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knitfan2
Warming Up
USA
88 Posts |
 Posted - 01/01/2008 : 4:21:24 PM
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| I have kept maybe 10 years of knitting magazines, several titles. It's really hard to find a particular technique article or type of pattern. For example, if I want to knit socks, I'd have to look at a "million" issues to find all the sock patterns so I can choose one. Even if I remember a particular pattern, I don't remember what issue it was in. What do you do to organize your magazines? Do you cut out all the patterns and articles and file them in your own system? Or do you have some kind of electronic cross reference system on your computer? What? Thanks in advance for all your suggestions. |
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Schleppenheimer
Seriously Hooked
USA
627 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2008 : 6:36:15 PM
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I'm waiting for others to answer this question as well -- I think I have about 20 years of magazines, and I have no clue how to organize them.
Kris |
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Mermaid Knits
Permanent Resident
USA
1129 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2008 : 7:39:34 PM
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I have read a good idea in the past. Take all the Table of Contents from each magazine (make sure they have the magazine name and issue number on it) and put them each in their own plastic sleeve. Then put in a binder. I suppose you could also make a Master List to go at the front. Socks: see Knitters, Fall 04, etc.
Arctic-mermaid
http://www.flickr.com/photos/MermaidKnits/ |
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Mermaid Knits
Permanent Resident
USA
1129 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2008 : 7:40:36 PM
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Oh I should say, I too have tons of magazines. I just have them by type and then chronologically. I seem to remember quite well where things are. And if I have to go search a little, that is part of the fun for me.
Arctic-mermaid
http://www.flickr.com/photos/MermaidKnits/ |
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queenmaxine
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
472 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2008 : 7:42:16 PM
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For patterns I buy individually or print from the web I have binders with clear plastic sleeves and they are filed by type. For full issues, I xerox the contents page and have them in a binder by magazine and by date. I also have the index pages from the books I use most often in the binder with the magazine contents. I am also curious to see what everyone else does as well.
My blog is not strictly knitting, but there are occasional WIP updates and frustration or bragging rants as I am a new knitter.
www.nolanoni.blogspot.com |
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knitfan2
Warming Up
USA
88 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 3:12:26 PM
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I just found a related topic called "Anyone else have pattern management issues?" under "Stash Management". That discussion is mostly about loose patterns. I think I have loose patterns under control with patterns filed by type in separate binders. My real problem is with magazine patterns. Thanks for the inputs above! Maybe I will just have to make time to copy all those tables of contents, and maybe some pictures of the favorite patterns, and file those in the binders as well. I had not though about making copies. With so many magazines to go through, though,it's a daunting task! If there are any other ideas, please continue to share!
Kris, I envy your BIG stash of magazines, but not the task ahead of organizing them! |
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llinn
honorary angel
USA
1650 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 5:00:11 PM
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I've got about 30 years worth of knitting magazines, plus books and just about every leaflet published between 1960 and 1990. I normally have the magazines tagged for interesting patterns and then kept sorted by publisher and year.
I'll eventuallly get them on computer, but need a new scanner now and hope that the OCR software is better than it used to be. I was all set up in 94 to start loading the patterns into the computer, but couldn't get the software to accept knitting programs. Lord, it was awful. And it got worse every time. The abbreviations just made the computer crazy. So I put it off for 10 years or so to wait and see if the software caught up to reality.
Llinn |
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Mermaid Knits
Permanent Resident
USA
1129 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 7:55:12 PM
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With the OCR software, you may be able to teach it the knit-lingo ahead of time. But of course that could take time if you have to manually type it in. Good luck
Arctic-mermaid
http://www.flickr.com/photos/MermaidKnits/ |
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Mickey
Permanent Resident
USA
1670 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 8:08:12 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Mermaid Knits
And if I have to go search a little, that is part of the fun for me.
same here. At work, I need to be meticulous and organized. At home, it's chaos, and I like it this way.  |
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ithien@grandecom.net
New Pal
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 9:40:15 PM
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| I have been collecting VKs and Knits and have created an Excel spreadsheet documenting most of the Vogue Knitting magazines since 1983 and all of the Interweave Knits issue patterns. It's not complete, but I can sort by type of pattern or designer or specified yarn. It's not perfect yet but it saves a LOT of time. It's a big help to me. For a while i was including gauge but it was taking too long for the entries with the Vogue pubs. |
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Gelliott
Seriously Hooked
USA
910 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 10:45:23 PM
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After putting it off for several years, i finally made a spreadsheet for my IK magazines--favorite articles and patterns. I only included those that I thought I might like to make or reread some day.
What worked for me was a 5-column spreadsheet with the headings Category (i.e. sweater, hat, bag, article, etc.), Official Name (i.e. Bon Voyage Shopping Tote, or Tangled Yoke Cardigan), Designer/Author (last name first), Descrpition (i.e. zip-up cable-design cardigan), Yarn/Gauge (i.e. wool/4.5 or cotton blend/6) and Issue (i.e. W 97 or Su 03).
I organized it alphabetically, first by each column successively, and I am very happy with the result; I have already used it several times and it was easy to find what I wanted (and it was actually fun to go through my magazines to make the dateabase.)
