Organizing My Sewing Corner

I've mentioned in previous posts about the ordeal I go through when I decide I want to do some sewing or quilting.  If you missed it here's a recap... go to the bedroom to get the sewing box for whatever thread I need, grab the cutting mat, ruler(s) and the fabric.  On my way to the dining table I will hopefully remember to grab the rotary cutter and scissors. When it comes time to do some ironing it's back to the bedroom to get the table-top ironing board hanging in the closet, stop by the 'laundry room' for the iron on my way to the dining table to set up the ironing board on top of the cutting mat that's already on the dining table.  And my quilting books?  They're above the TV if I need them.  Whew! I'm 'bout wore out just typing this, ha!

So, I started thinking of ways to organize my little sewing corner to simplify my ordeal of preparing to do some sewing.

 

Here's a before shot of my little corner...

 

There's not a lot of room but it had some potential for some better use of space.  And, of course, I have to share my little corner with Hunter who loves to lay up there and look out the window!

In thinking about organizing ideas I also had to take into consideration that whatever I did in this area would need to withstand traveling.  I did not want to add to the list of things that need to be taken down, relocated and secured when it was time for us to move again so I had to come up with something that was more or less permanent.

Originally, this corner had a swivel, recliner chair in it so there was already a small shelf and a magazine rack mounted on the outer pantry wall.  But, when I joined CountryBoy on the road I knew I wanted to put my sewing table there so, I moved the chair over by the couch and is now directly in front of the TV.  It's all good (wink)! I still used the magazine rack to hold cookbooks and the shelf was a catchall for little stuff.

A few of the ideas I came up with were to find a new home for the cookbooks and use the magazine rack to put the few quilting books that I've acquired in there.  (I'm still trying to find a place for the cookbooks, sigh.)  And I'm using the shelf for the little red tray that holds some scissors, seam ripper, measuring tape and sewing machine paraphernalia.

I also decided that I wanted my threads near the sewing machine.  I saw this wooden thread holder at Hobby Lobby and thought it would be perfect mounted on the outer pantry wall.  But, it was a self-standing one with legs that swung out. While I love that idea I knew I had no room for it to sit on my sewing table and it would've had to have been relocated and secured when we moved so CountryBoy drilled some holes in it and screwed it into the pantry wall for me.  Perfect!

I also wanted my rulers nearby.  Since there is a hole at the top of each of the rulers I decided to hang them on the wall in front of the sewing machine using a simple screw.

Now, I have my thread right where I'm sewing and the rulers are mere steps from where I do my cutting.  Yay!

What's the metal bucket you may ask? It's for all those pesky threads and little fabric pieces I cut off while I'm sewing!

Eventually, I will figure out a way to hang the mini ironing board in the 'laundry room' so it will be by the iron and much closer to the dining table.

The cutting mat and fabric? I will probably keep them in the closet so I won't have to relocate and secure them when it's time for us to move.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out...

While I would love to see my fabric stash when I look at my sewing corner it's just not gonna happen for obvious reasons. But, seeing all the thread on the wall is just as good and puts a smile on my face!  All those pretty colors!  Makes me want to sit down and sew something (smile)!

Speaking of thread, I have several spools of thread that were my Mom's... 

Don't ya just love the wooden spool?  And 15 cents?  Awesome!  I will be saving these spools fer sure!

Till next time my friends...

 

Denim Rag Quilt

I have finally begun working on the denim rag quilt.

Several months ago, OK last year (wink), I bought some worn out jeans from a thrift store along with a well-used flannel sheet to use as the backing.

Last week I started cutting 6-1/2 inch squares from the jeans and the flannel sheet.

I managed to get a good amount of squares from seven pair of jeans and have started marking, pinning and sewing the denim and flannel squares together.

 I still have more flannel squares to cut but I'm making some progress.

The stack in the above photo have all been sewn together.

I've even included a few back pockets and hope they will add a nice touch to the quilt.

In order to sew the squares with pockets to the flannel I decided to sew a seam about an 1/8 inch from the outside of the pocket rather than the X.

Once all the squares are sewn together then I will lay them out and see if I have enough to make a decent size quilt.  I'm shooting for a lap-size quilt.

Friends have donated several more pair of jeans for the cause in case I don't have enough, yay!

I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Till next time my friends...

One Down, Five To Go

One of my goals I set for the New Year is to finish up the many projects I have going on or have already planned before starting anything new.

I have always been the type person who has many projects going at any one time. Since my hobbies are quite varied the many different projects allowed me to work on whatever I felt like doing at that moment.

Well, since living in the fifth wheel I have had to come to grips with limited space... Limited storage space. Limited work space. Limited living space.

