• 09Oct
    Categories: quilting Comments Off on Stack N Whack

    I’ve been on a mission, cleaning closets in my studio.  I’m pretty proud of how the kit and bundle area turned out.  Hopefully, it will save me time when I’m shipping.

    After that was done, I tackled the closet where I store batting, quilts to be quilted and quilts and quilt tops that are for sale.  The batting is now neat and organized.

    While I was folding up “projects waiting to be quilted” to put them back in the closet, I decided I had to add one more to the web store.  It’s this pretty queen-sized Stack N Whack.

    I love this quilt and I loved teaching the technique when I had my quilt shop.  Every block comes out a little different.

    I fully intended to quilt this, but it’s been three years!

    So, it’s now listed on the web catalog.  Maybe it can find a new home with one of you!  Maybe you need a Christmas gift, but time is not on your side!  I’ll never tell that you didn’t make it yourself.

    I even have the backing pieced for it.

    You can see it on the web catalog by CLICKING HERE.

    I have other new and vintage quilt tops for sale there, too.  CLICK HERE to see them all.

    My closet thanks you.

  • 07Jan
    Categories: brilliant ideas, Everything! Comments Off on The Organization Continues

    It’s been a ton of work, but this is what the Anne Frank room looks like now.

    Yes, there are still empty totes, but that’s because I’ve only emptied eight of the huge drawers that used to be in there.  There are 20 more to go, but there’s still a lot of shelf space on the new shelving Bob installed.

    And the plastic racks for quilts and quilt tops are working out great!

    They go down the center of the room.  Every quilt and quilt top is neatly folded and stored in its proper place.  Wow, I never thought I’d say that!

    The Swedish immigrant’s trunk is nice and orderly once again.

    But I’m not finished.  The sorting goes on…….

    If you look closely at the wood paneled wall in this guest room, you can see the hinges on the door that lead to the Anne Frank room.

    Anna Lena Land is become more organized everyday.

  • 31Dec
    Categories: brilliant ideas, Everything! Comments Off on The Great Quilt Count

    Last Saturday we emptied out the attic storage room–the room we call The Anne Frank Room because of the hidden door.  The big, deep drawer units that were in there weren’t the best for organized storage, and Bob is building me shelves.  The plan is that everything that goes back in will be ORGANIZED!  Of course there were some quilts in there.

    Since my nephew, Cole, always spends a few days with me after Christmas, and we usually need a project, our project turned out to be organizing the quilts!  He made Excel Spreadsheets for five categories of quilts–Quilts from Karen’s Fabric, Quilts from Karen’s Books, Newly Made Quilts, Quilts from the 1920′s – 1950′s and Quilts Pre 1920.  Each spreadsheet has a spot for the name of the quilt, it’s size, where it’s stored and a place for notes.  Then the fun began–sorting, photographing and tagging!  But not just the quilts that were in the Anne Frank room.  Oh, no!  We did them all.  The quilts from my Swedish immigrant trunk.  Honest, there is a trunk under all those quilts!

    The quilts in the studio.

    The quilts in the TV cabinet.

    We brought the last of the quilts home that were still at the Anna Lena store!

    And the biggest stacks of all–the quilts from my books!  On the left, the quilts from Bundles of Fun.  In the middle, the quilts from Fat Quarter Fun.  On the right, quilts from Quilts From My Garden.  Why did I think it was a good idea to make each quilt twice–in different colorways–to see how different they could look?!?

    Right now there are quilts EVERYWHERE!  It takes longer to fold them up neatly and store them than it did to open them up and photograph them!

    But I brought home my baby crib, and some are going in there.

    Quilts from my books are stored at my mom and dad’s house.  The Swedish trunk is full.  The guest beds all have quilts on them.  I’m even going to be selling some of them.  That’s what this stack is.

    I’m sure I’ll come across a few more, but I’ll add them to the great spreadsheets Cole made, and it will be so nice to know where everything is!  Thanks, Cole, for making Anna Lena Land a little more organized!