My Sewing Room (aka “There is Hope After All”)

This is the saga of my sewing room. For the longest period of time, I have been content to drop things in any open space – floor, shelf, under a table, on the steps, on the back of chairs. You know the drill - anywhere. And I just kept on sewing. If I couldn't find something I needed, I'd fret and fume and waste tons of time (is there such a thing as a “ton” of time – since when did time weigh anything? I found it weighs a lot when you can't find something!) looking, looking, and looking some more.



So easy to pile up your treasures

Another "before" picture

 

Somewhere along the line, I read articles about pristine sewing rooms. How could anyone sew in a place so neat and orderly? It just didn't seem right.

Then I spent a weekend with my sister Jeanie and her husband David in Colleyville, TX, located between Dallas and Fort Worth. My sister is an excellent needleworker and has made the most amazing pieces of needle art. She also is a dynamite seamstress. And she is very organized. Everything is put away in labeled clear boxes and looks so nice.

I admit to excessive drooling.

Then, we arrived home from a couple of NOMADS projects. Of course, I brought home some more fabric and books from our travels. And could not find a clear place anywhere in my sewing room to put them. Nowhere, and I mean, absolutely nowhere. Not even on the floor.

This had gotten out of hand. Plumb beyond ridiculous.

I started researching blog articles on how to organize a sewing room. Sure, many of the ladies who wrote the articles had bank accounts far larger than mine and the companies who promote organization want you to buy their products. You can spend a fortune in rearranging your treasures.

Nope, not me. I insisted on using what I had. Except I did learn about foam board. What a wonderful product. But in my tiny mountain town of Hayesville, where was I going to find foam board? Guess I could order it, but it would never arrive before we left on the next project. 

So back to the computer. Aren't computers great tools? Yeah – I found the Dollar Tree chain sold foam board for $1.00/sheet. Now that was something I could afford. But would the only Dollar Tree I knew of anywhere near home (in Murphy, 15 miles to the west of Hayesville) have foam board? I could not believe my eyes when I walked into the store and there was my prize foam board. And it was even made in the USA. Wow! What a find!

Now, you are probably wondering what I needed foam board for? It's great for wrapping your longer pieces of fabric around. In essence, I made my own bolt boards. How? Oh, that's easy.

If I had thought about it sooner, I'd have taken pictures showing how I cut the board. But I used up every piece I bought so I'll try to explain it. 

You will need:

Foam board 30” x 20”

Razor knife (I used the knife I use for cutting drywall board – with a new blade in it)

Or an Xacto knife should work
24” Quilt ruler

Lay the board on a cutting mat with the 30” side in front of you. Use the 24” quilter ruler and measure 23” from the left side. Cut the board from top to bottom at the 23” mark. That will give you a piece 7” x 20” on the right side. Take that piece and cut it in half to made two 7” x 10” pieces. With the big piece, cut it along the length to get two 6 1/2” x 23” and one 7” x 23” pieces. I used the smaller pieces to wrap fabric that was less than two yards long (lay this fabric out and fold into thirds along the length then wrap on the small foam board). Fabric that was longer than two yards was wrapped on the larger pieces. Pin the ends to keep the fabric in place and, with a pencil, write the yardage on the upper right corner. When you use any of the fabric, you can erase and write the new yardage in the corner. Yeah! No more wondering how long a piece of fabric is!

A "during" picture - many of my containers were
gone through, fabric put aside for donation or
folded on foam board

"During" - looking into the computer
alcove with everything trying to find a new
home. The big containers in the middle hold
my Quilt of Valor fabric - I need lots of that!

 

Then, of course, I went through all the remnants and supposed fat quarters. Amazing how many of what I thought were fat quarters were not fat quarters but some weird size. True fat quarters were all folded the same way and put in a drawer. The weird pieces were either put in a container for “Odd ball cuts” or thrown in the basket for really weird pieces. Where else should they go? Certainly not into the trash! I might need them someday.

And since I love apparel sewing along with quilting, all the many and various projects were put into containers that I already owned and labeled. At one point I became horrified at the number and variety of the things I have bought over the years and put on a shelf with the idea of sewing it up some day. I will have to live to 150 years old in order to have enough time to finish all these projects. 

Then the containers were stacked on top of my bookshelf or on shelves I cleaned off for this purpose. With everything labeled, it's easy to see what project is where.

Wow! Four days of work paid off. As my pictures can attest, I now have a neat, clean, and organized sewing room.

The final result!  I am sooooo happy!

Two of my bookshelves - the large is duly
utilized for books and fabric.  All the
containers are labeled, the small bolts hold
shorter fabric pieces, and the large bolts hold
fabric longer than 2 yards.

 

Another view of the other large bookshelf.  The blank
wall will eventually hold a big bulletin board and pictures,
all of which I already own.

 

The computer alcove and a Quilt of Valor
waiting for binding (on tomorrow's list).
Another blank wall waiting for
who-knows-what.

 

So what did I do today? Stopped at one of my favorite quilt stores, A Stitch in Time in Franklin, NC, to wish Courtney many happy days for her upcoming wedding. And came home with a tunic top pattern and a couple of fabrics I could not live without.

Do I feel guilty? Overwhelmed by it all?

Heck, no!

I tell everyone that before I die, I'm going to leave my sons a big note here in my sewing room that reads: “Remember what mama said about pay-backs?” And laugh all the way to Heaven.

 

 

More later . . .