By Kathryn

I have a low bookshelf next to the foldable sewing table in my tiny sewing room in an attempt to maximize storage space. However, the shelf is full and I also have some piles of projects and materials on top of it plus several small totes and bins stacked in front of it.

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Trying to find an item I am looking for on the shelf or in the piles is a challenge, to say the least. As I have been finishing small projects that have been sitting half-finished in my sewing room I have been thinking ahead of ways to make the space more functional and usable.

The reality is that although I have the bookshelf and a couple of small shelves hanging on the wall above the sewing table, I really can’t store a lot in the closet. I will need to be picky about what stays and what goes.

After spending time this morning piecing the quilt top I am working on for my sister and her husband, I focused on decluttering items on the bookshelf that I know I don’t need there anymore.

Today I considered the stack of project related books and magazines I have. I have learned that these are easy to find at book stores and rummage sales. People have given me stacks of craft magazines for nothing before. It isn’t hard or expensive to build up a collection of these types of resources.

I quickly looked through the books and decided to keep only the long-arm quilting pattern books and a couple other home décor and knitting pattern books. I do like having some patterns in hard copy, but the reality is I most often find patterns for projects I want to make online.

A couple books I decided to keep were the step-by-step Free-Motion Quilting book that has some great design inspiration, some quilting pattern books from quilting conferences, and the book Wearable Quilts. There is a lot of information in this book about making quilted vests and jackets.

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One of the future projects I would like to try is making quilted garments. I am keeping the Wearable Quilts book as a resource to use when I give that type of project a try. I am also curious about making quilted skirts. I love the idea of being able to wear a quilt, especially since I am often very cold in the winter time!