1.16.2012

nowhere to sew

as sewing as become a bigger and bigger hobby/job (jhobbie?) the space required to contain my ragtag operation has also had to adapt.

it started out as just a 20-year old (free!) sewing machine on our coffee table (so old that i had to hind-wind my bobbins! ha!).

then the operation got too big for the living room and got upgraded to a NOOK in the guest bedroom.

then it COMPLETELY took over the guest bedroom and became the craft and guitar room (we ditched the old futon for more space, so no one could be our guest even if we wanted) before that room changed yet again and became layla's, forcing the sewing station to overtake the neglected and never-used dining room table, where it has lived and grown ever since.

so before christmas, this is where things were:

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effective, yet SO prone to piles and messed and things being squirreled away in other parts of the house.

i think i was still secretly telling myself that this could one day be a dining room again if we needed to show the house or if jesus came back.

but when the christmas etsy season hit, i was SO over not having a place that was organized, efficient and ample enough to support my tiny business.

so that is what i asked jesse for for my christmas gift: to install new craft storage for me. we picked out a few things at IKEA (doy), target and home depot and now my sewing cave make my heart happy, with a place for everything within reach.

we arent going to be in martha stewart any time soon for this setup, but like i have said before, this tiny house may often feel like something we want to unload and escape from most days, but it is actually a huge blessing and can more than satisfy our needs (all pinterest dreaming aside). so we are living in this moment, in this house, the best way we know how. onward.

standing in the kitchen surveying my kingdom

let's dive in, shall we?

ikea sliding basket racks for my fabrics.

these drawers are crucial and wonderful. the fabbies are sorted by color families and the big wire mesh enables me to see all of the fabs at onces. the black plastic drawers on the right hold smaller fabrics that are between yardage and scrap lengths. i love that the fabric is right here under my cutting mat and on my right as i sit sewing for easiest of access.

here's the real glory: the pegboard. it makes me so happy. spotted on pinterest and brought to life!

i got a piece of custom cut white pegboard at home depot for like $6 and a pack of all the accessories (including mounting hardware for the board) for maybe $11. every hook and peg and rack and container you can imagine (and more) was included.

it even had enough brackets in the right size to anchor by tool cups and new thread rack onto it. since they are held up by the pegboard brackets, they are totally movable if i want to reorganize.

the little gray bins on the top left i got for $8 at harbor freight tools (i thing 20 bins were included for that price, but havent needed them all yet) and are open, visible, moveable storage for small little things that i need handy (needles, snaps, etc). they are hung on an anchored rack so i can just pull on bin down and rummage around in it and then put it back. i will probably add more of these along the top in the future from the leftover stash in the garage.

you can see on the underside of the bottom black shelf, i got a strip of adhesive magnet and stuck it up there. this is where i keep used machine needles that still have use, spare hand sewing needles and a safety pin or two for when i need to grab them really quick.

fun jars for scraps, buttons, floss and etc. withing reach and view at all times. i think these are all from walmart


red drawer systems from IKEA and a few new inches for stowing the ironing board.

having the ironing board storable yet nearby was clutch. previously it was just ALWAYS down and in the way since the laundry area where it lived was too far away for me to feel like getting it out every time, or putting it up.

i spy an almost-finished quilt! and a bullseye horsey with a broken leg who is being stabled here until i can fix him.

the cheapo white cubby thing is from target and isnt pretty, but has been CRUCIAL in ending the stupid pile of stuff that always accumulated on the red drawers: maximize vertical space, people!!!).

i used a cleaning caddy to become my shipping station. since our printer is in the other room, i just take this wherever i am packing things up and adding the labels and i have everything i need right there (business cards, scissors, mailers, tape, etc).

another huge win was the iron rack that i found on amazon for $10. its hard-core enough to store a piping hot iron right after i unplug it and it is far out of reach from daredevil little girls who dont understand the rules of physics, thermodynamics, or mommy's house.

magnetic hooks hold my measuring tapes on the side of the shelving brackets.


the top of the shelving unit. baskets for completed items, works in progress, and current orders that need to be completed.

the bottom 2 shelves started out natural wood but we spray painted black. there is still more room on each of them for future grown and storage. i like that i am not maxed out already.

they are about half as deep as the tippy top metal shelf, which holds 8 little cube basket things. this is the hardest stuff to access since it is so high and the baskets are two-deep. but up here i have put the things that i only rarely need. its mostly random craft stuff or really weird fabrics that i hardly ever use. not absolutely ideal, but definitely ample. i put duct tape labels on the bottom of each one which i can read through the wire mesh to know which basket to pull down.

i am a happy girl when i am at mission control behind these babies.

5 comments:

  1. I like how you are making your house work for you...we are in a tiny space as well, and I need to do less complaining about that and be more creative about how to make our tiny space work for me!

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  2. Perfect! You know, it wasn't until I let go of big house dreams and learned to be content that God opened the door to bigger. It was literally a couple of months after I remember praying specifically, "Thank you for this small space. Help me learn to be content in it" that we were able to double that in a new-to-us "old" house, the one my mom grew up in! Love your new crafting space. Another thing I had to learn was that my family didn't live in the magazines and floor plans online. I had, and have, to make our space work for us. Go you!

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  3. Stupendous!!! Seriously impressed (again!)

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  4. IKEA fared well and got you set up much better, but you must discover The Container Store!! elfa is a life changer and so customizable!

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  5. LOVE IT!!! My sewing/crafting/bow making area is continually in a disastrous state. I blame it in equal parts on my complete lack of organization and the fact that we're currently renting our house and we haven't put a single hole in the walls (I'm clearly not much of a decorate either). Here in Arizona we are over 3 hours from the nearest IKEA, and I am seriously not okay with that. :)

    Your colorful fabrics showing through your drawers look so yummy and inviting!

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