Sewing Vloggers

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Let's tour the M'amm cave!



All  sorts of things happening in the cave today! It's a rainy Saturday and what better excuse to hunker down in the m'amm cave and have some fun. I have, for me, lots going on. First, what you see above are little bits and pieces that I am playing with to make into jewelry. I have really focused on this a lot lately and when I get something decent I will show you. I've been dyeing, smocking, beading, etc. on these. If nothing else, they have been great play and a wonderful respite at the end of the day. I always like to have a hand project and this little tote has all sorts of things to keep me busy while I watch a bit of TV at night.

I've been working on my friends dress and have decided on a separate lining but I have changed lining fabrics. I am now using a nude color instead of white and I think that will work better with the free hanging lining in case there  is a bit of peekaboo. I tell you, these fine knits, fine as in thin, are a bugger to get smooth and cut out. That was a major to do, but I got the dress all cut and will do the lining tomorrow. I have to give some thought to how I will connect the lining. With the cowl neck the facing of the cowl is caught in the shoulder seams. I just have to give it some thought.

It's my habit to work in a clean sewing space, but I really do sew so it can get  not so perfect and that's OK. FWIW,  I have no problem with those who have very messy sewing rooms. I understand that for many creatives, this is how they comfortably work. Myself, not so. I really have to have things in order before I can think creatively. Maybe it's an OCD thing, but whatever, it works for me. Every day that  I sew, I put everything away, fold things up. sweep the floor and then shut out the light. Next day I walk into my studio and I am ready to roar. Today I thought it might be fun to give a tour of my space, or the sewing part of it anyway, while I am actually on projects.

On the counter you can see my jacket project all cut and ready to go. It needs the lining cut. In the tote is everything for my friends dress, cut and folded and ready to sew.  My tablet and tiny speaker is cranking out the tunes. Today it was Mary Wells on Pandora. Love Mary Wells, really really love her. It's a great station. The tablet and tiny speaker are sitting on my new bead loom. Can't wait to get that all wired up!

The shelf is full of my favorite inspirations. The top shelf has jars of roving, laces, fabric paints, and cords. I will go row by row till we hit the counter. Under the top shelf are a few antique laces and eyelets. I have lots more in the cabinets below but I just love to look at these. Occasionally I will change the selection. Under the laces are antique canning jars filled with specialty threads like variegated flosses, metallic threads, pearl cottons, etc. On the shelf below are hand dyed woolens and odds and ends. Under that I have two rods, one holding foil (the type that goes on fabric), rolls of wigan, my favorite piping cord and fusible knit tapes. Below them are ribbons of all sorts. Under the ribbons are more jars filled with fabric markers, oil paints, shiva paint sticks, all sorts of embellishment goodies. To the left are my various rulers although I have a couple I keep always on the cutting table, my go-tos. There are rolls of tracing paper and that cup of water is for the iron.


To the right of all that is my sewing area. I have additional machines below in the cabinets. My window has a lovely view of the garden and is often visited by the local wildlife. The egg cups hold various types of pins. You do need more than one type of pin! There are brushes, markers, little tools. My inspiration board is on the right. I bring a bottle of seltzer down with me to drink while I sew but at the end of the day a glass of wine is in order. Today's choice is Pinot.  That little pill box by the serger holds all my machine needles in a lovely order with a different needle going in a different spot on the pill organizer. On another day I'll tour drawers and cabinets for you.


This shows my cutting area. Yup, it's the good old Joanns  cutting table which I really like. I've put a couple of organizers underneath. The one on the left holds ironing and marking tools. The one on the right is full of beading goodies. The shelf above is where I put patterns that just inspire me. I may or may not make them but I love to look at them. My cutters, rulers and glass weights are all on the table. That little white bowl holds pins. I love my lamp and keep my Mag Eyes and my tapes on it. It is perfectly handy to have those tapes right there while I am cutting and laying out or fitting on the dress form.

In an opposite corner are my magazines in boxes and all sorts of incidentals in the photo boxes. They hold zippers, findings, felted pieces, etc. There are a couple of patterns on top that I want to try. Lately I have been living barefoot every chance I can  so that explains the shoes. The broom is ready for the day's final sweep. My lining for the ikat jacket is hanging on the closet door.  And last but not least, my throne:

 My dear sewing friend Jerry did the monogram and I used a white matelasse bedspread for the fabric. I love how this chair came out and it is the pride and joy of my cave. The counters are normal counter height. So I don't get ergonomic nightmares,  the wicker box on the lower left holds my foot pedal about 9 inches off the ground.  So with the foot pedal raised and the chair adjusted I can sew for hours at a normal counter height with no problems.

