put out for a couple of weeks around Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day and then she can fold it up and put it in a drawer until next year. That gave her a new perspective on the matter, and she's back on board. I just need to sandwich and quilt and bind. Maybe tomorrow night.

I keep forgetting that when you're 29, you don't want your mom covering your house in quilted fabric, especially if your design aesthetic leans more toward modern/minimal. She's doing a pretty good job reining me in when I tend to suggest I make her a quilt for each season/holiday/room/occasion/because I have these fabrics that I think she'll just love (she usually doesn't)..

I'm okay with that, I'm a patient woman, and I know that once they have a child, all bets are off. I've got every print from the Goodnight Moon line of fabrics staged and ready for baby's first quilt..in fact, there's probably enough fabric there for two quilts. I told my incredulous husband, who wondered why I would buy fabric to make a quilt for a nonexistent grandchild, that this is what is considered 'speculation fabric'. This is why we have stash. When the time comes, I will be ready. :)