EXPANDED SEWING ROOM (ESR)...Finally Finished...

For those of you who followed along with my Scrappy Happy Place, I promised pictures of my Expanded Sewing Room.  Like most quilters, I outgrew the confines of my Scrappy Happy Place and really needed somewhere to store extra fabric and supplies and someplace to set up folding tables to pin baste my quilts.

 When J moved out a little over a year ago I painted his room a neutral gray and claimed it as my Expanded Sewing Room.  Over the past year I have worked to bring color to the room and, while it is first and foremost my second sewing room, decorate a fun, happy place for Dear Hubby and I to watch TV or an extra room to house quests.  I kept two of J's Ikea pieces as they would provide a TON of storage space.  After a full year of slowly adding to the room it is finally done.  Yup, you read that right!  It's FINISHED! 

TA-DA!!!!  Welcome to my ESR!  I am in LOVE!  While I always thought I was more of a pastel, shabby chic (minus the shabby) type of decorator, in this room I have discovered that I really LOVE COLOR!  Who woulda thunk it?  My mom, dad and aunt came over the other day and we spent a while in here just sitting and talking about the transformation.  Everyone agrees that it is just such a HAPPY place.  Mom said she didn't want to leave, lol.

So, let's start the tour....

Immediately to the left when you enter the door is my guest chair.  This chair was bought YEARS ago when I had my Medical Transcription Business.  It was used when the girls I had working for me would come over to discuss work, or when I was interviewing a new transcriptionist.  Most of the time, though it was just a dumping ground for "stuff".  I'm keeping it real here, ladies!  It could really use a good cleaning and if I can ever remember to buy upholstery cleaner when I am in the store I will give it a good once-over.   I am hoping to make myself a portable design wall that will be propped behind this chair when needed.  It will be stored behind the Pax cabinet (shown further down) when not in use. 

Continuing around the room is a $7 (now $9.99...geez) black Ikea "Lack" table.  I adore Ikea furniture as it is cheap, easy to transport home in flat pack boxes and even easier to assemble!  The MacBook that I inherited from J is by my side whenever I want to do a bit of "surfing" while resting.  The bright mug rug was made with leftovers from my "Sunshine and Bowties" quilt.  It was the first mug rug I ever made!

 

On the wall above the futon is my "Sunshine and Bowties" quilt.  It was the first quilt I made upon my retirement in October of 2011.  

Next is the futon we bought for J when he had his first apartment in Harrisburg.  He was attending Penn State at the time.  Unfortunately Penn State dropped a division of his major (the one he was interested in, lol) and he came home.  When J and his fiancee, K, moved into their apartment in January 2013 this futon was used as their primary sofa.  A week before Thanksgiving one of the wooden arms cracked, disabling the entire thing.  J was in a panic as he and K were having my folks and aunt over for Thanksgiving dinner (Dear Hubby and I were in South Carolina) and with the futon disabled they had nowhere for anyone to sit!  We told them to move the broken futon to our house and go out and buy a sofa..."Merry Christmas", lol.  When we got back from vacation we took the arm of the futon to the store where we bought it.  Unfortunately the futon had been discontinued so we could not get a brand new arm, but the store glued it all up for us.  I don't think it is strong enough to serve as a primary seating area anymore, but the occasional use in my ESR seems to be fine.  I washed the cover of the futon and Dear Hubby and I were unable to get it straightened out on the mattress.  The mattress is HEAVY (it was more expensive than the futon) and we couldn't heft it around as much as needed.  One of these days I will get J and K to redo it for us.

This small shelving unit is being used as an end table for the futon.  It fits well into the space and gives me a place to store magazines (if I ever get around to sorting my magazines and filling the magazine holders, lol).  Dear Hubby and I are going to buy a ceiling light shade (the kind for recessed long fluorescent bulbs) and cut it down to size to lay on top and keep the drinks from wobbling.

  

Next is the small closet.  This closet originally had sliding doors.  OMG you couldn't fit more than one arm through the opening!  Our builder was an A-double scribble.  Apparently he bought "seconds" to build these houses and nothing is square and none of the openings are standard.  When we switched to a single door in order to gain full access to the closet, our handyman found that the door opening was 35.5" wide.  It was too small to handle a standard 36" door.  In order to fit a standard 32" door he had to "build up" the opening.  Like I said, our builder was an idiot (I'm being nice here). 

