Good resolutions!  I am a beginning spinner, but I keep making yarn and then I don't do anything with it.  My friend just knit a sweater with her handspun, maybe I will do that this year.

Hey Stefanie - I just moved and set up my craft room and it came down easily and went up easily because of my use of those clear plastic drawer units.  I'm so proud....take a peek:

www.spacerock.com/.../index.php

The home I moved into already had shelving around the ceiling which is great because I elminated one bookshelf - my new craft room is smaller than the one I left.  Strangely, it feels like I have more room in my new one.  I think organization is EVERYTHING.  I do have a problem with stuff piling up on my table - the two sides lift up and have storage and I can't get to it if I put stuff on top of those surfaces, so I try to be dilligent.  

Using pegboard helps a great deal to keep tools I use in sight, yet neatly hung.  I'm ordering some little buckets to hang from the pegboard - got that idea from an article I read online last week.  You can put groups of tools (i.e. quilling if I'm in the mood to quill) and hang them there and when you need them, you take them down, use them on the table, then hang them back up.

I go to garage sales and have picked up spice racks which work great for holding adhesives, paints, etc.  I picked up a couple of those drawer units at garage sales.  I had to stash my fiber in those - my cats can't open them and they love to get at my wool!

I'm learning to spin and need to carve out daily spinning time.  That's my new years resolution!!!!!

Regards from CA,

Marian

Free advice?  Sure, I've got some!

Put up some sort of big bulletin board over your computer desk and your sewing machine.  The pegboard idea from Harleycoder is good - especially with little buckets hung with tools or 'stuff' you will use together.  Also think about a shelf a little above or next to the desk to get stuff off the surface but still easily available.  For the bulletin board over the sewing machine try this:  A piece of foam insulation board (or something similar), covered with felt or something similar.  Fabric pieces will stick to it with out pins and other things can be pinned up.  Allows a lot of freedom to put up bits and pieces you are working on/thinking about, as well as ideas and inspiration for the future.

Think about storing fabric and fiber - the stuff visible on shelves, by color.  It looks very cool and also helps spark ideas.  All boxes must go.  Things must be stored in closets or on shelves or you will always be digging in the boxes and forgetting that you have something or where it is.  Make a nice place for the cute kitties - but don't let them make your stash their bed.

I think you have books or magazines on the shelves in the closet.  Turn them so the spines are visible and arrange by craft and size.

Put up some large art work (posters, paintings, photos) in addition to the bulletin boards.  They will help the walls not look too busy with all the small things that are likely to be on the bulletin boards.  That's another reason to use the fabric covered ones.  If you use a super cool fabric the areas of the board that show are still 'art'.

Hope some of these ideas help.  I find it easier to give others ideas for studio design than to get my own studio completely organized and decorated.  But I am making progress.

Good luck.  Show us an 'after' picture in a few months.

Colleen in Kansas.

Oh this picture makes me feel so much better !  My studio has "oozed out" into the rest of my SMALL home, so I just say I live in my studio.  aaarrrgghhh - I need a bigger house....

Love the cat, especially - he/she looks like my Panda, my dearest critic and fiber supervisor.

Hello Stefanie,

I can't comment on your inability to commit to making larger garments than hats or scarves, but I can make a comment on tidying up your workroom because I have the same problem on an intermittent basis.   In other words, I tidy up then over the next 12 months the room gradually becomes untidy again so has to be re-organised.  So...I'm an expert!

I have found the best way to organise a mess that sends you into a spin, is to tackle things bit by bit.  Say to yourself, OK, this weekend, I am going to sort out the books and get them organised properly.   Then perhaps the following weekend, decide on collecting up all your tools and organising them.  Then on another occasion, sort out and stack your fibre etc. etc.   It might take you a couple of months to get everything done but at least it will be done!  

When everything is organised, you can then begin to think about hanging the Spin-Off calendar and other inspirational pictures.

Happy organising from the Land Down Under.

Barbara B.

Hints - I organized my yarn/fiber studio just before Christmas.  The yarn and fiber went into large, clear plastic bins and are roughly sorted by weight or dyer.  The yarn was all inventoried into Ravelry,  Now I know exactly why I don't need any additional stash. lol. The bins line the exterior walls providing extra insulation.  

All of the UFOs were gathered together and also sorted into large bins (seven of them, shudder).  They were roughly sorted into just needs seaming, or project type, ie socks, lace, sweaters etc.  A  surprising amount just need finished.

