What do YOU need for Organized Space?

I've gotten a lot a good ideas from all the posts, but while I'm reading about what people have done, the question that pops into my mind is:

What do we need? Is it more space; a good organizing system; the furniture to implement a good organizing/storage system, or some do-it-yourself plans for storage, workspaces, and filing; or your own chair and light so you can sit comfortably?




What are your answers?

What do you need?

Just to show you that I, too, have needs, I'm putting my money where my mouth is, and posting two pictures of one corner of my knitting room.

Getting started organizing your stash

Depending on how big your stash is, the prospect of organizing it can be daunting. But you acquired all that yarn because you love yarn, right? Isn't the thought of cleaning out and organizing your stash more appealing than, say, cleaning out and organizing your garage?

The first step in the process is to plan. Think about how you use your yarn. Do you select a pattern, then go to your stash to see if you have any yarn to use for it? If so, it might make most sense to organize it by weight. Put all your worsted-weight yarn together, your bulky, etc.

Or do you go to your stash looking for a specific color to work with? Then maybe you should organize it by color.

Perhaps you think about new projects by type. You think to yourself, "I want to knit a pair of socks." Or, "I feel like making a lace shawl." In that case, perhaps you would want to group your stash by type of yarn.

Think about your favorite LYS. How do they organize their yarn? There's a yarn store in the town I grew up in, Walla Walla, Washington, called Knitochet. The owner organizes the yarn by color. It's gorgeous. When I was there over Christmas, I wanted to make a pink scarf for my mother. So a store organized by color was perfect. But I would never organize my stash that way -- I go shopping in my stash for yarn for specific patterns. So I organize by weight, with a few special categories for types of yarn thrown in for good measure.

If you can identify how you use your stash, you can figure out how to organize it. Once you've come up with categories, it's time to sort it. Just dive in. You have your categories set up, so assign a box or bin (or bins) for each category. Labels can be helpful. An index card, Post-it, or piece of paper attached with a binder clip is easy to make, doesn't fall off, but is movable if the size of your bin needs to change. Pick up each ball or skein, fondle it, then put it in the appropriate bin.

If you come across yarn that you hated working with, or that turned out to be scratchy, or was just a bad idea in the first place, consider letting it go. Your stash should be populated by yarn you love. Your local knitting guild might accept yarn for charity knitting. You might be able to swap it with knitting friends. Or you could consider donating it to Interim House in Philadelphia, a residential alcohol and drug rehab center for women that has a terrific knitting program. I blogged about my knitting group's donation to Interim House here.

Once you've sorted everything out and let go of what you don't love -- and I realize this might take some time, depending on the size of your stash -- you can figure out how you want to store your stash. Here's a dire warning: Don't go shopping for containers until you've completed the sorting and purging. You won't know what you need before you've accomplished that. You could waste money on inappropriate containers. This is money you could have used for yarn.

Watch this space: Next Tuesday I'll talk about some storage options for your stash. In the meantime, figure out how you want to organize your yarn and start that sorting!

The Perfect Knitting Bag?

...does it really exist or is it merely a figment of our imagination like Utopia or Shangrila or...*insert your version of paradise here*.

Sure, I have a pretty decent knitting bag that I managed to snag from Joann's with one of my 50% off coupons, but I have a deep seeded longing for more. You see my current knitting bag is proportionately good, but the design and material are lacking...no feet, the bottom corners are balding, no structure, no pockets for organization and the side snaps always come undone (notice the gem clips holding the sides closed).



I need something above and beyond what I have today. A bag of monumental proportion. My perfect one. A bag that is tall, wide, deep, sturdy, able to stand on its own, stylish, contemporary, functional... *sigh* Alas, I have not found it yet. My perfect one!

I wonder if I should just sew one and get it over with?
I had been eyeing the Amy Butler Weekender Bag.

More photos of it on the Craftoholic blog.

but upon further reflection of my real desires, I envision something more along the lines of these bags...

