Keeping Up with the Who, What, When, & Where of WIPs

Kristie Hudson

7 years ago

Last week I posted about how I organize my WIPs. That was more about storing the physical project, but there’s another part to it. The patterns & details! This post will deal with how to keep up with the who, what, when, & where of WIPs. That just leaves the why, to which I say – why not? Although this pertains to my sewing & crochet projects, it’s still about organizing my life, so I think it fits for a Friday post. ; ) Besides, this is what I’ve been doing almost all week because I needed to reign in the chaos before my head explodes! Haha!

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On the Computer

Okay, this part may be a little boring! I thought some people might like to see how I organize stuff on the computer. If you want to skip to the “pretty” stuff, I’ll never know! ; )

I keep any PDF version of patterns on my computer. They are all divided into categories & subcategories. This is a screenshot of my Documents folder ~>

I have folders for all sorts of areas of my life & the label lets me know what I can find in each one. And, yes, Christmas gets its own folder! ; ) Lets take a look in the Sewing folder ~>

While these are not all WIPs, they are things that I hope to make someday! These folders are labeled with categories for different pattern types. Some of them have further sub-folders within depending on how many things are in the folder. Such as my Quilting folder ~>

Here I have folders for individual block patterns, such as applique, FPP, or pieced. The label lets me know what kind of block it is. There are also folders for Quilts {large quilts}, Minis, & Mug Rugs. Going back to the Sewing folder, there are two folders for QALs – one for 2016 & one for 2017. Here’s what’s in the 2017 folder ~>

I label each folder with the name of the QAL so it’s easy to locate. I’m not sewing all of these at the moment, but I want to save all the patterns for future use. Some QALs only have the pattern for free during the month it’s posted. I don’t print out anything besides templates I may need for things like applique, FPP, or embroidery. When I’m sewing, I keep my laptop out so I can refer to any instructions. This way I don’t have to print out more than I need to.

Notebooks, Binders, & Calendars

The computer is where I keep up with “virtual” things. I use this binder to keep up with templates, printed patterns, & other important bits & pieces.

I have it divided into sections with labeled tabs. The list on the front needs to be updated because I’m moving my calendar, QALs, & CALs details into smaller notebooks that I can carry with me. {I’ve also added a folder for pen pals!}

These little notebooks will hold all the small details I like to keep up with! I recently purchased the two on bottom during Prime Day for my new bullet journals. Unfortunately I picked the lined ones instead of the dot ones I was looking at! My clicking finger was moving faster than my brain was thinking! Haha!

I also got this sweet set of gel pens – yeah I know – more writing utensils! Honestly I only have a few gel pens & most of them are used up. Who could resist these?!?

Anyway, back to the point! The bullet journal will help me keep up with day to day stuff, like deadlines & blog posts. The blog is a never ending WIP after all!

I have a dry erase calendar on the back of a door to my work space. This is used to note important happenings for the month so I can check on things quickly & try to stay on track.

There’s another white board below it to jot down things in the moment. It’s also a quick reference for more pressing WIPs or what I need to be working on instead of looking at Instagram! : )

Inside the QAL Notebook

This little notebook is for QALs, since it looks kind of quilty!

I plan on adding a label & decorating it a bit, but for now I’m just getting in all the important details. The pages have been numbered & I’m using an index in the front, much like a bullet journal. This makes finding what I’m looking for much easier.

Each QAl has a list of things I like to know about them listed at the top. Such as website, when new patterns are released, social media details, & tags to use on social media. I’ve also got a place for a description of the quilt & what fabrics I’m using. This QAL releases a new block daily, so I made calendar grids for each month. When I finish a block, I shade in the square.

For patterns released monthly, I just list the month & block name. This QAl has FPP patterns, so the chart lets me know if its printed {P}, sewn {S}, and trimmed {T}. Some charts have a {C} for “cut” since I like to cut one day & sew another.

I’m leaving a blank sheet between QALs so I can add bits of the fabric I used. It’s like a mini scrapbook! It will also be useful if I run out of fabric. I can take this with me to the store & find what I need. I also note the year of the QAL & where to find it – PDF means it’s on the computer.