am i the only one that has an insane amount of quilting magazines?!?!
honestly.
do yall keep back issues or not so much?!?!
inquiring minds want to know.
please feel free to share your organization ideas, hints or tips.
i'd love to know what other addicted peeps do. HA.
♥ rachel
142 comments:
I keep the ones with projects that I think I may make one day. The rest I give to friends who enjoy them.
Cut out the inspirational/future project bits and bin the rest. Have a folder which you keep them in on the book shelf and when you are looking for ideas tip them out and have a trawl through.
I do, but I'm running out of storage space. I'm thinking about going through my magazines, scanning anything I want to keep and then getting rid of them. The job seems overwhelming to me though so I haven't done it. Most likely I'll just put them in a box and move them to the attic.
i photocopy the patterns from the quilts i'd like to make 'one day' :) and then donate the magazines to my local charity group. i put the photocopies in a page protector (one pattern per pocket) and then put it in a 3ring binder. i put the page that pictures the quilt first with any notes and the fabric requirement page is on the 'back'.
i have multiple binders- pieced, applique, technique/how to's, gifty items, christmas, and totes.
makes it easy- when i'm looking to start a new future UFO, i flip through my notebooks.
It's really time for me to do a clean out, and not only of quilt magazines! If there's only one or two things that I really like in the magazine, I make a copy and then either put the magazines on ebay or give them to the local library. And then after the purge I still have way too many, ha~
Do not keep! There are too many new and exciting things always being shown and seen, so even if you do have an inspiration folder, there will never be enough time to make them all! De-clutter I say!
I scan the patterns I want to keep and then donate the magazine. I'm trying to get away from so much paper and move more to electronic copies.
I'm with Susan - I tear out the projects I like. Right now they're in a file folder next to all my quilt books. I'll get 'em into page protectors and a 3-ring binder someday. Maybe.
I started removing the patterns I know I like and want to save. Just recently I converted all my pattern storage to several large three ring binders with page protectors inside. I store them all in there. This works for patterns in little bags as well as magazine patterns and tutorials/pdf patterns I have printed. It makes it all so much easier to flip through and see what's available. There's plenty in the magazines I'd never make.
i used to keep them.
now i just keep the patterns i may use one day... and issues that have my friends...like you... in.
You mail them all to me, problem solved :)
I tear out the projects I want to do 'someday', then I pass them along to my quilt friends. I don't know what they do with them...
I only keep a few...
I have pulled & put in 3 ring binders with page protectors, but I am pretty close to going through that again as well. (Too many UFO's already...)
I have been scanning the patterns that make me happy and then adding them to my computer file of quilts I want to make. It is kind of like the photocopy/tear out but I found with those I was just creating more paper or ruining the magazine for someone else.
I have tonnes and tonnes of mags and what I do when I clear them out is to rip out what I want to keep and dump the rest.
I cut out the patterns I want with all of the instructions and put them in clear plastic sleeves and then in to a ring binder and then get rid of the magazine or pass them on to someone who doesn't mind the cut outs in them.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
I keep my magazines for a couple of years, lending them to friends occasionally, then go through them and tear out the quilts I like or inspiration items. I recycle what's restI just put them in a box (from computer paper) and go through it now and again, and keep culling. Eventually I do use an idea once in a while!
I keep every American Patchwork & Quilting, every Fons & Porter Quick Quilts and every BH&G Quilts & More that I purchase. They do take up room and maybe one day when I have an extra couple of hours I will pull out the info that I really want and file it in a binder...maybe!
Recycle them! We have a local guild whose main fund raiser is selling used quilt mags and books. It's great - pick out what you want for a quarter each.
Sounds like the plan of the day is to rip out the ones you like and place in page protectors ( so I can SEE the ones I like) and place in a binder or two or three or.......you get the idea. Then go back and review them about a year later and chuck the ones you know you will NEVER make. But some are just so pretty to look at!
