This is my sixth year joining in the Spring Clean and usually I show off something that I needed to sort out, along with lots of organizational tips. If you plan to use some of your safe shelter time doing a little spring cleaning, check out the prior years posts (go here for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019) as I cover organizing lots of different stuff!

And so to this year! This is how my studio looked last time I showed it to you – take note of the fabric storage drawers on the left:

I’ve had those drawers for about 20 years! They’ve made a couple of cross country moves with me, and have lived in SIX different studios. I like them, but the bottom drawers have always been really hard to pull out because of the weight of the units on top. So last October I decided to change it up for something where the bottom drawer would be easily accessible, and I bought this system from IKEA:

As it happens, the fabric moved from one system to the other pretty much one drawer to one drawer. However, the old drawers were taller, and thus the fabric was sticking up in the new baskets. This made it catch on the basket above, and made pulling the drawers out hard. Again! SHEESH.

So I decided to take each drawer and refold the contents, and also do a cull while I was at it. In my studio, have a rule that if I have more fabric than I do space, I let go of fabric – I don’t add more drawers or baskets! I find that well organized fabric generally needs less space, so I also did a bit of color organizing too.

This was the end result in the ORANGE drawers:

And now all the drawers are moving freely!

This is what the wall looks like now, and yes, I culled out all the fabric on top of the drawers. I’m selling it in my shop at de-stash prices of $5-$6 a yard – over 60 bundles so take a peek!

Here’s the entire studio with the new storage after the spring clean – I love how much lighter it feels! It will feel even better once I have all the fabric on top sent to new homes!

Please follow the rest of the blog hop here:

April 1 – Sam Hunter – https://huntersdesignstudio.com/blog   <<<—- YOU ARE HERE!
April 2 – Marian Pena – http://www.seamstobesew.com
April 3 – Jennifer Fulton – http://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions
April 4 – Martha Wolf – http://Www.pinwheelprodns.com
April 5 – Jennifer Strauser – http://www.dizzyquilter.com
April 6 – Steph Carton – http://www.theelimonster.com/blog
April 7 – Simone Fisher – http://www.simonequilts.com/blog
April 8 – Kate Colleran – http://www.seamslikeadream.com
April 9 – Carlina Moore – http://www.alwaysexpectmoore.com
April 10 – Jen Frost – http://www.faithandfabricdesign.com/blog
April 11 – Leanne Parsons – http://www.devotedquilter.com
April 12 – Becca Fenstermaker – http://www.prettypiney.com/blog
April 13 – Sarah Myers – http://www.quilted-diary.com
April 14 – Mitzi Redd – http://www.reddhomestead.com
April 15 – Jeanette Larson – http://www.Jenonthefarm.com
April 16 – Camille Ainsworth – http://www.stitchinthenw.com
April 17 – Becky Philips Jorgenson – http://www.patchworkposse.com
April 18 – Bobbie Gentili – http://www.geekybobbin.com/category/blog
April 19 – Janellea Macbeth – http://www.janelleamacbeth.com/blog/
April 20 – Lisa Ruble – http://lovetocolormyworld.blogspot.com
April 21 – Debra Davis – http://www.tuning-my-heart.com/blog
April 22 – Rona Herman – http://www.Ronatheribbiter.com
April 23 – Sue Griffiths – http://www.duckcreekmountainquilting.com
April 24 – Sarah Ruiz- http://www.saroy.net/
April 25 – Jessica Caldwell – http://www.desertbloomquilting.com/
April 26 – Tammy Silvers – http://tamarinis.typepad.com
April 27 – Ebony Love – http://www.lovebugstudios.com/blog
April 28 – Cheryl Sleboda – http://blog.muppin.com

The post Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop – 2020 edition! appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

If you’ve followed me on this in the previous years (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) you know that I’m not a terribly messy person. I find a tidy studio really inspiring and welcoming. I also frequently have friends over to sew at the weekend, or run classes in this space, so I’m always changing things around to fit the work or the people, and thus mess never lingers.

