Sewing Room Changes...

Quote for the Day:

"I'm creative. You can't expect me to be neat too."

~author unknown

In September we took a trip to the closest IKEA...which happens to be in Pittsburgh...90 miles away.  I needed some things for my sewing room...

For about 12 years or so I've had one of the standard cutting tables from JoAnns.  Since I'm short, it was always a little taller than it should have been to be ergonomic for me.  I used to be 4'11.5" tall, but in the last couple of years I have shrunk...lucky me!  (The last time I was measured they told me I was just a little over 4'10"...THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT!!!)   I do know that I was having a lot of pain and issues when I would cut out a new quilt, so I decided to get a new, lower table...

This one is actually one of IKEA's kitchen tables and is standard table height.  With both sides extended out like they are in the picture, the table top is 30" x 60".  When the sides are down, it is nice and compact which is great because when we have more than 2 people stay the night I do have to use this room as a temporary guest room. 

The other item I purchased from IKEA was this small metal filing cabinet that I turned into my thread storage cabinet.  

The drawers are shallow so it neatly holds spools of thread and makes them easy to find.  It is on wheels, too, making it easy to move around when needed.

top three drawers...

bottom three drawers...

all drawers nicely labeled...

The thread stays neat, is easily found, and the cabinet tucks away nicely under the end of my ironing board!!!  The way my sewing room is set up, all I have to do is turn around in my sewing chair and the thread cabinet is right there!  Handy!

Though this next item doesn't have anything to do with IKEA, it is a change-up in my sewing room...

The cover to my ironing "board"...(a piece of plyboard that Andy made for me that fits snugly over my traditional ironing board)...anyway...the cover was looking NASTY!!!  Every few years I need to re-cover it, and the time was NOW.  I can't remember the last time I did it, but I know it's been more than 3 years ago.  

I meant to take a "before" picture to show how bad it was, but alas...I forgot.  :(  But take my word for it...it was YUCKY!  

But now it's so PRETTY!!!

(You can see the new thread cabinet tucked underneath the end in the first picture.)

Loretta

Sewing Room Update...

I enlisted Andy's help this past weekend to install some upgrades in my sewing room and I have spent the last 2 days rearranging some things.

The first thing we did was install a new LED light bar ($19.97 from HomeDepot) above this window to illuminate the far end of my sewing table where I use my Singer featherweight, my embroidery machine, and my serger.  You can hang it by the included chains or you can clip it directly to the wall/ceiling using the enclosed clips, which is what we decided to do.  (I was able to eliminate the pole lamp and table lamp that you can see in the foreground of this picture after the new light was installed!)

You can see how dark this end of the table is without it...

...and how much brighter it is with the light on now.  No more shadows!!!

It's official...the astronauts can now see my sewing room from space!  LOL

The other change we made was to add wire shelving above the cutting table to create more storage.  

Before...

It has always bugged me that the wall space above the table was not being utilized, but I wasn't exactly sure how to solve that problem.  I had actually thought of buying upper kitchen cabinets and putting them up there, but wasn't sure about how that would work with the track lights.  A few years ago a friend gave me some ClosetMaid wire shelving and some of the hardware, but I had never put it to use.  I got it out of the basement, cleaned it up, and then went to HomeDepot to get what we needed to add to it to install it.

After...

I had 2 large totes of fabric stored under my sewing tables and I had originally I thought I'd put them in bins up on these shelves.  After contemplating the set-up, though, I decided to move my UFO's to the shelves, thus freeing up 3 shelves in one of my cabinets...and store my fabric on those 3 shelves, instead, keeping the fabric low and within easy reach!  

Those two totes under the cutting table are full of batting pieces in various sizes that I have either joined together to be used, or are still waiting to be joined together to be used.

I specifically put that bottom shelf on the left down low for a reason...
When I am cutting fabric for a quilt, I use the back 1/3 of the table to hold everything that I am using.  The table becomes very cluttered and reduces my usable area until the quilt is finished and all leftovers are cut up and put in the scrap bins.  This way I can use that shelf for temporary storage of what I am currently working on, thus freeing up the ENTIRE table for cutting use!  (I had actually seen a picture online of a person's sewing table and she had a shelf just a few inches above the back of her sewing table to cut down on the clutter that tends to collect there!  Brilliant!)

