A Glimpse into my Sewing Space

You may remember that earlier this year I made some cosmetic changes to my sewing room. New floors {dark wood laminate} and paint {SW Reserved White} gave it a fresh new look. And since everything had to be removed, I've slowly been reorganizing, changing what wasn't working and making the space "cute".

Thought you might like a glimpse!

All those mini quilts I've been making? Now hanging on the wall...

Including the latest, mini Round and Round...

This is my new favorite storage piece! Martha Stewart thread rack to hold all my Aurifil. And yes, I have quite a collection. I started buying it years ago when it was super hard to find. Every annual trip to the AQS show in Paducah, I'd splurge on 6-10 spools to get me through the year. I'm happy to have it displayed, readily reachable and the bonus is that it has freed up 2 large drawers.

I crocheted these flowers this Winter and then had to find a spot for them! 

I have a terrible aim trying to hit the trash can, so I've taken the "garbage bowl" idea from Rachel Ray and created a tabletop container for all my trash. One for the cutting table...

And a pretty bowl for threads at the machine...

My Ikea cart is holding all my WIPs...

And I got this idea from Lisa at Vintage Modern Quilts. She calls it "Table Top Sewing". I have an easy to pick up project in a basket on the sewing table. The current project is my Economy block quilt...

I got a new desk and revamped this side of the room adding a few more mini quilts...

A major need was to organize my notions! Buttons...

And the two drawers that held the thread, nicely organized using drawer dividers from Target...

So there you have it! Always an evolving space, but I'm super happy to be here!

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More Minis...

I hung my mini Swoon up in the sewing room and decided I needed a few more minis. They're kind of perfect to add some quilty decor to the room and fit in my limited wall spaces.

First up, I can finally share my MQG Riley challenge. I decide since it was due in February and I've been wanting to piece some feathers, I'd go with a Valentine theme. The idea came from a print I saw on etsy...

It was a challenge to get everything to fit together, but definitely fun to make!

So back to the minis... After toying with a few ideas, I decided to miniaturize my Garden Lattice quilt from my book. You can see it here compared to the big one.

It turned out so cute! Someone on Instagram requested the measurements for this little block, so here you go:
White: 2 - 1" x 2 1/2"; 2 - 1" x 3 1/2"; 4 - 1" x 1 1/2"
Print: 1 - 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"; 4 - 1 1/2" x 1 3/4"; 4 - 1 1/2" x 2 3/4"
The sashing is made from strips cut 1" and the block is constructed just like the one in the book!

Don't you just love this little mouse print from Catnap? The color is so pretty - I'll be using that one again!

So with this mini and a mini "C" quilt I made, my desk area in my sewing room is all set up. I got the initial quilt idea from Camille - saw it hanging in her booth at Quilt Market!

And this beautiful bundle arrived on my doorstep last week! I'm quilting-along with Amanda at Material Girl. It's a layer cake sampler quilt-along. You can learn more about it here, see the quilt and if you get there by Friday enter for a chance to win a Layer Cake to get you started: Layer Cake Sampler Quilt Along. Hope you'll join us!!

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Sewing Room Tour - part 2...

Thank you for all your comments and sewing space love yesterday! Today I thought I'd share a few of the details and storage solutions I've come up with.

As I mentioned yesterday, I do work better when things are fairly neat and tidy. The down side to putting things away is not being able to find them when you need them! I found this drawer handle at Anthropologie and had to have it to remind me to think carefully when I put something away!

I organized my space with a few things in mind ~ keep my work surfaces clean, store items close to where they will be used, and make supplies easy to find (meaning don't let drawers and bins get too full and cluttered). I also wanted to keep my space pleasant looking ~ a happy place to be.

Here are some of my storage solutions:

I've decided not to keep a lot of scraps. I used to have a big scrap drawer that was so full I was stressed just opening it. These 4 small bins from Target hold scraps of only my very favorite fabrics. When one starts overflowing, I clean it out and drop a bag of scraps on the freebie table at guild.

Current piecing projects. I used to keep these in bins on my cutting table, but in my effort to keep the table clear, they now live in the drawers of my sewing cabinet. I wondered if putting projects out of sight would also put them out of mind, but remember my dry erase board with current projects? It keeps me on task!

These clear jars (also from Target) sit on top of my white cabinets and hold pearl cotton, twine and ribbons. I started collecting AMH and Amy Butler ribbons in 1-2 yard pieces. I found this idea on Pinterest - they're wrapped around popsicle sticks!