The first rule of tidying up is you have to do what WORKS FOR YOU. Please don’t use my tidy studio as a way to beat yourself up! There is no perfect way to do this – for me it happens when I hit some level of critical mass, often precluded by having a pile of something fall over on me!

I know people who find a lot of inspiration in spaces that have a lot going on in them – I just don’t happen to be one of them. In this world of so much perfect imagery coming at us, the most important thing is YOU DO YOU. Find out what needs to happen in your space to make you feel happy to be in it, and creatively motivated, and THAT is your perfect studio, or kitchen, or home!

Despite keeping a clean studio, I can have other stuff pile up on me, and in the last few months my books have been piled everywhere. On the kitchen table. In the living room. In the office. On the floor of my bedroom. So I decided to take care of those for this blog post – and I was happy to have a motivating deadline for getting it done!

I keep my bookshelves in my bedroom, and they were beginning to feel overloaded, and like they were looming over me.

No one pile was really out of hand, but the sum of the parts was making me a bit crazy.

First I went through each section and pulled things that no longer interested me. Either I’ve read it and I’m done with it, or I bought it when I was interested in something I’m no longer pursuing. And let’s face it, if I get interested in it again, I can always find the book again if I need it.

• Quilt books – I culled those that I no longer use for reference. They’ll go to my guild’s book library.
• Art technique books – I pulled those for art techniques I’m not working with any more. I doubt I will ever try landscape watercolor painting again!
• Language reference stuff – when I bought these books, I didn’t have a smartphone in my pocket, and now a lot of the information in those books can be found on the internet in seconds.
• Old travel guides – if I go back to those countries I’ll buy an updated version.
• Old magazines are off to the doctor’s office. I have a huge stack of Uppercase Magazine too… I love them, but I think I might need to gift them on as the evidence says I don’t usually go back to them once I read them. I’m several issues behind, so I might need to re-evaluate buying a subscription again, although dang, I do love to support a woman-owned publication!
• School books – I still had a few dusty art theory books from when I did my MFA in 2010. Trust me when I say some of these are the kind you only read when they’re assigned for homework, so the chance of me reading them again is zero!
• Entrepreneurial books – many of my entrepreneur friends often recommend this book or that, and I dutifully go buy them. And then they sit on my shelf for years. One wise biz friend (whose project planning methodology I use) told me instead to just look for a book to solve a problem when I was actively trying to solve the problem, and not to buy things that weren’t in the “working on this NOW” category. Good advice for keeping the book budget in check, and the clutter down.

The second rule is that you shouldn’t get rid of the things that make you happy, even if no one else sees the value of them!

I have more than a passing interest in mid-century pamphlet-style cookbooks. They were often published by a food manufacturer, and the books stretched to include that brand or ingredient in every single recipe. One of my favorite finds was this one, whose recipes all include salt. I know… salt?!

I also love the delightful mid-century illustrations:

And most of all, I find such humor in the recipes that sound just dreadful:

Once I had the books pared down, I re-grouped them by subject (I would LOVE to do it by color, but not having them categorized would make me itch!)

And then I shifted the placement for some of the subjects… I used to have quilting on one side of the room, and embroidery on the other. Now I feel like my categories flow a bit better, which means they can share shelves if needed. In the process, I reclaimed another shelf on which to store quilts, too.

Now it looks like this:

And this is the pile that I’ll be donating to my library once my friends have had a chance at them:

Oh… and here’s my tidy studio!

Please take a peek at the rest of the studios on the hop – you’re likely to find inspiration there!