I buy clean pizza boxes from the local pizzeria and use them for UFO block storage...all labeled with what is inside.  The white plastic containers came from my previous workplace...a piece of equipment came in them and they get thrown away.  They hold UFO's that have smaller blocks.

All of these things were stored on the three middle shelves of this cabinet before...

It now looks like this...

No more large totes under my sewing tables!!!  And ALL of my fabric is easy to find now!  

Loretta

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  I hope that you all had a nice Easter and got to enjoy some time with your family or friends!

We had Easter dinner with our friends that live across the street from us, Wes and Kathy!  The food was delish and between her and I, we were able to tweak the menu enough so that I had plenty to eat...in fact, too much to eat!  

She served these beautiful individual cheesecakes for dessert...

...Andy, Kathy, and Wes all said they were very good!  Aren't they adorable???

I didn't have any, but I took a package of these Coco-Roons with me and had them with a cuppa coffee while they enjoyed the cheesecakes so that  I had a delicious "treat" while they had their treat.  I haven't been eating "treats" for almost 3 months now so it was an absolutely perfect end to the meal! 

Kathy doesn't sew but knows that I do, so she gifted me with this sewing machine cover that used to belong to her mom.  In fact, I'm not completely sure, but I think it may have been homemade by her.

Isn't it sweet???  It is the perfect fit for my Viking embroidery machine and I feel honored that she gave it to me.  I know how much she loved her mom!

I can't show you what quilt I'm currently working on because it is a gift, but once it has been given to the intended recipient, I'll post pictures!  :)

Loretta

Sewing Room Change-Up: Phase 2....

Quote for the Day:

"Things of this world are in so constant a flux, that nothing remains long in the same state."

~John Locke

I posted about a week ago that the way some things were set up in my sewing room just weren't working for me the way I wanted them to.  The first change-up involved moving another table into the sewing room to provide more space for my sewing machines.

I moved my sewing room into this particular bedroom 2 years ago and at the time I set it up the way I thought would be best.  However, after working in there for a while, there were some things that were not as convenient as I would have hoped and it involved the way I had 3 bookcases set up.  

I have these two bookcases just inside the door of the room that I lean my "design wall" boards against.

I keep my "scrap-saver's system" in the plastic containers on the tall bookshelf, but when the design wall boards are in front of it with quilt blocks on them, it is difficult to get to my scrap storage.  

Just to the right of these two bookshelves is another bookshelf that has rarely needed items on it...along with other stuff that has just been thrown on there instead of being put away where it belongs.  It ends up being a "catch-all" for things that I don't know what to do with or don't have time to put away properly.

Since this third bookcase is next to my cutting table, I thought it would be more convenient to move my scrap storage system to this bookcase and put the things that I don't need to get to as often on the bookcase behind the design wall boards.  While moving this stuff around, I took this opportunity to declutter, too.

This is the result...

This puts the most-used items (my scraps) at my fingertips next to the cutting table, and the lesser-used items behind the design wall!  I think this is going to work much better for me!   And I love that it is cleaner and neater, now!  I am less stressed and more creative in a clean and functional space!

Loretta

Sewing Room Change-up: Phase 1

I broached the subject with my husband about changing some things in my sewing room.  He was amenable to the changes I want to make except for the hanging of wire shelves on the wall above the cutting table.  For the record, though, I know I'll get my way...I do 99% of the time!   

So phase one of said changes was to get an additional sewing surface. This is a picture of the sewing table with...count them...FOUR sewing machines on it.  Well...three sewing machines and one serger.

My two main sewing machines are in the front...my Viking and my Juki.  Although I like to piece with the Viking and do my machine quilting on the Juki, because there was no room for the extension table for the Viking, I've been doing my piecing on the Juiki, lately.  I really miss being able to use my Viking, especially when I need it to do mending or sewing on knits.

So I said to my husband, "Husband, (because he's my husband, ya know) I need a small desk or table to place my Viking sewing machine on so that I don't have to rearrange my sewing machines every time I want to use it." 

After measuring how much space we had, he replied, "let me go out and see what I have."

