Reorg, Part 7 - Almost there

All the fabric is in the closet, the table has been turned, and last night I even had room to sit at the table and work on my laptop. I still have lots of scrapbooking stuff, mainly albums and pages in progress, that aren't on the scrapping shelf. The scrapbooks need to be on a shelf in the living room where they can be viewed from time to time - well, that's another reorg in the works! There's no shelf space!
In the process of moving stuff I pulled on the cable and the connector to the cable box came apart. It still works to watch, except for the on demand feature. Not sure if it is fixable or if a trip to the store to buy a new cable is in the near future. 

Reorg Part 6 - Making progress

More scrapbooking stuff out of the closet and onto the shelf, more fabric into the closet! I think I'll spend the first half of the soccer match in the sewing room and the second half watching on the big TV in the master bedroom. If I could find my camera I could take pictures! The ones from my phone camera just didn't come out well. 

Reorg, Part 5

Not a whole lot going on in the sewing room. I just sit in the air conditioned loveliness and watch the TV. If I move, I sweat, just because my body knows that it is in the 90s outside that window, with a gazillion percent humidity. So, whatever I can reach from my chair I have worked on. Cleaned out two drawers of the dresser in the back corner. They used to hold interfacing and stuff like that, but over the winter a mouse set up housekeeping. Blech! Everything was dumped, the drawers cleaned, and pretty smelling soaps set in there for a couple of days. Tonight I put the notions that were in the carousel on the table in the drawer, and my little multi drawer hardware thingy on the bookshelf. Now where to put the books I took off the bookshelf?  

Reorg, Part 4

It was hard to focus at work today. Just wanted to get home and continue the sewing room shuffle! After work was a Costco run and sub stop at WaWa - the boy is starting to eat us out of house and home! Put the groceries away, made salads to go with the rotisserie chicken, and I snuck up to the room to see if my daydreaming ideas today could be put to use. Well, yes and no. Not enough space for a third bookshelf, so plan B left the stacked cabinets as is, just a little further into the corner so there is space to stack the pattern boxes. That starts freeing up shelf space for scrapbooking stuff. I think my best strategy is to work from the far corner forward, and at this rate it will probably take me through the weekend at least.

The neat thing is finding long forgotten projects and things:

• the remote to the iHome, that now is in Erik's room
• a box of Clifford the big red dog fabrics, some already cut for a quilt I had started years ago
• embroidery design CDs
• my wool ball winder
• my pleater
  

I see some "keep or don't keep" decisions looming in the next couple of days.

Reorg, Part 2

Everything cleared off and out from under the cutting table so that both sides are folded down! That will end up in front of the back window, so the kitty can sit and watch me or the birds in the back yard. If I only open it when I have something to cut out it will not succumb to HSS (Horizontal Surface Syndrome). Standing in the middle now (yes, I can see the floor!), wondering how to get the cutting table and the 6 ft folding banquet table that my machines sit on to swap sides of the room. I think the safest would be to roll the cutting table out, bring my machines out of the room (and harms' way!), pivot the table 90 degrees, then roll the cutting table back in. Eventually I may replace the 6 ft table with a 4 ft table - still pondering that.

But first, more laundry so we don't go to school and work in our birthday suits tomorrow!  

Saralyn, I'll try to take WIP pictures with the Blackberry camera - right now I can't find the cord to charge the regular camera! It may be buried under fabric! 

Reorg, Part 1

Started moving things around while I was watching a movie tonight. Moved 4 large bins and 2 small bins of fabric into the closet, still more to go but I have to clear the rest of the scrapbooking stuff out. Oh, and I probably should not have piled all that stuff in front of the door to the hall after all the watermelon and iced tea I had at dinner!

In the works

Sat in the sewing room watching the Nats game tonight...room reorg is brewing......

Sewing mojo returns!

Yes, my sewing mojo has returned, thanks to a doll clothes swap I just participated in. I love sewing for my AG dolls! They aren't picky about the print or the fit, and never ask if it makes them look fat!

Yesterday I hit the After TG sale at JoAnn's both on the way to work and on the way home (the new store is SO conveniently located!) and picked up lots of the flannel on sale for sleep pants for DS and DH. Not many prints for teen boys or men unless you are into sports, but I did find a few. They are on the second round of wash-dry to pre-shrink as I type! The pants for DS I'm going to put an extra deep hem in so when his legs grow another 3 inches before spring I can lengthen them more easily!

