Got a New Chair for My Sewing Area for Free!

I have been working on organizing my sewing area. Sweetie and I switched corners a few months ago. It made more sense for him to sit beside our toy collection. I, on the other hand, needed better lighting for my sewing/quilting projects.

I identified my needs and realized it would be better to have an L-shaped desk. After moving around some stuff I managed to fit in another table. Now I have additional space for ironing and measuring fabric. It also doubles as space for a printer when I scan photos.

What would make the "expanded" space better is a chair with wheels. I noticed quilters across the world use office chairs with wheels. I had one, but it broke. I had the leg changed, but it broke again! Gaaaaah! I've been using a nice monoblock chair for over a year now and was thinking whether I should buy a replacement.

Well, I didn't need to buy one because I got it for free from a purchase the boys did. They didn't want a chair, so I said I'll use it. It's all black, but I will jazz it up so it won't look like an office chair. What do you think?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Perfect Artwork for My Sewing Room

One thing I did not expect to find at the Super Manila Comic Con was an artwork for my sewing room. I've been on the lookout for sewing themed decor/art for my sewing room. The only sewing decor I have is a clock, a few sewing machine figures and thimbles which I collected from my travels. 

I was dead tired by the time we reached the section for artists. Top of mind for me was to find a Yoda artwork or figure. Unlike the Singapore Comic Con, all the works were original. What caught my eye was Marius Black's artwork, "Blum". It's a cityscape of Blumentritt and I found the colors fascinating. The booth also had cat artwork and a child playing under a sewing machine. 

"My Silly Passenger" is the title of the print made by Guada Ramos Funtilar. I liked the artwork because it reminded me of those days I used to play under my Mama Lola's sewing machine. I even had the same hair cut as the child. She had the same black Singer sewing machine. Of course, I had to get a print for my sewing room. 

I'm happy I got it and regret I didn't buy Marius Black's Blum print. They both gave us their business card, so I could just probably order online or go to an event they'll attend. In the meantime, I need to find a nice frame for the print I got. Also, need to figure out where to hang it :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Re-Organized my Fabric Stash

I took a break from blogging to make time to organize our home. It's been more than two years since we moved and I decided to bite the bullet and invite friends. That meant we needed to make time to make our home presentable. Our living room still had boxes and we hadn't been using our dining room since it was hosting stuff from our basement (due to the renovations). 

The renovations finally finished in early June and that gave us two weeks to organize our home. It took me two weeks (++) to unbox all my fabric and sewing materials. Whew! I decided to wrap my stash in comic book boards. I also re-categorized the fabric, so it's easier for me to find items. 

I decided to use the vertical cabinets for the fabric. I put the rainbow colors fabric on the left side. My friends squealed when they saw how I organized it. "It's so gay!" they said. The cabinet also has my Christmas themed fabric collection. On the other cabinet I placed fabric prints. I categorized them as: floral, shapes, and characters. In the middle are the 10" squares fabric and the fabric designed by Mx. Domestic. On the bottom are backing fabric. 

I placed the jelly rolls and charm packs in the horizontal middle cabinet. I got some containers to hold them. The containers make it easier for me to find the right pack. I think I'll organize them by color when I have time. 

I would have started blogging sooner, but I used the last two weeks of June to celebrate Sweetie and Miggy's birthday. After the celebration I used the time to do some quilting! I needed to do something creative since organizing drove me crazy (haha). 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Planning My Sewing Room Triangle

New flooring for my craft/sewing (a.k.a. maker) room has been installed. It made the room look more cozy and it removed the "bland" feel to it. It previously had off-white tiles which gave the feeling you're in a commercial space. I had the door with glass changed last year since it made me feel I was at a doctor's office. 

Since I removed everything in the room I now have a chance to re-organize my fabric stash and other materials. The room is quite small, so I have to be smart about the space. I joined a quilting/sewing room group to see how others with small rooms organize their rooms. 

Kitchens normally have a work triangle. I learned this from an architect. The kitchen workspace should have the refrigerator, sink and stove in a triangle. I did some research and found out that sewing rooms also have a triangle. In this case, it's your sewing table, cutting table and ironing station you need to consider.

I've been using my sewing table to do everything. It's annoying since I can't multitask. I have to do everything by step, so proper planning is key. I'm going to take advantage and plan first before I return all my things. I also found a couple of unsorted boxes and will re-categorize everything before placing them back. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Eagerly Awaiting my Updated Craft Room

There was one last thing that needed to be done in our basement, the flooring. We should have had it done last year before the cabinets were installed, but our contractor said it was still okay. The tile issue spread already, so we decided to have it replaced as a precaution.

