My Sew-Called Quilts: July 2015

Friday, July 31, 2015

Sewing Room Addendum

A lovely reader had a couple of questions about my sewing room post, so I thought I would use that as an excuse for another post.

One of the questions was how my spools of thread stay in the spice shelf.

As you can see in the photos above, each shelf is slightly lower than its edge and safely nestles the spools so they don't slide out.

I purchased the rack at a furniture consignment shop where it was labeled "Vintage Spice Rack". It may not actually be old, but if not then someone went to a lot of trouble to make it look old.

I had to lighten the above photo to show the raised lettering across the top "Herbs & Spices".

Another question was about my tools and what I do with my hacksaw, pictured on the left.

I find that a hacksaw is pretty handy, but mostly to saw off the backs of decorative knobs. The knobs/drawer pulls, such as those pictured above, were purchased at Hobby Lobby and come with very long "stems". Once the knobs are screwed them into the wood, I have to saw off the excess. My husband usually takes pity on my extended sawing and takes them to his garage to saw them off more quickly with one of his man-saws.

I replaced the standard white wooden knobs on this shelf with decorative ones. I had to saw off the excess stem so the unit would lie flat against the wall.

Here is a drawer pull I installed on a drawer in the nightstand next to my sewing table

Here is what it looks like on the inside of the drawer. I had to leave a little bit of the stem sticking out and need to cover the sharp raw edge, because it is a drawer I open frequently.

The rest of my day will be spent finally getting started on the Little Joys Quilt-Along - how will you spend your day?

Farm Girl Friday SAL - Week 14 - Back on Track!

After many interruptions, I finally caught up with the Farm Girl Vintage Sew-Along schedule - yay! This sew-along unites quilters making the blocks from Lori Holt's Farm Girl Vintage book. The patterns aren't complicated, but they are detailed; fortunately the instructions are clear and well illustrated. It takes me longer to choose fabric than to make the blocks. My only problem so far is not reading the instructions thoroughly!

I think my favorite block is the Kettle's On! teapot. My daughter collected small teapots many years ago and her collection was ruined when some of her boxes got crushed in a move. I would love to make her a teapot quilt!

This week's blocks are Old Glory and Old Red Barn, pictured in the groups below. My blocks are 6-1/2 inches and made almost entirely with scraps. It is really fun to begin to see how these blocks will look in a quilt!

Mama Hen, Feed and Seed, Haystack, Grandma's Quilt

Furrows, Kettle's On!, Milking Day, Fresh Pears

Old Glory, Kitchen Window, Gingham, Old Red Barn

You can check out other participants' blocks and variations on Instagram #farmgirlfridays.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

My Sewing Room - A Little Redo

My crafted "Welcome" sign, just inside the door to my sewing room

Recently my husband and I decided to swap pieces of furniture. He wanted my workbench for his office/man cave, and I wanted two of his bookcase units for my sewing room. This trade precipitated a frenzy of reorganization for both of us. Over the weekend we sorted everything out, with my husband moving furniture, adding shelves, patching walls, and painting. Although the switch mainly involved the area around my cutting table (pictured below as "Before"), I "found" many things that had been tucked away since 2013, my tools are now more easily accessible, and I am very pleased with my new arrangement.

Before

After

I dream about having a bright, cheery room with gorgeous furniture like this one at Maple and Magnolia - love it! But I love all of my thrift and resale items and little trinkets, knick-knacks, photos, and linens I've inherited from my parents and Grandmothers. I try to mix useful things with things I love, and it works for me. This is my happy place!

The iPhone pictures aren't the best quality but here is the (photo-heavy) tour, with an explanation below each photo. (Click on any photo for a larger view.)

Entering from the hallway (my husband's office is on the opposite end of the hallway)

Looking straight ahead

Looking to the middle of the room

Looking to the left

Looking to the right, behind the door, to my big design board

The adjustable light and pegboard above the cutting table are two of my favorite things

Between the cutting table and door to the room - one of my "new" bookcases

Granny Mitchell's quilts

Crafty stuff

Cutting table/craft surface

My husband attached a shelf to hold my glue guns and Ranger craft dryer

In 2012 I spent $40 for a used kitchen table at Goodwill and purchased bed risers to elevate it to the correct height. My husband painted them white so they aren't as noticeable! Under-the-table bookshelf holds cutting mats, current projects, binders, and a hard case toolbox

Left of the cutting table a wall shelf containing stamps, inks, glues, Mod Podge. The Twenty Third Psalm hanging above the bookcase was embroidered by my Mother

I need to recover my craft stool, but in the meantime I've covered it with a doll quilt made by Granny Lawhorn when I was eight

This bookcase holds my tools, hammers, nails, and screws, as well as my light box and P-Touch, plugged in and ready to use

Looking over my left shoulder from the cutting table

My view from my sewing table

Beyond the waterfall and firepit is an arbor planted with star jasmine, 3 active bird feeders, a bird bath, and flower garden. An 8-foot fence surrounding our back yard and a heavily forested creek separating us from our back door neighbor provides privacy!

Nightstand left of my sewing table contains sewing box, collection of embroidery scissors, and sewing machine attachments. Above is an old spice shelf for my threads