There's Gonna Be Some Changes 'Round Here!

Remember this post where I showed you pictures of my sewing sanctuary. I was so proud of my accomplishment. It felt good to look into my sewing room every morning and see a neat space ready for creative crafting.

So I began crafting in my newly organized  (or so I thought) space-- and it wasn't long before things went down hill...very quickly. Before I realized it my sewing sanctuary became a chaotic cave...AGAIN!!!

Why is it that creativity, at least for me, causes chaos?!  What was I doing wrong?  I would try to put things away after each crafting session but sometimes this was not possible-- I mean, who wants to put away this and that when you know you need it the very next time you work on a project?

It was time to make some changes!  But where to start?  First I had to assess  the problem. 

Hmmmmm...

Problem #1:  where did all this stuff come from and do I really want/need it?  The paisley fabric that I thought I would use to make a collared shirt-- I don't even wear collared shirts!  Or the fabric I had to have because it was a great deal and I could use it "someday". How about the old sewing books filled with outdated techniques?  I mean really, in this Internet age you can learn most anything by searching YouTube. 

Problem # 2:  lack of accessibility. I love my cutting table but it was positioned in a way that I could not move around it  or easily access the bookcase where I kept fabric, books and other sewing supplies. 

Problem #3:  The Catch all room.  This room had become a huge walk-in storage closet. Everything went into the sewing room until I found the "perfect" spot or took the time to put it away. 

Up next, some solutions. 

Until next time...sew something you love!

Sewing Sanctuary Restored!

I am almost finished with my June MAGAM garment and will hopefully have pics of the finished project very soon.

Clean up Is Complete

I have been cleaning my sewing room over the past two weekends and I am happy (okay ECSTATIC) to say it is done!  There is still some fine tuning to be done like organizing patterns but I can move around without shifting things out of the way or tripping over things.


The chaotic cave has been restored to a sewing sanctuary.  Yeah!

Here is a view of inside the craft cabinet (behind full length mirror) and a close up of the bookcase. 

Cutting table is loaded with goodies-- more about these in a future blog post. I'm so excited!!!

Found these nifty shelves at a local Big Lots.  They are designed for kitchen shelves but they slide onto the cutting table for additional storage-- a perfect solution to my problem.  Now I can free up the table surface for easier pattern lay out. 

Coverstitch machine and serger setup.  Replaced the table lamps with clip on lamps to free up desk space.  Will work on a solution to hide the wires. 

Found a bag full of serger thread for about $8 at a local thrift store about a year ago. Still have room for a few more cones but don't think I will need any more any time soon.

My church was throwing away this table.  I brought it home, reconfigured it so that my sewing machine would sit flush with the table top, then covered it with a fabric remnant and clear vinyl.  The extension pole storage (see the bottom of this post) was another thrift store find.

Every morning before work I go I to my sewing sanctuary. Seeing It brings sunshine to my day.

Now the challenge is keeping it that way...




Until next time...Sew something you love!

A Journey from Chaotic Cave To Sewing Sanctuary

I find it funny that I never notice the chaos in the sewing sanctuary until it gets to this point--

You see, I have a really bad habit of sewing and not putting things away after I'm finished. I'm like a kid looking through the toy box to find a favorite toy.  Everything in the way gets tossed here and there and everywhere. 

I have every intent to return the scissors or the  seam ripper or the seam gauge to it's designated spot when I'm done using it. I also intend to fold those pattern pieces and return them to the proper envelope. I try really hard to throw away the thread tails as I clip them.  However, despite my best intentions I find myself turning in circles in the middle of my sewing room wondering how and when it went from sewing sanctuary to chaotic cave.  

This weekend I began process of restoring peace in the sanctuary.  

 Here is what I have done so far--

I have been trying to figure out a way to create more leg room and make my serger (middle machine) level with the table top without cutting a hole into the top of the desk. After realizing I had some room on either side of my table set-up I slid the desk and the drawers apart so that there was about 18 inches of space in between them. 

I went to the hardware store and had them cut two 18 inch pieces (the depth of the chest of drawers and desk) from a 1 x 2 wood plank and screwed one onto the side of the desk and the chest of drawers. I determined that my serger bed was 4 inches  from the top of the table, plus the 1 inch depth of the 1x2 equals 5 inches so I placed the 1  x 2 's about 5 inches down from the top of each piece of furniture and  parallel to the floor to make what I think are called braces but I am not a woodworker.   I made sure each brace was level and at the same height so that the new "table top" would be level. Then I took a piece of 1-inch thick 18 by 18 board (also cut to size at the hardware store) and layed it across the braces. Presto-- additional space for my serger. I used Velcro to keep the board from sliding on the braces.  I did not screw the board to the braces in order to make it easier to disassemble and move if I ever decide to rearrange the sewing sanctuary. 

To fill in the space between the serger and the old desktop I used a 2 foot by 2 foot piece of styrofoam insulation and instructions from the book by Marguerita McManus entitled Sew and Quilt in Comfort to make a serger insert. I covered the insert with same shelf paper.

Here is a closer look--

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This freed up the top of the drawer and made space for a small ironing center.

I can't wait to sew on my serger now that I have more flatbed space. 

I still have quite a ways to go in order to transform the chaotic cave back into the sewing sanctuary but I think I'm off to a good start. 

Until next time...Sew something you love.