For those of you who don't know us personally, let me explain something. Andy has a "hobby".  He likes to wheel and deal in antiques.  Our 32' X 24', two-car garage is basically an unofficial antique store.  Three to four times during the spring, summer and early fall, he has a "garage sale", but he only carries antiques and occasionally some furniture...so it's not your usual "garage sale".   In fact, there are several antique dealers that come to his sales to find things to sell in their stores!  He has become known around town as having very reasonably priced antiques, so people sometimes stop by the house when they are looking for something!

Lo and behold, he had this vintage 4' formica-topped kitchen table among his items!!!  The perks of having a hubby with such an unusual hobby!!!  

 It is just deep enough to fit the Viking's extension table!!!

I now have TEN FEET of sewing surface!!!  

I will keep the Viking embroidery machine and the serger towards the end of the big table for now.  When I need one, I can easily pull it towards the front, use it, and then push it back out of the way.

I'm so glad that this first phase went so painlessly...and cheaply!  LOL

Now onto one other thing that is new today...

For those of you who have a Singer Featherweight or 301, you know how worthless the standard bulbs are that go in them.  They are so dim that they are basically useless.  And HOT!  Don't accidentally hit your knuckle on it or you'll be nursing a burn!

I was perusing a blog on Monday when I came across this post by the woman's husband about some LED bulbs that he sold for vintage sewing machines.  I placed an order for three bulbs...one for each of my two Featherweights and one for my 301.  I ordered them on Monday and they arrived today!

Here is what the standard bulb looks like when it is on.  You can barely see any light output at all!

The new LED bulb is on the left and the standard bulb is on the right...

And here's what the new LED bulb looks like in the machine!!!  WOW!!! What a difference!

Because of the price, I was hesitant to buy one for each of my vintage machines, especially since I'm thinking of selling at least one of my Featherweights.  But because of the huge difference it makes in the lighting, I'm glad I went ahead and purchased 3 bulbs!  I think it will be a selling point when/if I go to sell!

Loretta

Table Update...

Quote for the Day:

"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want." 

~Tori Filler

Back in April, Andy & I went to an estate auction and I picked up this little baby...a vintage typewriter table...for $2.00. 

 

I thought it would come in handy in my sewing room as a "portable" flat surface for...well...whatever. 

But FIRST...I wanted to paint it RED!  (My favorite color, BTW.  Of course, you couldn't tell that by the RED sofa, chair cushion and rug in the background of the picture, could you?  LOL)

It took two cans of spray paint to get adequate coverage, but I finally got it all finished and it is now in my sewing room.

I am currently using it beside my hand quilting frame to hold all my "tools" for hand quilting.  That way my "stuff" no longer has to perch precariously on the two rear rollers anymore.  :)

I particularly like that you can extend the "arms" to make a bigger surface, if needed.

The wheels roll really well, too...even on the carpet!  Plus, they have "locks" on them if you want to keep the table stationary.  I think this table will come in very handy for many uses in the future and is a great addition to my sewing room!  :)

Loretta

The Big Reveal!!!

Quote for the Day:

“May the road rise up to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

And the rain fall soft upon your fields

And until we meet again

May God hold you in the palm of his hand”

~ Irish Blessing

Happy St. Patrick's Day to one and all...whether you are Irish or not.  I'm sure that somewhere back there I've got some Irish in me amidst all the German and English that is my heritage.  :)

Now, on to the big news at hand...

I've FINALLY got my sewing room put together!!!  Well...mostly, anyway.  There is still the issue of taking out the big flat-screen TV and moving it into our bedroom, and hooking up my small flat-screen TV.  But other than that, the room is ready to work in!  YAY!!!  

Warning:  This post is picture-heavy, so please bear with it.  I hope it will be worth your wait and time!  :)

As you look into the room, this is what you see...the left wall off of the door...

The first, small, white bookshelf holds some items that need mending, my quilting books/magazines, and fabric for the projects that I am currently working on.  I DO NOT put any fabric away until the project is DONE DONE DONE.  With my luck, if I did, I'd end up needing just one little piece for some reason for the the original quilt and not having it because I had cut it down and put it into a scrap quilt!   So, until the quilt is bound and labeled, I keep all the fabric on this bookshelf.  :)

Next to it is this tall bookshelf that contains my scrap storage system that I fashioned after Bonnie Hunter's system.   I do a thorough cleaning of my sewing room between projects, (in theory, anyway, LOL), and cut down the scraps of leftover fabric into strips and blocks and save them in those labeled plastic containers for use in scrap quilts.

