How I organize my quilt inspiration

[Chanter]

So I do most of my planning and browsing from my laptop, and naturally, I've got a folder labeled Quilts. It started with just a "Ideaz" sub-folder for random ideas I liked, but now it's organized into things like Borders, Fish, and so on. I enjoy mixing different patterns to create something unique. When I find free patterns or instructions, I'll open a Word document, drag the website link right onto the page, and save notes underneath. How do you organize your quilt ideas?

 

[GinGenius]

@Chanter honestly, my system is way less organized than that, haha. I usually just dump everything into Pinterest boards and hope for the best. How do you manage to keep your Word docs from getting too huge?

 

[Jillian]

I save the picture of the quilt/block directly to the PC. Right click on it, select "Print", (Ctrl+P) choose "PDF file" from the pull-down list of Printers, then the computer will open up a file manager window. Go to your My Docs directory, and select (or create a new) your subfolder (example, Quilts) and save it.
To save a free pattern, it would be: Save file, file manager window will open, change to your My Docs directory, go to your subfolder (in this case I name it Patterns) and select save.

 

[Drillexa]

I've got a main folder too, then subfolders by themes or styles, like florals, modern, baby quilts, etc, I usually save full PDFs or screenshots in there, and sometimes I'll scribble ideas into a notes app if I'm on the go.

 

[Chanter]

@Chanter honestly, my system is way less organized than that, haha. I usually just dump everything into Pinterest boards and hope for the best. How do you manage to keep your Word docs from getting too huge?

I keep my Word docs manageable by breaking ideas into smaller files based on topics, like Borders or Fish. It helps me find things quickly without overwhelming any single document. How about you?

 

[Chanter]

I save the picture of the quilt/block directly to the PC. Right click on it, select "Print", (Ctrl+P) choose "PDF file" from the pull-down list of Printers, then the computer will open up a file manager window. Go to your My Docs directory, and select (or create a new) your subfolder (example, Quilts) and save it.
To save a free pattern, it would be: Save file, file manager window will open, change to your My Docs directory, go to your subfolder (in this case I name it Patterns) and select save.

That sounds like a neat system, do you find organizing patterns and images into separate folders helps you stay more focused when working on specific quilt projects?

 

[Chanter]

I've got a main folder too, then subfolders by themes or styles, like florals, modern, baby quilts, etc, I usually save full PDFs or screenshots in there, and sometimes I'll scribble ideas into a notes app if I'm on the go.

That's a smart way to keep everything organized, do you find using a notes app on the go helps capture ideas you might otherwise forget before you can get back to your main folders?