We’ve been a huge fan of embroidery queen Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching for a long time. Today we get to peek into her workspace and find out how she keeps all her embroidery floss organized.
Don’t forget to check out her new book, Embroidered Effects.
Read on after the jump for more photos and a Q&A with Jenny!
CRAFT: What kinds of crafts do you do?
Jenny: I mainly embroider (and draw). Although, I will play around with anything when I have the chance. I’ve always, always wanted to find time to play around with leather tooling, but it’s very expensive and the paints and varnishes kinda scare me. But I think it’s so beautiful!
CRAFT: Where do you craft?
Jenny: I have a room with a couch, a tv and a very large, old teacher’s desk. This is where I do my embroidery and drawing. And movie watching.
CRAFT: How do you keep all your craft supplies organized?
Jenny: My embroidery floss is stored on a spool rack on a vintage TV tray (that my dad brought back from Germany), and underneath I keep my Grandma Hart’s blue sewing basket full of floss (totally un-organized) and also an inexpensive cotton bag from Velan in Paris — also filled with floss.
CRAFT: How do you motivate yourself to keep your space organized?
Jenny: I really struggle with it. My work and my business is constantly shifting space-wise which has made it difficult for me to really hunker down and find a good corner.
It’s a discipline to keep things organized and use systems that which, at best, will aid workflow and creativity. I feel like I’m always shifting my workspaces around based on what space will allow!
But, I think when the thought of organizing gets in the way of just doing, it’s out of balance. So, I reign with more than a little bit of messiness in my life. You have to, and you have to keep organizing along the way to keep ahead of it.
CRAFT: What’s one organization tip/tool/trick you swear by?
Jenny: Clean as you go. Or, is that a cleaning tip?
CRAFT: How do you feel when your space is organized? Unorganized?
Jenny: It depends. Sometimes having a lot of things out to work with is comforting and energizing.
CRAFT: Describe your dream workspace.
Jenny: Open, uncluttered, tools at the ready and no one to bother me! A skylight would be nice, too.
CRAFT: How does the way your craft space is organized affect your crafting/creativity?
Jenny: If I’m too distracted by other things (lingering projects, stuff I don’t want around, YouTube) then it makes it harder for me to focus on my work, obviously. I like to have quick access to materials, to be able to see what I have to work and play with and a space apart to do that!
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