April 29 – Linda Bratten – http://lindabcreative.blogspot.com/
April 30 – Sandra Johnson – http://www.sandrajohnsondesigns.com
May 1 – Jennifer Schifano Thomas – http://www.Curlicuecreations.com
May 2 – Becca Fenstermaker – http://www.prettypiney.com
May 3 – Sue Griffiths – http://www.duckcreekmountainquilting.com
May 4 – Kate Starcher – http://katiemaequilts.com/blog
May 5 – Jo Westfoot – http://www.thecraftynomad.co.uk/blog
May 6 – Sam Hunter – https://huntersdesignstudio.com <– you’re here!
May 7 – Simone Fisher – http://simonequilts.com/blogs/news
May 8 – Elisabeth DeMoo- http://www.brownbirddesignsquilts.com
May 9 – Sarah Myers –  http://www.quilted-diary.com/blog
May 10 – Amy Bradley – http://www.purplepineapplestudio.com
May 11 – Kathy Nutley – http://www.QuiltingsByKathy.com
May 12 – Carla Henton – http://createinthesticks.blogspot.com/
May 13 – Sherry Shish – http://www.poweredbyquilting.com
May 14 – Kate Colleran – http://www.seamslikeadream.com/blog
May 15 – Pamela Boatright – https://www.pamelaquilts.com/
May 16 – Cathy McKillip – http://wishuponaquilt.com/blog
May 17 – Cheryl Sleboda – http://blog.muppin.com

The post Spring Clean Your Studio – 2019 appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

I hope you check in on all the participants – see below for a list with links! So many people have some great solutions to working in all kinds of spaces – you’re sure to see a tip or trick that will really inspire you!

To see my studio cleanup in prior years, go here for 2015, here for 2016, and here for 2017. These post also containing links to many of the posts I’ve written about how I keep my studio tidy.

So, to my current space…

This was what was going on in my studio a month or so ago, when my friends Heather and Chris of RemnantPDX (a vintage furniture company) posted a picture of a fun and funky filing cabinet:

Just look at all that 70s color! And it had ORANGE doors too!

As it happened, I had been pondering how to get more shelf space into my studio, but I wasn’t keen on having another open wire rack. And as usual, the chaos was building up on top of my fabric drawers. This is always the catchall for heaps of studio stuff, and it makes me a little crazy (I don’t like working in clutter). I didn’t need a filing cabinet for paperwork (I keep as much as possible electronically) but the shelving possibilities it had were intriguing.

I was also feeling like the art on my wall was in need of a good shuffle. A quick measurement of the space showed me that the filing cabinet would fit, so I made an appointment to go look at it.

I absolutely loved it! And Chris kindly delivered it the next day!

The first task was to break down the wall art and move everything out of the way. And sweep behind everything I could reach while I had the chance!

The cabinet squeezed into the space available – I didn’t have to scoot the bulletin boards.

Then the fabric drawers went back in, and I started moving things into the cabinet. Note that I use flat-headed extension cords to keep access to the power sockets that always seem to end up behind things.

One of things I really like about the cabinet is that the doors swing up and slide back, out of the way. I also love that I can CLOSE the doors to hide messy piles if I need to, as I use this space as a dining room when I invite friends over to eat.

Lastly, I put the art back up on the walls, adding some new pieces and moving some to other places in my home.

This is the current view (I’m still secret #sewingatthespeedofsam for quilt market so I can’t show you the rest!) I’m really loving that bright pop of colors in the room, and the extra storage has been so useful for keeping my projects together while they are queued up for attention.

Another thing that got sorted out during this shuffle were my small solids boxes. I had everything crammed into 8 small boxes, and things were so tight it was painful to find anything in them.

I expanded them to 12 boxes, which allowed me to better group the colors, as well as pull one piece out without the box exploding at me!

Please stop by the rest of the blog hop participants to see how they are managing their studios!

