Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Confessions of a Messy Quilter....

Hello Everyone,

Have you ever been so busy that you just start piling things in places that they shouldn't be normally?  That happened to me last week, actually this particular problem happens to me regularly.


I just start piling things on my ironing board because it is usually empty.  I have several projects that I cut and put there... obviously hoping that I would get to them soon... that is wishful thinking.  But I am going on a retreat in a few weeks, so just maybe?


Do you see any place to iron current projects, like the one on my design wall?  Nope, so you know what that means, I have to move the piles from place to place just to iron.  Do you do that?  Please tell me that I am not the only one that this happens to on occasion.  

If you don't do this, what kind of things happen in your studio that sometimes inhibits your creative process?  I would love to hear about it, that would make me feel less alone.

Oh, and don't forget about my giveaway going on here...

Until Next Time...

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36 comments:

Steffi´s Candy Quilts said...

Oh yes, I do that too. On the ironing board, on the cutting table...and then I have to move it all when I want to work...:-)

kitty said...

You are certainly not the only one, Jackie!
Judging by your picture my ironing board would envy yours!!

Karen M said...

That is exactly what my space looks like when I am working on one of several projects that are in different stages at the same time. It makes no sense to put things away only to have to turn around and get them out again. I guess it is the result of a creative mind at work.

denise said...

Oh yes. I have just spent days cleaning the studio because I am hosting bee tonight ad we will be 8 in my room. I usually clean after each project but I have neglected doing that. Now because I have so much cleaning, I was unable to sew for a few days. Last night cooking for tonight's snack....Glad it is clean now. Back to the machine tomorrow after WORK........

Sharon - Lilabelle Lane said...

Oh yes, my cutting table is where all my piles are and currently my scrap bucket is overflowing and needs sorting but my 12 y.o. is resisting my requests .... it may end up costing me :o)

MAUREEN said...

Being a major "squirrel chaser, I do this all the time. Then, I will have to move the stuff, but will put it right back! Finally, I will put it away ... and forget all about it for weeks! I think that I leave things out so I won't forget them ... >>sigh<<

tisme said...

I also do this all the time. I move piles around, need to iron, move them to cutting area, need to cut, back to ironing board. I clean off the table area about once a month, but when I go to bed, it sneaks back up there.

Gene Black said...

Sigh! Yes I do that... I am not sure why..but I think the creative process takes control so we pile rather than take the time to properly put away stuff.

Ellie Q said...

Yep, I currently (and usually) have fabric piles all over the floor. It tends to happen because I'm so excited to start my next project that I don't want to take time to put away the scraps from the previous one. It's a bad habit, and the reason my husband won't even darken the door of my studio (which actually is a good thing!).

Cardygirl said...

We could have been separated at birth...LOL!

Pinkadot Quilts said...

I have fabric on the kitchen table, magazines on the kitchen counter and my bedroom, does that count?
At this point I can't sew until I clean my sewing room!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

sometimes my cutting table is so covered I can't see the top. Most of the time I am fairly neat - but - I am normally more of a hand sewer than you are - so I have things stacked in a box or whatever while I am working on a project - when I machine sew a project I have things all over the place including draped over the quilting frame to the point of having to move things so I can quilt!!
Karen

Nedra said...

You know you are singing to the choir, don't you? I'd like to meet the quilter who DOESN'T have piles of projects here and there. Sometimes I get organized and place them in boxes, waiting to be worked on, but then I have piles of boxes....

trillium said...

yes, I have to move piles around, from ironing board to table to side table, as I sew & iron.

Angela N. said...

You are not the only one! My sewing area is at the foot of my bedroom. Im often putting piles on the bed and leaving them there. My husband goes to bed and stands there wondering if he is brave enough to attempt moving my piles, or if he is brave enough to call me back there to clean up. Poor guy.

patricia said...

Ont the ironing board--never! Where would I dry the "line dry" tops? Do not, however, attempt to sit on the futon. Only real problem I have is when I need it for sleeping company. Then, the ironing board gets moved over and piled high. Guess there is no escaping it.

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

Here a pile, there a pile, everywhere a pile, pile..... We all have the same situation, it's called creativity. The neat freaks aren't creative. so we're all smiling together......

mascanlon said...