This is what I do......along with quite a few others!
I just got an online subscription to Quilter's World magazine, which, apart from being cheaper than a paper subscription, included six years of back issues in the archives! Now I can print the patterns I love and stick them in a binder and the ads and little inserts that fall out are a thing of the past! I cut out patterns from my existing magazines and put them in a binder as well in sheet protectors. Good luck!!
I keep them all. I put them in a magazine file that I picked up at IKEA. I have about 10 of them at the moment. I put little post it tabs to mark the projects I liked in the issue.
I have started scanning the older issues but the task is quite daunting. I am looking into a better scanner so I can just cut off the binding and feed the whole magazine into the scanner.
I will not discard them until I have scanned them, then I can donate to the local quilt guild.
I take out the pages that inspire me and organize them into a binder (or several, depending on how many pages there are). =-D That way everything is in one place and its easy to go back and find something later! Hope this helps!
I cut the pages that contain the quilts I like and insert them into clear sleeves and then organize them into binders. If a magazine contains too much that i want to keep, I just keep the whole magazine. Love your blog!
I have quilting magazines dating back to 1980! My tip is to go through the more current ones with a coupon razor and save the patterns or articles you want and put them in a binder. The slightly cut-up magazines can be passed on to senior centers, assisted living places, brownie and girl scout troops, the Goodwill or friends. Some of my older magazines I'm selling on Ebay!
I keep them too. I have every Quilt Sampler ever printed I think. I don't like to cut them apart either. We moved a year and a half ago and I was FORCED to get rid of some of my magazines. About killed me, seriously. In the time we have been in the new place I am quickly replacing the pitched ones. I don't have the space but that doesn't seem to factor in.
I'm so glad you've asked this question as I'm just about to go through my collection and try and get it under control. There is so much inspiration on the net and blogs I'm actually not that interested in magazines any more and could do with freeing up the space for something else.
I tend to keep them all. However, I read somewhere from someone that they scan the projects that they like out of the magazines and keeps them in pdf files on her computer and then recycles the magazines. I liked that idea. I just haven't gotten around to doing it yet. So I too have stacks of old magazines.
My library was growing out of control so I started ripping out patterns (or printing ones off the internet) and then putting them in page protectors in binders. :)
I would go through and scan the ones you like. I did the cut-out-and-keep thing with a stack of Real Simple magazines I got a while back, and all that did was leave me with a huge wad of torn out sheets which then required much more organization and management.
At least if you scan the patterns/pages you like, you can also pass on the entire magazine to someone else.
A person above mentioned cutting out patterns and passing on the remainder to others or selling on Ebay, but I think I'd be a bit cheesed off if I received or bought something that had patterns or parts missing (especially if I too were interested in that pattern or piece). Digital files are also way easier to store.
I have a bunch of mine in a tote bag to take on our next road trip along with a page slicer tool and some page protectors. I will toss or donate the remainder of the magazines I don't want. Sometimes there is only one pattern in an issue and I know someone out there would want the others.
i only get irish quilting and quiltmaker, so i only have those, not that whole pile you have. right now my quiltmaker is in a tote, and my irish quilting is in a magazine holder thingy from walmart. when i get a place, not sure what i will do.
I also make copies of the patterns I like and then give away or trade the magazine. Sometimes I just take a picture of the quilt I like. Some designs are simple and I do not need a pattern to recreate it.
Sigh...what a beautiful stack of magazines!!! I am lucky that one of my sewing buddies gives them to me when she is all done with them. I really need to subscribe to them.
I have the same problem with Martha Stewart Magazines, Country Living, Country Home and Home Companion.
I used to save them all, but now only save the actual article/pattern. Some are in plastic sleeves in 3 ring binders....others not so much! ;o)
I hate to say this, because it means keeping all of them, but I have gone through old magazines that I have saved and found projects that I wouldn't give a second look before. My tastes continually change and I re-consider a lot of projects. I don't hide my fabric from my husband, but I do hide my magazines!