April 23 – Lori Crawley Kennedy – http://theinboxjaunt.com/
April 24 – Jennifer Thomas – http://curlicuecreations.blogspot.com
April 25 – Robin Koehler – http://nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com
April 26 – Andi Barney- https://www.andibarney.com/
April 27 – Misty Cole – http://www.mistycole.com/blog
April 28 – Carolina Moore- http://alwaysexpectmoore.com/
April 29 – Heather Pregger – https://heatherquilts.blogspot.com/
April 30 – Linda Bratten – https://lindabcreative.blogspot.com/
May 1 – Lisa Reber – https://dippydye.blogspot.com/
May 2 – Teresa Coates – http://www.crinkledreams.com
May 3 – Lisa Chin – http://www.lisachinartist.com/
May 4 – Jamie Fingal – http://www.jamiefingaldesigns.com/
May 5 – Sam Hunter – www.huntersdesignstudio.com     <<——- you are here!
May 6 – Jessee Maloney – www.artschooldropout.net/blog
May 7 – Randa Parrish – http://www.sewartsyfartsy.com/
May 8 – Sarah Vedeler- https://meaningoflifedesigns.com/
May 9 – Jessica Darling – https://jessicakdarling.com/
May 10 – Melody Crust – http://www.melodycrust.com/
May 11 – Debby Brown – http://higheredhands.blogspot.com
May 12 – Cheryl Sleboda – http://blog.muppin.com

The post Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop 2018 – a vintage cabinet joins my studio! appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

I moved at the end of last year, so I have a new studio to share!

As I’ve written before, I’m a pretty tidy person in general, so what feels messy to me might look like like a clean space to you. I’m coming off an intense couple of months of sewing for Spring Quilt Market, so while that’s underway, I tend to stack things in piles on my biggest available surface – the top of my fabric drawers:

(I would have taken pix at the height of the chaos, but there was a lot of secret fabric in there that I’m not allowed to share until after it debuts at Market)

A lot of the fabric drawers were so tight that I could barely get my hands in them, and I find this really unpleasant to deal with; it makes me want to just not use the fabric in there, which then leads to shopping trips (and often to duplicate purchases!) Thus the first order of business was to re-sort the drawers, and then to file away all the fabric on top of them.

I have a lot of hand-dyed fabric, and while I don’t want to get rid of it (I use when I teach hand-dyeing) I don’t need it at the ready. I decided to pull it from the drawers and move it into storage tubs that can live in my office closet.

This freed up three drawers for shifting and filing the rest:

I still have some batting to absorb, but I’ll get to that soon – it’s destined to be frankenbatted into some charity quilts for my guild. I also want to have a good sort on the rack at the back of the picture, but that will have to wait a week or two while I finish up my market obligations.

I store fabric mostly by type/substrate (batik, cotton, barkcloth, canvas) and then by genre (solid, print, etc.) I have specific drawers for fabric with text, skulls, and robots/space. Some of the fabric is sorted by manufacturer – this is so that when I design with it, I don’t inadvertently mix in other companies’ fabrics. I also broke up all my fat quarter towers this time as then I’ll actually use the fabrics in them – seriously… I had some that are 4 or 5 years old that had never been touched.

I keep large cuts of solids in the drawers, but the main solid stash (mostly fat quarters and smaller) lives in smaller boxes:

I’m not a scrap quilter, so while I set aside scraps as I work, I periodically bundle them up to giveaway on Instagram (follow me here!) My next round of giveaways will include scraps from the quilts I made for this market season out of fabric that isn’t out just yet

I think the most important thing about fabric storage is to find what works best for you, and to do it in a way that makes your fabric available to you for both inspiration and use. If you can’t get to it, it can’t get used!

I don’t need to see all mine out on a shelf, so having it in drawers works fine. I also would never bother with storing it around boards as it would take up way too much space to do that. I store by type and color, but I know other people work well storing by size.

I’m also a fan of periodically sorting through your entire stash, both to sort in the new treasures and to purge the old. I think we all buy fabric that we outgrow before it gets used, and if you get it out of the house you have room to buy more! I send my no-longer-loved fabric to my guild’s robust charity quilting program, or our monthly Free Fabric table. Your local Project Linus group is always a good place for fabric you don’t want to keep.