On the top shelf is the quilt I made for J when he was just 3 years old.  Memories...  Some day the twin sized denim quilt and a pillow and fitted sheet will also be housed on that shelf too.  Storage close by if we need to use the futon for overnight guests.   On the next shelf are boxes containing scraps from quilts I made previously (in case repair is needed), extra magazine holders and unopened batting.  The bottom shelf holds pieces of batting, polyfill and home decor weight scraps.  The bottom houses my sewing machine bag and travel bags for supplies.

When J moved out he didn't have room to take his Ikea Pax unit.  Thank goodness, the unit is AWESOME for holding supplies!

Hanging on the front is my embroidery kit.  It was just a happy coincidence that it matched the Button Rug I purchased last month!

 

Inside the left hand door are my "hands free" bags that I use when attending quilting shows, car shows, home shows, etc.  Anything where I need to keep my hands free for a long period of time.  The hexie denim pouch is only big enough to hold money, a few important cards, my camera and my keys and I only use it if I am going to be home before mealtime.  The button pouch is bigger and can also  hold my medications and insulin in case I will be away from home over mealtime.  

Inside the Pax unit there is a TON of storage.  All of my yardage, flannel, plaids, bundles, patterns, etc are stored on the left, while the right side holds my yarn and crocheting supplies.  I also have a HUGE travel bag (actually J's hockey bag from when he played goalie in roller hockey...HUGE) in the family room that houses all of the yarn needed to complete the queen sized afghan I am working on. 

Next to the Pax is a rolling cart that holds smaller scraps, hexies, 2.5" squares, embroidery scraps and zippers.  The organizer on top holds my new embroidery pattern by Lori Holt and some supplies to help when I am pin basting quilts.

The lateral file cabinet was a freebie I scored on Freecycle.  Now that I have shut down my business it holds "miscellaneous" household paperwork.  Dear Hubby and I eventually hope to sort through it all and empty it completely so I can use it to store more crafting stuff.  Eventually.

On top of the lateral file are cubbies that I scored half price at our local thrift store.  Each of the Collapsible Craft Containers (my design) holds a different color of single buttons.  Sets of buttons are on cards in the next opening.  As you can see, I still need to make seven more Collapsible Craft Containers, lol.  Eventually.  Each of the cubbies is deep enough that I can fit TWO containers, leaving room for increasing my stash.  On top of the cubbies my Minnie Mouse jar holds buttons that still need to be sorted.  Eventually it will hold loose white and cream buttons only.  The orange pail holds white and cream buttons on cards.  The penguin shotglass holds pins.  The black buckets are still empty.  Between them and the orange pail is an adorable sewing machine sent to me by a dear friend across the pond.

The two left drawers hold embroidery floss on cards that I made with my Sizzix Big Shot.

The right hand drawer holds duplicate floss and fabric covered button kits that were bought at our local thrift shop.   I LOVE our thrift shop!

 

This cabinet is yet another Ikea piece.  On top are the TV, cable box and DVD player.  The bottom drawer holds hanging file folders.  So far I have only established "Sewing Done", "Sewing To Do", "Crocheting Done" and "Crocheting To Do" folders.  I have lots more file folders to label and TONS of patterns to file, lol.   The middle drawer holds miscellaneous stuff and the holiday 12" mini quilts I have made to decorate my foyer.  The skinny top drawer holds basting pins, rulers, etc.  My collection of crafting books is rather small at this point.  The blue metal basket is empty, but I am sure I will find a use for it someday.  My hand made "softie" pin cushion rests in the corner.  

You are now back at the doorway of my ESR.  You can just see the safe (that only holds our passports, lol), trashcan and edge of the fan.  Next to the fan is the door.  As soon as I can make a trip or two to the basement I will bring up the folding tables I will use while basting.  They will be stashed behind the door when not in use.

Hope you have enjoyed a tour around my Expanded Sewing Room.  It is one of my favorite places in the house! 

TOURING MY SCRAPPY, HAPPY PLACE...

Welcome to my Scrappy, Happy Place!  I am so glad you are here for a tour.  I expect this to be a long tour so I might suggest a quick trip to the kitchen to get a cool drink or hot cuppa before we begin.  

When illness forced me to shut down my business, I decided that my old "office" would become my new sewing room where I could create, rest and renew my body.  In the year and 10 months since I retired I have spent many hours in here, dreaming, creating, resting, relaxing, crying, laughing, learning, and sometimes re-learning, how to live my "new" life on a daily basis.  It truly is my sanctuary. 