The books were originally sorted onto the shelves by topic; general stuff ie Barbara Walker, how to , stitch patterns; individual designers; styles/types of knitting, Aran, Nordic, Fair Isle; spinning; dyeing; machine knitting.  Then I ran out of shelf space.  

Individual patterns have been organized by type and placed in loose lead binders.

My drafting table and knitting machine have been shoved against the window overlooking the garden.  And plenty of light provided for the work area.  

Unless in use, tools are stashed in smaller clear plastic (stacking) bins and sorted by craft.  A comfortable chair, complete with sheepskin and plenty of light are in there along with a TV and my stereo system.    

A white board and bulletin board were installed next to the desk.  And artwork and diplomas complete the walls.

Productivity is great fun.

But what is the point of having so much stuff that you can't keep track of it? Perhaps your room is telling you it's time to downsize?

It holds tons of yarn! Boxes and baskets help corral the yarn.  And books.  And finished woven items. And – it doubles as a warping board.  I bought dowels that will fit in the waves of the front of the shelving and cut them to the length I wanted.  When I want to wind off a warp – I space the dowels where I need them.  In the picture, I don’t have a dowel for the cross – but – I ALWAYS use enough dowels to make a cross.  At the beginning or the end of the warp or both.  Notice the narrow shelf that holds the dowels and reeds and leasing sticks.

The use of dowels (or knitting needles) with the shelves are limitless.  You can poke them in the side of the shelf and hang yarn, bags, etc.  I asked before I took all those IKEA paper tape measures.  Oh – and hair clips for when you need to get down and dirty with the loom.

I poked some dowels in the front and hung my warping board on it.  Also – notice the pre-measured warps hanging on the side?  And – notice the magnetic clips on the left side?  These are great for weighting errant warp threads.

Magnetic clips hold instructions, notes, etc.

And – if you want to try out color combinations, you can use the dowels for that!

I have pics to show how great this is - if you want - I'll email them

Sorry to laugh, my dear, but it looks just like my craft room. Although I *have* started sorting it out, which means the kids' playroom now has a corner piled up with my stuff (I find it easier to empty the room and then sort everything into it). As this state of affairs cannot last (not least because of my daughter going through it all and saying "Oh, look, Mum, what is this for? Can I have a go? Do you still need this?" etc) it is a great incentive to keep going until it is all done. Hopefully by the end of this week? Good luck with yours.

I can relate to this one!

My aunt just gave me my grandma's old knitting machine. I'm really excited to try it out, but first... Well, I have to clean my room. This is a nightmare because my room is a disaster area, big-time. I mean, it's REALLY bad. You have to climb over stuff to get in, some stuff is piled up almost as high as I am tall, there's moths in there (*GULP*) and a sea of soda cans.... It's a daunting task, to say the least. Which is why I've been sleeping on the pull-out couch for months. And now I've turned it into a disaster area, too! I have tons of stuff piled all over the rest of the couch, though I have luckily organized almost all of my fiber and yarn. (By organized, I mean 'put all my yarn in one big plastic crate, all of my fiber in another.)

I reeeeallly need to clean in here. I'm supposed to be spending today cleaning in my room. Blech. But I suppose it has to be done. After all, if I don't clean it up and move all the old furniture out, I won't have room to put a spinning wheel if and when I can afford one. ^_^

As for organizing your own craft room - I would suggest storage cubbies and diamond-shaped wine racks for fiber and yarn.

For your first sweater, I'd recommend the book Knits Three Ways by Melissa Matthay. I used it for my first sweater (which didn't turn out so nicely, but I had only just learned to knit) and the pattern was easy and quick. I made the 'Eve' sweater, which is a super-simple, very very basic pattern, all stockinette so that the bottom, sleeves, and neck curl nicely.  Of course, this pattern is knitted flat and then seamed, so it might not be the best one for you. Knitty has a couple patterns for sweaters, and "Tempting" looks pretty good for a first sweater, plus it's cute. ^_^

I hear ya!  Disorganized startitis is my middle name.  I too have my own hobby/craft space and need to get it organized.  I've started several times, but can't seem to figure out a system that works for me.  I sure would like to hear advice from and/or see pictures of people who have conquered this situation...on limited funds.

I do have a suggestion for doing a larger project.  Try a vest next. No sleeves to do and if you find one worked in the round to the armholes (see Elizabeth Zimmermann if you dare to design an easy one for yourself) you'll only have the shoulder seams to put together.  Then you can move on to a sweater knit in the round.  I always knit both sleeves of a sweater at the same time on one long circular needle.  Somehow having both done at once seems much better than finishing one only to have to do another just like it.