I need to reorganize my sewing room and am looking for a smaller table on which to put my machines. I'm using one of those 6 ft plastic banquet tables and 1) I prefer to have my machines in an L shape, 2) I can't sew at full speed because of the vibration and bounce, and 3) that extra space just gathers clutter. I probably won't get around to it until after the holidays, so that gives me some time to plan how to arrange it all. I just have too much furniture in there! Well, and bins of fabric too (sheepish grin).

Itchy to rearrange!

I'm getting itchy to rearrange my sewing room - again! I have a layout in mind, but it will require the purchase of either a length of countertop from Lowe's or a piece of white melamine like my scrapbook table. Not in the budget for this month or next, and I really need to get rid of some of the clutter in there before I do this anyway. LOL - such as bins of fabric and assorted stuff I moved from the spare bedroom when it became the master bedroom! So, I am setting a goal of May 1. One of the goals of the new layout will be to get my ironing board set up - right now I have a pad on a dresser. I have an older steam generating iron but to be perfectly honest I'm not in love with it. I think I want to go back to a regular iron, one with an auto shutoff. I'm too scatterbrained - yesterday I left the steam generator iron on all day, after having sewed for a little in the morning. That scares me!

I sewed two more tote bags yesterday and this morning sewed up a pair of fleece pjs for DS out of the Steelers fleece - maybe he can wear them during the game to bring them luck today!

Long "thyme", no post!

Has it really been almost a month? I should say "thyme" flies when you are having fun! OK, maybe not all fun, but "thyme" has flown!

September is my favorite month of the year, but it is also usually our busiest. Besides all the back to school stuff, getting into our new schedule, we have DH's birthday, our county fair, and my birthday! And to make life a little more complicated, I fell on my bad knee and spent a good part of the Saturday Tropical Storm Hanna hit our area (also DH's birthday) at the ER getting it xRayed. Thankfully there was no visible damage, but darn it still hurts! I'm giving it one more week and then if it's not better I'm going to visit my orthopedic again!

We had our county fair a couple weekends ago, and with our heavy involvement in 4H we end up being at the fairgrounds through most of it. This year we bought a hog at the 4H livestock auction - no, not to hang out in the yard with the chickens, but to be dinner and breakfast for the coming year! We anxiously await the call from the butcher shop saying out bacon and chops and ham steaks are ready to pick up! I hope no one is offended, but we always take a picture of what we buy from the 4Hers so we remember where our food comes from and all the work that went into providing us our food! When DH asked what I wanted for my birthday, I said a day to sew! And that's what I got! Granted, I was sewing a lab coat for DH, but it was the process that was important. And I used my Babylock Ellure machine that I bought last year and just have not tried to sew with it much. Now "Ellie" and I are good friends! I'm pleased with the lab coat and DH said a couple of his students want one too! Next lab coat I make for him I will alter the shoulder width as this one drooped off the shoulder too much. And yes, it is very red, but red and black are the school's colors. My day of sewing included a quick trip to JoAnn's, and the TV tuned to football, baseball, and NASCAR racing all day long. DH put a roast on the grill for dinner too!
I also made a fleece blanket from some stash fleece, pjs for DS from stash, and culled out some scraps and UFOs. I'm trying to get into the sewing room, if just for a few minutes, every day. I'm working my way through a pile of stash, layer by layer!

This month was also the end of the baseball season for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. They missed first place by one game - pretty impressive for their first year! Now I will turn my baseball attention to the majors and the playoffs. Not sure who I'll be rooting for yet!

Quick Project

This morning I was digging through a box of stuff that I had moved from the bedroom into the sewing room and came across a set of round bamboo purse handles. I really don't remember buying them, but suspect they were on a clearance table somewhere and I thought, gee, maybe I'll make a purse! Then I spied a yard of cotton print that I thought might make a nice bright pillowcase - a couple of years ago. Ah-ha! A tote bag! I made it up as I went along, learned a few things for the "next time," but liked it so much I might make a few for Christmas gifts. Will have to keep an eye out for the 50% notions wall sales at JoAnn's.I love how the large lizard is centered - purely by accident, I assure you!
While I was making this I realized I should be taking pictures as I go along, especially when I figured out how to stitch the bag onto the handle! I was too lazy to stop, go downstairs and get the camera. I think I need to keep a small camera in the sewing room.