So, due to my spatial limitations I decided it was time to limit my projects to a maximum of no more than two at a time. Which means I need to get crackin'!

Here's what all was in the works at the turn of the year...

- a wall hanging that needs hand quilted and binding attached

- a quilt throw that needs binding attached

- a crocheted baby blanket half finished

- an apron that was cut out but needed sewn

- a raggedy denim quilt, jean seams are ripped and ready to be cut and assembled

- a crochet basket, yarn purchased

Six projects at some stage in the works in this tiny space.  That's four too many according to my new goal.

That being said, yesterday and today I knuckled down and decided to tackle the apron.

The easy part of cutting the fabric was already done but since I don't know how to read sewing patterns I had put off finishing it up.

I must've spent an hour (or more) just trying to make sense of number 1 on the directions, ha! No really, I kid you not. And at one point I heard myself asking why the directions weren't written in plain English!

So after a long while of reading, re-reading, looking at the image, reading it again, etc. I came up with an interpretation and gave it a go.

My interpretation seemed to have been OK and I have to say, the rest of the directions were a tad easier to follow and the pace picked up from then on.

I did make a change as I was unable to get the 'casings' on the sides of the bib to turn out right. I also decided that I didn't think I was going to like the way they had the neck strap and tie as all one piece (which was to be fed through the casing that I couldn't get right). So I made them all separate and then attached accordingly.

Here's the finished apron...

It's got two pockets on the front and ties in the back.

I love the fabric!  Chickens, woot!

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out especially for figuring it out as I go. (Note to self, I really should take Sewing 101...)

Anyhow, that's one down five to go. Or at least three so I will be within my new goal!

Till next time my friends!

One At A Time Please... NOT

For those of you who know me, you know that I love projects!

Any project.

Indoors, outdoors, creative, DIY, construction.  Yep, any project.

I enjoy the whole process, from beginning to end.

The coming up with the project to physically working on the project to appreciating and enjoying the end results.

Currently, I have no outdoor projects (to which I'm adjusting (although I have been eyeballing the park's picnic table that is badly in need of some sanding and a paint job (good thing I don't have my sander here))) but I have plenty of indoor projects to keep me occupied (and out of trouble, ha!).

In fact, I probably have too many projects going on at the moment.

For starters, I have thoroughly been enjoying making scarves out of the Red Heart Sashay yarn (see Etsy shop on sidebar) and probably have WAY more skeins that I should but, hopefully, they won't stick around long once I've got them made.

I've recently found some new colors that they offer...

... gold, silver, teal, solid black, red and cream, variegated green & tan, blues. etc.

I've made a few of them already and they work up beautifully...

... these are ready to be photographed and listed in my Etsy shop.

I've also started my first quilt.

The top is finished, the batting and backing are in place and it's all basted together to begin the top stitching and quilting...

... I had to wait until I could get to town to get the right color thread before finishing it.  (CountryBoy tickled me one night at dinner when I was talking about the quilt.  He says, "you lost me at basting".  Bahahaha, I knew he was picturing me with the kitchen baster in hand and trying to figure out why and with what was I basting a quilt!!!)

Another project that recently came up is crocheting a baby afghan for a friend...

... can you guess what she's having, heehee?!

Seeing all these projects either half-finished or waiting to be started (and taking up precious space in the 5th wheel) can sometimes be overwhelming and I say to myself, "Self, you should only do one at a time".  Then reality sets in I say, "Yea, right.  Like that will ever happen"!  I simply enjoy the variety of projects that are going at the same time and figure I can do whichever one appeals to me at the time.

Makes perfect sense to me.

So, I will continue to have several projects going at the same time simply for the variety.  Thankfully, I tend to finish the projects that I do start.  I don't think I could stand to see so many unfinished projects lying around and maybe that's what keeps me motivated until it's done.

The difficult part of having so many projects going is deciding which one to work on first, ha!

That's the decision I'm facing as soon as I publish this post.

Hmmm, which one do YOU think I'll start on first today?

Till next time,

A Beautiful Productive Day

CountryBoy and I are up at 4:00 in the morning five, some times six, days a week.

A couple of hours later, the sun makes its way up over the mountain behind our 5th wheel.

As I was writing yesterday's blog post I noticed an orange glow coming through the window in our door.

I peeked outside, grabbed my coat and camera and went outside to capture this beautiful moment...

It remained cloudy all day and the temps were in the upper 60's.  Very comfortable outside.  In fact, I almost sat outside to watch the birds flock the feeder and takes photos but I had a project that needed my attention indoors...

I had been wanting to do some sewing yesterday but I couldn't decide what I wanted to work on.

