OneNote for the Pattern Stash - Part 2

It's time I did a follow up to tips on using OneNote for organizing your pattern stash, because it's been well over a year since I wrote part 1 and also because I was just singing its praises over on Pattern Review. So "hello" if you're coming to my blog from there. Warning - this is a long post.

After using and tweaking my pattern library over these last 16 months or so, I've found that the system works pretty well for me, but it's not perfect. No "out of the box" system is. One thing I've learned with Microsoft tools such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc, is that they are tools and you can make them work for you but you will find some limitations if you're not using the tool exactly how the developers envision you using it, i.e., you're not using it for a business application. I remember in the mid 90's in grad school I was using Excel to plot my scientific data. Now if you know Excel, it is loaded with all sorts of tools to plot and track business data - you can create nifty pie charts and the feared (and misunderstood) pivot tables. It's not, and certainly wasn't in its early days, the best tool for making scientific charts. But I made it work, and over time Microsoft improved the capabilities in Excel and the ability to use it for scientific purposes increased as well. I am finding a similar situation with OneNote.

OneNote is a fabulous tool for collecting your random, or not so random, notes and information. I used to have a paper notebook at work that I used for note taking during meetings. It was not very efficient and I seldom went back to review it. But with OneNote I could finally organize my information, track action items, update old info, and most importantly I could search for stuff. Today I use OneNote for grocery lists, bits of stuff I want to remember like the name of a movie someone recommended, and a variety of other things. With the advent of online cloud storage and the ability to access that storage from my phone when I'm out, it also seemed like a great way to be able to keep track of my patterns and make the information available to me wherever I am. The flexibility to be able to add whatever information I want in whatever form I want makes OneNote much more appealing to me than a database, even though I'd be giving up the more rigid formatting a database would provide (for good or for bad). But OneNote is still a tool. It is literally an open book and you fill the pages how you wish.

As with any software tool, there is a learning curve. It's not uncommon to change your course of thinking after you've used the tool and discovered how best to use it. This happened with my Pattern Library as well, but it didn't change too radically and I'm still experimenting...and learning.

The following information only applies to using OneNote with Windows 8.1 and OneDrive with an Office 365 subscription, because that is what I have. I can't explain how OneNote works with Chrome or with Apple operating systems - it does work with those, I just don't have them or use them.

There are multiple ways to access (and edit) OneNote notebooks - that are online*

1. I have OneNote installed on my laptop, which I access by going to the desktop.
2. There is the OneNote application on my laptop, which I access by clicking the OneNote tile.
3. I can use my browser to navigate to my OneDrive and then open a OneNote notebook
4. I have an app on my phone that I can use to view (no editing) a OneNote notebook.

*I created my notebook so that it lives online in the cloud of OneDrive rather than on my desktop so that I can access it from my phone or another computer. Any edits I make using the application in 1, 2 or 3 above are synced so that I will always (barring any sync problems) see the latest updates.

Ah, but nothing is perfect. First of all, the OneNote editing tools are different between 1, 2, and 3. Oh, Microsoft...why does it seem like three different groups developed these applications? Probably because they did.



1. Desktop OneNote on laptop computer



2. OneNote Application on laptop computer



3. OneNote Online using browser



4. Phone application

For the majority of my editing, as well as adding new patterns, I use the desktop OneNote (1). Incidentally, that's where you end up when you select "open in OneNote" from OneNote Online (3). The desktop OneNote (1) has the most tools by far. The application version (2) is my most preferred way to view my Pattern Library, but the editing tools there are pretty limited. The phone application (4) is also good, but given the small screen size, I pretty much only use that when I'm out or only my phone is handy. I haven't used Outlook Online (3) except for recently when I was experiencing some sync problems.

Like many things in life, when they work well they're great and when they don't you get frustrated and annoyed, probably out of scale to the issue at hand. I didn't have sync problems until I decided to add more pictures to my Burda magazine section. A lot of pictures. Plus the pictures, which I copied from the Burdastyle website, where huge. I scaled them down - really just clicked and dragged to make them smaller, so I didn't change the file size. My Pattern Library notebook is about 5 GB - sounds pretty big.. Syncing takes a long time now and when our internet at home drops out, sometimes errors can occur, and they did. Therefore, I decided to make a new notebook just for the Burda magazines and move the sections to it, which you can only do from the desktop OneNote (1).

Here's another example of the different editing tools and look of a OneNote notebook depending on how/where you view it. When I added the Burdastyle pictures, they were huge, as I said. Since I added them using the desktop OneNote, I clicked and dragged to make them smaller or put them in a table, which made the pictures smaller based on the table cell size (the table tools are pretty limited in OneNote, but you have an option to make your table in Excel and then paste it into OneNote). When I looked at the notebook in OneNote Online, the pictures were huge again. I found it interesting (and annoying) that OneNote Online has a picture format option where I could set the size of the picture to a certain percentage - I could not find this tool in the desktop OneNote, despite there being many more editing tools.

