Sewing Mojo Is Back!

Look out world, I am sewing again! I got my sewing machine two years ago for Christmas. After buying tons of stuff for sewing, I realized that it was hard to sew when you had to go grab stuff out of a closet and inevitably have to make multiple trips to the closet because you forgot something. I didn't have a dedicated space for sewing, so it was hard to fit it in during the gaps of time I had (when Luke is sleeping). With knitting, I just grab my yarn and needles and I'm off.

So when we bought this house, I wanted a dedicated space for sewing. Next month, we'll have been in the house for a year (really? It doesn't seem possible). Until just before Christmas, my sewing machine remained in its box because I just hadn't figured out where to put it. Our extra bedroom is our guest room as well as my office and crafting space. With the futon, desk, two printers, and a small bookshelf, I had no real surface space, especially space to leave out my machine.

I got the machine out to finish up a little stocking for the cats. At that time, I set up a folding table in a small space in our master bedroom and thought maybe I would keep the sewing machine there. But again I had the problem or having all my sewing supplies back in the closet in the other room. What to do?

I had been planning to get one of the Expedit units from Ikea for storage for this guest/craft/office space. I was trying to decide between a 4x4 and a 5x5 and it would go against the wall opposite the futon. But that would give me storage space without very much usable surface space. Back to the drawing board.

In the playroom, I have two 2x4 Expedit units sitting lengthwise along one wall. I love that setup. I realized that the wall in the guest/craft/office room under the window might be big enough to fit two of those units like that. I measured the shelves in the playroom. I measured the wall under the window. Could it be true? Would they be a perfect fit? If I had measured right, it was indeed the case.

Ikea is about 45 minutes away. My husband sold his truck and got a small car last summer. I have a small SUV. The boxes wouldn't fit in it. What to do? Paying for shipping is a bit ridiculous unless you order quite a lot. Well, my brother-in-law is visiting this weekend and he has a bigger SUV. My husband measured it and we determined that the boxes would fit. So off to Ikea we went this morning.

Back home, the guys went to see a movie and I tried putting Luke down for a nap. Today he decided a nap was a terrible idea. I still went ahead and put the shelves together. And you know what? My measurements were right! A perfect fit along the back wall with plenty of space for the futon still on the side wall. On the other wall, I moved an old computer desk which had housed my printer and put the filing cabinet underneath it (the other printer had been on top of the filing cabinet). I put the printers on the top of the new Ikea shelves. I also put my spinning wheels on the top as well as a couple of other things. Then I started filling up shelves. I still actually need to figure out exactly how I want to arrange things, but I now have my sewing and knitting materials at the ready. (Please excuse the bad photos. It's dark out and also the futon is currently down as we have a guest. But I wanted to include some pictures.)

My sewing machine is now on top of the old computer desk. My laptop is on my grandfather's old desk. When I am sewing, I will move the laptop and that desk will become my cutting table. I have an ironing board that hangs on the back of a door--I put it on the closet door so it opens out into the room.

To celebrate my new space, I finally made the drawstring project bag that I've been wanting to make for ages (tutorial here). There were a few places during the tutorial that I wasn't entirely sure, when I read them, that I understood, but once I actually tried it, it made sense. It was so nice, while I was working, to just reach over to the shelves and grab the supply that I needed. I definitely see more sewing projects in my future. (I also have my knitting needles and other supplies nicely organized. I think I'll get some of the large boxes that fit the full square on the shelf and put my spinning and weaving supplies in them.) I finally have a usable crafting space!!

Notice the cat hair on the bag. How appropriate!

It's a reversible bag, but I used the same fabric on both sides. I wasn't sure it would turn out so this one was a bit of an experiment. I love it, so experiment results are excellent!