I kept them for a long time and then I didn't have room so I went through and tore out ones I thought I might do some day and then I took them to my guild who sold them for 2/$1.00 and made some money for books.
I have a binder that I put all things I want to keep from each magazine. You can even label them as to what they are, quilts, crafts, etc. I put them on individual sheets of paper with all info. and then into a plastic sleeve. Hope this helps!
I tear out the ones I want to keep and slip them into a page protector. I've got two 3-ring binders full of patterns. Will I make them all? No, but it's way less bulk than keeping the whole mag.
I was keeping them, but in a fit of housecleaning got rid of many....only to NEED to make a quilt from one I got rid of!!! Trying to track it down and re-purchase it was painful enough to convince me not to toss them anymore.
So funny, I was gonna say the same thing that QuiltinMama just said. Page protectors in a 3 ring binder work for me. I just tear out the ones I like.
I have quilt magazine from back in the early 90's!!! I use to subscribe to several but never made anything from them so I quit getting mags a couple years ago or so. There are a lot of quilts I'd like to make from the mags BUT I know I never will. All these quilt mags are for Traditional quilts, which are beautiful, but I'm not a Traditional quilter....so why am I hanging on to them?? I'm not sure. I'd like to get them out of my sewing room and free up some space (for more fabric, maybe??) so I'm thinking of donating them to the library or used bookstore in town if they want them.
Cut out patterns you like and throw rest of it away or donate to a second hand store. OR me;) lol!
Cut out or copy the things you need or want to do later. Donate the magazines to libraries, churches, friends, or post them on freecycle or craigslist. There are probably alot of other quilters out there that would LOVE them :-)
i pull out pages i want to keep, but i don't keep all the magazines. i don't like a bunch of junk hanging around.
I sticky note any pages that speak to me and then save them in a storage ottoman...if there was nothing in it that was important to keep then I give the magazine to the library at my quilt guild...
Quilt magazines I'm brutal with. I cut out what I'm interested in and recycle the rest. Kind of makes up for the Marthas and gardening mags I can't bear to part with.
guilty!! and to make it worse, my mom does the same and we trade magazines (we get twice the mags for the price of one ;) and keep the ones we like best.....when mine get unruley i cut out the projects/inspirational pics that i love and put them in a binder. if i like tons of things i just give up and keep the whole mag. :) good luck de-stashing!
I save everything. There is slways something in each magazine I love. Help!! I do not want "The Hoarders" copming to admit me to their help program. Give me some ideas - I need HELP!!
I have every issue of every quilt mag for the last 5 years or so. in cardboard magazine files in date order on bookshelves. insane. I need to go throug them & get rid of some. trouble is, I mark the projects I like, & when I look at it a couple years later I like different ones. Sigh. It's an addiction I'm afraid
I'm of yours! One issue per week, at least. Increasing problems with archiviation. Perhaps by elimination of my hub's car magazines? Arg! Arg! Arg! :]
I keep all of them; put them in a ringed binder....
I have cut down on purchasing to that helps the situation,but I use the magazine folders from Ikea to store mine. I'm sure at some point I'll do thru and scan info to keep as others have suggested.
I tear out the projects that I might make one day and put them into clear, plastic sleeves. I have the sleeves in a 3-ring binder.
But I have been known to have magazines laying around the house, sewing room, kitchen, under couch cushions, and in my car. Just sayin'. You've been in my messy house! My stacks never look as good as yours does!
Hugs & stitches,
Jennifer
I am afraid I too keep the magazines. I like to look through them to get color and design ideas. I started the tearing out program, but found that it was too cumbersome to keep them in notebooks. Plus I never really knew where a certain pattern might be. I keep mine in magazine holders in my sewing room, and I also have a large bucket type container which hold all of my American Patchwork & Quilting issues.
