a constant work in progress.

02 May 2011

a constant work in progress.

i don't know about yall, but my quilty room is a constant work in progress.

so i clean it like once a week-ish.
it's generally when i can't stand the site of it.

yall know this feeling...
fabric is everywhere.
magazines here. books there.
notes laying on the floor, pinned to the wall & in between fat quarters. <--never where you thought you put it.
not to mention that one pin your foot found.
*sigh*

how often do yall clean your quilty spaces?!?!
inquiring minds want to know.

♥ rachel

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84 comments:

Suburban Stitcher said...

NOT once a week! Yours looks pretty :)

Linda said...

Only when company is coming!

Mary Grace McNamara said...

Not nearly often enough! After I finish a few projects and I have more to do but I can't find anything and nothing is where it belongs, then I'll take a day and get everything well organized before beginning again. I'm at that point now!

MGM

Erin Marie said...

I clean when I can't work anymore... after I finish the current project. So for the last half of the project, I'm muttering mean things under my breath at my sewing room as I again search for my scissors that I JUST had two seconds ago.

Jenniffier said...

I have to cleaning my sewing room/office every time I leave. My sewing space doesn't have a door and I have two German Shepherds that like to eat, my sewing supplies. See example - http://jenniffier.blogspot.com/2011/02/don-look-now.html
except I didn't get to take over the hubby's space so I am still left with out a door.

Teresa said...

jeez once a week? I only clean up when someone is coming over, or if its really THAT bad, like once a month-ish

Janelle said...

NOt often enough - my sewing spot is our school building (out back) and since I can leave the building, I do not feel inclined to clean it up often enough!!

jac. said...

You'll hate me, however, I clean/organize after every sew session. That way I can start when I want to and if I only have like 10 minutes to sew, I can jump right in and know where everything is. Now, The rest of my house is another story:).

Brittany said...

Maybe once a month! Just like you, when I can't stand the site of it anymore!

Melissa L said...

I just rearranged my sewing room/office this weekend. I typically clean at least once a week. I try to put everything back as I am using it but you know that goes...as soon as you put it back up you notice you actually need it again. :)

Melinda said...

Ooh, yeah see, I clean up when I can't find what I'm looking for. Then I stop. Probably why it looks like it does!

Angie said...

Usually between projects - I can't stand to get started surrounded by a mess, and I usually make a big mess as I progress through a quilt. You'd think I'd learn to clean up after myself by now... LOL!

Deborah said...

Once a week and after each project to organize so I can find stuff.
I'd really like a studio, but that is not in the cards right now. :o)
Deborah

Kelly O. said...

I clean when my hubby (who is a bit of a neat freak) says he can't take it anymore! and he helps me clean it too....:)

Anonymous said...

My quilting area is a corner of our dining room, which means it's spread out across our dining room. It's in a constant state of flux as we eat meals!

GerryART said...

Oh, Rachel, none often enough.
Seeing your quilty orderliness I must make more of an effort to straighten.
Toodles, I'm off to straighten and DUST!
hugs,
Gerry

Karen said...

My sewing room is in the lower level (walkout) and usually no visitors go there. But, I have a habit of sprucing up and vacuuming the carpet about every week or so. After working on a few projects, the fabrics need to be re-folded put back where they "live". And, the left-over pieces stored in with the other "scraps" Then, I feel much more efficient.

Happy Quilting!

harleywife57/ Mickey White said...

not enough for sure ! my sewing machine & ironing board is in the family room and my fabric is in the extra bedroom . My husband thinks I should sew in the room with the fabric , however , there is no cable , tv , phone , or computer in there , so that won't happen ! I must have tv on while I sew ; do I watch it - NO ???? but it HAS to be on !!! silly -- yes !

harleywife57/ Mickey White said...

oh , I forgot ; YOUR room is beautiful !!!

Kari Nitzel said...

Not as often as I should. I am still in the organizing stage, I moved into the room the first of the year and now I need to set up a good storage and work areas.

Rylee Kettner said...

Well, since I still live at home (I'm only 18 so that isn't as sad as it sounds lol!) me and my mom share a quilt space. So I would say the space gets cleaned at least twice a week, because what I think is clean, and what my mom thinks is clean aren't always the same. But there is nothing better then the feeling of having a nice organized space. Sadly it usually only lasts for about 20 minutes lol

Amanda Dickson said...

