Studio Spotlight Series: Where I sew
Actually, a more accurate title of this post might be "Where Do I NOT Sew?" because frankly, at this point, my "studio" has expanded so that it's all over my house.Anyway, I'm happy to be participating today in the Studio Spotlight Series with Jennifer from Ellison Lane and Heather from The Sewing Loft. This week they're featuring sewing spaces from all kinds of crafty people. As you can see, I'm lucky enough to have a beautiful little sewing room. (It's usually a lot messier than this—I totally cleaned for you guys!)
A great stash closet! (I used this tutorial by Angela of Cut to Pieces to fold and organize my fabric, making mini bolts using comic book boards. I got the shelves in the closet organization aisle at Home Depot—but I actually flipped them upside down when I installed them, in order to hold the fabric in better.)
A stack of some of my favorite recent quilts
Of course it's usually not Martha-Stewart neat and organized. If I hadn't cleaned up for these photos, you also would have seen cardboard boxes on the floor that are full of patterns. Stacks of fabric that I pulled and then did nothing with. Random notions and other odds and ends sitting around because I don't know where else to put them. But it's a pretty great little space anyway and has served me well.
But you know what? I hardly ever actually sew there. Because there's one thing missing from up in that room—my family. I want to sew (and I need to sew) where everybody else is. I'm not sure how I would get anything done during the day if I couldn't sit down and sew at a moment's notice, right next to where my kids are playing, rather than off in a different part of the house. And after the girls are in bed, I don't know what kind of marriage I would have if I couldn't sew right there next to my husband while he's watching his sports or surfing the web. : )
So here's where I really do most of my sewing: My family room. The little drop-in table that came with my Horizon can be a little awkward in this room, but it does fit, and it's easily movable if company is coming or if I won't be using it for a few days. As a result, my sewing room upstairs has mostly become a storage space—which is good, because my storage needs seem to be expanding all the time.
And my dining room doubles as a cutting/fabric staging area. That room is usually a bit of a mess, as you can see, so I try to keep the chaos to a minimum by only having fabric for my current projects out in that room. Anything not currently in use has to go back upstairs. And let's face it, this room gets a lot more use now than it ever did when it was just a dining room. LOL.So, yes, my "studio" is pretty much my entire house at this point. Fortunately, my family puts up with it. And it just goes to show that you really don't need a dedicated sewing space. I've found dedicated storage space—and a spot for my machine that's right near the rest of the fam—is what works for me. Now head over to Jennifer's and Heather's blogs to see some other inspiring sewing spaces.