My sewing room is the smallest of the second floor bedrooms.  Honestly, I wish it was on the first floor to limit my trips up and down the steps.  But, given that the stairs are my only exercise, I guess the second floor location is a good thing.  The room is approximately 11' x 11'.  It's tiny...but I have managed to pack an awful lot into these constraints (with some overflow as you will see later in this post)! 

As you approach my sewing room the first thing you will see is my hand made message board.  Back when J was still living at home our schedules could be incredibly hectic, sometimes going a week without seeing each other face to face!  I put the message board on the outside of my door to facilitate communication between Dear Hubby, Dear Son and Me.  If either of my guys came home after I had already gone to bed (sometimes quite early if I am having a bad day), they could simply leave a message on my door and know that I would see it first thing the next morning.   Since J has moved out it hasn't been used much and may be removed at some point down the line.  

Hanging on my doorknob is a small bag I made (pattern from Happy Zombie) to hold my Nook book, Nook book accessories and the accessories for my MP3 player.  It is easy to grab if Dear Hubby and I are heading out for a drive or an appointment and I need something to keep me occupied. 

 

The next thing you will see is the most important thing in the room, save for my sewing machine.  My coffee maker!  A steaming hot cup of coffee can get me going first thing on a bleary-eyed morning or a mild Chamomile tea can sooth me to dreamland on a sleepless night.  Next to the coffee maker is a small TV that I use to watch DVD's while I rest.  We don't have cable connected to this room, but I am happy to be watching movies instead.  Sometimes there isn't much good on TV anyway!  The green box under the TV performs two duties:  raising the TV to a height I can see easily, and storing Christmas gifts as I make them, hidden away from sight of family and friends!  Shhhh...the walls have ears!  The rattan boxes from Ikea hold my miscellaneous uncut fat quarters (bundles are kept elsewhere).  There is also one box that contains all of my charms, whether miscellaneous or design charm packs.  The blue batter bowl holds my first ball of "tarn" (t-shirt yarn).  I have a few more t-shirts to convert to tarn and am sure eventually my tarn collection will outgrow the bowl.  But I will deal with that when the tarn balls start rolling around the room, lol.  The clear plastic box under the bowl holds all of my completed hexies and the cardboard box below that holds items that are for sale in my shop.  

Next comes my all-in-one printer.  This machine gets LOTS of use, whether I am printing out patterns I have downloaded, scanning in my hand drawn embroidery designs for printing onto fabric or faxing important paperwork to my insurance company or lawyer.  The drawers below hold all of the paperwork dealing with my disability, etc.  

My desk area is quite unkempt at the moment, but we all have our "junk piles".  Right?  My paper monster has expanded to TWO piles.  I really need to tame this monster and trash at least 12" of paperwork!  On the lower left hand corner of the picture you can see a white metal container.  The container was a thrift shop score and holds all of my scratch pads.  The pink metal tin above it is the bottom of a tin that once held perfume.  It currently holds my envelopes, buried under "important" paperwork that I may need in the next week.  The top of my desk holds pictures of loved ones, a vase and flowers that J bought me as a young child (he picked it out at the Dollar Store).  Next to my smaller "paper monster" you will see a pencil holder that I upcycled from an old milk vase.  On the wall, is a pin board upcycled from an old picture frame.  

 

 

You can't really see the fabric of the pinboard, but it matches the hand made valences and tie backs on my windows and the border on the walls.  

In front of the window is a brass trunk that is absolutely FILLED with denim cut from old jeans.  I have made two denim quilts for J (a twin sized for his dorm room in college and one for his queen sized bed at home/in his apartment).  On top of the brass trunk is a patchwork runner to keep the reflected sunshine in check, my "tea for one" pot, various loose teas and tea holders, teabags, and a jelly jar vase decorated with hand crocheted flowers.  

Finally!  The side of the room where all of the craftiness happens!  My sewing table was found on Craigslist for $60.  Both chairs (the one at the desk and the one at the sewing table) are Ikea finds.  I was so thrilled with how well they match my room.  Speaking of matching...  I have tried my best to bring mismatched items together into one cohesive feel...mostly with the help of a can of pink spray paint and some patterns found online and printed onto sticky back paper.  The two pictures were found online, printed out and framed.  One of the pictures even has a matting made from the same pretty paper that covers the lids of my stacking storage boxes.  The boxes themselves were a get well gift received by my husband after surgery.  I spray painted them and covered the lids.  The teal colored lids you see in the storage bin to the left of my machine are empty peanut butter jars used to store basting pins and two types of pony tail elastics.

