23 March, 2009

"Let's Talk" Tuesday...

Thanks for all the great input last week regarding stash management. This week's topic hinges off of that and deals with the management and storage of quilting magazines.

Do you subscribe or purchase yours from the newsstand? Do you dispose of them when you're through reading them or do you keep them? If you keep them, how do you organize them?

I used to subscribe to all of the quilting magazines that entered our home. I had six subscriptions, perhaps more. Finally, seven years ago, I limited it to the top three, that helped a little. This year I have stopped my subscriptions entirely. Why? That's simple: because I have been collecting magazines since 1983 and the sheer volume of them is overwhelming! I have them grouped by title, month and year and they were taking over my sewing room. When the shelf in my storage closet buckled under the weight I took them down and moved them to the armoire in our guest room, it is now completely full. I have a trunk full in the attic, too. I had just about resigned myself to not purchasing anymore, period; and then, just this week, I heard about a great article in Quilter's Newsletter and a scandalous edition of Quilter's Home currently on the newsstands. Well, naturally, I am going to have to check those out! I am not organized whatsoever in regards to storing and keeping these publications; before they literally push me out of my own home I desperately need your assistance through your wonderful suggestions.

...and sew, let's talk....
Life is Good!


32 comments:

Christina D said...

I have too many magazines also. They are on the shelf by title,month and year. I let my subscriptions end because we were moving. I sorted out the ones to keep and the others went to the guild quilt show to be sold. I kept half and still have over 100! I like to thumb through them, it's so inspiring!

Teresa said...

I have been scanning the patterns from my magazines into a file on my computer and then discarding the magazine. This takes awhile, but I will usually just sit and do some handwork while I am scanning. I created an index with just a picture of each pattern, and a link to where to find it in my computer files. Now, when I am looking for a pattern, I can quickly look through my index book at all the pictures and find it. If I want to see the pattern, I click on the link and it takes me right to the pattern that I can then print out if I want to make it.

The Calico Cat said...

I had several subscriptions for a while - i let most of them lapse. They were not inspiring to me... I culled my stack "regularly" and brought them to a GF... After my cull in November/December, I realized that the magazines that I kept were not from my subscriptions (for the most part). Which is why I gave up the subscriptions. I now buy when I am inspired - or intrigued. (I bought the scandalous Quilter's Home - not so scandalous to me... I won't be keeping that issue...)

Organizing them or the patterns/photos that I pull from them - don't ask, I don't have an answer for that one...

Anonymous said...

Um, also guilty of subscribing to many quilt mags over the years. Currently I subscribe to only one. For a long time I saved every issue and had them sorted by titles and in an organized fashion. When the entirety of the collection was too overwhelming, I gave my quilt Bee friends all they wanted and then the quilt shop owner took the rest off my hands and offered them to customers in her shop. The issues that I wished to save are stored upright with the jackets in front in baskets on the floor, I'm thinking I have maybe two baskets. A very small collection resides in the bookcase in my sewing room for safety from being misplaced. To eliminate confusion I placed small stickers on the covers with notations of what is inside of particular interest to me. I try to never purchase them at newstand prices but I make an exception when it's a issue I MUST HAVE, and Quilt Sampler is always on that list and I save all of those, for they are so fun and inspiring to me. I love reading about all the quilt shops and seeing all the great photos. It is not offered by subscription to my knowledge but if it were I would subscribe. When I read on blogs that a person I "know" via blogs has a pattern or more in a quilt issue, I will often purchase it too. I rarely-to-never actually make anything I see in the quilt mags, I read them for pleasure.

*karendianne. said...

Outrageous & heavenly library you own. How fun it would be to have an afternoon Tea in the new digs being built by DH and pass around all those mags stashed in the attic. Many a quilter might enjoy such a Tea & Bee time. ;>

Offering no suggestions and contributing a simple daydream The Mistress of LeeHaven left The Strawberry Patch with a little silly, teeny-tiny grin.

Jo Vandermey said...

