November Organizing Challenge
Posted on November 13, 2023 by prairiemoonquilts in Studio Organizing ChallengeI keep forgetting to post an organizing challenge for us. I just keep chipping away at old challenges, trying to pare down the stuff some more. I hope you, too, revisit the old ones when I forget to add a new one. You can find them all HERE. Or if you simply don’t need to do the one I post, you can visit the page and choose one that you do need to work on. In fact, that was what I recommended for our last challenge, which was way back in September!
But I’ve hopefully gotten my act together enough to tackle something else, so what shall our task be this time?
My imagination fails me, so I’ve once again turned to the cards:
I do desperately need to change my rotary cutter blade! I also need to purchase a new ruler to replace the one that all the numbers and markings have worn off of, so I’ll put that on my shopping list.
Another thing I need to do is flip my cutting mats over. The current side is nearly completely worn out, but they are reversible, so I think it’s time to start using the clean side.
But the rulers . . . I need to go through all of them and see if there are any I don’t use and will probably never use and just get rid of them. I also need to make sure that they’re all stored together, so that when I want one, I can find it.
How about you? Do you already have your rulers in order? If you do, you are ahead of the game, and can use your time working on something else. If not, now’s a good time to go through them and get them organized — join me as I do this for myself!
And don’t forget to change that rotary cutter blade! Your arms will thank you.
Thanks for the reminder to change my rotary cutting blade. I meant to do that yesterday, but never got it done.
The rulers that I use often are beside my cutting table. Everything else is in a fabric bag on one of the shelves in my sewing room closet. I’ve been able to keep up in my sewing room so far. When I finish a quilt top I put everything I’ve been using away before moving onto my next project. My problem right now is I’m not finishing the whole quilt before moving onto the next top that I want to make. I have 4 tops already to sandwich but I’m working on my next top. Going down the rabbit hole.
Mine are organized but need to use them to cut/organize scraps. Maybe get new ones when the corners are not square!
Just started gathering all my rulers to put in one room. The ones with a hole goes on the pegboard, the others hopefully will fit in a drawer.
I have sorted out my domestic machine quilt rulers to give to my friend. She was late plucking up courage to finish her quilts and now she’s progressing fast. She makes lots for Project Linus. We’ll be having a gift exchange at the end of this month. Now I can use the space for my longarm rulers.
I will look for a new challenge.
Years ago I bought some ruler racks from a small
Quilt store in South Carolina where one of the husbands made racks. I now have 2 of the regular size racks. And one with wider slots for free motion rulers. It really helps organize because they are on the wall within reach.
Have a great week📍
I keep my rulers together and the ones I use mostly are by my machine. Don’t forget to check the sides of the rulers you use the most to make sure they are still plumb. Put a side on straight surface and see if you can slide a sheet of paper under it. Or, put the edges together of two rulers. I try to organize something every time I sit at the machine…..sigh.
Give away a ruler I’ve never used and don’t believe I ever will. Guess what I will need for the next project I decide to do??? My rulers take up so little space and my fabric so much, I will just keep working on cleaning up the flannel bins. I did get that one raggy quilt finished and sent off to the birthday teen. That means I can go back to pressing, folding, cutting, and sorting the (massive) inventory.
My rulers are lined up on a wood Ruler rack I bought years ago. So glad for that purchase. My latest organizing is paring down my fabric and donating to a friend who sews dresses for third world countries.
(https://www.dressagirlaroundtheworld.com/) I really don’t need all this fabric sitting in my closet 😉
My rulers are hanging on nails that were already in the wall of the Studio when I bought it. They are behind my cutting table and with them up I don’t need wall art. I did borrow my husband’s new rotary cutter he got on clearance since my blade isn’t as sharp; he liked how easy mine with an old blade removed the silicon gunk off of a transmission where he needed to put a new gasket….
I bought two Omnigrid wood ruler holders, painted them black, attached shelf brackets on the bottom and had hubs mount them on my wall by my cutting station. My rulers are up out of my way but right within my reach. As for rotary blades? As many quilts as I make this time of year, I find myself changing them out almost once a month. It becomes pretty obvious in the cutting when they’re bad!