I was going to write more about how I structured my notebook sections and pages, but I honestly think that you have to play with it yourself to discover how you want OneNote to work for you. You know best what's important to you and how you want your information displayed. If you run into issues, you can ask me in the comments and I'll try to answer, but you may find more information and help by searching the internet or Microsoft community help site.

How I add seam allowances

I made a short video to show how I use a 6 inch quilting ruler to add seam allowances to traced patterns. I use this method when I trace patterns from BurdaStyle and other European sewing magazines since they don't include seam allowances.

I am Virgo, watch me organize using OneNote - Part 1

I have a lot of sewing patterns. Oh, you too? Then I probably don't have to tell you how or why I've accumulated so many. They reproduce in the drawers and boxes in the sewing room, right?

Most of my patterns are 6000 miles away from me at the moment, but I have a small stash here - as well as over a year of Burda magazines and a smattering of Ottobre, Knipmode, Diana Moden, La Mia Boutique...etc. I've been increasingly aware that I am actually unaware of the patterns I own. I do have the majority of envelope patterns entered in my pattern catalog on Patternreview, and while it's helped prevent me from buying duplicates,  I haven't found it all that helpful for browsing. Not all of the patterns in there have pictures - especially older patterns, I can't see the yardage requirements or other envelope information, and none of my pattern magazines are entered. For my Burda magazines, I have a notebook with copies of all the line drawings. This is helpful but I still have to look through the many, many pages,  there are no pictures, and I haven't included line drawings from my many other magazines.

Some people have been using a product called Evernote to catalog their patterns. I decided I'd rather use a program I already have on my computer - OneNote. Because OneNote connects in the cloud with OneDrive (free storage!), and I can view it on my Windows Phone, I also use it for grocery lists, info I need to jot down when I'm out and about, and basically any information I want to keep track of. If it seems that I'm very Windows-centric, you are correct. My husband works for Microsoft so I am encouraged to use their products, but honestly I would use them anyway because they are solid, dependable and play very well together.

It did take me quite a bit of time to enter all my pattern information, but only because I have a lot of patterns! And magazines. And I'm a crazy Virgo perfectionist. I created OneNote pages for each pattern, including ones I don't have with me, but I only put in magazines that I have on hand because I scanned some of the pages. For the patterns, I was able to get maybe 99.5% of the pictures and envelope info off the internet - I have a couple patterns that are so old that I will have to scan them when I can.

Here's what OneNote looks like using the OneNote App on my Surface Pro.

 

 

There's one library with sections for each pattern company (listed on the far left), although if I only had one or two patterns I put them in the section "Other." I can reorganize this list to be alphabetical or whatever I want. Each section is made up of pages, which are listed in the second column from the left. One pattern page is displayed in the large area with the white background.  I used the screen clipping tool to grab images from the website, and I added a link to reviews on Patternreview. I'll explain how to do all this in a later blog post.

 

Here's a screen shot of a Burda magazine page entry: 

 

 

 

I scanned the pages that showed small pictures of the garments and the pages that show the line drawings. You can see that not all of the page is visible, but I can just move it around to see everything by using a mouse on the desktop or my finger on a Surface. The page can be quite large and hold lots of information. I can add notes - handwritten or typed in, more pictures, etc. I can even draw on top of the existing images.

 

The interface is different on the desktop view and provides access to a lot more tools. I use the desktop for editing and the app for browsing.

 

 

 

Here's a shot of what the pattern page looks like on my phone. I scrolled over to show that you can view the contents. The drawback is that downloading the pictures over the cell network takes forever.

 

 



 



Now that (almost) everything is in OneNote, I can browse my collection quite easily and from my phone, Surface, desktop or any computer with internet access to SkyDrive. One huge benefit is that I can search for and find any words that appear on a page. For example, if I was interested in sewing something with velvet and wanted to find patterns that were suitable, I simply search on "velvet" and the term is found whether it's in a title or in a picture I added (as long as the picture is clear and the text legible). In the below example, the word "velvet" is on the back of the pattern envelope for Simplicity 6807.

 

 

 

It's not perfect, but I can improve the search results by adding text to the page to "tag" it with terms. And for magazines,  unless I scan every instruction page from my Burda magazines (not likely) I can't find Burda magazine patterns that recommend velvet, for example. But this is a great start.

 

I can tell you that this whole exercise has reminded me of the many great looking patterns I have. I've enjoyed looking at them again. Of course I want to sew all the ones I bought and many of the ones in the magazine, but that's like saying I'll sew up every scrap of fabric I have.

