I've been in my new place since Saturday. I'm surrounded by boxes & bags but have managed to carve out an oasis in my bedroom, the kitchen and the bathroom. The majority of the boxes/bags remaining are mostly related to my book collection and the Sewing Loft.
BTW, I posted a short tour of the Loft on Instagram as it appears now. I'm highly unmotivated to open boxes or bags and have no idea why? Maybe the stress of the last two weeks...maybe because I don't have a deadline...or anyone living with me to push me to unpack...or even the desire to sew? I don't know but while I don't want to unpack, the boxes/bags are annoying the heck out of me! LOL!
o While the Sewing Loft is quite a bit bigger than the sewing cave, the layout is considerably different. As well as the fact that there are very few full walls.
o I love my new sewing tables! They will allow me and someone else to sew in the loft at the same time. Something I was definitely missing in the sewing cave.
o I can walk around the cutting table. This was an important change for me. Although this table is temporary. I will be upgrading it. Am presently looking for a replacement - something sturdy, wider and with some storage. Not one of those flimsy tables that the craft store sells.
o I own a lot of sewing paraphernalia. Packing it up on a deadline pushed me. Without a deadline now, I'm a little challenged to get it back together. Especially since I have no desire to sew either.
A few pictures ~
...as always more later!
I think moving is very stressful. It takes me at least 6 months to regain some equilibrium, and years util I feel "at home." If you had someone to help you with putting your sewing room to rights, even if you won't be sewing for awhile, it might help you feel better.
ReplyDeleteMy granddaughters are coming Friday night and staying to help me all day Saturday unpack fabric. So I am getting some very enthusiastic, youthful help! However, my place makes me feel calm...very very calm...which I so appreciate.
Deletebe careful with the help! I suspect they will find fabric, a lot of fabric that will become requested outfits. this may cost you big!
DeleteRuth - they were scheming when they were packing it up so I'm prepared for that! But now that I have room for 2 to sew, I've told them that I will teach them to sew. And I'm looking forward to that!
DeleteWe are moving after 24 years. I absolutely am dragging my feet to pack up all my fabric and machines and all my stuff. I feel overwhelmed. I feel your pain.
Deletencogneeedo - I totally understand. I'd only lived in my place for nine years so while I accumulated a lot of stuff, it's not the same as 24 years. My only advice to you would be to get rid of all the junk first and be ruthless. I did dump stuff but I periodically give away clothing, shoes and fabric. Even here I will be setting up another clothing giveaway. Mostly though I want to say I understand how you feel...it's a lot!
DeleteI am in the same situation - have not had a proper sewing room since 2017 when my husband passed and I got sick. Most quilting/sewing/needlework etc got packed - but it is all mixed up. Now not only do I get to unpack, but also have to un-mix all the confusion. BUT I do have room to do it all so will take my time and get it done right. I have a lot of stuff because I have been into this since then late 50's.
DeleteCarolyn it takes an amazing amount of energy to move. Time to rest. Everything will happen in it's own time. Love your new sewing space, and so will you.
ReplyDeleteMoving. BLEHHHH.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have more space! I am totally a wall-loving person and I've often looked at places with a loft and ahhhhh that's such a nice sewing space! But then I love walls for ease of adding storage - either free standing or attaching stuff to the walls.
At any rate, we always find a way to make our stuff fit in the space we have. <3
K - I will admit that I was enamored with the light, that my sewing tables/machines would overlook the living room and totally forgot about the walls! *LOL* I also had some challenges when I first saw it because it's different than the model. But I LOVE the light. After sewing with only artificial light it's nice to have real sunlight, or rainstorms or trees blowing in the wind. I'm rethinking the way I use my space which is also beneficial. My challenge is that I'm adamant about having the ability to walk around everything. By the time I moved, I felt so closed in the sewing cave.
DeleteGlad you are moved! Your sewing room looks like it has a lot of potential. You may have mentioned this previously. Where did you get your sewing tables? After moving 2 1/2 years ago, I put my sewing room together using what furniture I already had, except my cutting table. Time to get a better sewing table for serger and coverstitch machine. I do like the light you have in the room and I think once you put your mind to fixing the room, it will look great!
