Working on Meow Mix has pointed out the holes in my stash- especially yellows and oranges. (And it has also confirmed that I loooooove purple.) I need more fabric like I need a hole in my head, and yet, when I got an email from Fabricworm with a good coupon, I placed an order… which contained yellows, and of course, more purples… I was thinking blenders. I need more blenders. Don’t you kind of always need more blenders?
(But stay tuned until the end for a total impulse buy, which is part of a very exciting pending project.)
Violet Craft Waterfront Park Domino Dot in Starfruit and Joel Dewberry True Colors Wood Grain Yellow…
Violet Craft Waterfront Park Domino Dot Jewel, Anna Maria Horner Field Study Fine Feathered Whisper, Studio E Modern Age Chevron Purple
Joel Dewberry True Colors Herringbone Pink, Anna Maria Horner True Colors Crescent Bloom Fuschia
Anna Maria Horner True Colors Haystack Bouquet Moss
Timeless Treasures Sewing Machines Multi (Not a blender at all!)
But it is intended for such a wonderful project- read on.
I am lucky enough to have a room dedicated to my sewing. It used to double as an office, in the time before we all used laptops and tablets for everything, but for the last few years, it’s just been for sewing. And storing fabric and yarn, of course! Over the past few months, as I’ve been getting my sewing groove back, I’ve been thinking about ways to better utilize my space. The furniture in the room is a miss-mash of leftovers, most of which do not work so very well. The book shelves I use to store my fabric have shelves that are too deep, and it’s so hard to look get the fabric out and use it. And then putting it back away neatly takes sooooo much time. I have a “design wall” (felt backed plastic tablecloths tacked to the wall) but my cutting table and ironing board make it hard to use them. My cutting table is oval in shape, and takes up more room than it needs to.
So what to do? Â I started searching Pinterest and the interwebs for crafty space inspiration. I’ve long wanted to use Ikea Expedit bookcases, and when I mentioned that in passing to my husband, he let me know they were being discontinued! Noooooo… Time to speed up my plans! A quick trip to Ikea netted a few pieces, in black instead of white as the white selection had already been decimated. I not so subtly hinted to Rich that he should start putting the Expedits together right away, but he pointed out that maybe I should finish my overall plans first.
I hate it when he’s right…
But he was, and it has worked out really well. Part of why we chose our current house was the finished basement. It has a guest room, as well as the laundry room, and one large room that became the playroom. We stashed most of the kids’ toys down there, and also a TV and some comfy furniture, so they had their own space to enjoy and also mess up… But at nearly 13 and 10, they don’t really use it anymore (we moved in when they were 3 and 1.5 years old.) I sat down and talked with them, and they agreed that it would be okay for me to turn the playroom into my sewing room!
It’s about twice as big as my current sewing room!
And even though it’s in the basement, we have a tri-level house, and the basement has windows. So, double the space along with light? Hooray!
The big move is planned for mid-April. When my office (a school) is closed for Spring Break, I have 7 days paid time off! (Plus a weekend in there to boot.) I’m planning on spending nearly all day every day of break setting up the new room. I am so excited!
And all of that still doesn’t mention what the sewing machine fabric is for. Curtains!! The colors work perfectly with the carpet and wall colors already in the space. Cute machine curtains will totally set the mood…
Do you have any tips for storage or setting up a workspace that have made your sewing experiences better? I’d love to hear them!
Linking up with Sunday Stash.
Diary of a Madfabriholic 
A new room! How exciting!
I guess for a tip, mine would be to not set yourself up thinking you’ll be in your permanent layout and be open to changes! Once you’re moved in and start using the space you’ll start to piece together in your head how things will work “better”. You might think the desk works best in X spot next to Y, but then after a while you’ll think if I move Y to Z and put X where Y is there would be more space for ABC! I moved into my house a year ago and picked out a bedroom for my sewing room but after 6 months or so of sewing in there I didn’t think it was big enough and planned to move it to another bedroom. In that bedroom I’m now into my second layout configuration because I’m just trying to figure out what works best with my flow!
That is really good advice, thank you!! I know I want my ironing station closer to my sewing machine, but that’s the only thing I’m currently 100% certain of…
-Sam
On Sun, Mar 23, 2014 at 8:47 PM, Diary of a Madfabriholic wrote:
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How exciting to get your own custom space. Can’t wait to see how it all comes together.
me, too, Ruth, me too!
-Sam
On Sun, Mar 23, 2014 at 8:55 PM, Diary of a Madfabriholic wrote:
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Wow this all sounds very exciting. The one thing that makes my sewing easier is that I have a desk that my machine is on and then a small drawer unit on wheels that creates an “L” for the space. I use the top of the wheeled unit to iron on and cut smaller pieces and it is all very convenient that way.
A wheeled unit sounds very smart- you can move it as needed! Flexible space is the best… Thank you for visiting! -Sam
I have my sewing machine set up on a desk, and an old table for cutting. I have these back to back, so the cutting table can take some of the weight of a quilt as I sew.
That’s so smart! The weigh of a larger quilt can be hard to handle… -Sam
How exciting! Think of the sewing triangle (similar to the triangle in kitchens) which is sewing machine, ironing station and cutting table. You’ll have to take before, during and after pictures of the transformation. 🙂
I will take photos!
The triangle issue os part of my problem now- I waste a lot of time getting up and down and going back and forth. I’m hoping to streamline! -Sam
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You are going to love your space. I’m a huge proponent for clear plastic bins rather than leaving most of my fabric out in the open. It keeps down dust and you can move things quickly. If you like that – buy lots of extras as Target changes their box sizes about every 2 years (experience here). Then I would say Lighting is the next most important thing. Good for you and feel free to make a trip down to CR to see my new space. I just put in new AC/Heater in my craft room and I think I’m going to paint a wall this weekend. Heather3
Those are all excellent suggestions; thank you! I have some ott lights that I love, and the basement playroom-soon-to-be-sewing-room actually has 3 windows and gets decent light.
Next week will be all about repainting, and building the expedits… And then moving the fabric… oi.
-Sam
On Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 1:20 PM, Diary of a Madfabriholic wrote:
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