I've decided to purge! Yes, It is REALLY time to do it. I keep things because, some day.....I could use it for....??? Really???... Do I HAVE to keep everything??? (yes, in a whisper) AND, on the other side, I do like a challenge, so the "stuff" is really a challenge to use up, right?! (can you see that I'm trying to talk myself into keeping everything..) I'm talking not only my fabric stash, I'm talking books, files, paint, art supplies, quilt supplies, unfinished painted projects, old jeans, etc. you name it, I probably have it, whether is it finished or not...you know "some day....I COULD use that!
So, Here are a few pictures of my too full studio! It is also the messiest it has ever been! After finished my apron book,
Sewing Vintage Aprons (you know, you have to leave stuff out to get to it quickly when working on a book.) and other "deadlines" ...my workroom became an organized-STACKED-room-of-clutter!......and believe it or not...I know where everything is!
So, here it all is...in its glory! TA DA-----
Here we have the first photo, above, it is in the North-West corner of the room. By the window.
On the Counter Top: 4-in-1 printer, paint, lamp, overflow fabric, water basin and part of my ribbon storage.
Above the Cabinets: Plastic tubs full of designer dolls, unfinished wood/birdhouses, gallery glass stuff, unfinished painted projects, misc. wire supplies. lamp shades, paint palette, wreath, basket, vintage fabric, knitting supplies.
Inside of Upper Cabinets: Organized fabric stash, I'll show pics of inside, in another post.
Inside of Lower Cabinets: The Warm Co. Batting rolls, pillow forms, misc. fabric bags (drawers)
This is a picture just left of the above picture, the West wall. I've got:
On the Counter: Ribbon box, misc. fabric scraps (in plastic bags), fabric stash, leftover fabric from a project. This is supposed to be my "open" cutting area, well, everything was dropped here, because it was "open" space...not any more...I've put it to good use, haha!
In Upper Cabinets: Organized fabric stash, you'll see later on.
This picture, above, is just below the previous picture on the West wall. It has: (walking space! YAY!)
Under the Counter: A light box that my husband made, which I painted,
Viking Designer SE sewing machine and embroidery unit, batting I'm not going to keep..too stiff!, Legal 2-drawer filing cabinets which houses my unfinished wood/painted projects on top (and it is stacked full!) and the lower drawer houses my painting instruction books/patterns, and
Create and Decorate, Crafts'n Things,
Sewing Savvy magazines which have my designs. On top of the filing cabinet is a pressing sheet for applique.
Here we have a picture of the South/West Corner just left of the West wall above. This is what I call my "black hole," because the counter ends and I have some floor space in the corner, which I can't get to very easily! It has a TON of stuff! Here we go:
In Front of Cabinet: stool with a box of batik fabric, on top of that are aprons from my grandmother, below the stool is a stack of paperwork waiting to be filed. (4 drawer filing cabinet to the side.)
Inside of Lower Cabinet: Here I have a large rolling luggage for my sewing machine. Finished projects from my first 6 books, old sewn items from when I was a child, unfinished quilts. (3)
On Top of Counter: I have a box of fabric/ties for a book idea, punch needle project, Bag of fabric set aside for another quilt. 3 Boxes of fabric collections from designer friends ( just have to keep them together), Two rotary cutting rulers (large square), stacks of fabric set aside for apron book (that I didn't use), batting from another project, (my
decorart, delta paints are on the back wall in containers that my husband made for me! Saves me a lot of space!!!)
Inside the Upper Cabinets: Left side is full of
Lion Brand yarn, silk flower supplies, office supplies, my old book manuscripts (originals), computer software boxes.
In the Corner (black hole): I have a hanging rack my husband made to hang unfinished projects, underneath the rack I have room to store my mannequin, quilting frames (husband made), rolls of pattern paper, canvas, box of computer stuff, yard sticks, folding cutting board.
This is the South wall in my workroom, it is opposite of the window. Here I have:
On the Floor: You can see a little piece of my quilting frames, that my husband made, on the lower left. I painted them with quilt blocks. They were out because a friend borrowed them. My mannequin is out with a sample apron from my apron book, unfinished...because I was testing the pattern. 4 drawer filing cabinet, which holds all of my paperwork, manufacturer's information, pattern packets, Trade show travel folders.
On Top of Filing Cabinet: My
Singer Featherweight sewing machine (can't see) because I have my two iron boxes and iron in front of it. a "T" square, metal ornamental design, box of vintage art and sewing machine cover.
Inside the Pantry: This is the tall 24" deep by 24" wide by 7' tall cabinet. I have a lot of fabric meant for clothing, many vintage aprons, vintage towels, vintage fabric for a double wedding ring quilt, manufacturer's tools/supplies, fabric on bolts, ironing supplies,
DMC embroidery threads/patterns, crochet spools/patterns, interfacings, metal tools/snaps,
Clover hooks & buckles for purses, etc., Beading supplies, you name it, it is in there...and stacked two layers deep! I know what is in there and where!!!