I straighten up daily most of the time...basically because I don't have alot of space to work and my sewing room is also our bedroom...which also doubles (well, triples, actually!) as a family room.

We recently rearranged the room...so I'm waiting on some shelving to help clear off my sewing table a little more...but it freed up more floor space for the girls to play while I sew.

Anonymous said...

It usually gets a bit of a tidy up (books away, cutting and sewing tables semi-cleared) once or twice a week, whenever there's a natural break in projects. An actual proper clean (scrap sorting and tidying, vacuuming) is pretty rare. Maybe once a month? If that...

Kimberly said...

not. often, enough.

Maja said...

I promised myself to tidy up every night. Unfortunately I´m not very keen on keeping promise when
it´s to myself. But at least once a week. Couldn´t sew otherwise.

Shelly said...

OMG once a week? My sewing area is also area to do all bills and paperwork. All the mail gets dumped on my sewing table--making piles of real mail, junk mail and trash. I have tried over and over to get the sewing area organized--but it's been moved into 4 different rooms in the last 2 years. I just can't seem to find that "right" spot for it yet. Your sewing area is beautiful--wish I could get mine that neat and organized.

Danielle said...

I probably do a mini-clean about once a week...just clean enough to use my table, but I do a more thorough pick up once a month. I wish I did more on a daily basis. the minute I finish a big clean, I start a new project, though, so it looks wrecked pretty much always. I have a big space, and I seem to spread out and take up every square foot!

By Hoki Quilts said...

Geez I feel really slovenly after hearing that you clean yours once a week. Mine? Mmmm it stays as it is until I have finished the current project (not including all the other UFO's). I then put away the left over fabric pick up all the threads and then rearrange the dust that covers every surface.
hugs
Miche'le

April (Polkadot Sparrow) said...

My sewing room is my dining room so I can't let it get too out of control. :( If I had an actual room I would probably clean it like you: when it starts to drive me crazy. But that would rarely be once a week. haha.

Quiltn Mama said...

I dream of having a quilt room, but for now, mine's just a quilt corner in our dining/living room. So I HAVE to keep it picked up all the time. My sweet spouse has suggested knocking out a wall and enclosing the patio so I can have a room all to myself. That's an idea I can really get into, especially if it's soundproofed, deadbolted and comes with its own powder room, phone line and kitchenette. Hey, I CAN DREAM! My mom, lucky devil, has a converted two-car garage. I envy anyone with a designated room of their own!!

paront1222@comcast.net said...

It feels like daily but in reality it's usually once a week...but could really stand to be done 2-3 times a week depending on how often I get in there.
Peggy in NJ

Anonymous said...

I try to clean it about once a week. The worst is when I can't find my seam ripper under a pile of fabric. I never seem to put that thing in the same place twice!

Carolyn said...

I don't know what you're talking about. Mine is completely clean and just looks lovely. Ha!
In reality, mine is a pit...filled with fabric scraps and loose thread. It's a disaster area...that could certainly use a cleaning once a week, but sadly only gets on about once a month.

Unknown said...

Wow, definately not once a week! Your room looks lovely though! I would say I tady up in between projects and try to actually clean and sort through things... maybe twice a year!

Julie M said...

I don't clean it often enough. Usually before I start a project. My kitty shares my quilt space and she loves to spread my material and pins about the room. I have to do a quick pin sweep every time I use my quilt room or I get the pin in the foot as well.

Manda said...

Probably not enough! When I decide enough is enough and I can't stand to go in/or can't find anything!

CathyC said...

your room is lovely - it would be a joy to keep clean. I clean when I have visitors ;-) and before I start something - even if it is only to make a block for a swap ;-)

Jackie's Stitches said...

My goal is to clean it for five minutes every time I use it. I don't always get to it but I'm always amazed how much I can get done in five minutes.

Three Birds Inspired said...

I clean the studio at least once a month...or just before I need to bring in a backhoe! Seriously, when I get to the point when I am spending too much time looking for stuff and not actually working on a project, that's when I clean.

SkippityDoDahQuilts said...

We put our house on the market...so almost every day/other day. I hate cleaning the sewing room. it's a nightmare, lol.