Do you subscribe or purchase yours from the newsstand? I subcribe to QuiltersNewsletter and I usually buy Mark Lipinsksi's magazine when I am in my local quilt store. I like to get a treat in the mail. Silly but true.
Do you dispose of them when you're through reading them or do you keep them? I keep the magazines and share them with my mom. I keep them for a few years on a shelf in Magazine file folders. Then I take them to the cottage where I re read them and pull any article or quilt that inspires me.
If you keep them, how do you organize them? I then plan but haven't executed it yet to organize then loosely into binders. Maybe that is a project for the cotage again.

I do stock the guild give away table to pick up other magazines and I do the same as above.

I just like to look at pretty pictures. I would be satisfied if our local library carried a subscription to some to read them there but they don't.

Maybe I will have to become one of those people who go to there local box bookstore and have a latte and read all the magazines in store.....

kutiequilter said...

Periodically, I go through my ever expanding magazine collection. I remove the patterns I want to keep and put them in binders: "to make soon", "child/baby", "seasonal" etc. so I can just pull a binder and find the quilt pattern I want. I do keep some magazines but write what I like on the cover with the page number. Then I give the magazines to my small quilt group for them to go through. I do usually have a current group of magazines to go through for inspiration.

LauraQuilts said...

I take magazines by spells . . . can't get enough of them, can't stand to get them because they all look alike after awhile. I am in the can't get enough portion. I currently subscribe to 6. I make some of the patterns in them, some I know I'll never do, some I think maybe someday. BUT, I keep them all in a base cabinet of the entertainment center in my den. I should recycle everyone of them! And the scandalous issue, I have it - the scandal is way more show than go! My advice on quilting magazines is if you like the pattern, tear it out and recycle the balance.

nannergirl said...

I used to buy a lot more magazines, before I started reading quilt blogs. Now I pick up the odd one, take out a pattern or 2 that I love and toss the rest. I'm on a big 'purge' tear right now, so I don't keep anything. Sorry I can't help more :)

Domestic Designer said...

I no longer subscribe to Quilting magazines either. Just like you I can not throw them away! There is so much timeless info and who knows when you might need it. :) I have them organized in a closet in my sewing room. I bought the magazine organizers at Walmart. They work great and are not that expensive. On the end of the organizer I put the title of the magazine and year. Each organizer holds about a year's worth of magazines. I know that I will never get to make all the quilts I love but it is fun to look at the magazines and dream! :) Have a great day!

Nane said...

I saved all my QN until I had to clean out my Mom's sewing room. She had a huge box full of magazines that I know she intended to go through and just tear out articles/patterns she wanted to keep. I realized right then, like her I was never going to do that. So now I read them..and recycle. I sometimes take them to guild if I remember and share with others who don't mind reading last months issue.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Like most new quilters, I ordered every magazine available and kept every issue.

As my skills matured and my interests became more clear (especially what I was NOT excited about), I started letting subscriptions expire.

Now I have only one or two left which will not be renewed ~ from those, I tear out the ideas that tickle me, storing them in clear plastic pages in a 3-ring binder. Maybe once a year or so, I'll go through those and toss the ones that no longer interest me. (I do like Teresa's idea of scanning and storing online, but there's still something about flipping pages while sitting in a comfy chair with a mug of tea...)

With the wonderful online resources and through the creativity of our fellow bloggers, I no longer feel compelled to save every issue.

And, like Nane, I occasionally browse through some of the current issues at our local bookstore (but rarely do I end up purchasing my own copy).

di said...

I also have just one subscription - just like a little kid waiting for a treat in the mail! The rest I go to my local bookstore - get a coffee and have a "look see" and buy the one(s) that have something I want. If the magazine has several projects I like I'll keep the issue. If there is only a project for two I want I'll pull the pages, slip them into a sleeve and put them in a binder. This way I know that everything in the binder is of interest to me. Saves me space and time!

Ancestor Collector said...

I cut out the articles I want to save, then store them in binders under subject. It helps, but binders multiply too! I periodically go through and weed out the binders and get rid of things I know I'll never use. I like Teresa's idea of scanning and storing on the computer, but that does take time.

Barbara Ann Beamer Jones said...