On Top of the Pantry Cabinet: I have a "Lap" hand quilting frame, and a hammock...waiting to be used!!!
This is just to the left of the pantry cabinet. It is the South/East Corner of my workroom. You can see that I have a lot of stuff here, too...so here goes: (first let me say that I work in a Loft area that is 10' x 11'. and I'm very, very lucky to have an open window to the downstairs...otherwise I think I would be very claustrophobic!)
Behind the sewing table: You can see my ironing area, with all of the supplies on the sewing table. My
Unique Sewing Furniture sewing table is my Love! (next to my family) It is 4' wide and 2' deep...with a drop table that can open up to make a 4' x 4' space for quilting!
On top of this table are: ironing supplies, 4 baby p.j's ready to be made up, CD/radio player (thought I would listen to music) but it was too big! CD holder, Magazine projects that were returned to me the week before, pin cushion, stack of paperwork to be moved to filing cabinet and home office, digital camera case.
You can see that there IS
some carpet and it is only about 2 feet wide, so I have a zig-zag walk area to get in and out of my studio.
Underneath Sewing Table: garbage can (not usually here), embroidery unit for
Bernina 170E, Sketchbooks with designs/patterns.
This picture is the North/East corner of my workroom, just across from my sewing table. I use the same chair to work at my desk that I use to sew at the machine.
Inside of the Tall Plastic Drawers: I have a TON of misc. supplies in these drawers, beginning with wooden pieces, metal pieces/vintage hardware, twine, metal wire, glue,
Steam-A-Seam fusible webbing, vintage quilt blocks, unfinished quilt tops, painting supplies, beaded trim/rope...all at arms/hands reach!
On Top of Plastic Drawers: This is really a junk pile of stuff I don't know what else to do with. I have some misc. quilt blocks, a kitty cat pin cushion, stack of BOM patterns, wooden giraff to hold project pictures or instructions, broken lamp (I think I can fix...yeah right! haha), old magazines.
Wall-Shelf Cabinet: I have some Zip file storage on one of the shelves, a couple external hard drives...I love these...getting rid of the zip file SOON! I also have a few notebooks, another pin cushion (she keeps my hand sewing needles)
On the Wall: Here I have some of my favorite ornaments, daughter/SIL photo, my grandma's boot pin cushion. (if you want to make the boot pin cushion, I have a FREE pattern on my website.) The pin cushion is perfect for a holiday gift! I also have an old painted clip light...haven't used for a LONG time, as well as a favorite scrapbook page.
On the Desk Corner: There is a standing file that my husband made for me and I painted. (too bad I can't see the painting anymore...it is covered by another box, which holds more stuff that I use almost daily!) I need to find a better way to get to these things! You can also see that I have a datebook, magazines with my designs in them, waiting to be sent out for endorsements. You can also see that I have my IPod (green case), candle, pen/pencil holder, and my favorite OTT light w/magnifier!!! Great for sewing and ripping out! haha
Here you are viewing the North side of my workroom, with the window. The window helps me feel like my room is larger than it is because I can see OUT! Here you are seeing:
On my Desk: Laptop, computer CD storage, phone, a little stack of "to-do's" by the mouse pad.
Small Plastic Drawers: I LOVE this stack of drawers! It has 6 drawers! And 4 of them house part of my
Coats and Clark,
Gutermann, Sulky, Auriful thread collection! The top drawer holds my office supplies that I need at a moments notice, like stapler, address labels, business cards, envelopes, paper clips, tape, checks, etc. Then I have 4 drawers full of thread, all color coordinated. The bottom drawer has misc. paper products, old vintage keys, small notebooks, post-its, etc.
Underneath Desk: Under the desk and behind the thread drawers, I have three more plastic containers of thread! I have AURIfil as well as Sulky Embroidery threads in their respective cases. I also have my first sewing machine, a Viking 6360! It is a work horse and keeps me grounded when the computer sewing machines cause me a fit! haha Behind the thread cases, I have my ribbon/trims cases. I have two of these with two drawers each. I'll post how I store my ribbon and trims in another blog post!
So...I'm sharing one of my work spaces with you, because I was at the point of going crazy. I've started cleaning and throwing out and putting away! I'll post pics when it is all done...I'm doing this because I need to have my mind clear again to design....AND I want to set up my new
IMAC!!! I told myself I have to have a clean room, first!!!
I hope I have inspired you to clean up your work area, as well as given you SOME ideas on how to keep things organized...the later will be in another post! When everything IS put away! Thanks for reading my blog!
Now...tell me what you want to do with your space???!!!
Denise
