Storage Ideas

Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait. The grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas. 

Henry Ford

Vicki Welsh has been having a Real Studio Tour this month.  This week's feature was on storage ideas.  I am jumping in on the last day of the link up because I've had a few other things to blog about this week. I have a large studio, my entire unfinished basement that has no ceiling and half of it has a bare concrete floor.  I have a whole lot of stuff to store since I am a longarm quilter and once owned a quilt shop.  Storage solutions for me is a big issue.  I have recently been rearranging my largest storage closet and the sewing studio.  I'm not done yet because I had to stop and focus on some Christmas projects for a while.  I thought I would share a few storage solutions I have found useful.

I found this great wire basket on a trip and
I've been using it to hold some of my magazines.

This 3 gallon glass jar has a handle and
I use it for ribbon. Keeps the dust away.

Notebooks on a Magazine Rack

I use notebooks to hold projects from magazines and the internet. I also use them for design ideas and to keep directions for quilts I've made. I have a few full of quilting designs too.  Their numbers have outgrown my bookcase storage and some have found a home in this magazine rack.

Batting storage is always a problem for longarm quilters.

 When the local JoAnn was closing their old store earlier this year I was able to pick up 3 large rolling storage bins for just $10 each.  I've also added a few different kinds of batting to my collection.  One reason for rearranging my closet was to make room for one of the bins.

This one is in the longarm studio.

This one is full of pillowforms and packaged battings.

Moses basket full of larger cuts of batting.

One of the things I've done this year is to label all the larger cuts of leftover batting that I have.  I pin the size to the batting and hold the roll together with a large rubber band. I've entered the sizes and type on a clipboard so I can quickly tell if I have a piece that is large enough for smaller projects.  This is working out great since I can quickly see if I have something the right size.

Back in the closet there are:

Large bins of fabric sorted by type.

More bins and a basket of fleece.

In the sewing studio you can find this:

These need to go back into the closet.

Pegboard Wall holds stencils and templates

 In the middle is my shortarm quilting machine which I need to sell since I don't use it anymore.  It is used as a long landing area for fabric and projects that need to be put away.

Back in the closet I have a lot of zippers hanging along with a lot of thread.  You can see some of it HERE.

Zippers are sorted on shower curtain rings

Bags hold crochet hooks and knitting needles

One shelf still needs some work 

More bins and fabric being sorted

This 3 drawer unit is for 2 1/2" squares

I recycle meat trays to hold projects

Since we moved here in 2000 we've gone through 2 refrigerators.  I saved the bins.  The one above holds practice squares for free motion quilting.  The one below hold scraps.

I know I am blessed with a lot of space in my studio now.  I have done with a lot less in my lifetime.  The closet that is full of bins in larger than most people have for their studios and much larger than what I had to use at times.  My husband has never minded me having space for sewing.  I made clothes for myself and my children for many years.  It is NOT all neat and tidy.  Never is, I usually have multiple projects underway and more in the planning or finishing stages.  There are always some personal projects, blog projects and charity projects going.  It keeps me from getting bored ; -)

There is more to my studio.  There will be another post in this series in the next week.  I also have some other posts on my studio HERE and HERE.