Crochet Challenge: Week 9 - Pattern Organization

Organize your patterns this week. Do you have a special system for your patterns? Can you find a specific pattern easily?

 

I could be accused of spending way too much time browsing through all the possible methods of decluttering and managing my spaces. There are so many pretty systems and solutions but my problem typically lies more along the decision and *cough* implementation side of things. I have yet to find any one system or combination of that is capable of transforming my chaos into a well oiled machine. This particular challenge makes me very happy because I already have a pattern system in place that I LOVE and that works for me. There is nothing traditional about my system - no pretty scrapbook pages or binders created with an extra dose of love or sappiness. I despise paper clutter almost as much as I love pretty paper. Even more, I am a sucker for cold, unfeeling technology.

My system in a nutshell:

• Evernote and my iPhone. Evernote is a note taking and file clipping app and syncs with the same app on my Macbook. I also have a scanning app (TinyScan) that works just fine for my purposes. Paper patterns get scanned, converted to .pdf and inserted into Evernote. I use Evernote for recipes, doctors visits, passwords, hockey schedules, volunteer schedules, wine labels, blogging - the possibilities are endless! I can always find what I need through tags, and I love the web clipping function. Portions of web pages can be imported right into the appropriate notebook in Evernote, synced in the cloud and are updated on all my devices. 

• Patterns/projects I plan to make "someday" are either left on Pinterest on a "Crochet Plans" board, or saved in Evernote in a "Crochet Plans" Notebook, organized by project type. 

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Now all of this pattern organization would be amazing if I ever completed a pattern as written. Thinking back, C3P0 might be the only thing that I've made exactly as a designer intended.  I am just over a year into this crochet thing, but I get bored super easily and I often find its easier to modify an available pattern than to find one that is exactly what I am looking for. I typically take the best parts of multiple patterns and combine them into something that matches what is going on in my brain! 

Below is a simple example of a notebook I used for a leg warmer project for my niece. Multiple notes of inspiration and styles she liked, and then a pattern "note" combining a few different styles - essential for making an identical leg warmer mate!

There you have it. Nothing fancy, but it works for me! Everything contained in a couple devices and no pages to be torn out by sticky fingered bandits! 

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Do you have a tried and true method of organizing your patterns? Tell me about it in the comments!