I have tons and tons of quilting magazines (I particularly love the old ones like QN's earlies) and have tried to organize them by titles then dates, but I can't keep up. I even bought several lots off Ebay for a while, but have stopped as they seem to be taking over my space! I plan to someday scan in the projects or tips I want to keep (like Teresa) but just haven't the time to start yet. Check out my sewing room and all the magazine binders and storage at www.wvheavenlyhome.blogspot.com.

Anonymous said...

Oh no, another loaded subject! I have 2 magazines that are subscribed to and delivered, I do pick up a few in the store from time to time. Either way, I have too many! AND, of course, I can not throw them away. They are here and there up in sewing/quilting room. So, I do not have any organizational ideas on that topic, sorry. I will make sure to check the feedback from others, maybe I can get some ideas!

Mark Lipinski said...

OMG! One day my family, thinking I had been kidnapped, will find my badly decomposed body under a stack of 10-year-old magazines. I just can't throw my quilting magazines away! I know it's an illness. I know I'll most likely never look at them again or make a quilt from one of the patterns, but I just can't toss them. There's always that "maybe" and I KNOW that just when I need something I will have given it away!

Sometimes looking through them inspires me. Sometimes I am just agog at the sheer number of them (apparently it's a collection that I can keep up with!).

Maybe, one day, after reading all of the comments here and your blog, I will just bite the bullet, pack them up and give them away to a guild or two or seven! LOL

We'll all be better off for it! xooxm

www.marklipinski.com

Karen Newman Fridy said...

I used to subscribe to several but the sheer number of "oh that looks like fun to make" got to be too much...especially when I started doing original work. Now I subscribe to one (QA)and keep a couple of issues out and about - car, house - for a couple of months to read, then they go into a magazine storage box on the shelf as the new ones come into the rotation. One day maybe I'll cull them, but there are so many good technique articles that are good reference, that for now I don't want to part with them!

Rhonda said...

I like to keep my subscriptions to two or three at a time, and I do like to hang on to them to look at for inspirations.
I mainly keep them all in the armoire in our bedroom, and I store them in magazine files. Plus, I have a few sitting on the side table by the couch in the family room for when I have a few moments to sit down, relax and read.

Nancy said...

Great topic choice! I have a couple of subscriptions that were gifts and I enjoy reading them when they come. If there is something in a magazine that I want to save, I tear it out and then recycle the rest. If nothing in it threads my needle, then I take it to my guild meeting and put a free sign on it.

Stephanie D said...

I used to subscribe to a bazillion magazines, but one by one, I am not renewing. 3 exceptions: Quick Quilts, Quiltmaker, and Quilter's Home. The first two I almost ALWAYS find something I want to and probably will make, and QH--I just love to sit and read that one! Judy L says QH's publisher is in trouble, and I'm hoping it doesn't fold.

In the past, I have torn color combos or interesting patterns from the magazines and put them in 3-ring binders, also, and have about 7 of them now. Periodically I go through and toss the ones I am no longer interested in doing, and update with new. As I take what I want from my old magazines, I stack them to donate to my quilt bee or the library.

Since getting our little mini-computer, though, I have been toying with the same idea Teresa had--to scan them to a thumb drive, though I'm not sure I'll go to the trouble of creating an index. But I'd rather store fabric and notions than magazines, so getting rid of the binders and unloved magazines is on my priority list.

Carrie P. said...

I have one subscription to Quiltmaker magazine but when it runs out I will not renew it. I used to subscribe to them all but now I just buy the ones I want from the newsstand and keep the articles I like. I have a file box that I put them in.

Salem Stitcher said...

I used to subscribe to many magazines but not anymore. I tend to pick them up at the store when I see something interesting. But, I'm considering subscribing to Quilter's Home because that guy cracks me up.

I periodically go through my old magazines and cut out the articles and pictures I want to keep and put them in a 3-ring binder in sheet protectors. The rest goes in the recycle bin. It's getting time to do that little exercise again...they're starting to pile up on the living room table!

Janet said...

I don't subscribe to any quilting magazines at the time but I certainly buy my share.

