A Sewing Room Challenge: At This Very Moment

Stacy Sews and Stephanie Sews laid down the challenge to take photos of your sewing room as it is, without straightening it up first. Sharon Sews accepted it and motivated me to do the same (although I broke the pattern of blog names). So, here are photos of my sewing room taken 10 minutes ago. It's not too bad because I can't stand to work in big clutter so I tend to keep things put away unless I'm using them. (Sorry ladies!)

Starting at the door into my sewing room and then going around the room:

This is what you see when you first walk in. Zillie (my dressform) is modeling my current WIP (work in progress), which you'll recognize if you're a regular reader. The machines are set up on my table, plastic bins on wheels hold most of my notions and other supplies, and my ironing board is against the adjacent wall. Zillie is blocking my coverstitch machine, which also sits on the table.


You also see my pattern cabinet when you first enter, but I couldn't fit it into the same photo as the shot above. On top are mostly things that belong and a few that don't. The blue looseleaf binders on the left are my pattern envelopes filed in sheet protectors by garment category. The envelope contents are in the cabinet below. Next to those are 3 sewing-themed stacking boxes. They are awaiting placement on the shelves that DH keeps promising me he'll hang up "real soon now." (Sigh.) Next to those is a rectangular basket with my "on deck" patterns and new patterns that I haven't yet entered in The System. In front of the basket is the leftover purple knit from muslin/tester #2 of the top I'm currently working on. I haven't yet put it back in the stash. In front of the pattern binders is a pile of miscellaneous which includes a pants muslin, a couple of magazines, and some pattern tracings. Between that pile and the purple knit is a stack of swatches I save to send to Belinda in Australia. (We exchange swatches from our sewing projects, which is fun because I get to really "feel" what she makes and vice versa.) Finally, on the floor in front of the pattern cabinet is a pile of folded denims that somehow haven't made it into the stash closet yet. I thought I would sew these faster than I have.


Next is the "pressing center" which kind of drives me crazy. I need to hang shelves or a pegboard or a slatboard on the wall to store my pressing notions. (I think I've decided on slatboard and now I need to buy one.) Right now, they're stacked in plastic baskets on the floor or laid on the flimsy shelf below the board. I also use the ironing board as a cutting table adjunct. IOW, when I'm using the cutting table to actually cut, all those things which I stacked on the table get moved to the ironing board. Right now, that includes a stack of patterns and WOFs, my big clear ruler, and a folded-up piece of cardboard that really needs to hit the trash can. There's also a blouse waiting to be ironed which is just laid across the bins to the right. (I hate ironing, so it's been there longer than it should.)

Under the ironing board is a paper bag of I-don't-remember-what, a cut of sherpa fleece for dog napping, and you can see my "basket" trashcan in the foreground. I love this for a trashcan because it has a handle which makes it easy to grab and move near me when I switch between machines.


Moving around, next is the cutting table. It's looking pretty good. The scraps on it are from the current WIP and also the nearly-complete purple knit test before that. Also visible are my reading glasses (ugh), the TV remote, the pattern I'm using, some pattern weights, and one of my magnetic pincushions (the other is on the machine table). Under the table is a rolling cart which used to be in the laundry room of my other house. The top shelf holds a bin with my cutting and writing implements, as well as my tape dispenser, and the pattern weights. The second shelf is rulers and curves (the ruler on the ironing board usually goes here but since I was just using it, it was still out — really!). The bottom shelf holds a couple old muslins I should toss, and hmm ... I forget what's in that plastic box. Whatever it is, I'm sure I need it. ;-)

There is another short shelf at the end of the cutting table. On top of it are various adhesive sprays, a bin with other most-used notions (Wonder Tape, tape measures, gluesticks, etc.). Next to it is a pile of home dec stuff I want to work on one of these days. (Yeah, right.) The bins on the second shelf are lingerie supplies, the bins on the bottom are buttons and large knit scraps for preemie sewing.


Behind the cutting table are the TV and big bookcase. The bookcase holds my sewing "library," DVDs, and magazines. You can see my Burda WOFs stacked up on the 4th shelf. The white binders on that shelf hold the WOF newsprint "At a Glance" inserts so I can look at styles without dragging out each magazine.


This door is just to the left of the big bookcase and leads to the bathroom. Next to that is my mirror corner. STP (tracing paper) rolls are in a basket (which you can't see) and in the corner next to the wicker trunk which holds my embroidery cards and CDs. That's a roll of poly batting that doesn't have a real home so there it sits.


Almost full circle. The entry door is just to the right of the thread. The stash closet speaks for itself. ;-)


This cabinet (which my father made BTW) actually sits at the top of the staircase and is just outside my sewing room. I included it here because right now it's a sewing room addition since it's holding (1) new fabric, (2) things I want to put on those shelves DH is promising, and (3) has the to-be-hung bulletin board leaning against it. The inside is actually not holding fabric. Yet.

OK, who's next??