Pretty organized
>> Friday, February 01, 2008
The kitchen is going well, mainly because we had to get things in place for the countertop measurer on Wednesday. It went well, they make cardboard templates of your countertop and glue them in place to make sure they're accurate. Now we just have to wait a few weeks until the countertop is ready to install. Since the kitchen is now more organized I could put away some of the dishes that were in the living room china cabinet I bought specifically for sewing supplies. I've finally organized all my fabric!
The fabric is folded in large squares so that you can see the edge of each one which will make them easier to find. They're sorted by colours of course, with patterns and solids mixed in. I tried to fold them neatly (in thirds if they're big enough) so you can pull one out without messing up the whole pile.
My thread boxes are on top, and the drawers hold smaller items. The lower shelves hold messier remnants of fabric that don't fold as nicely. I want to paint this cabinet white but can't decide. The wood patina is nice on some places but not so much in others. This is the outside of the cabinet: 
And the inside:
I might just put light wallpaper in the inside to lighten it up without painting. The vintage tins hold things like zippers and bias tape:
I also had some inspiration for my ribbon. I'd already organized it into these metal baskets that came from the dollar store. They are wound onto pieces of paper towel cardboard rolls.
My inspiration was to use some of my vintage thread spools. Finally I have a purpose for them, and it's much nicer than the cardboard. These old wooden spools are just too nice to throw away, but I do actually use the thread so they were empty.
You can wind the lace or ribbon the way you would thread, spiral up and down the spool then secure in place with a pin. I need some shorter pins for this, so if anyone knows where you can find them please let me know!
p.s. the cable stitch from my recent knitting post was adapted from this lovely scarf pattern. For mine, I made the longer cable part shorter and was trying out a double rib for the sides.
23 comments:
The wooden spools are a brilliant idea, and the metal baskets are such a lucky find. For shorter pins, look for applique pins. Quilt shops have them, and I've even gotten some at Michaels.
Thanks for the tip!
Ditto what Lucy said about applique pins. I got some from JoAnns and like to use them for draping clothing on dolls (shorter is good for that). I really like the way your ribbons look so nice in those metal baskets. Much better than just tossing them hurley-burley like in a drawer. :-)
Beautiful organization. I also am planning to use a old china cabinet for supplies once we move (well we need to find a house first)
Those wire baskets are a good find.
Ok, I am seriously swooning over your beautiful organization! Whenever I try to do something like this it lasts for about 5 minutes. I bow to your skills!
What a great idea for spools. I like that a lot. Your cabinet of stuff is just lovely. I went for a look in my drawer and found a box of these pins 16mm long. You are welcome to them if you would like them.
Regards, Retrorose
Things seem to be coming along nicely. I can't wait for the final reveal. I love the use of the cabinet.
Take Care,
Lisa
Wow!
so amazing and inspiring, almost makes me want to move again...welll, maybe not, but it does look like tonnes of fun.
by the way, the a pouch that i bought from the Artisan's Craft fair is really sooooo lovely. Thanks so much for that. I hope to get another one soon!
What a great idea to use the wooden spools to keep ribbon organized! I love the vintage tins as well. Your cabinet is lovely - one thing to think about if you do paint it white is how would you paint the decorative wood on the glass panes? It might be a challenge!
Wow. I'm so inspired by your organization. This is just too much pretty for one post.
It looks lovely the way it is, all goes quite nicely. I'd say please don't paint the outside of the cabinet, perhaps, as you suggest, maybe light wallpaper inside. good job.
beautiful, beautiful! I love how all the colours look together in your sewing cabinet. what a lovely effect. it makes crafting all the more joyous every time you open the doors.
Great organization. It makes me think I need to go downstairs and do my own organizing. Some bright paper on the back of the china cabinet would really brighten it up. I'm always unsure whether to paint over natural wood myself. I've got all sorts of trim downstairs in my house and it makes things so dark, but it feels cruel to pain over it.
I love all those ribbons.
love the wire baskets!
I think your hutch would look wonderful in cream...it would blend with the metal work in the glass panes better than white would dontcha think?
great job!...keep it up
lori
I have the same dilemma with a mahogany china cabinet. it was my mom's and is a veneer. I want to paint it but I haven't taken my hand away from my heart yet. Funny, but I don't feel that way about the other pieces in that set and plan on painting one of the big servers and putting it in my living room. Meantime, I'm going to use the china cabinet in the workshop for storing craft books up top and notions in the drawers.
Good luck with your decision! It would look great in white. :)
Eleny
Colorado
what a beautifully organized stash!!!
With friendship,
Lisa
Great solution for ribbon! Your brilliant!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the cabinet. I have a similar glass-front display cabinet that was in my mother's house when I was growing up. Back in the early 90's, I wanted to re-finish it. I started the project just to find that veneer is difficult to work on...very delicate. I ended up ruining the veneer where I tried to prep it for painting, and the cabinet is STILL in storage because I haven't been able to afford professional help to repair the damage that I did. My advice would be to contact a re-finisher and find out how to re-condition the veneer so that the not-so-attractive parts of the piece are renewed. Most are happy to impart their knowledge on someone who will listen to their artistic advice. I wish I'd have left mine the way it was, especially when seeing how lovely your cabinet looks for storing fabric.
I'm totally in love with all the ribbon and lace. Your cabinet with fabric in is lovely. Everything is so pretty.
The wire baskets are a great idea for ribbons. I need some. I also need a place for my fabrics so that I can quickly see what I have.
So inspiring. I have a very small work space that is unfortunately not all mine an dI have been trying to figure out the best way to keep the room workable and enjoyable. Thanks for the ideas. LOVE the ribbon!!!
Oh my, you stash looks so lovely! Thank you for the great ideas for ribbon storage and those baskets are from the dollar store? Sweet!
Wooooooow!!! :o
Where did you buy all these ribbons??? I've just started to do some craft projects and I'm looking for some happy and colourfull designs of ribbons to buy online. If you have any links pleeeeeeeeeease post them! Thanks for the wonderful storing ideas >:D<
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