Friday, August 28, 2015

Creative Space Tag: My Controlled Chaos

Julie over at Pink Doxies started a creative space blog tag earlier this year, but due to everyone's crazy summer schedules, the blog tag has been on vacation since June.  I'm kicking off the heading into fall portion of the blog tag.  I'm tagging Thea at California Dreamn' to share her new sewing space next week.  

Here's the 180 degree panoramic view of the more active part of my sewing space.   




My sewing space is really more functional, than fashionable. Walking into the sewing room from the hallway, the first thing you see is the big design wall, it's pretty much the focal point for the whole room. It's one of those commercially available free standing design walls.  I love it.  




To the left of the big design wall is my cutting/pressing table with my smaller homemade design wall propped up on it.  



The smaller design wall is just a very large flattened box with an old table cloth taped to it.  It works great and it's nice to have more than one space to play in.  My rulers are on stored top of the plastic drawers on the left, which holds unsorted scraps and a few office supplies.  The tote bins hold fabric that hasn't made it into the fabric closet (more on that later).The stack of fabric under the cutting table is the fabric that's being used in my UFOs. 

Moving past the big design wall to the right, the other side of the room includes a wire rack with all my project boxes and another stack of fabrics associated with ongoing projects.  The TV is there too. I use a small secretary for my lap top.  Off to the far right is a small alcove that holds my only window and a couple of bookcases. If there's any one thing that I really wish I had, it would be more natural light.  But this is my first dedicated sewing space that I don't have to share with someone else, so I'm not going to complain too loudly about that.  



The file cabinet holds my color printer.  In the file cabinet are my half yard and fat quarter cuts. 



I use hanging folders cut in half, covered with acid free tissue paper to "hang" my smaller fabric cuts.  It makes it really easy to see what I have.


The fabric closet is next to the wire rack, you can just see the hinges of the door in the photo above.  



Fabric organization is an ongoing project.  My goal is to get all my fabrics folded and stored in these two wire racks.  I have to admit, I'd rather sew, so this project often goes months without any progress.  The plastic drawers in the far right hold stabilizers and the fat quarters/half yard cuts that haven't made it to the file cabinet yet. My batting is stored on either side of the wire rack at the back of the closet.  

The bookcase with all my quilting books stands on the last wall in my sewing room between the door to the hall and the door to the bathroom that Drama Teen graciously share's with me when I'm upstairs stitching.  The drawers to the left hold scraps sorted by size and roughly by color as well as used fat quarters that are too small to be hung in the file cabinet.  



The desk in the middle of the sewing room holds my 14 year old Bernina. Another thing I would change is the overhead lighting, I've had to supplement that with a floor lamp.  Sadly, my eyes don't see as well in the low light situations as they used to.  

That pretty much covers my sewing space.  It's not a glamorous space, but it's pretty functional.  I'd love to have a long arm, but it won't fit in this space.  The house has an unfinished attic.  Sometime before retirement, the plan is to refinish the attic and move my sewing room there.  I'd have more storage space and room for a long arm there.  But retirement is still a good 10 years away. So I'll just continue to enjoy the space I have till then.

12 comments:

Vroomans' Quilts said...

I think it is wonderful - light and airy, comfortable, and workable.

Julie said...

Wow! Can I say you have an amazing stash and library! One is good--two is fabulous! I'm with you on natural daylight, and the impact of close work as our eyes age a little. There can never be enough, but pulling in a lamp works wonder. I really enjoy that you are thinking longterm about how to enhance your space, and make it work for you as time and energy permits. An attic would be perfect!

Thank you so much for reviving Creative Space Tag and officially rolling out fall. I'm linking you up in the header of Pink Doxies under Creative Space Tag. All the past participants are linked in there, too, and looking forward to seeing Thea's post next.

Julie @ Pink Doxies

Libby in TN said...

Oh my stars, hanging your fabric in a file cabinet -- what a super idea!! Maybe when DH retires I can share one of his .... On the other hand, while he's designing my sewing room in the next house I'll just have him add lots of file cabinets.

Unknown said...

You girls are 'wow-stuff'......wish I had gotten to the serious quilt life sooner. Always sewed - but piecing and scrappy-designs really get me going now. Kate - I love your space - and all the books and neat ideas for stash! Julie's enthusiasm and energy amaze me. I think she is 'fearless' - but doesn't quite believe it yet. lol

Kate said...

My goodness, I didn't know you had that many books! And I still love your FQ storage folders - such a cheerful drawer! I've been tackling my stash organization five pieces a day to keep it from being an all consuming task...but it's slow!

Pedal Sew Lightly said...

Nice space. I fully understand your need for light. I just moved from my dining room that had very dark grass green walls, real light suckers. It has four windows but they are shaded by a wraparound porch so all they do is take up wall space. I can't believe your book collection! Mine takes up a few inches. I'm a bit of a digital girl with my patterns. Thanks for sharing your space!

Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts said...

Your space is great! One of the things I did with my lighting was change the light bulbs to "natural light" bulbs. Kinda pricey, but the difference is amazing - I can see so much better now. Your fabric organization is inspirational, I love it!

LA Paylor said...

oh, lighting... an ongoing concern. And fabric org is ongoing. Constantly sorting and refolding and it's always a mess. LeeAnna

Julie in GA said...

It's so much fun to see your sewing space. Lucky you to have two design wall areas, and I love your ironing table too. I may have to steal that idea! There never seems to be enough light, does there? Your room looks like a wonderful, creative place to be.

Mary Huey said...

You are more organized than me and I wish I could work my computer set-up into my studio space sometime in the future.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

So..... I think that is fantastic!!! And glamorous!!! You have such an organized place - and I love the idea of your hanging fabric folders!!! Great job!! You are welcome here anytime - just be prepared lol

Val's Quilting Studio said...

Oh my gosh....I love the idea of moving your sewing room to the attic....and the fact it will allow for a long arm is fabulous! (I still have a good 10 years till retirement too...thanks goodness for our sewing)