Gelliott |
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DeannaC
New Pal
USA
41 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 10:50:05 PM
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| Interweave has indexes by subject and designer on their website for issues Fall96 - 2005 under the back issues tab. |
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Bobbiesocks
Chatty Knitter
116 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2008 : 11:39:16 PM
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Well, here's what I have in mind that I would like to do, not that I will ever get it done --lol. I would like to choose only the patterns that I would knit, which is about 2-3 per magazine, cut them out and put them in plastic sleeves in a loose leaf notebook. Then I would toss the magazine. Beyond that, in my wildest dreams, I would scan the patterns I am interested in trying, and store them electronically, or get some sort of clerical slave to type them for me to store electronically. I wish the magazines would put the patterns all together without having to "--- go to page 97" to find the rest of the pattern. Haven't seen any sort of magazine like that though.
I like the way Creative Knitting puts a pictorial index of the included patterns in the back of each magazine. At least it reduces the time it takes to find a certain pattern. I suspect that by dating those pages with the date of the magazine, and putting them in a notebook, one could essentially create an index for a whole stack of CK magazines.
Bobbie |
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3088margaret
New Pal
17 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 04:24:24 AM
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I also have this problem but have now resolved that very soon - perhaps this afternoon - I shall copy all the Table of Contents pages in my knitting magazines and put each in a plastic sleeve and into a file... I am very grateful to you organised knitters for the idea, thanks so much. |
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Frada@aol.com
Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 04:42:01 AM
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I too have about 15 years of assorted magazines of knitting and spinning. When I first see a project I like and hope to use later I make a copy of the first page with a notation of the magazine and date it came from. I put this page in a file folder separated by type:accessories, vests, mens, sweaters etc. The magazines are kept in cronological order and put together in baskets I keep in the basement. When I'm looking for a pattern I will check my file cabinet and then go to the correct issue. It works for me.
Frada |
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bullwinkle
New Pal
30 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 05:45:13 AM
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I just recently "solved" this problem.
In trying to declutter, I realized that I don't/won't search through 20 years of magazines for patterns/ideas/techniques (or recipes for that matter). I will look through 20 years accumlation of books for patterns/ideas (or recipes). (Btw, I ditched all the cooking mags - allrecipes.com and epicurious.com work for me.)
So, I spent a few months "rereading" every magazine. I pulled every pic of stitch patterns that were interesting. I pulled every pattern that might remotely interest me (someday). I recycled the mags that were torn apart. And I brought a (large) pile of them to KRR. That's years worth of mags that I'd never look at, never use - that found a good home.
Now I have a pile of loose patterns, techniques, stitches. These are sorted by type and filed in 3 ring binders. The patterns usually have to be stored in page protectors - to punch holes in the pages could eliminate critical directions.
I have not yet regretted this decision. It has only been 9 weeks. (And there were Holidays in there.) Ymmv. |
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pnrichkus
New Pal
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 06:12:18 AM
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| Love the many good ideas, going backwards. Going forward, Ravelry seems to be 'catalogueing' knitting magazines and their patterns. For example, it's possible to "view all 27 patterns from Vogue Knitting, Holiday 2007." Older mag patterns, as included by Ravelry members, are also making it into Ravelry's huge inter-relational data base. A quick search brought up patterns from VK from the mid-80s. Knitting book patterns are also there. It's quite remarkable. (In Ravelry, I'm petaknits.) |
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mornin
New Pal
15 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 06:32:06 AM
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Hi all, interesting topic. I have 30+ years of mags... even some old "handmade" magazines, which are my favorites. They are organized by magazine and date... and I think looking through them is half the fun as well! However, if there is something I particular liked or thought I might need, I wrote a note on the cover. In later years, I have used post-its for that, but at first I just wrote right on the cover.
P.S. I'm not really a newbie, but hardly ever get to check in and rarely post! |
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Mirl56
Chatty Knitter
USA
123 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 07:14:38 AM
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I would love to be able to do a spreadsheet sort of thing, but I know I never will. I'd rather be knitting!
The most I have done, is take a little sticky note. Write 'socks' or whatever the project is that I think I may like to do and stick it on the page with the top sticking up. |
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knitterchick@yahoo.com
New Pal
1 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 07:29:17 AM
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| I used to work in a library so that might explain why all my(not just knitting) mags are kept alphabetical by name then sequential by issue. I never came up with an index so I have to remember how long ago and what season it was when I hunt down a pattern. That's when the almighty sticky notes come in handy. I note the pattern at the bottom of the note & stick it up out of the issue for later (if I'm mulling around something). Works for me! |
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ajanespaulding@sopris.net
New Pal
4 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 07:31:16 AM
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I love the ideas regarding how to take care of knitted articles.
I don't think I have the time to go thru 30 years worth of magazines.Some of those were Workbook that were small to begin with and won't go in a binder. I do like Creative Knitting especially, they have a picture of everything that is featured in the magazine and the page number. Its too bad that the rest of the magazines don't do that. It makes it easy to find what you want without thumbing thru or trying to find the index. I am thinking that maybe I will just take a marker and write on the front of the book the choice and page number? |
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organizing magazine patterns & articles