 

On top of my storage boxes is a cute little basket I found in Target's $1 aisles.  It holds all of the sewing machine feet that did not come with my sewing machine.  

 

Inside the basket is a small purse which holds my empty bobbins.  The kit was included in a Mollie Makes magazine that I got for a great deal at my local quilt shop.  I didn't mind that the magazine was a few months old...the patterns and instructions didn't age, lol.   

 

My sewing machine cover and  lumbar pillow were made from a few charm packs of Teacakes material, and the pillow was stuffed with old (but new) stockings so it maintains a very pliable configuration, able to sink into the curved back of my chair.  

 

Under my sewing table is a galvanized bucket that I use to hold scraps.  Remember, this is my 'SCRAPPY, Happy Place".  I just LOVE scrappy quilts, although I have only made one so far!

 On the wall above my sewing machine is a thrift store find to hold my pens and post-its.  It is just so sweet and girly!

Next to my sewing machine is a divided container to hold my sewing stuff.  When I got this container it was white with a pharmaceutical company logo on it.  Useful, but UGLY!  So once again I turned to my trusty spray paint and transformed it into something that fits beautifully in my room.  The paint didn't cover the company logo well, so I printed out an adorable label to cover the wording.  As much as I LOVE pincushions and use them in my portable sewing projects, I find it much easier to routinely utilize a shotglass with a magnet attached to the side.  Dear J removed the high power magnet from inside two computer hard drives that were being destroyed and I epoxied them to the shotglasses.  They are REALLY strong and practically "grab" the pin as it leaves my fingers.  I have two shotglasses, one filled with pins and one empty one.  The full shotglass sits on my cutting table and the empty next to my machine to store pins as I remove them from my sewn pieces.  I just switch them back and fourth as needed.  The cute purple pail was found in Target's $1 aisle and is my thread catcher.  There is an identical one stored on the rocking chair side of my cutting table to use when I am hand sewing. 

Forming an "L" with my sewing table is a gate-leg table from Ikea.  It has three drawers on my sewing side and three drawers on my rocking chair side.  The top drawer on the sewing side holds all of my rotary cutters.  The second drawer holds my sewing machine manual.  The bottom drawer holds hardware and 3M products.  On top of the cutting table is my tabletop ironing board and iron.  This iron/board was originally bought for J when he went away to college.  It returned home from college still in its plastic wrapper.  How could I EVER have thought a teen boy would "IRON" his clothing, lol?  I confiscated his ironing board and iron.  The board was covered with plain muslin (ugly), so I covered it in a pretty green material that I received on Freecycle.  Underneath I keep the box from a free container of Cottonelle Wet Wipes.  It holds water and an old hankie in case I need to "erase" mistakes in my quilt markings.  Underneath the table is a six drawer cabinet from Ikea.  It holds all of my threads...cotton, sulky, poly, etc.  

On the other side of my cutting table is my rocking chair.  This chair was bought when I was pregnant with J...26 years ago.  It is still my favorite place to rest, relax and hand sew when I'm able.  The afghan on the rocker was made for Dear Hubby back in 1981 when we were dating!

 Under the table on the rocker side is a basket to hold my sewing magazines and the most current book I am reading.  There is a matching basket next to my desk to store recyclables until they are due to be put out in the trash.  I AM a tree hugger, lol.  

Next to this basket is the tool kit Dear Hubby bought me for Mother's Day.  Finally, my own set of tools...all in PINK!

Beside the rocker is my closet.  It was once VERY organized but has fallen into some disorganization.  I really need to bite the bullet and clean it all up!  In front of the closet I have my "design wall".  While it seemed like a good idea to put a flannel curtain in front of the closet (there when you need and pulled back behind the rocker when you don't), the waviness of the curtain makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the blocks to stick.  I end up having to pin them in place, which makes it a royal pain when rearranging blocks.  Some day I WILL have a SOLID design WALL, lol.

Next to the closet is an upcycled kitchen cart.  On top is my new Sizzix Big Shot, a small case to hold some miscellaneous embroidery supplies and a pincushion to use when pinning blocks to my design curtain.  All of my sewing notions, trims and Sizzix supplies are in the drawers.  

Finally we are back to the beginning, the back of the entrance door, on which hangs my favorite sweater, my super soft, super warm "Woobie" (that is the honest-to-goodness name of the sweater on the company's website, lol).  

I hope you have enjoyed the tour of my Scrappy Happy Place.  

Stop back soon for a tour of my Expanded Sewing Room (ESR).  I told you I had overflowed my space!