After getting in our closet for something I saw what needed to be done...

A quilt-lined shirt that got CountryBoy through the cold winter of Idaho earlier last year was in dire need of repair.

I wasn't quite sure how to go about fixing it so I started out by taking the sleeve off.

From there, I trimmed all the loose threads and surged (I think that's what it's called) the edges of the sleeve together as well as the shirt sleeve opening.

Then, I attached the sleeve back onto the shirt.  I did a straight stitch first then went back over it with a zigzag stitch for more reinforcement.

All done and looking much better...

I was quite pleased with myself for figuring this out (since I really don't know that much about sewing) and being able to salvage a very warm shirt for hubby!

I also whipped up a couple of gluten-free Gingerbread Mini Loaves and Cinnamon Maple Frosting...

and made some Chicken Veggie 'Lo Mein' for dinner...

MMMMmmm!  So good!

Today, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. with an awful headache.  I took some Advil and went back to bed.

CountryBoy got up at 4:00 to get ready for work.  I usually get out of bed around 4:30 (once he's out of my way, ha!) but this morning I fell back asleep and never heard a thing until he came in to kiss me goodbye.

I stayed in bed and finally got up around 6:30.  That is so unlike me but I guess I needed the extra sleep.  Thankfully, the headache was gone.  I'm moving a bit slow this morning but that's OK.  I don't have much on the agenda today.

When I woke up at 3:30 it was raining.  That is the first rain since I've been here!  It didn't rain much but it's very cloudy and overcast today so maybe we'll get some more.

Looks like a good day to drink some hot tea, curl up on the couch with a good book and maybe do some more sewing (if I can figure out what I want to sew!).

What have you got going on today?

Till next time,

Pillow Project

Now that I've gotten somewhat settled in, I'm beginning to think of projects that will fill my days while CountryBoy is at work.  (I have twelve hours to fill!)

The project that needed the most attention was our couch pillows.  They were looking pretty rough...

That was the worst one but you can see that they've all been repaired at some time...

Having this project in mind, I stopped at Joann's while I was in town the other day.  I took a pillow with me so I could figure out how much material I needed and so that I could try to match that color of blue/teal, or whatever color it is!

The pattern of the couch material and various colors in it were making the decision a bit more difficult.  I didn't want the pillow to compete or clash with the couch colors and pattern.  After finding several possible choices, but none that said 'I'm it!', I decided to go with a more neutral color to try and get away from so much of this color in the 5th wheel.

Here's what I chose...

A velvety soft, tan color with a raised leaf pattern on it.

The best part?  It was 60% off the original price!  That's right!  Walmart wanted almost $14.00 per pillow and here I recovered three of them for less than $30.00 and another best part?  The satisfaction of doing it myself!

I guessed at how many yards I needed (I still need to learn how to figure that out) and got one and a half yards.

See that white pen in the above photo?  Best invention ever!  It's a chalk pen for marking your material.  A neighbor of mine back in Florida is an avid quilter and I saw her use this pen to mark her material and fell in love with it!  It's refillable and does a fantastic job of easily marking your material.  Just an FYI if you're a quilter or like to sew.

Since I wasn't quite sure what I was doing, I decided to measure and cut material for one pillow, sew it together and see if it worked before attempting the others.

How 'bout the view from my sewing table?

Birds sitting in the tree, swarming the feeder and foraging on the ground with mountains in the background!

Note:  the completely filled bird feeder on a daily basis lasts about two hours.  Am I feeding pigs?!

The first pillow worked out perfectly.  That is until I tried to finish the pillow after stuffing it.

I started to whip stitch the open seam together but it was looking horrible.

Time to google it.  (What did we ever do before we were able to google something?!)  I found a really great video on You Tube that explained the Ladder Stitch for closing seams on stuffed toys or pillows.  I'm thankful so many people have willingly put these types of videos out there.  (They've come in handy for questions about crochet stitches as well.)

I finished the first pillow and was very pleased with it (you have to look hard to find the seam that was hand stitched!) so it was time to knock the rest of them out. 

After cutting out the fabric for the second pillow, I realized that I did not have enough material to make the third without piecing it together.

Rather than waiting to buy more, I figured out how to piece it together and it turned out OK.  I can live with it.

Here they are all finished...

I'm happy with how they turned out and I'm liking the more neutral color...

Next project?  Trying to figure out why Photoshop Elements is telling me that I've already activated the software on two computers.  Yes, I know that, but it has always been on this laptop.  The only thing that has changed is the location of the laptop and internet providers.

And, of course, there are no phone numbers to call and no obvious way online that will help resolve this issue.  