Wicker crates from Target are currently home for the ones I've kept. But I've decided I need to be more choosey because the last magazine I bought ended up having many of the same patterns that were in some previous issues. I've started pulling out the pages of the patterns that I've used and placing them in plastic sleeves in a binder. If I don't do that, I use a marker and write on the cover the page # of the patterns I've used or want to use. Some day soon a big purge will need to happen.

For the record - I don't have near as many quilt magazines as my husband has motorcycle, woodworking and computer magazines!

Domestic Designer said...

Stop by. I have a gift for you!

Meredith said...

I had really only one long time subscription to Quilters Newsletter and I topped it a while ago. They changed the format and I just was not interested. I realized I had never made anything out of the magaizne. What I decided to do was to keep articles in a binder of some inspiration/tips. I then trashed all of the magaiznes and I do not miss them. I do read, DH buys it, quilt mania. I am in the process of making a quilt from Quilt Mania and the cutting instructions were wrong. But I still enjoy the magazine. I have a year or two of quilting arts which I plan on giving away once I find someone who could use them. I personally do not know any art quilters. Actually if I gave up quilt Mania tomorrow it would be easy to do. Recently I was in the hospital and dh bought me many quilt mags and I enjoyed them in the hospital but I do not miss them at all.

Loris said...

I'm culling down to one magazine subscription although I wish I could my hands on the Quiltmania issue with Bonnie and Tonya's quilts in it...maybe if I get to town,I'll look at the Borders.

G'G'ma said...

Interesting questions. I have to admit that I have many hundreds of quilting magazines. Haven't used many of the patterns but I love looking at the pictures and reading the articles. Sometimes it is just nice to sit down with a dozen or so and page through and discover something I don't remember reading the first time around. A couple of my friends take a bag full at a time just to read and look. It's my lending library! I'm not ready to give them away and will continue to subscribe to 4 or 5 or maybe 6!!!

quiltmom anna said...

Mrs. Goodneedle,
Not only do I have a large stash , I also have a large cache of magazines-:O) some that I have got through subscriptions and some through buying them off the Newstands. I do have lots of them sorted by magazine and year and put in magazine boxes from the dollar store. I am running out of space after 12 years of quilting so at some point soon, I will have to cull out some of them but so far I am resisting. It is hard for me tear apart something that resembles a book. I do like to sit down and look at them for inspiration and relaxation- both new and back issues. I still get Quilters Newsletter and Quilter's World by subscription by mail but will probably not renew them as there are others that I like better- Australian Patchwork and Quilting and Fons and Porter. The best part of magazines is the patterns and stories. One of the things that I am struck by, is that the magazines have many similar designs - you would think that with all the choices that there are on the shelves, that there wouldn't be as much repetition as there seems to be.
One thing that a good friend and I do, is to trade magazines back and forth and that has helped to reduced buying as many.
We also are finding that sometimes books are a better deal - especially from places like Connecting Threads- where you can buy a book for around 15 dollars-(or from book companies like Amazon) Magazines are expensive here in Canada -between 8 and 11 dollars on the newsstand so a discount book is not that much more.
Like other things in life, when you are a collector, space does create limitations..
Sometimes a girl can have too many magazines..
Happy Quilting,
Anna

Ozjane said...

I keep them and a year and a bit ago I purchased a very wide tall bookcase and they are in collections in order.
It was around Dec'07 and I am sure there are pictures about then in my blog.
As an ex teacher/librarian etc...and a collector, throwing out is seldom on the cards although there are some magazines going out for collection on Mon. Just garden, not craft. Used to keep all the home decorating etc but stick to quilting or related now.

Ozjane said...

PS: most are ones I subscribe to here in Australia. I have subbed to some USA ones but seldom renew.
I find it reduces the cost so much that I can call it my chick flick reading, and who knows when I will need inspiration.

Nan said...

I have subscribed to a few magazines for many, many years. I usually don't keep the entire magazine, unless I absolutely love everything in it. I have a filing cabinet where I keep the saved articles, and they are in folders that pertain to whatever type of quilt they are: charm square quilts, strip quilts, 9 patch, applique, bear paw, etc. When I'm looking for a quilt to make, I go through my file cabinet. Sometimes I pull out my files just for inspiration!