Next to the tall bookshelf is the fireplace with a short bookshelf sitting in front of it.  On this short bookshelf are my non-quilting fabrics, and boxes of sewing and quilting stuff that needs to be sold on Ebay or when I link up to a Quilter's Yard Sale Saturday.  There wasn't much on this kind of stuff before, but after going through my sewing room, I found more stuff that I need to get rid of.  :)

These are TV's that I mentioned earlier that need to be switched out.  Andy is currently at Home Depot getting the things he needs to switch them out.  

Next to the fireplace is my cutting area...

Oh, look...there is already a "PIG" ("project in grocery sack") sitting under the table!  LOL  That is flannel I got to make baby blankets for my grandson, Alex, that is due in July!  :)  No use putting it away because I have to get them done by the end of May for the baby shower!  :)  Better get busy, huh???  

If you look on the wall to the right of the cutting table you will see my ruler storage.

This is actually a Christmas card holder that I found at Goodwill a few years ago for $1.00.  When looking for storage ideas, don't forget to "think outside the box"!   You'll be surprised at what unique and inexpensive ways you can find to store things!

As we continue around the corner from the cutting table, I have my ironing station.  It's a vintage ironing board from Goodwill...nice and heavy and sturdy...with a homemade "Big Board" on top.

To the right of the ironing board are my Ikea Billy bookcases with my stash all neatly folded on foam core boards.   The containers in the middle, open storage are my FQ's (fat-quarters) and 1/2 yard fabrics.  On top, in the picnic baskets are shirting fabrics and yarn storage. 

To the right of the stash cabinets, extending out into the middle of the room are my sewing table and hand-quilting frame, butted back to back.

As you can see, there is nothing in my quilt frame right now...and there hasn't been since Feb. 1, when I finished up the Dresden Plate quilt.   I've been going CRAZY since I haven't been able to sew or quilt for several weeks now, so I'm hoping to have a quilt in the frame by bedtime tonight!  :)

Behind the quilting frame is the same wall that the entry door is on.  On that wall, I have the bookcase that I painted and two other cabinets with doors.  

And here they are with the doors open, so you can peer inside.  :)  You know you want to!

Between these cabinets and the door is a little space that I use to hang finished quilt tops waiting to be quilted, and also where I store a couple extra sewing machines.

I store my quilting templates on 3M Command hooks on both ends of the Ikea Billy stash storage cabinets.

My threads are now stored in vintage sewing cabinets.  This sewing "basket" was a gift for Christmas a couple years ago from Erin & Dale.  It sits under my sewing table and holds my regular sewing threads.

My embroidery machine and serger are used at the opposite end of the sewing table as my regular sewing machine, so I put the specialty threads for them in this sewing cabinet and have it sitting between the stash cabinet and the sewing table.  I purchased this vintage cutie at an auction for $17.00 a couple of summers ago.

Our house is old and didn't have a lot of outlets in it until we had the upstairs rewired.  At that time we added a couple outlets to each room...but you know it wasn't enough!!!  :(   So, to contain extension cords, etc., and get them off the floor as much as possible, I wrapped them around furniture legs as much as possible.  

On the cross bar of my sewing table, I took velcro and cable ties and attached a surge protector to the table for my machines.   Very handy!  :)

I'm very excited to be able to sew and quilt again!  

I already know that I am going to have "issues" with having carpet in this room.  My previous sewing room had hardwood, and I would recommend that to everyone.  It is the easiest to clean when it comes to threads, etc.  I've already asked Andy what it would take for me to convince him to let us pull up the carpet and put laminate down in there.  (The carpet is only a couple years old.)  Let's just say, after all we've gone through moving into this room, etc., the look he gave me said it all.  :(  I guess I'll just have to wait till the next time we need carpet, and have the laminate put down then.  

Until then...I am going to be in my new sewing room for the rest of the day, if you should need me.  :)  

Let me leave you with this funny commercial...

Loretta