I have 13 days to figure this out, sigh.  If not, then I'm guessing that I can no longer use PSE.

I think they want me to buy a newer version.  Not gonna happen!

Again, my love/hate relationship with technology.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears!

What are you working on this winter?

Till next time,

All.Over.The.Place.

Do you ever feel like you're all over the place?

You know, like you've got too many irons in the fire and you're not sure which one to pull out or leave in?

Or you feel like there's not enough time in the day to do all the things you want to do?

I recently felt that way about what I like to do in my spare time.

For example, I have several hobbies that I really enjoy...

reading

cross-stitching

crocheting

photography

,

scrapbooking

stamping

sewing

gardening

refinishing/repurposing 'stuff'

And then there are the hobbies I would like to learn...

knitting,
playing the violin
becoming a more advanced seamstress

I think you get the idea.  I enjoy being crafty and creative.

While there is nothing wrong with any of those hobbies, it's the sheer number of hobbies and the amount of supplies needed for each that began to overwhelm me and was taking up too much room in the house.  Room we didn't have.

When it looked as though we would be living in a 5th wheel for a while I decided it was time for me to get focused.

Focused on hobbies that would serve a double duty purpose... enjoyment for me while making it and is a usable/functional end product.

I decided that although scrapbooking and stamping were both hobbies I enjoyed doing they consumed a lot of time and space needed to store all the necessary supplies.  I packed up three large boxes of paper, stamps, ink, etc. and sent them with my sister up to New York where three beautiful little girls are having a blast making cards for other people.

I will not be refinishing or repurposing anything while on the road nor will I be doing any gardening.

With limited storage space, I will be focusing mainly on crocheting, photography and sewing with a bit of reading in the evenings.

Even though I still have quite a few hobbies I feel like I'm less all.over.the.place and I now have a purpose to my hobbies and crafts.

It feels good.

Do you have any hobbies?

Are you like me and enjoy too many hobbies but don't have the time nor space for them?

Till next time,

Surgery Update & Priorities

LizzieBelle's surgery went well.  Thanks to all who said a prayer and for your encouraging comments yesterday.  The vet said her pre-op blood work was good and she did fine during the surgery and there were no complications.  She is recuperating nicely and is currently snuggled under her blanket in one of her many beds throughout the house and front porch!  This bed happens to be in the office.  She has to be near me which is so sweet!

The vet told me she was going to clean her teeth as well yesterday at no extra charge, yay!  But, she found three bad teeth so she extracted them.  (I did have to pay for that though, sigh.)

They were front teeth so LizzieBelle will still have no problem with eating crunchy food.  The rest of her teeth are nice and shiny.

We're having a cold snap here and with her thin hair she gets cold easy.  I can't put her sweater on her because it may irritate her incision so I'm going to make her a few more blankets.

I bought some warm fleece and some quilt binding at our superstore and that is one of the priorities for today.

I can't decide if I'm going to make two larger blankets or four smaller ones.  Decisions, decisions...

But, before I can get to that priority (because I can't bear to see her shivering) I have another priority to tackle.  This purging mess...

Why is that a priority?  Because I can't get to my sewing machine, ha!  Can you find my machine in this photo?

Here's a hint...

It's by the window with a small path to get to it.

I'm tellin' ya... serious purging going on.  Anyhoo, I need to finish in this room and get it organized so that I can move on to the next room AND so that I can get to my sewing machine!

Another priority today is preserving a mess o' greens that I picked yesterday during LIzzieBelle's surgery.  (It kept me occupied so that I didn't worry!)  Some friends from church have a beautiful garden full of various greens, cabbage and broccoli.  They called to see if I wanted any greens since they were ready to be harvested.  I said 'Sure'!  I love greens.  Any kind of greens and to have the opportunity to have some homegrown greens is a sheer delight!

We picked mustard, collard and turnip greens and then began the long process of cleaning them.  I was so thankful for their offer to help me wash them.  I think I would still be washing them if it weren't for their help!

After a couple of washing's, we bagged them up and I brought them home.

Two stuffed grocery bags of each kind of greens.   Mmmmm!

I'm going to give them one more washing and then can the turnip greens and then possibly freeze the mustard and collards.  It takes 90 minutes to process the greens so that's why I might freeze the others just for time's sake.  We'll see, though, how all the priorities go today.

I have a few other things I'd like to accomplish today.  While they're not top priorities, they do need to get done in the next day or two.  Things like listing items on my Etsy site, re-doing my blog layout, making sure the check book is squared away, paying bills, burning the trash, start designing my 2013 calendar, etc.

Mercy, if I'm ever going to get even some of that done I'd better get to it!

Till next time,