My craft (a.k.a. maker room/sewing room) has changed a lot in the past 30 months. Here's how it's changed -

The work will probably be done in the next few days. I have to figure out how best to re-arrange my stuff. I probably need to sort and categorize everything before I put them back in the shelves and drawers. Lots to do! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Sewing Room is Back to Zero

It took me a week to empty my sewing room. We had to clear our basement for some renovations. We delayed it for a year. Looking back, we should have done that work before the cabinets were installed. It would have saved us from packing up our stuff. I had mentioned it to the contractor, but my request was ignored and they went ahead with the cabinet installation.

Well, on the brighter side, this gives me the chance to redo my sewing room. I actually call it my maker room since I don't just sew in it. I also work on my other hobbies in it, so it's more appropriately called the maker room. 

My plan is to re-arrange my materials. I started to wrap my fabric in comic book boards. I like it since it looks more organized. I have to sort some boxes where I stored some notions. I need to put it all together and store it properly so they are easier to find. 

I'm trying to figure out how best to use my Mama Lola's sewing machine. It's an electric old Singer sewing machine which probably doesn't work anymore. It came with the traditional Singer black iron bottom. I've been looking for a company that can help turn it into a proper table to make it useful. I still want to keep it since it's been passed on to me (plus my grandma's sewing kit). 

We will hopefully finish all the work in a few weeks. My sewing stuff is all over the place, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to work on any projects in the meantime. We'll see :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Design Wall is Up!

It's been a couple of months since the board in my craft room was installed. I originally planned to use a flannel blanket to cover the board. It would be easier to set up fabric on it according to other quilters. I bought the blanket and was supposed to cut and sew it to fit the board. Months dragged on, but I ended up procrastinating since it's a huge job. 

I saw a felt board in National Bookstore a few weeks ago and thought it would be perfect. I didn't realize that fabric could stick on felt too. I would have needed six of the felt board. It's expensive though, plus I wanted my design wall to be white. I looked around Lazada and found felt board grids normally used the same way as corkboards. I thought it would be a good alternative since it's much cheaper than the felt board in NBS.

I got a few last week and tried to stick fabric on it. It worked. I also have the option to use the grid side or the flat side. Since the felt grids came with velcro stickers it was also easier to install on the board. I would have needed a carpenter if I used the felt board from National Bookstore. 

Finished installing the second set of felt grids today and I'm happy how it turned out. I could also use the blanket I bought if I need my design wall to be "stickier" for fabric. Well, I'm going to use this for now. It's going to be useful since it's hard to see if pieces match and if they're the right size. 

The design wall will also be useful when I take photos of my projects. Here's the very first baby quilt blanket I made almost 30 years ago when Miggy was born. I could appreciate it better from the design wall. I'm surprised the embroidery I made 30 years ago is still intact! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Organizing My Craft Room

My craft room had gotten very messy the past few months. We stationed my sewing table in the family room so I've been working on my projects there. My craft room soon became a storage space. I finally got around to organizing it last weekend and removed the gardening stuff that accumulated on my table (former dresser, now cutting table). 

I asked our decluttering coach to skip the craft room since I want to organize my supplies myself. I organized my fabric stash by "category". I'm the only one who understands how it's categorized, haha. I remember where I could find each fabric. Sometimes I just sit in front of the cabinet and look at the fabric for inspiration. 

I know there are better ways to organize my fabric stash. I just sorted them and folded them to fit my cabinet. I recently joined a "quilting/sewing room" group to learn how others organize their rooms. I learned that a lot of quilters use comic book boards to store their fabric. Apparently, fabric fits the board perfectly when you fold it.

I took a look at my stash and realized the best approach I could take is to do it by section. My boys won't allow me to stay in there until the wee hours of the morning (haha). Miggy even reminded me not to do so much when he saw me folding some fabric yesterday. Here's what I have so far folded.

And here's the fabric I'll be using for my next project:

I realized I have a threshhold for mess. I can tolerate some, but when it piles up I have a hard time thinking. My sewing table in the family room is also messy. I use the table for sewing, pulmo rehab, writing and sorting through Mom's stuff. It's been cumbersome to measure and cut fabric on it. I cleared my sewing room so I could also work there as needed. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Creative Happy Tuesdays: Time to Unveil My Craft Room Again

Ahh, it's been two months since I last got to stay in my craft room. I indulged myself and had the bathroom turned into a powder room. It was going to be very dusty so I had to pack up everything and vacate my haven. The renovation coincided with all the electrical work so we left for a few weeks. 

The craft cabinet is currently covered and I hope to remove the tarp this week. It's going to require a lot of work to clean it up and restore it. I'll probably get to use it by next week (hopefully). 

Here's the evolution so far -

Version 1 minus the Ikea shelves flanking the display cabinet.

Just before round 1 of renovations.

Version 2 just before I messed it up again.

Active craft room just before round 2 of renovations.

I can't wait to ease back in my craft room again! Only thing missing is the design board and I think I need to buy a new chair. My cute pink swivel chair broke. I think it could still be fixed. I have to check if we could DIY to fix it. I'm also still think whether I should get help to organize the room better or if I could just wing it.