ReplyDeleteLinda - if you don't mind shopping from Amazon, I'm linking to the tables: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078NLCYRW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
DeleteWhen Gaylen's husband set them up, he screwed the plate in tight for where the sewing machine is lowered. I don't plan to raise the plate because I wanted to be able to sew at table level. Also, while the first one went together perfectly, the second one had challenges and he had to make it work. So the two have different amounts of storage.
Finally, make sure your sewing machine fits in the section (that it's wide/long enough) and doesn't weigh more than the suggested 25 lbs.
BTW, I also saw these at Home Depot but I'd already ordered and received mine.
So happy to see a post from you today and glad the move is over. No worries about getting everything in its place as time will take care of that. Here's hoping that the floor of your loft is sturdy enough for all your delicious fabric! Karen
ReplyDeletewould love to know more about the sewing tables. Good luck with the unpacking and setting up. We did a major move 18 months ago with serious downsizing. Takes a bit of time to get it all set up comfortably and to find things, too. Enjoy your new space. It’s lovely and your initial arrangement looks great!!!
ReplyDeleteCarol,
DeleteThe tables are from Amazon. If you don't mind shopping there, here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078NLCYRW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I also saw them at Home Depot.
This is crazy talk, but I just want to come over and unpack and organize your loft! BTW I live in Wisoconsin lol
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see how you put it together.
Taivahalla - actually you're not the first person who offered to help! And if we weren't living in the times we are, I would have had a big unpacking party which would have knocked this out in a weekend!
Deletewhat a pile of boxes. I would be overwhelmed by that too. Maybe just set the timer and work for one hour. Start with the biggest things and see what you can get done in an hour. Then go outside, find a chair or bench, sit down and imagine how lovely the light filled finished space will be. Your blog brightens my day, you deserve some sunshine in your life. I also wish I was close enough to help.
ReplyDeleteFor a cutting table we built a wooden base out of 4/4's and used an old metal desktop for the top of the table. What is great about it is that I can get these really nifty magnets with handles to hold things down. Flimsy is definitely NOT the word to describe this table. I think it could survive a tornado.
ReplyDeleteRenee - I'm looking into all table options but I will start sewing in the room with what I have and upgrade later. I just know that's something I want to change!
DeleteWow! Love your new sewing space! I can highly recommend the cutting table I created out of Ikea pieces. Two 8 compartment Kallax on their sides https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/kallax-shelf-unit-white-80275887/ and one tabletophttps://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/bekant-tabletop-black-stained-ash-veneer-60366303/ bolted to them. It is a dream. Extremely stable, lots of room for a large cutting mat and all of my tools.
ReplyDeleteCathryn - I've seen loads of these IKEA cutting table hacks and watched several YouTube videos to see how they're made. This table is on my potential list...will just have to find someone to build it for me, if I go that route.
DeleteGood to hear from you! I was wondering how the move went. There's always a mixture of excitement, dread, planning and fatigue when moving and resettling, isn't there? I'm just in the beginning of downsizing for a major move out of state that'll happen in about two years. And, yes, it'll take that long to get prepared. So I plan 15 minute intervals to tackle sorting, donating, selling, and trashing stuff. To be honest, it takes a lot of brain power to make anticipate what we'll actually need and want, and what has to find another home. But it gets me up and moving throughout the day, so I'm grateful for that. There are days when I want to ignore those scheduled intervals, but I bite the bullet and just getting started on a small task seems to help. When I look at the total project, I get overwhelmed. So I focus on the small tasks instead. You'll get back to your groove! :-)
ReplyDeleteI love your new space and how excited you are for it to become YOUR space. Having done something similar a few years ago, I have a couple of suggestions. The first is to take your time, let the space talk to you, maybe even try out a small project or two so you can see which things are working where they are and which things need to be moved, that's a LOT easier if the shelves aren't full. The second is that if you leave things the way they are, get another square unit to fill in that corner between the big shelving units, if you don't, stuff will inevitably fall through there and you won't be able to reach it - ask me how I learned that.
ReplyDeleteI would like to suggest turning up the music and setting a timer once or twice a day. If you know in your mind I only have to do this for x minutes and you're playing some of your favorite music you can get through just about anything. :) Congrats on the new space. I'm going to follow my own advice and get through some of the stupid mask pieces that I have cut out on my cutting table. I'm telling myself that once I have sewn together the ones on my table I can start quilting again.