I am lucky to have more space than I have shown. There is a large walk through closet and a good size room beyond. That holds fabrics and more. I'll save that for another day. Today I will stick with the pretties. Hope you enjoyed the tour of the end of a real sewing day ....Bunny

22 comments:

  1. Love this! You've given me a number of ideas to use in my own space...

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  2. That cave looks like such a wonderful place. I could find all kinds of things to get into there.

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  3. Your sewing space looks wonderful! Mine is never that clean and organized, though I try! I don't have a lot of space to spread out in, so I'll use that excuse. Love your button jars and ribbon holder - so pretty as well as functional. :D

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  4. Thanks for the tour, Bunny! I always enjoy seeing how other sewists organize their spaces. My husband and I will be retiring soon and building in a new location, and it will be my first opportunity ever to design my own sewing/crafts room. You've given me some ideas. I was planning to have my cutting area at counter height (to save my back), and my sewing area at table height, and I'm curious as to why yours is at counter height. If there's a good reason for me to do it differently than I was planning, I'd love to know before I get too far in the design process. Any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated.

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    1. My sewing area is a counter height because of the cabinet's height. They are standard issue, Home Depot. And then we put the formica counter on top, just like any kitchen. From what I understand the machine area should be lower than that so by raising my chair and foot pedal It was just an easy fix. I was dealing with a contractor that had his own ideas and felt the need to keep things as simple as possible for his sake and mine. In the end it all worked out. He did install electrical outlets inside the cabinets, his idea, so I could run my cords down through a hole in the counter top and plug them all in out of sight. I really like how that turned out. I hate having cords all over. I still have outlets on top of the counter as well.

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  5. I have to see my "stuff" to be inspired so having all these things out really works for me. I do have more in the cabinets organized in little totes and dividers. Maybe one day after a cabinet cleaning I'll do a tour of that. In the walk through closet, 12x3, I have open stashed fabrics, patterns , buttons, flosses and odds and ends. Walk through that and you are in the back room where I have three of those deep Rubbermaid tall shelves from the Depot stacked with fabrics and books. Between two of the shelves spans a pole which holds all the fabrics I don't want folded like faux leathers, velvets, etc. I've been wanting to do a bit of reorganization there so if I do, I'll do a tour. It's not too exciting from a decor standpoint, but it holds lots of stuff. That shelf in the studio is a Martha Stewart piece I drooled over and DD gave me for Christmas.

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  6. Love your sewing space Bunny. Thanks for sharing it with us. I like the organization you have there.

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  7. It is always nice to see how others have their work spaces organized. So many nice places to have inspiration on display...not out of sight/out of mind. I too need a platform for my foot pedal ;-) .
    Deb

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  8. It's a beautiful, organized space. I have a partially organized space, mainly because I am not as good as you about cleaning up at the end of the day. Well, I never do that so it's no wonder my room is often a mess! I look forward to seeing how you organize your stash.

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    1. Your space is so wonderfully huge, Nancy. I doubt it could be a mess ever with all that space!

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  9. Lots of great ideas! I'm going to try using the pill box for needles. Thanks!

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  10. I enjoyed seeing your sewing room! And I have the same work style - tidy does it for me. I am finally settling in to my new home and the sewing is flowing :)

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    1. I'm so glad to hear that,Robin. Nothing disrupts like a move.

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  11. Wow! You are super-organised: it's a dream and very inspiring. I particularly like the rods for holding ribbons, laces, etc.

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  12. Thank you, I enjoyed seeing your sewing room too. I'm trying to be better in my tidying up because having only a small sewing room it is a mess too easily. Great to see how others do organize it.

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  13. Bunny, the tour of your lovely room is inspiring me to clean mine and make it much tidier. I have too many projects going on at once and need to get better at finishing what I start. I too have my sewing machine looking out through a window, that way I can see the birds argue over their food. Thank you so much for the tour.

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  14. I am beyond impressed!!!!! What a lovely space.

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  15. Bunny - your room is just awesome and so organized! It's also so reflective of your personality. I can see you whiling away hours here creating beautiful things!

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  16. I came over from Carolyn's site and love everything! I am in the midst of creating my sewing space (moving out of the guest room to a room all my own) so your different ways to organize has been really helpful! Thanks for the tour!

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  17. Yowza! What a wondrous place to create!

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  18. Thanks for giving us a peek, Bunny. I aspire to such a lovely space of my own one day. It's really interesting to see where the creativity all happens. I'm like you--I need to make my space peaceful and uncluttered before I can get going.

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  19. Thanks for sharing, it never fails to give me ideas to look at someone else's creative space.

    Sue C

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