Now for the Fabrics

My fat quarters are in drawers, and smaller pieces of fabric are in plastic boxes. But what about yardage? I've never been happy with having it folded and stacked. It stayed messy and it was hard for me to glace at the piles and know what I had. Then I discovered a rectangular vinyl made for story fabrics put out by Polar Notions. Now my yardage is upright on bookshelves and they are grouped. At a glance I can choose yardage without having to pick through piles of fabric. It's also very easy to unroll and cut.

Finally, a solution I am happy with!

Sew Organized

For the last time (yeah, right), I have reorganized my sewing haven. I am fortunate to have a large finished basement of which I have commandered a large area devoted to my sewing. I am even more fortunate to have a husband who is not only supportive of my hobbies, but indulges my whims and wishes with his handy talents. The cutting table is such a joy. It is 4 feet by 4 feet with two 2 foot wide leaves, all laminated. There is also a storage shelf on the underside. I do not usually do really large quilts, so to be able to lay out a quilt at counter height is a real joy.

The area where I actually sew has 2 desks set up in an "L" shape for my 2 sewing machines. Each area has a spot light. I keep the machines covered because we heat with wood and it tends to be rather dusty. Notice the matching machine covers and chair cover? The thread holder came from a retired quilter which makes it much more special than having bought a new one. The large desk was an old used one that my son and husband cut a custom hole in for the machine.

The larger sewing desk also has an extension that Bob added to it for when I sew large pieces. I am amazed at how much easier it makes sewing a large piece.

Then there are the labeled drawers full of templates, patterns, glues, embellishments, paints, and lots and lots of fat quarters. My "design board" is a large piece of batting that I put up using quilter's basting spray. It really holds - even with a quilt mounted to it!

Over each area, mounted in the ceiling, are also large flourescent fixtures - lots of light and no shadows.

For me, because I am pretty much equally left and right brained, this is the perfect set-up. Although things get quite disasterous while I am in the middle of a project, I need a strong organized set-up. Thanks Bob, for the table, the sewing machine tables, putting in the light fixtures and moving them, and for understanding why I needed it all moved more than once!