Unfortunately, I don't get any quilting mags. Would love to, just can't right now. I do however get leftover nat. geographics from my dad, and after a while, I throw them out. but I keep them for a while and just have a bookshelf dedicated to them.
I tear out the pages with projects I'd like to 'someday' make. then I put them in plastic sleeves and in a 3 ring binder labelled what ever is in there such as 'quilts', 'garden' paper crafts'...If I then go back in a year or two and haven't used them or still want to use them, I toss them out.
I cut out the patterns I like, put them in clear page protectors, and in giganto 3 ring binder. The rest of the magazine gets recycled, or given to kiddo to cut out pictures or words for art projects.
Everything I would do has already been offered - so the wealth of info is here - cut/take out what you like and pass them on to others to do the same cut/take. There is usually so much I do not intend or want to make in them that this is the easiest way for me. IMHO Judy C's two cents worth
Oh I am so hopeless when it comes to throwing out the mags. I put a whole heap in the shop for my ladies to take home and flick through or even use the patterns, but they are such darlings that they bring them back and sometimes even contribute to the pile - sigh.
I guess at the moment they are stacked on shelves and who knows contributing to the insulation of the room :)
hugs
Miche'le
Favorite projects are scanned, filed, and stored on my computer and an external hard drive. I am trying to make a photo library of each magazine quilt, so that when I click on the picture it links to the article stored on my hard drive. You would think that someone out there would have designed software to do this.
:0)Margo
I just did a post about this exact issue. I too have way too many magazines. Check out my article. I like the ideas that were shared.
http://itsonlynaturalwithkathy.blogspot.com/2011/05/storage-solutions-for-all-those.html
thanks, kathy
this is an issue I ponder frequently: what to do, what to do.
Mine are currently shelved by mag name & date. Issues with fav patterns have a snitch of blue painter tape on the binding.
My quilt interest changes so last yr I may have never consider hexies, now I have one on my 2011 to do list.
So how can I get rid of the volumes of possibilities???
I like the scanning idea. Need to get my 4th terra drive just for quilting!
I have every issue of American Patchwork & Quilting as I subscribed with the very first issue :)
One day, they will exceed their allotted space.
Wish they would put back issues on a CD like Threads did :)
I have a magazine addiction. Sewing, quilting, gardening, decorating, hairstyle mags, jewelry making...I just tossed a bunch of old ones last weekend.
If you do get rid of them please let me know! I started a project 3 or so years ago would have been 2008 and can't find the magazine to finish the project! Guess you always make copies huh?
I put the post-it flags on the pages I like. But I would be another willing recipient:)
Looks like the pile I have, only mine are probably older, along with the more recent ones.
Sometimes I go back to the older ones for ideas. Besides, styles sometime return after a few years have passed.
Plus, I love my quilt books and magazine, so why would I want to part with them?
I keep the ones with to do projects in them and then I trade with my mother in law the other ones and she donates them to the local home ec. class at the high school
You got a lot of responses so I don't know if this has already been said. I earmark the pages I like then after I'm done reading the whole magazine I go back and look at the earmarked pages. If I still like the project I pull it out and keep it in a binder. I use dividers to sort categories (baby projects, quilts, etc).
I've only been quilting for a year...(almost), but so far, I've kept all my magazines. I tend to keep all magazines though I did get rid of all my Oprah and Good Housekeeping I had last April when I moved.
Yes, a terrible habit, but we all do it. I let them pile up and when I'm tired of the stacks I re-read and pull out the best ideas and file them.
Sometimes I recycle, sometimes I give to someone or take to work so someone else can enjoy.
I do the same thing. I go through them every so often and either bring them to the guild meeting and put on our sharing table, tear out the patterns and techniques I like, or keep the magazines that have lots of patterns that I like. I just got rid of a bunch of them!
Rip out the pages you like ~ trash the rest! Or you could offer them on your local freecycle.com ~ just leave at the curb for the taker ;)
I finally bought a 3 ring binder and page protectors, then cut out the projects I would actually do, or ones that had skills I could reference, and put each pattern/project in a page protector, than tossed the rest of the magazine.