The whole studio! I find tidy space so inviting!

Please check out the rest of the blog hop!

May 1 – Teri Lucas – www.terificreations.com
May 2 – Tammy Silvers – www.tamarinis.typepad.com
May 3 – Emily Breclaw – www.thecaffeinatedquilter.com
May 4 – Amalia Morusiewicz – www.FUNfromAtoZ.com
May 5 – John Kubiniec – www.bigrigquilting.com/blog/
May 6 – Debby Brown – www.higheredhands.blogspot.com
May 7 – Melissa Marie Collins – www.melissamariecollins.blogspot.com
May 8 – Delve MIY – www.fronddesignstudios.wordpress.com
May 9 – Misty Cole – www.mistycole.com
May 10 – Sam Hunter – www.huntersdesignstudio.com/blog (you’re here!)
May 11 – Dale Ashera-Davis – www.dalead.wordpress.com
May 12 – Sara Mika – www.mockpiestudio.blogspot.com
May 13 – Sarah Trumpp – www.Wonderstrumpet.com
May 14 – Carma Halterman – www.beanstrings.blogspot.com
May 15 – Jessica Darling – www.jessicakdarling.com
May 16 – Lisa Chin – www.lisachinartist.com
May 17 – Sally Johnson – www.sallysquiltingcorner.blogspot.com
May 18 – Mandy Leins – www.mandalei.com/blog
May 19 – Shruti Dandekar – www.13woodhouseroad.com
May 20 – Jane Davila – www.janedavila.com
May 21 – Ebony Love – www.lovebugstudios.com
May 22 – Cheryl Sleboda – blog.muppin.com

The post Spring Clean Your Studio 2017 – New Studio! appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

A couple of years back, Heather Powers of HKPowerStudio interviewed me about my studio space. Back then, it was a slender room in a friend’s bigger studio. I recently moved, and dedicated my new, larger living room to be my studio. When I told Heather about it, she asked me to give her an update about the new space.

She split the information into two posts that you can read here and here (and the original interview is here). She asks a lot of great questions… not just how I do things, but the philosophy behind my choices too!

I’ve had studios both in my house and outside, and I find they both have their benefits. I really like being able to look at something on the design wall while my first cuppa of the day is brewing, so having it in my home is a great solution for me. It can also mean that it’s hard to stop working though, and sometimes if I can see my messy kitchen from the sewing table I’ll get tempted to go clean up!

The studio I have now is probably my largest, and I’m loving having a huge design wall, and the ability to have a half dozen friends over to sew on the weekends. I’ll be teaching small classes from here soon (local Portland OR peeps, watch this space for a special signup to be on that list).

I’ve also written some posts about how I store things inside my studio (lots of ideas for small spaces):

Studio Process

Storage ideas – Part 1

Storage ideas – Part 2

And twice I’ve participated in the Spring Clean Your Studio blog hop hosted by Cheryl Sleboda of Muppin.com for the last couple of years – I hope she does it again this year as the people who participate always have some great tips for tidying up!

My 2015 Spring Cleaning

My 2016 Spring Cleaning

The post Inside My Studio appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

When Cheryl Sleboda asked me to join the Spring Cleaning hop again, her timing was perfect. I’m in the middle of #SewingAtTheSpeedOfSam for Spring Quilt Market, and she caught me on a very messy day. So I took a few pix for my before shots!

I was in the middle of too many things at once… working on a new quilt on the design wall, another getting bound and sleeved, materials coming in (that big box is a bolt of Warm ‘n’ White batting), and packaging orders to go out. This is NOT a level of chaos that makes me happy!

As I wrote last year, I tend to be a pretty tidy person as it helps me stay creative.

