In the last post, I got halfway through describing some of the storage goodies in my studio… here’s some more stuff that lives on the big bookshelf:

Machine needles and spare blades live in their own little sectioned box, something I found at the hardware store. Always check the hardware store for storage options for small things – chances are you’ll get more choices for a cheaper price. I keep a good stash of spares on hand so I don’t need to run to the store mid project (or after hours).

On the center of the shelf in the above image is a sectioned plastic thingy that I got from a Tupperware clearance sale years ago. It used to live on my cutting table and hold my cutters, but now it’s over here filled with scissors, pliers, screw drivers, machine oil, etc. The wire rack on the left once held shampoo and bath goodies, but now holds all the little bits of paper that are reference materials I use often, along with my calculator. Pens and brushes go in mugs – I would guess that most of the pretty mugs in my world are holding pens! And on the left, underneath snacks and tissues is my binding box, which holds the scraps of all the binding I make. I frequently can collage these together into a fun scrappy binding so they are worth holding on to. The shelf below hold containers of pins, clips, thumbtacks, etc., along with my favorite tea.

And next to all of that is the fabric! I used to store my fabric in filing boxes (I know, the horror of all the acid of paper pulp next to my fabric!) but a job bonus a few years back allowed me to tool up with these “drawer in a box” units. I like how I can just pull a drawer out and not collapse my stacks, or have to move 5 boxes on top to get to the bottom one. Because what you need is ALWAYS in the bottom one.

The drawers are sorted by families (batik, modern, etc) and further by color family for the most part, with a few of them serving hybrid duty as needed. One drawer is all notions like ribbon and zippers. Another is full of patterns. I label each with an index card slipped in front of the first piece of fabric. More on my affinity for index cards in a later post…

On top of this row of drawers is another piece of cheapy particle board that I used to level off the top surface to make it more usable. The stuff I need quick or easy access to lives up here… current projects, radio, box of sewing machine feet (this is right behind me as I sew so all I have to do is swivel to get to it), and so on – including things that just don’t fit anywhere else like my old overhead projector. It’s also a catch-all for anything that has not yet been put away, so if there is going to be a mess explosion, it starts here.

And speaking of mess explosions… this is where the big stuff gets stored – all on a rolling rack. Crates of stuff for shows. Bolts of various stabilizers. Old pillow forms. Boxes of fine art that I don’t want out in the garage in case they get damp. A gumball machine(!). A few art garments. Quilts ready for layering and quilting. Batting up on top. The cases and covers for tripods and sewing tables. And anything else that fits… Like the last drawer in the kitchen that has all the odds and ends in it, this is final shuffling place for large scale mess in the studio. I really need to have a go at this and sort it out a bit!