I grew up with a mother who sewed. She made our clothing, but rarely did any home decoration or other sewing. It was probably rare when she bought fabric “just because” she liked it. Usually, she bought with a project in mind. I remember quite clearly going to the fabric store with her (which I found boring to the extreme back then), picking out patterns and fabric for school clothes, and waiting as she had the fabric cut, consulting the back of the pattern envelope all the while. I don’t know for a fact if this is true or not, but I doubt she had a very large stash while we were kids.

Oh, how times have changed! Now with not one but two dedicated sewing spaces, my mother has made up for lost time by building a stash that would terrify most people, quilters and seamstresses included. Her sewing room is … interesting. There are projects and fabric everywhere. Whenever I go in there, I feel a little faint at the overwhelming array of what she has in there.

To be fair, I have my own large stash – and it grows every year. The difference between my mother and I is … the closet in my studio has a door, so I can hide much of my stuff away – hers does not. I have made a bold attempt to organize my things, as you can see from these photos.

The problem is, the “system” I’ve come up with doesn’t work. It’s not really functional – the fabric is hidden in the closet, which means every time I want to use a stash piece, I have to dig for it. Further, I only ever really dig for fabric if I remember that I have something useful for the project. What’s the point of having a stash if you never remember to check it out?!

My mom and I have also talked about how regular bookcases leave quite a bit of room above them that is virtually dead space. This doesn’t really help much … what’s the point of having all that dead space? We know we need major storage, and a solution that has major flexibility.

Enter The Container Store. I stumbled in there last night just because I needed out of the house and I like looking in there. But I never considered going there for help with my studio. Frankly, I still wouldn’t consider it because I thought that they were too expensive, and I don’t want a lot of holes in my studio walls from brackets and such. But last night, my eyes were opened. Elfa now makes some pretty cool stuff – like free-standing closet organization components and track systems that require only the track to be attached to the walls. It’s really very cool. And somewhat expensive. OK, who am I fooling? It’s going to cost quite a lot for what I have in mind.

What do I have in mind, you ask? Well, I intend to replace the table I currently use for my serger with a desk surface that is a little longer and a lot deeper. I will be able to use both my computer and my serger there. Above that, I intend to have storage for patterns, books and magazines, software and embroidery cards, and thread. Currently I have to get up and walk across the room for all of that. It’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that it’s not efficient.

The other two walls I intend to build out will have storage for fabric – LOTS of storage for fabric! A place for my ribbons and other embellishments, storage for all of my scrapbooking, jewelry making and needlework supplies, and hopefully room to grow as I add more fabric to my stash. I’m also hoping that I’ll be able to work out space for the soap and candle supplies I keep handy. On the other hand, I may have a solution worked out for the storage closet that will make better use of the space and give me a place to store that stuff downstairs, instead of having to carry it up and down the stairs every time I need to make something.

At any rate, I intend to start this endeavor soon. It may take me years to get it all done, but done it will be. At least if we ever decide to move, the system will move with me.

I’ll be documenting the process here, step by step … so stay tuned to find out how it works. I’ll be starting with a visit to The Container Store for my free consultation, which I’ll tell you about, and the journey from chaos and clutter to organized and peaceful. It will be lots of fun, quite a bit of work, and a learning experience for anyone who’s interested.

I may yet become the most organized quilter on my block!