ReplyDeleteMoving packing and unpacking UGH Why not go sit and read again the wonderful piece that SewNews did on you. I felt like "I know a famous person" in print. Great job!
ReplyDeletemy cutting table is a re-purposed high dining room table with a leaf. The height makes it so much easier to cut. (No back pain.) My husband painted it white for me. It's huge and I love it.
ReplyDeleteMoving is very stressful and during a pandemic, even worse. I think we are all getting a little burnt out on all the pandemic stuff....but we'll make it through. Enjoy setting up your space and make it extra special....after all, it's your special place. Have fun with it!
ReplyDeleteI also just wanted to say congratulations on appearing in SewNews magazine! I received the new issue a few days ago, and was so excited when I saw the article on you in it! Happy for you for the recognition of the article, and also happy for you for your move! Have fun with your granddaughters when they come to help you!
ReplyDeleteI just saw you in my new copy of Sew News! I was so excited, I showed it to my son "I follow her blog, she's amazing!" LOL!
ReplyDeleteHonestly I'm thinking just knowing that you're going to need to probably rearrange this space a few times before it feels just right is probably more work than you feel like putting into it right now. Even very good things, that we wanted, and have obtained, can give us a feeling of letdown once we've gotten them. Maybe just clear out a space where you can look out the window without visual distraction, and get to know your loft. How it sounds, what to look at out your window, maybe pick out a piece of your favorite inspiration fabric and sit and hold it while doing this-just sit and experience your space for a few minutes, every day. It probably doesn't feel "right" yet because it's a different space and you aren't making that mental/visual connection to "this is my creative space" because...it isn't. Yet. You have not created in this space, it's thus far quite neutral. You need time to get to know it.
Schmoomom - thanks the Sew News piece was fun to do! The hardest part was choosing pictures.
DeleteMoving is a PITA in the best of times. I'm glad things are coming together in the new house, even if slower than you might like. Sometimes slower is better - it gives a chance to settle in, use things, and change those plans that looked so good on paper. DH keeps looking at my overstuffed sewing room (actually rooms - I've crept into DS's former bedroom also) and asking why I don't just move it all to the basement. I had a sewing space in the basement at our old house, and even though the current basement is not cold, damp and no windows, my mind still says "basement - yuck!" In short - I totally understand falling for the natural light and sort of overlooking the shortage of full walls.
ReplyDeleteGail - After nine years of sewing in the basement, the thought of coming upstairs and natural light definitely blinded me to the wall situation. However, I will admit that when we saw the model it had a very long wall and a shorter wall that would have accommodated my fabric. It is why I chose this place. My unit falls a little short of that in the loft, but makes up for it in so many other ways!
DeleteI knew it would take time to get everything set up...I just didn't count on how exhausted I would be the first couple of days.
Congrats on your new home! Check out Pinterest for IKEA cutting table hacks. It can give you great cutting space at the right height and a lot of storage space quite inexpensively.
ReplyDeleteLove your new space. Did you say what the dimensions were?
ReplyDeleteSame issue with my loft, not having all four full walls. But, I love the light and being able to still feel connected with the rest of the house.
ReplyDeleteRenee- I was inspired by your loft. There was sooooo much light and I was tired of the artificial basement light.
DeleteAmazing sewing space and lack of walls are hardly a problem to me if there is natural light. Loved the tour on Instagram and look forward to seeing the space evolve. What fun to have your granddaughters help.
ReplyDeleteThe loft looks great so far! The efforts of moving always zap the energy levels quite a bit, but I hope that once you start digging into your fabric that it will give you some energy to finish the task so you can really start enjoying your new space (or, at the very least, not be annoyed with the giant stack of unpacked bags and boxes).
ReplyDeleteIt will be wonderful to sew with have natural light! It looks like it's going to really work for you and being able to shelve all of your fabric will be wonderful. Think of all of the treasures you'll find. Enjoy your new space.
ReplyDeleteI moved last year and you would of thought that my now my sewing studio would be completely organize but it's not. I'm just getting to it but it's still a mess. My gold is to reorganize it so I can finally find what I'm looking for. A slow process but it will get done. Best of luck.
ReplyDelete