Stash Attack!

I am being held hostage by my fabric stash! There, I have said it! I have realized that not only do the bins of fabric stand between me and my scrapbooking, they keep me from moving around in my pretty sewing room, and they make me feel too guilty to buy any fabrics. So, the bins have to go! Here's the stack, the clear bins with the black lids:Just ignore the beige ones for now! They have been moved, and generally have other things besides fabric in them. It's the clear bins that haunt me, so they have to go! I'm starting at the top, and each week hope to deal with another bin. The fabric must be made into something useful, at least begun to make into something, or be out the door, one bin per week. That top bin I started on Monday. It's an easy one to start with. 4 yards of Pokemon fleece and a few other assorted small pieces. DS walked into the room as I opened it and asked for a blanket and pillowcase from the fleece. That was easy! 2 1/2 yards dealt with. Each Sunday night I will report the fate of the fabric from the bin of the week. I'll keep track on the right.

ps - these aren't the only fabric bins in the house, but I have to start somewhere, right?!

Kissin' Keets

Patches seems to have settled into his new home with ease. He has been swinging on the swing, singing up a storm, and interacting with Snowball. They are doing this beak play, almost like they are kissing. I'll have to look up budgie courtship behavior! Hmm, maybe I'd better go to the pet store soon and check out parakeet nests!
I've been trying to get a good picture but the camera autofocuses on the cage and not the birds. I'll have to try through an open cage door tonight!

Sewing Room Update

Last night during Lost I moved things around a bit and got the sewing machine table turned to be along the wall under the window looking out on the back yard. Already I see an improvement. We stopped at Walmart tonight and I bought one of those wheeled 3 drawer carts that will fit under the table to put my serger threads in.
I might be able to keep the small cart that my small emb machine is on. I forgot that it is on wheels so I can wheel it out of the way when not in use. I've got the folding cutting table folded up along the bookshelves, so I can open one side or if I need a bigger table turn it 90 degrees and open both. And I can still sit at the sewing machines and get to my iron too! WooHoo! OK, yes, the bins of fabric are still in there. I'm working on that!
Lost was good, some questions answered but of course more questions came to mind! I'll have to watch it on the internet tomorrow to catch a few bits and pieces I missed!

Sewing Room Makeover

I know, I haven't finished the first makeover yet! Well, I've moved the rest of the furniture into the "new" sewing room and I can barely walk in there! I have had to seriously re-think the floorplan. I had to decide between a small microwave stand that my old embroidery machine sits on ($10 from a local thrift shop) and having my cutting table open to actually use it! Guess who won!

I will also be doing some serious de-stashing of fabric and supplies. I so want to buy some new fabric in the neat new spring and summer prints, but just can't bring myself to bring anothe square inch of fabric into the house!

I dared to take pictures - first is the view from the door:Now from the far side of the room, looking back at the scrapbooking "closet", which is behind the tower of fabric bins!

Clearly I have some work to do!

New Friends and Fans

Look at my new sewing room friends!

I've been wanting to get African Violets again, and the sewing room has great morning sun! I have a couple of prettier pots to put them in, but they sure do make me smile!

I'm hoping tomorrow I can spend a bit of time sewing during one of the football games. DH bought me a bunch of tops and jackets for Christmas so I want to perfect my pants pattern in PMB so I can start cranking out pants to wear with them!

This is who I'll be cheering for tomorrow:It's pillow I made for a co-worker's daughter who is a big Patriots fan. I started watching them, and I am so impressed by Tom Brady I've become a fan too!

I sewed!

It's wonderful having the sewing room set up. Well, at least set up enough to sew. last weekend DH bought a new panini grill/griddle, the Griddler, with removable cooking plates. I realized the plates that weren't in the grill at the time would need a protective cover, so stash to the rescue! I had a cotton remnant that I liked but had not a clue what it was going to be, and it was the perfect size for this! I made padded (with scrap fleece) book-cover like sleeves to protect them.

Then, Thanksgiving morning DH wanted a warming pad but I couldn't find the rice warmer I'd made last winter. Once again, stash to the rescue, and two were made in fast order. OK, nothing major, nothing that required a pattern or fitting, but that will be soon.

My "to do" list includes (in no particular order yet):

• Simplicity 4886, in the teal moleskin from Veteran's Day sale


• flannel sleep pants for me


• knit pjs for DS


• new bras (for me LOL!)