Rachel, you are reading my mind again. I have been thinking about scanning mine into the computer, converting them to PDFs so I can keep them on the computer and on my kindle if I want to. I have also thought about keeping only the ones, I want to make in paper form...I would love to know what you are planning on doing.
I have magazine holders which can hold about 1-2 years worth of magazines. And I am limiting myself to one bookcase shelf for these magazines. So, each year, I go through the oldest mags, for one more time and tear out what I like - pictures, patterns, techniques, theory, history, etc. Then I have space for the new year's worth of magazines.
I sort my tear-outs using hanging file folders which are labeled. And those folders can be reviewed every now and then to get rid of stuff I no longer want.
I am finding that I save mostly pictures of quilts and not the detailed patterns. I've been quilting long enough that I rarely make the exact copy of the quilt and I like to figure out the yardage, technique, etc.
Liz
About a year ago I went though 10 years worth of magazines and going through them I realized that many patterns are duplicated over the years....just with different fabrics to make them new and fresh. So I kept a couple patterns that I really wanted and then handed over the rest of the 10 years worth of magazines to a friend and then she was to hand then over when she was done with them. Kind of recycling. You can't keep EVERYTHING!!!
Oh honey...I have so many back issues it isn't funny. I love my magazines. I cannot imagine getting rid of them. I actually do go back and look at the old issues too. I would really like to catalog them one day. If only I could find a program that would do that.
Anything over two years goes unless it has a yellow sticky on a page...all are donated to the local library for their book fair.
I would love to have two because we do not get magazines freely available here in Sri Lanka but the cost is sometimes exhorbitant (postage)!
It depends on the magazine. A lot of my old ones are musty, so they stay in the basement, and i hate to throw them out, lol. They have patterns that you can't get anymore, so need to find a way to copy them and then trash the magazine. I actually bought a box of old BHG magazines, I love those, the older patterns are my favorite.
Debbie
I keep way too many . especially the quilts and more. have others too but have weeded out some in past years. Linda Gerig
I still have all of my quilting magazines that I've received over the past 10 years, but I'm needing to come up with some type of long term storage as well. Sounds like someone in the quilting/manufactoring world needs to come up with some type of computer software to store magazines.
I scan the projects or information that I like and keep in a folder on my computer.
I have an external hard drive and a scanner. Because space is limited in a two bedroom apartment, with three cats, a toddler, the hubby and myself, I scan those projects that I think are worth saving and put them on the external.
Then I take my magazines and donate them to friends who haven't read them yet.
Your not alone! I keep most of my magazines for about 4-5 years. I go back and look through them for inspiration. If they are over 4-5 years old I do start thinning them out. I do keep the ones with projects that I plan to do. Good Luck!!!
Good question. I keep all the BH&G quilting magazines including the Quilt Sampler ones. I don't like to tear them apart because my tastes change and I'm always finding projects I want to make.
Sweetie, I'm only sayin' this 'cause my Aunt is a perfect candidate for one of those Hoarding Reality Shows ... if you just can't part with it, tear out only the very best pages that make your heart feel so happy, file them is a binder and toss the rest!
Keeping old stuff just takes up valuable space that could be filled with new & exciting things. ;)
I'm friends with a newbie quilter and she ended up leaving with 3 bags of books and magazines the other day. Now I need to buy more to fill the empty space on my shelves! I do tend to keep most of my magazines though. My tastes change constantly so every time I look over my magazines something new catches my eye.
Whenever I feel guilty about 'letting go' of my magazines, I am reminded that my Quilt Guild has a table with donated magazines - to sell. It is a very large fund raiser for the Guild. Decision made.
I go through, tag what I think I will actually make, hold on to those magazine and donate the rest. there are also a ton of cool projects you could do with recycled magazines out there on the web. Just a thought :)
Hehe at least im not the only one then :p although mine are not quilting magazines (yet).