One of the things that was bothering me (as usual) were stacks of fabrics that weren’t put away. I don’t mind them being out when I’m working, but once the project is done the decks need to clear. This time, rather than just shoving things into drawers, I took the time to really organize the colors in the most offending drawers:

Not only does this make me happy, I love how inspiring it is to see runs of color together… I’m already mulling new ideas from looking at these!

Since last year, I’ve acquired a couple more storage pieces from Ikea to make things a little easier around here. The first was a trusty Billy Bookcase. It squeezed into the corner of my studio, which used to be full of boxes of art materials I’m not currently using. I put them into my patio storage shed, and then shifted a few things onto the new shelves. In case you didn’t know this, Ikea now sells extra shelves for the Billy so that you can really customize the space. They also sell an extender for the top of the book case so you can squeak out another vertical foot if you need it. I used both the extra shelves and the extender on this one:

The second thing I bought was the ever-so-trendy Raskog Cart. I’ve been eyeing these, and had been plotting a reason to own one for a while. I filled it with materials related to handwork and embroidery, and it’s so great to be able to roll it next to the chair I sit in to bind or stitch, then roll it away when I’m done. I LOVE the retro turquoise color!

Here’s a pano of the tidy space – aahhhh… that feels better!

Follow along with my friends below, and don’t forget to link up with Cheryl on April 29th!

April 20th- Toni Smith – http://www.quiltoni.com/tonis-blog.html/

April 21st – Sam Hunter – https://huntersdesignstudio.com/

April 22nd – Tracey Mooney – http://www.sewsupportive.com/

April 23rd – Pepper Cory – http://peppercory.blogspot.com/

April 24th – Lisa Chin – http://somethingcleveraboutnothing.blogspot.com/

April 25th – Andrea Davis – http://www.sewtofit.com/

April 26th – Misty Cole – http://www.mistycole.com/blog/

April 27th – Amalia Morusiewicz – http://funfromatoz.com/

April 28th – Jenelle Montilone – http://trashn2tees.blogspot.com/

April 29th – Cheryl Sleboda – http://blog.muppin.com

The post Spring Clean Your Studio 2016 – Come On In! appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

Packing for mobile sewing can be daunting (especially when we do it at the last minute), so I’ve assembled another group of tips for you, but this time with an eye to being on the road:

1. Dedicated Crate or Tote

If you use the same container to travel, you’ll get used to how you pack it, and will be able to see quickly if something is missing from the puzzle. I like to use a crate for my basic supplies because it fits solidly on a hand cart, and then I use totes (and zippy bags) for the projects.

2. List

Keep a list of your basic mobile items with your container. I once arrived a retreat without the box of feet for my machine, and had to give up a chunk of my shopping budget to buy another walking foot and piecing foot. Refer to the list while you pack or it won’t really work!

3. Name that Ruler

Put your name on everything. With most of us using similar tools, and frequently borrowing from each other, having your name on things means you’re less likely to go home without them. On rulers, I prefer a quick scrawl of Sharpie to a label, because I can still read the ruler marks through the scrawl.

4. Ribbons

Not keen on having all your stuff labeled like you are still in grade school? Use ribbons to tie through anything that has a hole or loop. Mine, of course, are ORANGE.

5. Old Mats

When your studio mat starts getting worn, put it aside for mobile use when you buy a new one. That way you’ll fret less if the old mat gets bent or warped from being transported. You can also cut old mats down to a more packable size.

6. Trash Container

Let’s face it, to sew is to create trash of threads and shreds. Be kind to your host by capturing as much of it as you can. This one was a gift from a friend, and collapses for easy packing.

7. Machine Cleaning Kit

Take your machine oil and Q-Tips with you in case your machine needs to get de-fuzzed while you’re out. There is nothing more frustrating than setting up for a sewing day (or weekend) and then having your machine act up. Having oil and cleaning supplies on hand is the first step for a fussy machine.

8. Needles and Blades

The second step for a fussy machine is a new needle. Bring a packet with you. And if you’re gone for more than a day, or your rotary cutter blade is on the old side, pack a spare blade too. Blades are easy to dent, and when you’re cutting in unfamiliar spaces you’re more likely to drop your tools.

