Long Time Gone

Well, it's been pretty nearly forever. Sorry about that.

The good news is that I have a sewing space again! Hooray! And, since The Blue Gardenia is not terribly likely to ask me to give you all a tour, I'll give you one myself!

To begin, I would like to point out that there are now curtains up in my room, but they are not fully hemmed. I bought the panels from IKEA and chopped them to fit. they are sheer white with rows of white nubby bits. Also, with the exception of the stucco wall, everything else is just primed. Eventually this room will be painted green. The flooring is vinyl. I really wanted linoleum, but we couldn't afford it, so we went with vinyl. I would have preferred a plainer dark brown, but this was available, good quality, and a good price (and I can only stand to interact with so many sales people, you know?). The important thing is that it hides art dirt, cleans easily, and doesn't trap pins the way carpet or a grooved flooring (tile or some laminate) would.

The table is a piece of 3/4" plywood leftover from the renovations (bookshelves, I think). A friend sawed it off to the length I specified and I attached my old table legs to one end and the middle. Then I wrapped the top with inexpensive vinyl. This will undoubtedly need to change before too long. The board is too flexible, so I can't sew at top speed. Perhaps I can simply add another layer of plywood to the top. I am able to use the open end of the table to cut small pattern pieces. My cardboard pinning/cutting board fits on it opened partially as does my rotary cutter mat. I could also maybe set up my vintage machine there, but I am afraid it will be too bouncy. Perhaps after another layer of plywood is added.

 

The other end of the table is supported by a set of drawers from IKEA. I almost talked myself out of getting these drawers as they were $80. They are so lovely (in a purely functional way). 

 

The top two are shallow and hold all of the things I use most frequently. 

 

The lower three are deeper and hold thread, notions, and my vintage Singer attachments.

I had hoped to find a wardrobe that would fit in the room and hold my fabric collection, but the space didn't work out. What with the easel and the kids' art table and cupboard of supplies, there is no room for fabric storage in the sewing room. For the time being, the fabric is housed in four Rubbermaid bins in the odd closet off the girls' room. I am appalled at the size of my collection and need to sew it down. No new fabric until one of the bins is empty!*

I repurposed a little cupboard that we have had for years to store a few other notions/tools, patterns, reference books, etc. We bought this cupboard from friends maybe ten years ago when they moved and we have used it in so many different ways over the years. On the top there you see wooden magazine files filled with Burda magazines, envelopes of Burda pattern sheets, traced patterns, and my growing Threads collection. The envelope patterns inside the cupboard need boxes to keep them from shifting all over. One day I will figure that out.

My iron and board live across the room near the easel. I had hoped to put it under the window where the pattern cupboard is now, but it didn't fit. The board needs a new cover, and I have some wool coating to use as padding for a new cover, but I would really like a different ironing board. The pointy end takes up so much room and rarely gets used since I now own two sleeve boards. I have thought about trying to construct a rectangular ironing board, but haven't done much research yet. Any ideas?

Under my ironing board is a crate filled with two sleeve boards, a press mitt, a wooden clapper, and a piece of silk organza that I use as a press cloth.

It was a lot of fun making the kids' Halloween costumes in my new space. So nice to be able to access my tools with ease. Really wonderful.

*I have already broken this resolution. I walked past a bolt of lovely of cotton lawn today as I was shopping for lining for my bedroom curtains.  Two metres of it came home with me. (At least lawn folds up small.)