Although I probably have enough new scientist magazines to open a library!
Insane....yes! I put a post-it on the pattern I want to make and then store them. I need to do a magazine de-stash!! Save only my favorites...I'll get around to that one day!
I only own 1 magazine. I wish it was more but I just haven't had the moolah to buy more just yet. Plus I am a beginner :)
( o my gosh you have a ton of comments! ) Those things are GOLD!!!! I would scan my faves and share them with a quilter fan (cough) then simply bask in the glory of knowing they are being loved just like you loved them. (:
Your collections is amazing for me :) I think you should keep :)
Please don't let them hit the trash! I only have a few magazines.. and they are treasured. I keep them and revisit them on occasion. The are occasionally tubby material when I choose to relax and hide and take some time for myself. I grab a magazine and page through and dream of quilts to come. If you decide to part with them, they would make wonderful giveaway prizes.
I keep the issues that have multiple projects of interest -- if there's only one or two projects, then I cut the articles out and slip them into a 3-ring binder, either hole-punching 'em or using those full-page plastic sleeves. The rest of the magazine I use for craft projects (like magazine beads or collages) for the kiddos at church. There are some super fun (and colorful!) advertisements in quilt magazines, and I've yet to run into content that would be inappropriate for children. {grin}
I am glad I am not the only one..It will be a good idea to tear and keep the ones you will do but Some quilt people put their heart and soul to make it and I hate to tear....but it won't be long I need to downsized. :(
Wow! Lots of magazines, lots of ideas!
With patterns and issues being so readily available online, I keep a year of two of magazines, then sell the rest to Half Price books.
The money I get goes in the donation plate at church or I purchase canned goods for the local food bank.
I figure it's good to share them all around!
All the best - Chris
I too want to save them all. I try to save the ones that have more than one thing I like in it. If it's only a page or two I am interested in, I tear them out.
Thanks for the blog - I enjoy it!!
I usually keep a year's worht in a small bookcase in my sewing room. Once the bookcase gets too crowded or sloppy, I pull out the oldest, go through them one more time, and pull out my favorite patterns or articles that still interest me. Those I keep in page protectors in binders for future reference. Then I pass on the magazines to someone else. When I worked in a quilt shop, we would all bring our magazines or patterns into the shop to swap with each other.
Thinking about seeing if i can be on that "hoarding" tv show. I'm probably (most certainly NOT) the person to give advice on this....
...........but...if i did...i HANG on to them!!!!
Consider the source of this fab advice :)
I was keeping the ones that I had tagged with post-it notes on projects I wanted to make. Then I realized that I would have to go through all of them to find just one project. Not practical so now I'm tearing out the possibles and putting in a binder. I need to organize those by type too but that hasn't happened yet. Luckily, a friend gave me tons of binders she no longer wanted.
I feel your pain:) I have the new magazines on my coffee table and the rest in the cabinet inside my cutting table. Some are inside my purses since I take them with me when I want to make a new project to look for fabric. I just don't have the heart to throw them out. Maybe someday :(
Oh you have nothing like I do...I save every magazine of every medium, be it painting, sewing, quilting, etc etc......I especially love the Australian sewing magazines....
Oh you have nothing like I do...I save every magazine of every medium, be it painting, sewing, quilting, etc etc......I especially love the Australian sewing magazines....
It is sad that all these women are ripping out pages of magazines. Then they put in a other book(3ringbinder)which is more space and more money for the binder and and the sheet proctors. What I do is scan the magazine several times and mark which ones I would do. Then when its time to put it up on the shelf I go back and relook at it and if there isnt a pattern that just sings to me I dont keep it that way when I donate the book it is full end entact for the next reader! How many times have you been in a dr office and reading a magazine and turn the page and the next part of what you want is GONE!! I just think that is wrong!!If Iam going to share I will share the whole thing not parts. Love you and your site by the way keep it up!
