We can all use this on many fronts, most likely, but this is about sewing. The beginning of a new year is a great time to sort, organize, and prepare for the next twelve months. I thought I’d share some ideas Kimberly Einmo shared in the January 2024 edition of American Quilter for refreshing your sewing room.

I was always notorious for forgetting when I should change needles on my domestic machine. Once we got the long arm, it requires routine maintenance and this helped me get in a better routine. What about quilting magazines, books, articles and patterns printed from the web? UFO’s? Stash (don’t cringe, we all have a massive stash!)

Have a look at all your supplies. Straight pins can get bent, rusty, loose their heads, so sift through those and safely dispose of them in an empty pill bottle that has label removed, an old dental floss container, or make a “boneyard” with heavy duty foam (see photo below). It’s crazy to see how many titanium needles the ol’ dusty loom goes through!

Do you have a design wall? We have two and it is Thread City! There’s an artist in our building who wants the design wall if I ever take it down. “I can do something with that”, he said. It made me look at the wall completely differently. Not a bad thing to do as we start a new year. If you’re tired of threads on your design wall, you can use a lint roller to remove the strays. This can be done on your cutting mat, too. Below is a closeup of the rear design wall.

What about UFO’s? Have any? Doesn’t every quilter?? For the non-quilter reading this, UFO is Unfinished Objects. Kimberly Einmo suggests tackling this in a manageable way. Choose six unfinished projects (no more!) and put the others to the side. Then gather everything related to those projects and place them in two gallon-size baggies or clear plastic bins. Next, label them from #1 to #6. No need to dwell on this, just randomly label because the goal is to finish one every two months, so by next year this time, you have six less UFO’s.

She suggests replacing all machines (sewing and embroidery) with new needles and bobbins. Spending time doing this now will be a time saver as you’re moving through your projects. [BOBBINS, blades & NEEDLES PIC] While you’re at it, grab your rotary cutter blades and swap those out. I am very guilty of waiting too long. Usually John was using and would notice how dull it was, he’d change it, I’d go to cut, “like butta!!!” Kimbery suggests using the old ones for craft projects, but we have a jar that the blades go into immediately. Anyone who has used a rotary cutter knows, they’re a lethal weapon. Safety at all times with blades!

The paper dilemma. Magazines, books, printouts, patterns, etc. It can be overwhelming. Fix a cuppa and set a timer for 30 minutes. That way you don’t feel like you will get lost down a rabbit hole or zapped by a time vampire, then start sifting through them. Set all mags aside, books in another stack, patterns, printouts, whatever you have, separate it into its own category. Now visit each stack and make some hard decisions – will I ever use this? If you know you won’t, who will? A local guild? A new quilter? A textile course at a local community college? In Saint Louis, we have City Sewing Room, a community sewing room, and often they welcome donations. Whomever you choose, always call and ask first, but probably a good chance there’s someone out there who would be grateful for your “downsizing”.

Stash. I had a friend visit the shop one time and she loves to sort and fold. It was great! She sorted fabric by size, just eyeballed it, color, etc and this really helped me group my chaos. For those who do appliqué, this is a great way to shop at home for those little detail pieces. My hope is to make a scrappy Irish chain. One of my quilters has done this with her Rifle Paper remnants and it was stunning.

How about fusibles? My method? All shoved in a bag ☹ I primarily use Rowley, so it’s truly just some scraps of Pellon left, but if you use a variety of types, pitch what is brittle or dried out. Then watch for sales to replace. I haven’t tried fabric glue, so can’t speak to it’s life span, but it’s always good to have “fresh” on hand.

Kimberly Einmo also addressed irons. I have a EuroSteam and my soleplate stays really clean. Have a look at your iron, it may need a scrub. Irons do a lot of hard work for us, especially with fusibles. She suggests using an iron cleaner on a clean rag against the hot iron soleplate. I’ve not tried this, so research before you tackle to find the best “gunk remover” for your iron.

What about drawers or closet shelves? It’s daunting, but these areas can get so overrun. I think anyone who has been in the shop has witnessed how K2’s fabric remnants “just keep growing”. Easiest way to tackle is a drawer at a time or a shelf at a time. When this gets organized, you can quickly find what you’re looking for and get that project DONE!

Don’t run with dull scissors! Scissor sharpness can slowly slip away and we don’t always notice it. Most fabric stores can direct you to someone who sharpens scissors. Rotary blades has changed this for me, but if you cut a lot of fabric, a sharp scissors does such a nice job. If you see a place that sharpens knives, often they do scissors as well. One of our local farmer’s markets had a woman who sharpened while you shopped, it was great.

Her last suggestion was if you have pets in your sewing area. Wash their beds here at the new year and have a treat at the ready because I’m pretty sure they deserve that 😊 At TGQ, it’s marshmallows! Lulu is gone, but the habit to buy them on sale continues. K2 is working with Beatrice to be a “shop dog” and marshmallows are an easy treat to have on hand and she loves them.

Here’s hoping there was a new idea or two in this journal entry for you as you give your sewing area a refresh! TGQ quilted 226 quilts in 2023, here’s to breaking that record in ’24!!!

Refresh Time!