Things That Helped Me Stay Organized and Focused
Posted by Kirsten Fisher on Aug 13th 2020
By nature, I am not a very organized and focused person. My studio often looks like it has been hit by a tornado with my fabrics and tools all over the place.
With organizers in my draws, I have learned to put my tools away in the right place, when I clean up my studio.
To keep my fabrics organized I do two things.
Every time I buy a piece of fabric, I mark it before I wash it. If it has selvage with the brand, name, and ID number, I cutout a piece of the selvage and attach it with a safety pin to the end of the fabric.
If the fabric does not have the info on the selvage, and all solid color fabrics do not, I check the receipt. My two local quilt stores and all internet stores all have the info on the receipt. If your receipt does not have the info just ask for it when you check out. Before you wash the fabric use a Sharpie marker to write the brand, name, and ID number on a piece of Tyvek envelope, (you can get many pieces out of 1 envelope). Attach the piece to the fabric with a safety pin.
After I have washed and ironed the fabric, I fold it twice, so it is between 10 and 11 inches wide. When I use Blue Painters Tape for Multi Surface attach to the end of the fabric with the ID info to a piece of cardboard. I either cut out my own cardboard or buy pieces of cardboard 8 1/2'' x 11'' at the local comic book store or on the internet.
When I have a very large piece of fabric, I fold the fabric in half and put it onto a piece of cardboard 23''x 8''.
When the fabric is folded I put it in my bookcase. That way I can see all my fabrics, and they are easy to get to and use.
I try to keep my colors organized but that does not always work.
Sometimes I end up with a color combination I really like, and it becomes the colors in my next project.
To help me stay focus I designed a timesheet that I tape to the door to my studio. To stay organized I tied a pen to the door handle, so I don't have to go looking for one before I fill out the form.
The timesheet gives the date, time-in, time-out, the project I am working on and the time spend. It signals to me that I am now working, and it helps me reach my goal of spending 30 hours a week in my studio, which doesn't always happen. When I wonder where my time went, the timesheet tells me how much time I spend on each project, so now I know.
On the door to my studio, I also have a bright pink apron I put on every time I work. It's like a work uniform, signaling to me that I am working.
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