Measuring tape fix

I stopped by Daiso at lunch today because who can resist a little bit of cute overload at the Japanese dollar (actually $1.50) store? Check out this little bear measuring tape:

And it is "convenient for the sewing and the body check." Perfect! Now I can do a body check. (click the picture to see it larger, if you can't read the expression at the top).

Since the "Bear's faced measuring tape" is metric I thought I'd keep it in my knitting bag for those times when I'm working on non-US patterns. But in the process of opening the package, which was maybe a little too easy to open compared to the indestructible rhino-proof plastic shells most things are packaged in these days. The measuring tape slipped out of my hands onto the wood floor and...

AAAAAAARGH!!!!!!

Actually the picture doesn't make it look as crazy as it was. Everything scooted under the coffee table, and I tried to find all the parts without knowing what parts I needed to find. The coil had completely "sprung" but I rolled it up and held it together with a clothespin until I could figure out what to do. Miraculously I found everything, including a little tiny spring. Now most people would throw the whole mess in the trash. After all, it was from the dollar $1.50 store. But not me. I'm an engineer. And I'm cheap and don't like to put stuff in landfills, so I fix things. But I didn't have a clue what went where or even how retractable measuring tapes worked. I searched online but found the same answer: throw it away and buy a new one.

So I had a glass of wine to ease my disappointment over the demise of my bear measuring tape and decide if I wanted to accept the challenge of fixing it. Of course I did. I love a mechanical challenge.

I'm going to share my discoveries in case you want to fix your retractable measuring tape instead of chucking it in the trash, because I suspect these little plastic ones have pretty much the same internal design. I figured it couldn't be too complex given that it was so inexpensive. I also figured that every notch and hole and piece of plastic served a purpose. I just had to figure out what went where. The only thing that was partially intact after the crash was the tape; it was still mostly wound around the outside of the black wheel, so that meant the coil had to go on the inside.

I was almost correct in the above picture. It turned out I had the assembly upside down but in this view, you can see how one end of the coil fits into the notched, plastic center post. There are four notches cut into the sides of the plastic wheel: the looped end of the tape slips onto the two notches that are closest together and the other end of the coil is secured in the other two notches. When the wheel is wound, the coil, being secured now at both ends, tightens and stores energy. I found that the way to get the tape onto the wheel was to wind the wheel so that the coil tightens and at the same time, guide the tape around the outside. But that's not all. When the coil is as tight as it will go, carefully undo the tape from the wheel but leave the looped end attached. Then you reverse the direction of the wheel (slowly!) and the tape will wind back onto the wheel in the opposite direction as the coil unwinds. When all of the tape is reeled in, the coil is no longer fully wound and ready to fly off. But when you pull the tape the coil winds up; release the tape and the coil reels in the tape again.

The next part was figuring out how the middle button (bear's nose) fit. The tiny spring in the center post was a key piece and made me realize I had everything upside down. It's correct in the above picture. See those plastic tabs in the inside of the wheel? Those are the "brakes" that are disengaged when the button is pressed. This is also why these type of measuring tapes go click-click-click when you don't depress the button.

So there you go. My little bear measuring tape is happy again and I solved a puzzle, saved a bit of plastic and metal from the dump, and best of all I have a cute tape measure for my knitting bag.

And if you're wondering, the bear measuring tapes also come in blue and yellow. I didn't see any other animals, just bears.

Where have I seen this before?

This looks a bit familiar, don't you think?

I'm in no way saying Indygo Junction stole my idea because I absolutely do NOT take any credit for the design of the pincushion I show in my tutorial. I copied that pincushion from one my mother made me in the 70's. I'm not sure where she got the idea from but I know she made them to sell at a craft fair to raise money for the Boy Scouts, I think. Anyway, if want to make a pincushion to hold the long thread spools, now you know where you can get a pattern...or how you can adapt the design to accomodate them. ;-)

No time to blog...

I have stuff to blog about but no time right now. However I did want to make a note for myself and spread the word on a cool tutorial I saw today at Another Creation on how to make your own sew-in labels.

Return of the tutorial

About a year ago I wrote a tutorial for making these pincushion sewing kits and published it on this blog:

A few crafting blogs and bulletin boards linked to it and as a result lots of people came to check it out. I hope some pretty pincusions were made as a result. I still get traffic on my blog because of that tutorial. Anyway, I just received an email from someone who was unable to print the instructions from the blog and asked for a copy. So I made a pdf of the file and you can download it here: Sewing Kit Pincushion.pdf

While the design isn't my own, the words and pictures on the instructions are, so I just ask that you acknowledge that if you use it or publish it somewhere else. Thanks!