organization Archive

Originally posted 2008-12-21 06:22:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Is your husband like mine, unwilling to enter a needlepoint shop on his own? Today’s needlepoint gift is the perfect solution. He will get to shop in a store he’ll love and you will get some great project bags. The store is Cabela’s and the bag (pictured above) is the Wet Essentials Bag. It can be found in the camping section. Three sizes are available, large (10×8), extra-large (12×10) and XXL (15×12). The mesh on the outside makes them impervious to scissors and needles. The zipper will hold your stuff in the bag. They have a clamp in the side so you can attach them to things like your table or floor stand and the gusset bottom makes for easy expansion. I love my bags and the price (under $10 for the largest size) is great. I’m so glad me friend

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Originally posted 2009-03-08 08:22:30. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThe major task in front of me today for studio organization is starting to sort the books. Two of the four bookshelves have been made and I need to start filling the shelves. Before we moved me books had seriously overflowed the shelves I had, so I’m REALLY hoping that these shelves will be enough. But the question for me is how can I organize the books to be grouped so I can find things. In most of the house I have books living in what I can “happy anarchy,” that is with no organization at all. Sometimes I think my DH would like more order, but just getting books up is hard enough, sorting them is worse. There is no doubt that if your books are organized you can find things faster and you are less likely to buy the same

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Originally posted 2011-01-15 07:38:10. Republished by Blog Post Promoter So how can needlepoint be a blitzkrieg? Those who know some history of World War II will know that this term, often shortened to “Blitz,” refers to a quick, heavy strike of bombs on an area. In military terms it is supposed to be so devastating that the effected area submits. In practicality it didn’t always work out that way. And so, from time to time, I find myself with more needlepoint projects started, and relatively near completion than I would like. I know when I get to that point because I start to feel a nagging need to get stuff off the frames and into the finished pile. Sometimes it’s actual deadlines that compel this feeling. No doubt when generals plan blitzes, they no doubt have a variety of reasons as well. But I got hit with the need to

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Over the weekend I had a revelation, one you probably have had as well, my needlepoint stash is out of control. I think I may have bought too many canvases in the last year and not used enough of my thread stash. I had been doing OK, but now the bag with unstitched canvases is full to overflowing. When that happens, it’s time to take action. Do triage on the part of your stash that’s out of control. Triage means separate things into three piles: keep (stuff you will do or use), Sell/giveaway, and trash. Throw out what’s trash and find storage for what you keep. Decide what to do with what is in the sell.giveaway pile. You can give it to charity, sell it yourself, give it to your guild for a charity auction, or give it to a consigner to sell. There are lots of good ones. I

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Originally posted 2006-11-10 07:13:55. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThis fantastic tip comes from Caela Conn Tyler and was posted by Gini Armstrong on the ANG list. The ANG list is a fantastic resource for discussion and information about needlepoint and is hosted by the American Needlepoint Guild (http://www.needlepoint.org). It’s a must read! Gini told us that “At a pilot class early this year, Caela Conn Tyler mentioned a great way to get through a long project. She suggested doing 2 stitching lengths each day. That also sounds like a great way to work off UFOs. Two lengths is a manageable amount and by breaking the project into those manageable bites, it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. Caela used that example to share how she’d spent less than a year to stitch a large Christmas stocking that had been in her “collection” for some years.” Caela added that doing this is part

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Originally posted 2008-04-16 06:18:54. Republished by Blog Post PromoterRita, a stitcher in New Jersey, sent me an email yeterday. She asked: how about giving some tips on best ways to store your “stash” of extra threads? Do you advise doing it by color? What method of storing works best? Do you recommend those little Floss away bags on a ring? I often get asked this question, so here’s what I do. If you have another way to roganize your stash, let us know in a comment. For a long time, I kept threads wherever I could, mostly in the garage. This is not an ideal place to keep stuff as it’s damp and usually less insulated than the rest of the house. Then, we were cleaning the garage and my DH found some threads, then more threads, then more threads. He was not a happy camper and I had to

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Originally posted 2009-01-23 11:27:30. Republished by Blog Post PromoterAlthough the studio is in temporary mode, I am making progress. It was supposed to be the dining room and so it is adored with a HUGE chandelier (4 feet tall) in the center. It’s so low that the room has two tall cardboard boxes under it so I don’t bump into it (and I’m only 5’2″). I’m working on a folding table because this is the only corner where my wireless device can pick up the router signal and I can’t move my desk yet. The carpet pile is too thick to make it easy to move bins, BUT . . . Progress is being made. I have the WIPs arranged in baskets, the color cards back in their bins and all threads sorted nicely. I was reading an article in Shop Smart (a Consumer’s Report magazine) about organizing and not

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I bet you have always thought that as a needlepointer going to places like the drug store, hardware store or office supply store was a part of the rest of your life. A dreary necessity that had to be endured. I generally think so too, but in fact all these places hold lots of wonderful (and inexpensive) things you can use to make your needlepoint life easier, more organized, and more fun. Office Supply Store If you haven’t gone out and bought yourself a lever style staple remover go do it. For anyone who uses staples or tacks to attached canvas to a frame, this is an invaluable tool saving nails and manicures. The thin tip of the lever goes under the staple or tack and pressing down on the other end lifts it. Finding places to store needles can always be a problem. You can make yourself an elegant