Oh boy, it's not just me.  I am moving to a new house this year and I am determined to make it work; I am convinced I can with a little more organization.  The room is about the same size.  I am having help by my friend who is more organized than I; I'm an "artiste" you know, ha, ha.  Try as I might I just couldn't get things right with shelving, bins, etc.  My cats also love the variety of fabrics they can choose for thier resting places.  Good luck to you; I think I'll need it too.

ps   I have an ongoing problem with trying to fit 50 lbs into a 5 lb bag!!

Lots of great ideas shared here.  Guess I will put in my $.02 worth.

My mother has been 'going to get organized' for years.  Her sewing room has never been perfectly arranged.  Therefore, she doesn't get much done.   She is into 'perfection' more than 'production.'  If she spent half the time actually making something that she does re-shuffling stuff, it would all be used up by now!  One way I avoid this is by working on something EVERY DAY...even if it is only for 15 minutes.  It is amazing how much elephant a person can eat in just a few minutes each day.

The other thing that I try to incorporate into my life is this.  Periodically I will go through my stuff, listing all the UFOs, be it quilting, spinning, knitting, unread books borrowed from friends.  I will list these on a piece of paper and put it next to the sewing machine or in my knitting bag.  I am not allowed to begin any new projects until I have completed 3 previously begun.  Marking those projects off the list is such a relief.  Feels like a thousand pounds off my shoulders at times.

There is less to organize and deal with when the stash becomes useable items.

In the meantime, if you know you aren't going to use it for a while put it in a box and get it out of sight.  That way you are not as overwhelmed.  Just leave out the projects that you are currently working on.  

Another thing I have found useful is to have working areas which are user friendly.  Sometimes that means the room just isn't going to look like something out of a decorator magazine.

Love the ideas presented here about the peg board, clear totes, priortizing, downsizing, and setting things up where you can see the beauty of nature as you work.  If all else fails, you could always watch an episode of Hoarders on A&E.  You'll realize it ain't so bad after all!

Carol June

I think you should use your wall space to the max.  Go to Sam's or Costco and get some sturdy restaurant shelving and stack it up to the ceiling.  (A step stool will let you access it when you need to get to the top.)  Then fill clear bins with your stuff (yarn, fiber, fabric, etc.)and put it on the shelves.  You can fit an awful lot of things on one wall that way.  Then you can see what you have, but it is out of the way and protected from dust and cat hair.  And it leaves you some room to work.  I have 11' ceilings and I have shelves all the way up.  It's great.  P.S.  Love your cats.

I too have just moved into a craft room with my first floor loom, I left everything else packed in the dining room (next room) covered all my walls with shelving and sorted and stored one box at a time, labelling etc., it's compact but workable.

for my first jumper, I measured my self drew a basic shape, sleeve body sleeve,  a large "T" shape,

knitted it sideways, sleeve, increase to body,  did a large button hole in middle for neck,decrease to sleeve, folded in half and sewed up. It falls beautifully with sideways rows.  Happy tidying.  sue

I have my "studio" which holds my stash and tools.  I purchased some flexible, stackable fabric cubes and organise by fiber and weight.  I also have two hanging sweater bags on a garment rack.  Allows for 10 areas of storage, plus room on top.

I also have "weavables" in baskets on a bookshelf, organised by color.  In closet I have my grandmother's sewing chest with all notions, thread, etc.  An old clear plastic shoe bag holds all extra knitting needles/crochet hooks by size.

I have artwork I have done on the wall.  Old, dried palettes.  Unfortunately, the day bed which was to be my lounging, knitting space has become a repository for rovings.  I really need to get those organised as they seemed to mushroom this winter.  I also put up some paper lantern lights to amuse.  I have an old shelving unit which holds books, magazines and patterns in magazine boxes.

I organized my yarns by buying canvas sweater organizers from Canadian Tire; the organizer hangs from the closet bar and has 6 compartments for sweaters. Instead of sweaters, I use it to organize all of my yarn. I also bought a plastic organizer tower that has pull out drawers; 1 drawer for needles, 1 for miscellaneous tools, 1 for all my magazines and DVD's and 1 for all my small balls of yarn. My yarn closet looks glorious!

Thanks for all the great comments everyone - there are some really great ideas here! I've made a small bit of progress already (on the room organization, not the sweater yet) and I'll keep you updated in future blog posts!