Right now I keep all of my magazines in magazine holders in the closet of my sewing room. I just like being able to go through them again after six months or so and it is like they are brand new! I just love looking at them. :)
I love magazines but they really do take up space after a while. Maybe you can find a place to donate them to. One of our local quilt shops is taking donations, selling them, and giving the proceeds to the local no-kill shelter.
I have about 10 yrs worth of magazines neatly oragnized in magazine holders by title and have recently decided to let them go. So I have been flipping through them, ripping out anything Imight want and saving them in sleeves/binders. I'll end up keeping about 25 total that have other interest or lots of projects like holiday special issues. The rest...to recycle!
I have just recently started "letting go" of my quilt magazines that are more than two years old. The one exception (so far!) is that I keep ALL my APQ Quilts and More magazines. They just seem to have the right mix of patterns for my taste.
I DO wish that more magazines would go digital. I just got an iPad and one big reason was to keep my patterns on it for easy reference at all times....
I KEEP intact
when magazines come in the door, I go thru them and post it note tape what I like, then I go to IKEA and bought thier cardboard (white) magazine holders, and each title of magazine, QUILT< F&P gets their own holder for the year. then I go back thru them when I need inspiration. and usually I SEE quilts I didnt see before-lol
Wow! Wish I had that many! Yes, I do keep back issues of magazines and share them with gals from my quilt group. I try once a year to "dig and hoe" out. If there's a specific project in one issue, I'll cut it out and put in a binder.
Currently I just put a post-it bookmark on the pages of the patterns I want to make. When I'm done with a magazine I donate to my guild -- they sell them to raise a little extra for charity quilt supplies.
My Tidewater Quilters Guild accepts used magazines. They sell them for 25 cents at Day and Night Chapter Meetings. The money goes to buy books for the library. With 410 members this can represent quite a bit of income. No one can resist the price!
I also wanted to say that I have every issue of Quiltmaker except one which got lost when we moved overseas. Although the fabrics might look dated, the patterns are great.
I go through my magazines periodically, take out my favorites, place them in page protectors and put them in a binder and discard the rest.
I now subscribe to magazines digitally. Some magazines offer 3 years of back issue when you subscribe for one year. I can put 3 years of magazines on one CD!
I took a day and went through all my piles of quilting magazines and pulled out the pictures and patterns that I actually felt like I might want to make or that I felt were inspiring and put them in plastic sheaths and then all in a binder I keep on my shelf in my sewing room. It saved a lot of space and whittled down the pile to only the patterns I actually might use.
I keep and keep, even if there are some magazine that I can keep on one CD. hugs
KEEP, KEEP, KEEP, KEEP ... I can't imagine giving them away - especially with what they cost $$$$$ (eeek). I would never even consider giving any away to friends - they can buy their own! I wouldn't even loan them out.
Every 6 months I go through my magazines and tear out the patterns I like and place them in sheet protectors and put them in notebooks. I have notebooks for the different type of patterns, i.e., applique, mini, paper pieced etc...
I'm with the "tear out the ones I want to make and put them in clear sleeves in a binder" but with a twist. I do very traditional quilts, my bff is almost strictly oriental prints and kids quilts, our other quilting buddy is all about the modern quilts and solids, and my mom is a landscape quilter and makes bags. So when I'm done with a magazine it makes the rounds. When we're all done tearing out the ones we want there's usually just enough left for the recycling guy.
I just finished sorting through all mine a few weeks ago. I had about 3 bookshelves worth of quilt magazines to go through.
I have 3-ring binders sorted with tabs for different quilt projects (ie. Fat Quarters, Jelly Rolls, Home Decor, Baby, etc). I go through my magazines several times a year and pull out the patterns I really want to keep. Then I put them in page protectors under the correct tab in the 3-ring binders.