Just last weekend I got a container and picked up all the piles stacked in front of the shelves in my sewing room and gathered all the piles from the top of the guest room dresser ( well we are having guests this week..lol) and a few new arrivals that came in the mail...but I am already forgetting what's in there and I know I need it soon! I think we are hopeless!

Kathy H said...

I had that same problem yesterday. i had a big pile of projects on my ironing board so moved them to my cutting table so I could iron the project I was working on. Then of course, I had to square up the block and there was the pile on my cutting board! It seems like an endless cycle.

What Comes Next? said...

My ironing board looks just like yours, my cutting table is piled high - couldn't cut a thread on it it is so bad, and my floor, well, lets just not go there. Even around my sewing machine I've got 3 or 4 wips in piles. Oh to be more organized! You are definitely not alone!

em's scrapbag said...

Oh if you could only see my sewing room now. So good to know I'm in good company.

YankeeQuilter said...

You are so not along...my fabric piles grow legs and invade the kitchen (great light and the island is just the right height and size for cutting borders), the family room (have to have hand work while watching the TV), and even the dining room (huge wall to use as a design wall where I can get back a decent distance and ponder with a cup of tea....) Periodically I have to do a round-up....

krislovesfabric said...

Oh, you should see my cutting table, or rather, you can sorta see a corner of it...lol!

Ella said...

Um..I don't have a design wall or a table. I just pile crap on the guest bedroom bed and on the floor. The ironing board (and the coffee table) round out the places I've dumped projects. At least yours appears to be contained to one room!

Penny from S.C. said...

I would say that you should see my sewing room, but on second thought, NOT! I have piles everywhere. I just can't seem to get it straightened up. If you figure it out, let me know...

Jean(ie) said...

I operate on the "if I don't see it, it doesn't exist" theory.

So everything is out and about. And yes, my ironing board has a pile on top, as well. Heck, any flat surface is covered... You know where I'm going with this. LOL!

I'm toying with putting a small table inside my closet to use for temporary storage, which will hopefully clear the other surfaces. But that will only get filled before more stuff... LOL!

I clean at least once a week. or at least try to...

Venus de Hilo said...

Oh yes. In fact I have a stack of partially pieced blocks waiting to be pressed, which cannot happen until I move all the cr*p off the ironing board. Normally I just shift it all to the little sofa, but that's heaped with stuff, too, today.

Gari in AL said...

Well, I guess you got your answer and you now know that you are not alone in the piling up stuff routine. I, too, have to clean surfaces in order to get to work. In fact, I need to get to the studio to do just that as I have a lot of cutting and sewing that needs my attention.

Wivi said...

I move it around from the cutting table to the ironing board and back again.

Wivi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cathi said...

You are definitely not alone! I have a Featherweight card table which is where my sewing machine lives. As I rarely use the sewing machine, the table has become the catch-all and the mountain of stuff gets unmanageable! Of course, then when I do want to use the sewing machine, I'm forced to clean that up -- until the next time, when it's almost always as bad. Your ironing board doesn't look too bad to me!

Pamela said...

Yep, piles everywhere in my sewing room - cutting table, ironing board, sewing table...I wonder how I would function if I just got rid of them all?

Mama Pea said...

Happens to me all. the. time!

Nancy said...

Do we not create our own Triangle of work? Much like a kitchen with the sink, fridge and stove...Quilters and Crafters have the cutting table, ironing surface and sewing machine..and lets be generous and say we do it because it causes us to MOVE!! It's the only exercise some of us get! And piles on the floor only give us more exercise jumping over and dodging around them...

We are creative people, not neat freaks..

Sew Create It - Jane said...

Your ironing board looks just like mine :o) The family huffs and puffs when they need to iron their clothes because they have to move all the piles to get to it...

jeifner said...

I don't have a dedicated sewing room or studio. My sewing machine ends up where I can stash it for a night or week: the bonus room, entry closet, laundry room or piano room. Half my laundry room cabinets are stuffed to the gills with folded, color coordinated beautiful fabric. As are some of the shelves in my clothes closet. The projects? Oh they are on the ottoman in the bonus room, the bench under the window, the counter in the laundry room and at least one is on the floor in my bedroom. I've read before that some peoples organization systems are piles. It's not wrong, just a different method for the madness :)

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