Michelle, ma belle... tres bien ensemble
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Michelle ma belle, sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble,

Tres bien ensemble

(Wo)man cave in progress

1/28/2014

14 Comments

 
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As of late, most of my WIPs have been home improvement in nature. In my imagination, all the projects I had planned for our new home were finished within weeks of moving. We were completely unpacked, everything had a new place before the holidays, and we were fully adjusted to our new routines and environment.   

In reality. All of this is taking a lot longer than I expected. The hard-work is paying off. Transformations are taking place. Things are starting to come together. Still, with numerous projects in various stages of completion, it's hard to feel accomplished and/or settled. So, lately, I've turned my attention to the one area of the house that is guaranteed to make me feel at home. 
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That's Doc. She's one of our new roommates!
The biggest benefit of our new house is the space we've gained. It's an incredible difference. Previously, our dining room was also Mike's office and my sewing/knitting room. Since the move, I'm happy to report, there are no longer pins or needles on the table where we eat! Additionally, Mike and I have both gained our own retreats. Even before we completed the purchase of the house, I knew that this alcove in the basement was destined to become my studio space! 
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When we started hauling boxes in, Mike and I were both genuinely surprised by the volume of supplies I've stashed. See, I've never been able to unpack everything at once before. I've gotten a lot... the majority, in fact, of my fabric and patterns at estate sales. This type of acquisition is most definitely a feast/famine form of shopping. A girl's got to buy it when she can get it, because it's not often an option. If you've never shopped an estate sale for sewing and knitting related goodies, I HIGHLY recommend you do! Crafters have always been stashers, but the general population doesn't know how to value the tools of our trade. As a result, It's been my experience vintage patterns, fabric, buttons, notions, and yarn at estate sales is priced for nickels on the dollar.  I digress... 
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Now that I am able to access all my materials, I want to maintain them in a way that lends itself easily to accessibility. I want to know what materials I have to work with.Formerly, I stored portions of my fabric in a manner similar to Gertie. This method of organization is a fine way to store fabric; it's very tidy and a great way to keep inventory of fabric specifications, but it didn't allow me to see materials or prints very easily.  I built from this model and came up with an approach that better suits my needs.  To house my fabrics, I purchased an Expedit shelf and workstation from Ikea. In order to keep things aesthetically pleasing, I've been doing my best to fold each piece to the same dimensions ("12.5 x "12.5). 
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Prior to folding each piece of fabric, I measure both the length and width I have available for use. In cases of mystery fabric, I burn test a small piece to determine the content of the fiber.  Next, I use my pinking shears to cut a swatch of the fabric and staple it to a 3x5 index card (Tip: I cut a swatch cutting template from an index card)  I write the fabric content, width, and yardage on the card and store them in anindex card file.  At the moment, my cards are loosely organized by fabric type. As I continue to fold fabric (which is a complete tease, let me tell you!) I've been adding notes regarding pattern inspiration and ideas. There's even enough room on the card to keep track of any comments I might have after working with a fabric, which may aid in my better understanding the qualities of the fabrics I'm sewing with, and, hopefully, improve my fabric handling and choosing skills for future projects. 

This process is incredibly time consuming, but I hope that doing it right once with assure I don't have to do it ever again. In total, I estimate I've already spent more than 15 hours folding fabric. I likely have another 6- 8 hours before I finish. Phew. How do you store your fabric? Are you engaging in any craft organization projects currently?
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14 Comments
Mike
1/28/2014 07:35:59 am

Great progress! It's looking good already.

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Carla link
1/28/2014 12:07:09 pm

It's looking super!!! It's really great to be able to have your own huge space to do all your work in!
Your layout of fabrics is gorgeous, pardon me while I book a flight to oogle all the fabric ; v;

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Michelle link
1/28/2014 11:34:24 pm

Thanks, Carla! I'm very excited to have my own space to spread out in!

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zilredloh link
1/29/2014 12:26:05 am

Wow! This looks so organized and pretty. What a great sewing space you now have!! And mega kudos to you for taking all that time to fold your fabrics.

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steph link
1/29/2014 04:04:07 am

this is even better than the space I've dreamed about!

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katie metzroth link
1/29/2014 06:18:36 am

The pretty fabric looks nice and you are doing a GREAT job organizing, but look at Doc! She's gorgeous. I look forward to hearing more about the new roommates. GLAD to hear from you. and what's in the bins below the fabric in your tidy shelves?

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Debbie link
1/29/2014 11:30:08 am

What a great space and I love your index card system. Everything's so organized!

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Lynn link
1/30/2014 12:25:30 am

So amazing! Your organization skills BLOW MY MIND! I can only hope and dream of the day that I get things looking half as good around here. I can't wait to see how this space of yours evolves!

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Ginger link
1/30/2014 02:18:46 am

Wow, what a great space! I bet you'll work really efficiently in this fantastic room!

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Sezza link
1/31/2014 12:17:46 pm

WOW!! this is going to be such a fabulous space once you are finished!

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Sarah Smith link
12/9/2016 02:45:50 pm

Lately, I've been thinking about fabric swatches. I love the advice about how you can make your own swatches to help keep things organized and have detail n the type of fabric an how much of it there is. Another benefit is that swatch cards make it east to transfer the colors so that you can find matches.

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Sandi
12/14/2017 02:17:32 pm

What is the burn test please?

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Wendy
1/7/2019 04:28:44 pm

You could also do this with photo albums :)

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Cotte link
6/16/2020 12:33:18 am

Bonjour vos fiches cartonné avec le tissu une très bonne idée je vais m'en inspirer. Cordialement

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