The Levenger Bellagio Play Bag (discontinued)


I love the leather bumpers, the nickel feet, the open interior with the organizational panel, leather handles with the nickel post and the bridge snap closure.

Target has a magnificent line of work laptop totes that convert nicely as craft bags. These bags are attractive, sturdy and affordable for most buyers.



What if I disassemble my current bag and do a "Six Million Dollar Man" job on it and make it better, faster, yadda, yadda? You know...add some feet, sew on some bumpers, stiffen the sides with plastic mesh? *hmmm* Yeah, maybe not. The search goes on...

What characteristics/features does your "PERFECT ONE" have to have?
Comment with a link to your perfect one.

Suzanne says HI!

Hi! I'm Suzanne of Owlknits. I'm a very long-time knitter, mostly self-taught, and over the past 5 years I've been delving more and more deeply into knitting. It now takes up a lot of my time, since I'm the Channel Producer for Knit-A-Yarn, a web-based channel for knitters. We produce video podcasts about knitting. I'm also a Professional Project Manager, which means that I know how to organize a project. I always used to tell people, "I'm organized, not neat." My yarn room needs a lot of work, and I know that this group will give me the motivation to get things done, and I hope that by moderating the Organized Space forum, that I will be even more motivated!!

Introducing The Tools & Supplies Maven...

Well Hello There!

Many of you may know me as "dulcedosa" on Ravelry and from my blog, "Sweet Knittilicious Spot". My friends, family and co-workers call me "Carmen"...among other select appellations.

Besides being an avid knitter, crocheter, seamstress, jewelry maker, card maker, full time employee at a big corporate entity, part-time employee at a gym, guild member, friend, lover and humble servant to Miss Kitty, I am the sole proprietor of GirleyPurls.

I wouldn't categorize myself as an obsessive or even compulsive organizer, but more someone who has a natural inclination to organize things to a certain degree. No my socks aren't all rolled up and organized by size or color, but my scrapbook paper is. :)

I look forward to discovering and sharing all kinds of storage solutions for all your tools & accessories. We'll explore everything from the tried and true to the latest, greatest innovations the crafting world has to offer...DIY to high end. You name it, we'll have it for you to peruse and implement.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with information on systems you encounter as you surf the web or browse your local merchants. You can never have enough choices.

The Other Jenean

Hello! My name is Jenean and I'm very much opposite of a professional organizer :) I love to organize group activity and will be getting my bachelors degree in Hospitality Management in a year's time. I'm the founder of the club and started it because I need help with organizing my 'stuff' and figured that other people need help too.

In my section I hope to share ways to organize your projects, patterns, and even a few tips that you can do along the way which will streamline your knitting process. I more than anyone HATE doing gauge swatches, but I'll show you a method to the madness of only doing your gauge swatches once per weight/per needle size.

I'm excited to have you here with us and I hope that many more will join in and make organize a fun part of our lives.

Intro from Janine

Jenean asked me to introduce myself. I'm Janine Adams, owner of Peace of Mind Organizing in St. Louis, Missouri, and an enthusiastic knitter. I'll be contributing weekly posts on organizing your yarn stash.

I began knitting in January 2005, six months before I started my organizing business. (I was a freelance writer for ten years before that.) I knit almost every day and while I'm by no means an advanced knitter, I'm sure enjoying the learning process. Right now I'm learning entrelac by making the Quant headband from Knitty. I love making felted items. The resulting fabric seems like magic to me, and it hides all sorts of mistakes. I think one of my favorite FOs is the felted intarsia Wobbly Circles tote I made last year. I blogged about it on my organizing (and sometimes knitting) blog here.

As a professional organizer, I love organizing stuff, naturally. One of the things I love organizing in my own house is my knitting stuff, including my stash, needles, notions, and patterns. It's a constant, if enjoyable, challenge.

I'm always interested in the ways people store their stashes and even more interested in how they organize them. (Sort yarn by weight? Color? Fiber? The possibilities seem virtually limitless.) I look forward to presenting some cool ideas on this blog!