This is one of my favorite things! I have 3 clipboards (one more on the other side of the room). Two have patterns that I plan on using soon. The third has reference sheets that I refer to frequently - how to make a pillow case, paper piecing instructions, cutting bias binding and my fibonacci number chart. These cute boards are from See Jane Work.

My thread is stored in the sewing cabinet drawers of the larger machine where I do machine quilting. A few spools of beige and gray are stored in the drawer of the smaller machine where I piece.

This bin holds my binding fabric. I try to keep it safe so I don't cut into it for another project!

 Fabric is folded and stored by color in bins (yes, Target) using Jeni's folding and sorting method. I've found it easier to get to than stacking fabric.

Little things need little drawers. This inexpensive unit from Ikea holds needle, glue sticks, snaps, zippers and more.

You may have noticed this drawstring bag hanging next to the cutting table. It holds the binder clips I use to secure my backings to the table when pin basting - right at hand!

This cup holder is next to my machine and keeps small rulers, pencils and cutters handy. On my sewing surface I keep thread clippers, a pin cushion and recently I've decided to keep my seam ripper right at hand.

 I also try to keep some decorative and pretty things visible. A bowl of floss...

and some quilts on the wall. My Joseph's Coat and my favorite light fixture from Ikea...

My color wheel (I'm surprised by how much I refer to it!)...

It's nice to have a space that's all your own, whether it's a big room or a little corner. As Nate Berkus would say - it should rise up to greet you. I keep a few personal items that make me smile. Like this #1 sheep, given to me by my teenage son because I'm "the number one mom". He makes me laugh every time I look at him!

Thanks for visiting!!! . . . Cindy

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Sewing Room Tour... part one

I've had a lot of sewing spaces over the years. I started in our first apartment sitting on the floor with my machine on a step stool (younger days!). I've set up in the dining room of our first house, an unfinished basement in another and a 10' x 10' spare bedroom in our third. When we found our current place, one of the things that sold me was a bonus room built over the two-car garage. Huge 20' x 20' space - I could picture it immediately. Reality set in, and since my husband works from a home office (and is really the one who buys the fabric), we built a dividing wall down the middle and I ended up with a nice 10' x 20' sewing room. I love it!

I like that it's somewhat removed from the rest of the house - a little sewing sanctuary. You walk up a set of stairs in the back of the house off the kitchen. Here's the room from the doorway...

I consider myself really lucky to have 2 sewing machines. They're in cabinets placed back to back giving me ample table space for quilting large quilts. I use the larger machine primarily for machine quilting and the smaller one for piecing. This allows me to go back and forth without changing thread or the setup. Crazy how just having to rethread the machine used to stop me from getting to my machine quilting!

Here's the setup from the other side. I love my little TV that swings both ways on the wall...

On the left wall is my design wall. Simply sheets of styrofoam, duct taped together and covered in a white flannel sheet. Easily reachable from the piecing machine...

Just around the corner is a piece of framed pegboard holding my rulers and rotary cutter...

It's within easy reach of my nice big cutting table. I've had this table for many years and I love that it's lightweight and folds down to the size of the drawer you see in the front. I baste all my quilts on this table - it's on wheels and I roll it around to get to all sides of the quilt.

I made the step stool so I could reach to the top of my design wall.

My ironing station is around the corner. It's made from a wire shelving unit (also on wheels) with a 20" x 60" MDF board on top. I've had this board for many years and it's still perfectly flat. It's covered in thin batting with a pillowcase-type cover. I take 2 yards of fabric, sew up the long end into a tube and slip it over the board, folding and pinning under the ends. When one side is ruined, I flip it over on the second side.

The shelves are used for fabric storage...

To the left of the ironing station are couple of small storage cubes from Target. Here I keep my most frequently used books. I'm a quilt book hoarder, so I have lots more stored on a bookcase in the hubby's office right next door.

On top of the books is a bit more storage and my dry-erase board that keeps me on task...

To the left, I have another shelf for fabric storage and 2 cabinets for more fabric storage. (More on that tomorrow). The shelves above the cabinets are shoe storage shelves turned upside down. The boxes hold patterns...

And finally, just inside the door is my desk. I've my books displayed on a picture ledge from Pottery Barn...

 a bit of sewing art and pictures of some of my favorite people...

You can see everything is fairly cleaned up and tidy. I work better when there's not a mess, although that happens when I've pulled a lot of fabric for a project. Mountains of unfolded fabric!

Tomorrow I'll be back with some of the little details and storage solutions.   . . . Cindy

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