• doll clothes


• robe for DS


• robe for me (pink fleece!)


• purse for me


• dog applique sweatshirt for me, maybe a couple for gifts


• Christmas pjs for DS, niece, nephew

Where to start?!

In the sewing mood at last!

We are just spending a quiet day at home, DH working on a paper for his class, DS playing on the computer, me hauling more stuff from bedroom to sewing room. After lunch I decided to take a break and go grocery shopping. As I pulled out of our driveway, my truck mysteriously turned to the left instead of right and I found myself at JoAnn Fabrics (about 5 miles from our house)! The Veteran's Day Sale was calling to me. Lori had interviewed someone from Simplicity on her podcast and it piqued my interest in their patterns again, and they happened to be on sale, 1.99 each. 8 patterns hopped into my basket, two for doggie accessories, one doll clothes pattern, one car organizer, one electronics items totes, fabric bowls, an apron, and one pants/skirt/tops separates. (I have to figure out the linking to the patterns on their website yet). Remnants were on sale at 75% their marked price (which is 50% off the regular price) so I dug through the bins and came away with 7 or 8 remnants for doll clothes, and one 2 3/8 yd piece of 60' wide suede-like home dec fabric in a rust color. That last one would have regularly been $52 but I got it for $6! I'm not sure what it will end up being - a skirt, a vest, pillows for the sofa, etc. We'll see. I also bought 5 yards of a teal moleskin for the pants and top from Simplicity 4886. That might be the inaugural sewing project for my room!
I did the grocery shopping, watched the Redskins lose another one in the 4th quarter, and now a pot of vegetable beef soup is on the stove while I watch/listen to the NASCAR race. I have to get the cable run into the sewing room so I can watch TV in here!

Confucious was one wise dude!

Last Saturday we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. My fortune cookie's fortune said, "Be Patient, the Great Wall wasn't built in a day!" We had a good laugh at that, as I had become quiet impatient to get the sewing room done!

So, Sunday the sewing room was finally painted! The whole time the fortune cookie kept coming back to me. I was a little nervous at first, because the paint in the can looked more pink than purple. I thought, be patient, and as it dried it became a pretty pinkish purple. I was interrupted a couple of times and each time I thought, Great Wall, Great Wall. When I spilled a little - Great Wall. When I got paint on the ceiling - Great Wall. In the end, my four "great walls" were done, and I'm quite pleased with it!

I put together the shelving units that support the scrapbooking desk in the closet, and ran over to Home Depot to get the melamine and have it cut to fit. Oops! I measured twice (well, probably 4 times!) but didn't take into account that the closet might not be square. I had to do some hammer tapping to get it into place, but that baby won't move at all now! And I have some leftover melamine that I can cut myself for shelves once I figure out where and what size. Oh, they make a melamine edge kit to finish that rough edge, just haven't used it yet!

This week I've been moving things into the room, a little at a time. The parakeet has been moved in, and there are still a few totes of "stuff" from the previous occupant (DS) to come out. I wish I had a totally empty spare room, but instead I have to shift a few totes at a time. Poor DS still has a few things in his new bedroom that will end up in the master bedroom once I get all the sewing stuff out! Ack!

The windows are still bare, but I'm thinking of just having white eyelet valances. This corner of the house faces the woods and the sewing room is on the second floor, so only the deer and birds can see in. More pictures tomorrow, as I hope to get to move the rest of the sewing stuff in, including the cabinets.

Getting Closer to Sewing Room!

The carpet is up, the border is down, the window and door frames are taped, and I'm all set to paint! Now if I could just stay home for more than a couple of waking hours!

In the meantime, my local sewing machine dealer had the Babylock Ellure on sale at a price that I couldn't pass up, so yesterday my new "Baby" came home with me. I think her name will be Ellie. But until the room is painted and the sewing table is up, Ellie will have to stay in her box. More incentive to get moving!

Today, however, is for scrapbooking. A friend and I are signed up for a 9 to 5 crop nearby. I packed up all my stuff yesterday afternoon and evening, in between this and that! Well, all the stuff that I could find. I could not get to all of the boxes that are packed up, including my binder of stickers and a few other things. I think I'm going to work on toddler pictures of DS as I didn't get any recent pictures printed. It will just be nice to sit and scrap and chat (and eat) for the day!