Happy Quilting!

www.skippitydodahquilts.blogspot.com

Sel said...

I use our living room because we don't have a spare room that I can use.

I usually try to clean it up once a quilt top has been finished (because I send them away for quilting) but this year, the place has been a constant mess of threads and fabric and scraps.

It will be getting a clean this Friday because I'm going to Europe for a month and my sisters wont' stand for the living room being unavailable for all that time!

Lisa at Sun Naturals said...

I am in the dining room so stuff gets shoved onto the bay windowsill so we can eat. (And does it pile up!) SOMEDAY I will get my own space when we are done finishing our basement. Slow and steady.....

Josie McRazie said...

I do not have the luck of having a seperate space to do my stitching!! My sewing maching is in my living room at the end of the sofa and my cutting board is on my dining room table (under the table cloth!!) I make do, but it means every night I have to close up shop!! Everything in its nice little plastic bin!! Some days I can't wait till the kids are out fo the house, and other days...well anyone with kids understands my dilema!!

See Spot Shop said...

I clean up when I finish a project or when it gets to the point when I'm spending more time looking for stuff than it would take me to clean up.

The Purple Turtle said...

my sewing area is also where I keep my paperwork (bills, important stuff, medical stuff...) and also where our "off season" stuff is stored.

I clean out the paperwork stuff about once every two months, and I clean up the sewing stuff after every BIG project - sometimes a few days, sometimes a few weeks.

the off-season stuff is BURIED. I'm hoping to get a few more things done before we have to move it all so the window a/c can be turned on...

=)

Jennifer Blosser said...

Girl, I don't clean my sewing room unless someone is coming over to sew with me. And then it still might not be as clean as yours! Yours is neat as a pin!

I'd say I clean it every 3 months.

Hugs & stitches,
Jennifer

Carla said...

When I work on a project, my room looks like a twister hit it, Total mess! So I try to clean it up after I'm all done with it. But on a regular basis, only about twice a month.

Kathy said...

I just packed up my entire sewing room, painted it and put in new carpet. It's like a blank canvas and I just don't know where to start. My husband is a carpenter hobbyist and he will build me all new furniture but I really need help in designing it - if anybody has any ideas please let me know!

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

I sew on our dining/homeschooling/everything table....so I have to pack up after every short sewing session.

Anonymous said...

I clean as I go. If I'm cutting fabric then I have a can next to my table that pieces too small to use go into immediately. Cut off pieces that I'm not using in my project then go into one of three containers depending on their size. Other than that I do clean up after every project and everything goes back where it belongs before I start the next one.

Lynn Koeppen said...

I hate to clean my quilt room as then I can't find anything! LOL

I do clean it throughly, I should say organize it once a year. Then I make a list of UFO's to check off as I finish.

I really ought to make a map of where to find the things I organized!

Caroline @ Artfully Caroline said...

I try to have a once over very week, at least the big stuff and the dust bunnies. Once a month, I force myself to clear the counters. And I regularly go though my stash so I don't buy stuff I already have again

Anonymous said...

Every once in a blue moon, I just relocate things to another place out of the way...lol.

Melissa said...

Usually after a projects but lately I haven't taken the time between a few and now I can hardly walk in there. I have a big clean up session in my future before I can start anything else. I know it's bad when I go in to get things to take into the dining room since there's no place to work at my tables!

WoolenSails said...

I am constantly cleaning mine and constantly messing it back up, it is a lost cause;)

Debbie

Whitney & Ryan said...

I clean once every couple of weeks or when I can't walk safely in the room or see any little bit of my table!

The One and Only said...

this is the first time I've cleaned my space since we moved in back in October 2009!! My husband was about to lose his mind because my area is in our master bedroom!!

Bonnie said...

I am not lucky enough to have a quilting room however I have a space to store my quilty stuff and I quilt on a small table (or pull out a trestle table for larger things) in the loungeroom. I clean up this area as I go - finish a bom, put the stuff back in the box and back on the shelf out the back, particularly when finishing a project, I pack stuff that was with it away, however otherwise it is usually at the end of the weekend. But the storage area can be different! It is usually not too bad but I decided in the holidays just gone to tidy a little/rearrange a little! Only a couple of hours worth I thought!! Man 2 days later and a lot of storage purchases later, but I am very happy with the 'organised' result which motivates me to pull down a labelled box of a certain project and work on it - I don't have the excuse that I don't know what I have as it is all in labelled boxes!! Love your chest of drawers in the pic - great idea for fabric storage I am thinking! And dust free!!

