Gathering

Today I had a great day with complete strangers! I belong to a Yahoo group for people in Indiana that quilt. One of the girls here in the northern part of the state organized a "sew day" (the southern girls do this often) for us. While we had a small turn-out it was a complete blast! It was great to put faces to names, to make new friends, and to share in something we all love to do. If you belong to any online groups, let me encourage you to organize your own gathering. We each brought a project to work on and a snack to share. We met at a quilt shop and sewed the day away. We gave eachother advise, encouragement, and oohs and ahhs. If you have done this before please share with me your experience with it. I know I had a blast and look forward to doing it again.

Crafty Organization

In my quest to get organized I’ve come across some great tutorials for making storage fun and pretty. Enjoy!

Pennie Pockets (pictured above)

Hanging Bed Organizer
Basket Liner
Charging Basket
Storage Cube
The Undercover Crate
Recipe Card Holder

Also, if you get yourself a copy of Anna Maria Horner’s book “Seams To Me” there are wonderful patterns in there for storage solutions. Happy organizing!

Many thanks to Monica at Happy Zombie for allowing me to use her photo of her Pennie Pockets, I can't wait to make me some!

Everything in its place and a place for everything.

I live in an old house with very few closets or storage spaces. Minimal storage space is a problem for many people but for a crafter it can be a hinderance. For the new year I've decided to get creative with storage issues. I hope you'll comment about your ideas for using the expected for unexpected things. My first idea is for over-the-door shoe holders. I will be taking one (at least) of these and I'll use for my smaller objects, like ribbon, ric-rac, glues, marking tools, scissors, etc. I will choose one with clear pockets so everything can easily be seen. This would also work great for the scrapbookers and stampers with all their little gadgets. Share some of your organizational tips too.

Photo from spacesavers.com. Check out their website for great organizational products and think outside the box for ways to use them.