Y'all, I made a fiber/bead inventory book and I am tickled pink with it! I'm sure there are spiffy apps and stuff for inventories, but I'm an old-fashioned, paper and pencil kinda gal. I love writing things down on paper, I love flipping through notebooks and books and magazines, and I try to limit or eliminate screen usage when possible. Behold! My new inventory!
I save the covers of stitching catalogs if they're particularly pretty. They're great for notebooks with cover sleeves. This is the book I used. I love these things and keep several tucked away all the time. I'm always finding uses for them.
My fancy new inventory includes all of my most-used fibers and beads: Classic Colorworks, Gentle Arts Sampler Threads, Weeks Dye Works, Cosmo, Kreinik, and Mill Hill beads.
Now all I have to do is check off what I have in my stash and I'm all set. Making shopping lists will be much quicker! You may wonder how I've survived all these years without an inventory, but believe it or not, I usually can look at a list of threads and pretty much know what I have and what I don't. And I usually don't buy for more than one or two projects at a time, so it's not inconvenient to just check my threads or beads for a few colors. That changed with the pandemic, and that brings me to my PSA.
***Public Service Announcement: If you're planning a lot of fall and Christmas stitching, consider doing your shopping now.
No industry escaped pandemic-related difficulties in the spring, including the stitching industry: online shops were flooded with orders and were weeks behind in shipping, local shops were closed, dyers couldn't get supplies, etc. Gentle Arts, which is based in Ohio, completely shut down in compliance with state orders, and if you tried to find GAST during the spring, you know how hard it was.
Along with all of you, I'm hoping and praying we don't go through this again in the fall and winter, but I'm preparing just in case. A few weeks ago I sat down and planned a bunch of projects and made a shopping list. Even with most things returning to normal, I still had to hunt for all the threads I needed and ended up having to order from three different shops.
So if you really have your heart set on some special projects for this fall and Christmas (and who doesn't?), you might want to think about not waiting too long to get your supplies together.
***This concludes today's PSA. And now I'm off to play with my inventory.
Happy Stitching!
I am very much a paper and pen person too. I also have never had an inventory of what I have except for a ticked list of DMC threads that I keep with the box of threads, I literally just look through everything each time to see what I need. Maybe now is a good time to do a list. Thank you for the heads up about getting together things for Christmas stitching early, I hadn't thought about it but it is such a good idea. x
ReplyDeleteI love keeping notes too for my stitching .
ReplyDeleteThank you for more tips , Enjoy your weekend .
Oh Honeybee, I think we were separated at birth. I am still a paper/pen/pencil type of person (along with using a calendar/planner in paper form, writing checks, and reading paper books). I love those presentation binders; I use them for the PDF charts I have purchased. What a great idea for inventory! Also, thank you for the PSA about supplies! Hope you and yours have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteYou should sell those!! Awesome job!!!! and love love love the cover :D Also wonderful info about the PSA!
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get all those charts? I love this idea. I am a paper and pencil type of person too. I have lists all over the place. Those presentation books are fabulous!
ReplyDeleteAll of these companies have checklists on their websites.
DeleteMessage received! Now off I go to shop! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow that is some organizing. Thank you for your public service announcement. What is it that with all our stash we still seem to be missing that one color we need. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas for keeping your inventory organized. Like you and others who commented, I definitely prefer writing things down and making lists of projects, supplies, etc., so this is very appealing! Hope you're having a good week!
ReplyDeleteMary
You're a woman after my own heart with your love of ephemera, etc. Thanks for the great organizational idea!
ReplyDeleteI also keep paper lists of beads, threads, fabrics, etc. Mine isn't pretty like yours, however. My lists are kept in a 3-ring binder.
ReplyDeleteI'm ambivalent about paper vs. electronic inventory. I used to do paper, but then it got too large to easily tuck into a bag to take along. Now it's a spreadsheet that I can access on line while out and about. Not just needlework threads, but books and sewing/quilt patterns as well.
ReplyDeleteIf I ever revert to paper, I'm keeping your version in mind!
Great idea for the inventory list. I started a Google spreadsheet to keep track of my patterns, and I STILL buy duplicates... so that pretty much explains how “effective” my idea is. Lol
ReplyDeleteAnd great advice on stocking up/ordering in advance for fall/winter stitching. I would add... pick up a little extra TP and flour while you’re at it. ;-)