I like this method because when I get a new layer cake in, I can flip right to the Layer Cake tab and find a pattern quickly. It's also nice because if you spill, you can wipe it off instead of ruining a pattern (not that I've had experience with this)!
Sorry that's long, but I really love this method!
I only keep the articles that I think I am going to possibly use. Years ago I used to keep the whole magazine but after a few moves with a super heavy box changed my mind. I also subscribed to digital magazines but don't like that either. I like to handle the pages.
I ,too, have tons of old magazines. I used to think that I would use them in a reference library. But I haven't looked at most of them in several years! So, i decided that I will limit myself to one project per magazine, scan it and then give away the magazine.
Yesterday I donated 16 years of gardening magazines. I am now into my 3rd year of a collection of quilting magazines...lol
I just cleaned out my magazine stash. I pulled out pics and instructions that I liked and put them in clear plastic sleeves in a three ring binder. The rest are being shredded for packing material or used to start our charcoal grill and outdoor fireplace.
I also cleaned out my magazine stash recently. Only kept patterns I really liked, and put them in a binder with the directions. The rest is thrown away or recycled. Patterns that I had for years that didn't make me feel happy of excited, got given away or tossed.
I must admit, it wasn't easy to do, but I'm very happy I did it and feel much better for it!
I love magazines and have stacks & stacks (no kidding) all over my house. They are beside my bed, in the living room & in my sewing room. My husband just shakes his head in wonderment.
i have some crafts and knitting magazines an keep them stoge organized on sight im my studio. If you are thinking about put those in the garbageplease dont, here we dont have any quilting magazines and seems like a sin to me =P
Love your blog
I used to keep the magazines - as in EVERY quilt magazine that I bought! But then I grew out of my bookshelf, and then out of the TWO enormous tubs that had magzines in them, and so I made a change. I went through every issue I had and tore out anything that "spoke" to me, whether it was a picture of a quilt, a stack of fabric, a quilt pattern. All of it. Then I sorted them all into categories, put them into folders, and now I get to still have them :)
One tip though - if you're going to take the "keep the bits I want" path, don't forget to keep the pattern sheet!! you'll need that one day! :)
Keep, Keep, Keep... My mother in law just gave me a stack of all her old quilting magazines and I love looking through them....
http://diaryofanovicequilter.blogspot.com/
I am giving mine some serious thought. I have a magazine hoarding problem in general and since I am into other crafts, the amount of back issues I have stashed is a little embarassing. Last year I finally forced myself to recycle TEN years of back issues of MS Living.
I'm thinking about making PDF copies of all of them and storing them digitally.
I'd keep them! I have every issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. I know - I might be a hoarder if I wasn't so organized. However, I love paging through them and getting inspired.
I also save ALL my quilting magazines! I use color coded tabs one color for the quilts I want to make another color for great tips and another for stuff that I want to try. I know this might sound crazy but this way I can quickly go to what I am looking for. Plus when I am having a night I can't sleep, I just like pulling some out and flipping threw them.
I keep mine. Many are pretty old, but I periodically go through them (such as grabbing an armful to look through while traveling on vacation). I find that my tastes and skills have changed over time, and ideas and patterns that didn't inspire me when I first got the magazine now do! I used to stockpile Country Living also, but finally recently "released" a huge Roughtote full of them. Gotta make room for quilting mags, you know. :-)
I used to keep all of mine, then I just started tearing out the pages that I really was keeping the whole magazine for. I had a binder for the torn out pages. But now that there is Pinterest, I don't need to keep any of. As long as the magazine has an online version (most allow you to view the full mag online as long as you have a subscription), then I just pin what I really love to my boards. Space problem solved at home :) Good luck with your decision.
As I am new to the quilting world, I only have a modest number of magazines, that I don't think I will ever throw away. I have friends who have huge piles of them, and I take great pleasure is borrowing them and have made quilts from quite old magazines. Storing them? Yes, I would love to hear of a good way to store them ;)
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