she Smiles she Sews

I love this spot! It was a guest room that I shared for sewing and paper crafting, but now it is my designated creative space and I do love it. I am blessed! Confession – it is rarely this neat.  I have been cleaning, purging, and organizing the ‘after Christmas mess’ and decided to take photos before starting another project.

This is the view from the door when entering the room. The little red dress was made by my mother for me to wear in a wedding in 1958. The picture frame is late 1800’s and originally had a charcoal drawing of my great great grandmother. See the little orange Singer sewing machine in on top of the Ikea Expedit. It was my first sewing machine which I received for Christmas in 1963. It only sews a chain stitch but it still works.

The Campbell’s Soup light was purchased in Memphis. Tennessee, in 1969 at The Shop of John Simmons. It lights up my pressing area quite well. The sewing table was purchased at Goodwill, an Ethan Allen maple table that my husband cut the legs off, cut a hole, and added a platform for my old standby, Bernina 930 Record. I keep my Baby Lock Eclipse nearby and can easily pull it towards me or push it back against the wall as needed. I’m short, 5’1″ and wanted a comfortable sewing height but we cut the legs a little short and added PVC pipe to lengthen them.

This is a view of my cutting area. It was our old 1920’s kitchen table that I painted a few years ago. When I decided to use it as a cutting table I added the three leaves which have not been painted.  Eventually I’ll get around to painting them.  The Ikea Raskog cart hold projects in progress. The old chair was one my Aunt had “when she set up housekeeping.” I haven’t been able to decide on a upholstery fabric so I sorta made a slip cover from a canvas drop cloth. It is pinned, stapled and draped on the chair for now. I would like to attempt to make a proper slipcover for it in 2018. The TV is sitting on a black file cabinet. Rug was purchased at Target a few years ago.

This is the view under the cutting table. The wood shelf holds fabric to be repurposed from old knit shirts and donated fabrics. I participate with the group Sew Beautiful Kentuckian which makes clothing for children in third world countries from donated fabrics. The box and bag hold my to be made t-shirt dress materials. The wire basket holds newly purchased fabric that has not been washed. The bit of red on the left is a file cabinet that slides perfectly under the raised table. Bed risers made the table a nice cutting height.

This is the view across from my sewing table. The closet on the left holds a printer, paper crafting materials and photographs. The closet on the right holds fabrics and sewing supplies. I don’t have a huge stash nor do I want one.  My goal is to simplify and be intentional in what I purchase and make this year. The mannequin was my mother’s and is from the 1950’s. The dress is a 1920’s white dress I picked up years ago at an antique store. A friend brought me the hat from a jumble sale in England.

This last photo is another Raskog cart that holds all my pressing supplies. The drawers in the white cabinet hold thread scissors, and machine accessories. The gray boxes contain most frequently used patterns and additional sewing notions.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of my sewing space.