9. Extension Cords

I usually travel with these two – the big one for getting the wall power to my setup, and the little one to share the power locally. I also carry a “ground cheater” plug in case I’m in an older building that doesn’t have grounded outlets.

10. Let There Be Light!

The Fabric Depot classroom is well lit, but I’ve sewed in many a hotel conference space that wasn’t. I keep this portable light in my mobile kit just in case. There’s never enough light once you head north of 40!

11. Magnetic Pincushion + Lid

I prefer magnetic pin cushions to the traditional variety, and this one, made by Clover, has a lid that also clips onto the base when you’re using it. The lid keeps the pins covered while they’re in the kit, so that they don’t stab me when I’m least expecting it.

12. Band-Aids

Because you never know when you (or a friend) will need one!

The post My Top Ten Tips for Sewing on the Road appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

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!

The post Process – storage ideas, part 2 appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

In the last post I talked about using office tools to hold my rulers, and here’s a close up of one of them. It’s about 3 inches deep with 3 sections, and works pretty well for almost all of my rulers. I organize them loosely from widest and weirdest (big squares and various triangles) at the back to narrowest and most used at the front. There are some other beautifully crafted wood widgets with grooves that I have seen at various shows, but I’ve never bought one because each groove holds only one ruler which makes them significantly deeper than my little rack. Deeper takes up table area, which is a party foul in a space as small as mine. Peg board might also work here, but I find it easier to grab the rulers from the rack than from the wall, and if I layer on peg board, you can bet the ruler I need is the one underneath – which means I have to move two rulers to get to one – not efficient!

Between the crates that hold up my cutting surface is a plastic unit of drawers. These are full of small things that I want to keep free of the ubiquitous dust that fiber studios create. The top drawer is full of marking pencils, chalk and such – things that I use at the cutting table. Lower drawers have small tools, special fibers, inks, paints, stamps and so on. They are organized by frequency of use with the most used at the top.

Moving left from the cutting table is a door (which has my to-do-list white board on it), and a pile of file-type boxes and crates in the corner, all carefully labeled, the contents of which I won’t describe as they mostly relate to the fine art side of my world. I have a dressmaker’s form squeezed between these boxes and my book case. There are two of them in the studio (because they don’t fit anywhere else in my life at the moment) and they seem to have turned into hangers for bags and other stuff, just like a treadmill in a bedroom becomes an expensive towel rack! I usually work with this door open so it’s fine that all of this stuff disappears behind it.

And on to the bookcase, where most of the things I use a lot are readily at hand. The things that get the most use here are the threads, needles, pens, paper, and snack food! And they are all in the middle which makes them easy to get at. This bookcase is piled to the ceiling, but I seldom need to get to the stuff that’s up high… which is why it’s up there!

I have several different types of thread storage going, each purchased to fit the size of threads they hold. I would much rather have one type of box, but I have yet to find one that serves all purposes without wasting space. I prefer the slightly soft, slightly opaque plastic cases (3rd image) because if I smack one on a corner or in the car trunk, it’s less likely to crack than the clear hard cases. But I have a bunch of those too because they work, and if I have to transport them to a retreat I pop them into totes to keep them safe. I don’t like having the thread out on decorative racks (as visually delicious and inspiring as it would be) because I don’t want them getting dusty. The only threads I keep out are cones of piecing threads.

Next to the threads are my bobbin boxes… I have a lot of bobbins so that I don’t have to unwind something to start a project (efficiency!). I like this style of box because they have a foamy insert that stops the bobbins from rattling around and unwinding. I keep the bobbins sorted by type of thread first, and after that color family. I periodically wind up whole boxes of the piecing threads, usually when I’m procrastinating other things (and more on that part of the process in a later post)

More storage to come…

The post Process – storage ideas – part 1 appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.