Sewing Space Organization

It is getting to be that time of year again when you can't post pictures of your latest projects...because they are destined to become holiday surprises! I am making something for the gift exchanges for both my local bee, The Whacky Ladies, and my larger group, the CyberBee.

But, while Charlie is at deer camp, I finally decided to bite the bullet and organize my sewing room- a long overdue project. In fact, I blogged about moving out my son's stuff and painting his bedroom back in February, 2008. Then, in July, 2008, I made the flannel-covered design walls. Since then, the design walls have just been propped up, and I never got around to putting this room together. I put my embellisher in there and enjoyed surrounding myself with projects on the design walls.

Then, I got a new sewing table, but it never got out of the box until this weekend.

Finally, it got to the point where I had to do something. I am having to step over boxes and bags, my cutting table and ironing boards are loaded with fabric, and I can't find things I know I have in there SOMEWHERE. So, this weekend I started trying to organize. It is slow and painful. I am not very good at hanging things on the wall with screws. I'd rather stop and work on a project than de-clutter. Wouldn't you?

My space is a finished attic that has two small rooms and a landing. I have decided to put my sewing machine and embellisher in the newly painted room, along with an ironing board, cutting table, and most of my fabric.

The other room will have all my drawing and painting supplies, the long table I formerly used for sewing, a large wooden bookcase with all my quilting/art books, most of my UFO's (UnFinished Objects), PIGS (Projects In Grocery Sacks), WIPs (Works in Progress), etc. and a workstation desk with slanted top for drawing/designing ( which I bought with a half-price coupon from Michael's about two years ago and is still in the box).


Both of the two rooms have two narrow closets with hinged doors. Since it is an attic space, there are knee-walls and sloping ceilings, which limits the space quite a bit.

I bought a 4-drawer file cabinet for $5 at a roadside flea market, de-rusted and painted it...and finally put it together a couple days ago. This will house my patterns and all those articles I print off from the computer and snip out of magazines. It will live on the landing between the two rooms, along with my small refrigerator and some wire bookshelves for my copies of Quilting Arts magazines.

So far, I have:

• set up the sewing table and put my machine in it, and plugged everything in
• put up a pegboard next to the table and organized my threads and sewing tools
• Set up the ironing board behind the sewing machine and plugged in the iron
• sorted out my embellishments like rick-rack, fibers, ribbons, and yarns, and put them in labeled drawers
• moved my color-sorted clear plastic containers of half-yard and larger pieces into the new room in a 9-hole cubby
• Mounted one of the design walls- will wait for DH to help with the second
• Replaced the bulb in my Ott light and replaced the overhead bulbs in both rooms with brighter, white light bulbs. Ah, much better!
• Moved the stack of wrapping paper and gift boxes off the landing (okay, now it is on the stairs leading to the third floor and needs to be dealt with)

Today's goal: finish one customer quilt, mount and begin the next customer quilt (another "flower power" quilt), and clear off the cutting table and move it to the new room.

Better GOMA (Get Off My A_ _) and get busy!