Friday, May 16, 2008

Light Bulb Went Off

I have been trying to get my sewing room efficient, comfortable and attractive, and since it is fairly small, and it also is my extra bedroom, guest room combination, it has been a challenge.
I had it down pretty much for the sewing part, but was feeling like I wished I could also cut and press in here, too. I have been going into the family room, where I have had my little 2'x4' table set up. Today, I thought, just because I have my sewing cabinet with my Bernina centered on the wall doesn't mean it has to be that way. So I measured, and there was enough room to move
it down and add the little table to that wall. If you notice the second picture,
you can see the wooden blocks to raise the table. My brother made those for me and they are very nice and sturdy.
The waste basket came today. I got it off ebay and think that it is very cute it is a Peterboro basket. I am going to go to Home Depot and get a piece of plywood and cover it for an ironing top that I can just remove to cut. I am thinking of removing the doors from the sewing cabinet in the first picture and leaving the sewing machine up, and perhaps getting some baskets for the other half. I don't use that machine very much due to the inconvenience of getting the machine in and out, when it is so convenient to just sew on my Janome Jem. Does anyone have an opinion of how that would work out? I am hoping to do some quilting on my machine, and that would perhaps just be more convenient.
I had mentioned my brother making the leg extenders for me, and he is also working on a small desk to hold my laptop in my sewing room. It will only be about 20"x30" about like a school room desk. I am just enclosing a couple of pictues of tables he has made. The little end table in the third picture he made for my mother, and the dropleaf table in the last picture he made for me. He makes it from just ugly old boards from scratch. I am very proud of the work he has done. He has only been doing it a couple of years, and taught himself.
We kind of feel a kinship, as both quilting and woodworking if you don't do something like that yourself, you cannot normally imagine what is involved in time and expense. I know he was kind of amazed when our niece wanted him to make her new kitchen cabinets, but it wasn't too much of a surprise to me, as most people have no idea what is involved in a quilt. Even my simple ones are an undertaking, and I can't even imagine what is involved in some of the beautiful, intricate quilts that I see on other blogs and groups.
I have had two lazy days and so nothing much to show for my time, except my little moment of enlightenment when the light bulb went off and I was able to fit my table in my sewing room.

7 comments:

Amanda said...

Don't those lightbulb moments make you feel good for the rest of the day. Your sewing room is looking very organised now - will it stay like that once you get down to some sewing? Wow to your brother! I do so admire people who can make things out of wood - you're right though, there is a real affinity with quilting; both fabric and wood have are so touchable and can be made into such beautiful artefacts - with a lot of patience.

scraphappy said...

It is funny how little people know about what actually goes into making a quilt. My sister decided one Christmas that we were going to make a queen size quilted duvet cover for her daughter. She bought the fabric and decided that we would to it together the day after Christmas. The whole thing on that one day! She was amazed at the steps that went into it, the decisions along the way, and how long the whole process took. When we finally put in the last stitch at about 1 a.m. she looked at me wisely and said, "I had no idea what it was I was asking you to do"
It is now much easier to gift her a quilt because she appreciates what went into it.

Susan in SC said...

I'm envious of your sewing room. How nice to have a brother to make things for you. It makes them all that more special!

Anonymous said...

know exactly how you feel trying to get everything into one room. I was able to do away with my guest room and turn it into my sewing habitat after my husband's family moved here. No more house guest.
Thanks about my block. I should have run it through my adobe photo shop so I could have cropped it and then it would have looked better. I have the boarders on now and so tomorrow I will get to the basting and quilting if all goes well.

Anonymous said...

Sorry for the last post as anonymous.

Nines said...

I love making a space work for me- sometimes you have to think outside the box, huh? I think you could leave your machine up and ready for an impulsive moment of sewing. I know that I sew everyday- now that I have my machine at the ready. When I used to have to drag it all out onto the kitchen table- well, progress was slow in them days! Maybe you could sew up a sweet little cover for the machine for when company is sleeping in there. And walking into the family room to iron may not be fun, but when I am feeling like I need to lose a few pounds(always!) then I move the cutting board and the ironing board as far away from each other as possible!
I love your brothers work! It's good to have someone handy in your life!

Mary Johnson said...

Your brother is very talented - I can't imagine working in wood - I think I'll stick to fabric.

Isn't it wonderful to have a cutting table the right height??