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Originally posted 2004-10-15 22:07:34. Republished by Blog Post PromoterScottie shared this wonderful 12 step program for stitchers with the Needlepoint ETC list,a Yahoo group for needlepointers. You can subscribe to this group through their home page. A few days ago someone mentioned a 12 step program for stitchers and I just happen to have one. Select 12 unfinished projects. Yes, we all have 12 unfinished projects. Maybe you just need a skein of floss or a small button to finish one of those projects. Maybe you have everything you need butit is scattered about and you need to organize. Make a list of everything you need to finish each project. Gather 12 stitching bags and number them 1 thru 12. Put a project in each stitching bag. As BJ says you can never have too many stitching bags. Donna has at least 36 and is looking for more. Make a

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You might be well-rounded, knowledgeable about the world and able to converse with people on many topics, but is your stash well-rounded? Can you find threads there to stitch many kinds of canvases? If you have a canvas stash do you have a canvas you can use to make a quick gift? If you do charted needlepoint or design your own projects, do you have enough blank canvas to start a new project when inspiration strikes? No matter how small or large your stitching space may be, planning and buying for your stash strategically creates a stash that is like a well-rounded guest at a party — able to fit in anywhere and do a variety of things. So what goes into a well-rounded stash? Basic metallics – In your preferred metallic thread (or threads) have a gold and silver you like. Most lines have several shades of these so

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Don’t let this be you! Organizing your stash can be an enormous source of happiness. By shopping your stash first, my rule for over 20 years, you become happy because you can spend your money on new threads, instead of buying the same thread over and over again. This makes you happy because you are buying new stuff and using what you have. But just like a shop doesn’t jumble all threads in all colors together, organizing a stash makes you happy because you can find things more easily. Your threads and canvases are where you can find them, organized in the way that makes sense to you (by color or by thread type). There are lots of containers that can hold your stash and when you are doing this look for ones that look beautiful, use your space, and make you happy. I have a huge variety of containers

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My biggest problem when it comes to doing a Scrap Bag Needlepoint project is my Scrap Bag itself. It’s a mess. In fact it’s three of them. First there is my “wad” of silk (thanks to Sharon G for this wonderful description). It’s all my unlabeled silks. It’s in a box on a high shelf. Supposedly it’s there if I need just a bit of a color, but in reality I haven’t used it in over 3 years. Second there is my “current” scrap bag. It’s a small box that lives on my desk. Leftovers go in it. I sometimes use it for projects. But it’s completely unsorted. Third there is my “old” scrap bag. It’s a much bigger box, packed with threads. It’s so full I can’t find anything in it. So it mostly lives in the garage. Mostly, when doing a scrap project I pull threads from my

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I learned about these lovely bags in Needlepoint Now & immediately wanted to find out more. I’ve had a lovely email conversation with Barb Garrana, the maker of these custom bags. I am really impressed with them and with her. Throughout the article, the pictures you see are of her bags. You can contact her for more information or to order a bag at bgbagsbybarb.com. Each bag is custom-made. Barb explains it this way: “Each bag is themed, using 4-6 different fabrics and a limited number of each fabric combination is made. This keeps in interesting for both the customer and myself. The themes reflect user’s areas of interests, e.g. travel, gardening, cowboys, cooking etc. I am constantly collecting new fabrics so if a customer has a theme in mind I am happy to try to accomodate them.” The bags are 18″ tall x 15″ wide by 5″ deep (excluding

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I recently had a chance to try out a couple of the lovely bags from Atenti. According to their website their line features “innovative fabrics and embellishments from all over the world; from textile mills in the United States, Italy, Spain and Argentina to laces and buttons from France and Great Britain.” I tried out two of their needlearts bags: their accessories pouch and their caddy. Atenti makes a wide variety of bags in heavy-duty fabrics. Their line is changing all the time, so if you see a pattern you like, buy it. They are sold only through retailers. Both bags are made of heavy-duty upholstery fabric and cotton, with a sturdy canvas lining. They will stand up to lots of use and last for years. The accessories pouch is more than 8″ wide and 7″ high so it is large enough to hold all the tools I might need

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Originally posted 2008-12-26 19:51:40. Republished by Blog Post PromoterProbably at some time in your life you will have to move. Both my DH and I have moved rarely in our lives (once for him before we married, twice for me until I moved out here), so doing this is a BIG DEAL. It’s also a big deal because I have lots of needlepoint stuff. Not only is it my work, it is also my passion and, like most of us, I have lots of stash. If it were a perfect world, the movers would come and magically pack everything one day and set it up in the new house the next day. But this magic costs big bucks and so we are doing most of the packing ourselves. Over the summer most of my needlework books got packed, so I only have about two boxes of them left out. I’m

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