I'm fully moved into the sewing room now, although we are still not completely finished. Here is a brief tour of the room with almost everything in it--I'm still really hoping for a separate ironing surface. I haven't put up a design wall or done any decorating yet. Many of the cupboards are empty, but the drawers are all full. And let's not talk about the closets, okay?
When you enter the room, you will see my long arm all the way to the right. I've mentioned before that we added the two-foot extension so that my frame is now 12 feet. That allows me to quilt most king-sized quilts. I figured it would take an hour or two to extend the frame, but it actually took at least six hours over two days to get everything to fit properly. I was a bit disappointed that the extension kit looked like it had been partially assembled before. There were some chips in the white paint and the hardware kit had clearly been opened and retaped shut. It was missing a set screw, but that is easily replaceable and we left it out of the batting bar since I don't generally use that one. The new frame pieces were a slightly different size than the old ones and the silver parts that hold the track didn't quite line up either. Sigh. But it's all back together now and I am ready to quilt for you.
You also see my cutting table (original construction details here). Since I haven't decided on the ironing board situation yet, I'm still using my original setup. Isn't it lovely? ha ha. We do have a new top for the cutting table prepared, and it will match the other countertops. I also have a butcher block top that will form the ironing surface, but I'm not sure what I want for a base yet.
If you're wondering what I keep in all the cubbies of the cutting table, I have two bins with scraps and half square triangles, one with charm packs and mini charm packs, one with a bunch of doll clothes fabric, some binders, square rulers, ironing tools, and rotating cutting mat, and a few with random supplies. You can see what I keep in the end--it's mostly my next planned projects and some interfacing. Once I get my closet situation under control, I may change what I store in there.
Speaking of closets, here are my two closet doors at the right end of the long arm frame. Why two closets? Well, the one to the right was already there since it is under the stairs. The other is directly under our master bathroom, so it's a nice, big size. I am not willing to share what they currently look like inside. I have a lot of sorting, discarding, destashing, and reorganizing to do.
Oh, you can see my Ikea drawer unit outside the left closet. When I sewed upstairs, and in a few of our previous houses, it held all sorts of notions and thread. I emptied it out yesterday, was shocked by my hoarding tendencies, tried to reorganize the contents into my new drawers, and then refilled it with my long arm supplies.
Here's the view of the room when standing near the closets. My father-in-law made my cabinets for me. The knobs and pulls are from Menards; you can get the same ones at virtually any big box store. The chair is the Roache Task Chair in blue from Wayfair. The decorative ceiling light is from Lamps Plus and is no longer available. It looks pretty, but gives off basically no light since it came with an Edison bulb, pretty but impractical. Yes, I can change the bulb to something brighter, but haven't made the effort yet. The flooring is Mannington Adura Max luxury vinyl plank in Sundance Gunstock that we purchased online from Flooring Market. The ordering process was very smooth and the price was outstanding. I think that may be the first flooring we've ever ordered online. The doors are from Lowes. The wall paint is from Lowes as well. The cabinet paint is from Sherwin Williams. The trim is custom that my father-in-law and husband made. The counter material is Formica in Neutral Weft. We added the matching Ideal Edge so that it looks more solid surface-like. We made the counters on site (bought Formica sheets and glued to particleboard).
Here's my sewing machine inset into the hole in the counter. I haven't had a chance to sew yet, but it looks like it should work well. I have a Sew Easy extension table that fits similar Berninas available to sell for a good price if someone is in need of one. Hit the contact button to inquire. :)
Tomorrow I am taking a class with Kris Vierra. The class description says you can bring your problem tops and get quilting suggestions. Is bringing in an Ikea bag full of tops too much? Asking for a friend. 😉
Saturday my guild is having a Sewcial to start work on the charity quilts we are planning for this year. Then it's spring break for the kids. Other than that, I have loads of sorting and organizing to do in my room, and maybe I'll even get a chance to sew or quilt something. I'm really hoping that having all my stuff in its own room out of the family space doesn't mean that I never get the chance to sew. It's so convenient to have it in the center of the living room, but not very visually pleasing.
One final note--did you see that Warm Company is no longer going to sell their batting and other products at JoAnn? Yikes.