Sue said...

How do I clean my quilty space? Rarely and with much whining!

Rhonda and Julie said...

At least once a week, but sometimes more if I have new stashes of fabric that I don't want someone to see. ;o)

Rhonda and Julie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kate said...

Looks pretty good to me! I only clean up mine when we have people coming over and we need the dining table to eat at...

tusen said...

well, quilty room is my dream :)
From the sneak peek I can see that I would love yours.
I sew on our living room/dining room table, so I clean everything when we want to eat at the table (which is not very often ;))or when somebody comes to visit.

Unknown said...

Sewing space? Ha! I wish I had a sewing space. I use the coffee table in the living room and a side table, also in the living room, for my machine. Since our apratment is tiny, I have to pick everything up before dinner, so that my husband and I have space to eat. I dream of one day having a sewing room of my own!

jpenni8354 said...

I THINK about cleaning it, then decide it's more than a nation and either start working on something or leave the room altogether! LOL!

jpenni8354 said...

That should have been "more than a NOTION"!

Libby said...

When I feel the need............. (I just don't feel the need often enough!)

Caro said...

I can stand the mess until all desk/table tops are filled and I resort to piling stuff on the floor. Then I have to clean it up because I can't stand it.

Unknown said...

Not often enough! My quilty room is also my home office - I work from home fulltime. So my desk has my laptop and work supplies, as well as my sewing machine and sewing stuff, etc. So it is usually a jumbled mess. Although it does allow me to occasionally fit in some sewing during the weekdays, which I would not be able to do if I was working outside my home! I'd say a really thorough cleaning only happens every two months or so.

IHeartQuilting said...

Oops, my son Steve must have used my laptop to access his Google acouunt, that last comment was actually from me.

Rhanda said...

Not nearly enough. :) I have crap everywhere. I should take a clue from you... weekly. Your room looks lovely!

Judy Creats said...

Wow, your room looks really organized. As for me, I have my husband's pool table covered and every other flat surface. I, maybe straighten every 6 or 8 weeks. Even though everything is scattered, I always keep my scissors and other items I use daily in their designated spot.

tisha @ quiltytherapy said...

The fact that you say once a weekish is impressive. I move stuff around maybe 1x/wk. I always find more projects to work on.

rickimoo said...

Not often enough. I think I have too much crafting/sewing things. Need to do a little purging in that room for sure.

Heather said...

Pretty often but not every week. Usually when I plan to go on a big sewing jag. I tidy everything up, put everything away and make room for something new!

Susan said...

I'm still moving into mine, but I usually try to clean up after each project.

Kara said...

Only if I lose something and NEED it! Or if some unwitting person decides to stay in our guest room-the nerve!

Anonymous said...

I can't find anything and I have too much stuff. But when I go up to clean, I get distracted with a book, magazine or pattern that I had forgotten. Then I start digging for fabric to make the "new" pattern - nothing gets clean, but I feel good when I am in my zone.

Love Bears All Things said...

Not once a week...depends on how many projects are in the works...its also my scrapbook center as well as where I do other projects and work on my various club activities...I try to tidy it every two weeks if not too much is in progress....if that isn't happening and I'm expecting company, I'll hang a curtain across the doorway.
Mama Bear

Unknown said...

I have the "organized chaos" feel going in my quilt room, as I generally like to look and feel fabric...progressing to a decision eventuallly of how I use it. I generally only put things away when I know I have to ask my husband into the room to fix the computer...so he doesn't see how much is actually there...LOL

Patty said...

I'm trying to be better about and clean after every project. I decided to do this after finding myself crawling over fabric and bags to get to other fabric! Can you just feel the the shame?

SharleneT said...

If my craft room ever looked like yours, I wonder where I had been that I wasn't involved in doing something. You can come clean my shop anytime! I'm gonna let my daughter do it after she sends me to the home!

Belle and Buttercup said...

What....huh...We're supposed to clean our quilty spaces???!!! I had no idea!

Debbie said...

Clean????? Isn't that why they made doors???

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