29 August 2011

Evolution of a Sewing Room - Part 6

Since moving in to the new house, I have been working diligently at putting my sewing room together.  I love to organize, so this has been super fun for me.  I even have things to the point that sewing has commenced - I have already turned out a dress, two pairs of work pants and several pairs of exercise pants.  I'm a mad woman!
 
Today we will take a gander at my cutting table that doubles as a pattern and notion storage cabinet.  Originally, I was going to cobble together a few old bookcases and a piece of plywood to act as a cutting table in my sewing room.  However, hubby said (and I quote),

"Why don't you design something and the cabinet maker can build it?"  

Hmm, let me think about that for a min---...wahoo, new sewing cabinet, here I come...

So, I sat down with my trusty graph paper and a pencil and got to work on a viable design.  I wanted an ample cutting surface - enough room for a long length of 60" fabric to rest nicely on top.  I ended up with a 3'3" x 8'4" (39" x 100") laminate counter top that has rocked my world so far.  Ah, the joy of having enough room to cut out a complete pattern in one go.  I used to use the pennisula in the kitchen of our old house and it was too tiny to be really useful.  I had to cut out pattern pieces in sections, while trying to keep the fabric from falling off the edge.  Can you say PITA?

I also wanted storage for all my patterns.  I have a ton of mainstream patterns: BMV, Simplicity and New Look.  As well, I have a large assortment of independent designers, including Loes Hinse, Textile Studios, Jalie and Kwik Sew, among others.  In addition to my envelope pattern collection, I have several years of Burda magazine, a few Ottobre Woman and several Japanese pattern books.  Finally, I have a large collection of vintage patterns (mainly spanning the 50s, 60s and 70s).  So, obviously I needed a few good sized, deep drawers.  I ended up with 6 drawers on one side of the unit and 3 drawers on the other side, for a total of 9 deep drawers, each with inside dimensions (length, width, depth) of 29" x 14 3/8" x 12".  These 12" deep drawers accommodate any size pattern, including my Burda mags standing up in holders.

My last desire was for easy to access notion storage - elastic, zippers, buttons, trims, etc.  I have 6 drawers on one side of the unit - each drawer measures 29" x 4 5/8" x 14 3/8".

I even have a drawer for UFOs (although I purged most of my UFOs for the move, I did hang on to a few of them - now, I just need to complete the little rotters) and patterns that are next up on the docket.

The cabinet maker did an amazing job turning my design into reality.  I could not be more pleased with the resulting cutting table unit. It is highly functional and it is also a gorgeous piece of furniture.  Le sigh...

17 August 2011

Home, Sweet Home

We survived the move (although it was pretty touch and go at times) and I'm here to prove it.  The boxes are all mostly unpacked, the house is organized and the decorating has commenced.

And just to prove that we are now new home owners, within a brand new community, I will regale you with pictures of our first trip to the mail box:

Here we are starting the adventure.  The air is thick with excitement. Hartley is straining with anticipation!

So much anticipation, in fact, that it excited the pee out of him.  Must stop for bathroom break...

Fully relieved and more committed than ever, the odyssey continues...

Finally, we reach our destination.  Hartley is obviously overwhelmed by the immensity of the moment.

Let's take a look-see inside...

And what is my fabulous postal bounty, you may ask?  Stinkin' bills! 

A well earned rest after a job well done...