Monday, May 14, 2012

A face lift for my sewing room!


Last week I decided to spend some time doing a major re-organization of my sewing room. I had project piles all over the place and it was making it hard to find the inspiration (or space) to work on anything!


So I sat down with pinterest and found some great inspiration. Then I researched on Ikea's website. Did you know you can click items onto a shopping list and print it out to take with you to the store?? That helped keep me on track in the store! 


I managed to get out of Ikea spending only $30! That was the maximum amount I wanted to spend on this project. In all truthfulness I spent about $35 if you include the screws, wall spacers, and the 2.5 gallon Ziploc bags. Still that's pretty awesome right?

I'm still on the look out for a clear hanging toiletry hanger (or some cheap clear vinyl to make one). But that can wait since most of my notions are well organized right now. 


I'm really proud of that tool rail! Wally helped me install it. I used the drill and everything (thankfully my BIL had a drill). The tool rail and magnet rail installed really easily. I highly recommend them! Did you notice that magnet rail? It's supposed to be used to hold knives... but now it holds my metal bobbins and the feet for my Juki! It's so quick and easy to switch things out now - no more sorting through that Ziploc full of unraveling bobbins! 

My drawers came back into the room. So far Allie has stayed away from it all - I'll have to be super careful with her though. She knows there's good stuff in there! The first couple nights I removed the rotary cutters and scissors from the rail before bed (just in case) but she has shown no interest in them so I'll cautiously leave them up for now. 

The one on the right was made with fusible fleece - it is the best one -- unfortunately
 I only had enough of it on hand for the one. The others have warm & natural inside.
I also hung some art and some minis. Some of my favorite mug rugs are on display on the side of my wardrobe. The scrap box is off the floor and now stored in these adorable fabric buckets I made. They came together so quickly... I followed this tutorial - but didn't hand sew them. I did it all by machine. They're a little rougher than if I had hand sewn them... but I got the job done. The buckets sort my scraps: warm, cool, neutral/interfacing. 


All my sewing machines are on the bottom of the wardrobe and the WIP's are hanging on pant hangers (again from Ikea). I used those 2.5 gallon zip bags for this. They're wonderful! I can have several blocks, and a stack of FQ's in there without a problem!


I'm pretty inspired by this whole setup. I haven't gone back to re-fold my stash and organize that (it's in one side of that little storage desk there. Yes that isn't a lot of fabric is it? Be sure to tell Wally that I need more. :) See why I work with teeny tiny piecing? My stash is teeny tiny! 

(linking up to Fabric Tuesday and WIP Wednesday)
As you can see in that last picture... not much progress has been made in those WIP's!! But I keep starting and finishing small side projects.

15 comments:

  1. oooh, that looks great - I am so envious! My sewing room is also my office and it is a TOTAL tip!

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  2. What a happy, quilty place! It makes me want to clear off my table & shelves too. :)

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  3. It looks great!! Having a space that is neatly organized and beautiful makes creating so much better!! I love it!

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  4. I saw some clear hanging toiletry bags at Tuesday Morning for a good price. Hopefully you have one of them near by. But be careful in one of those stores - they have a tendency like IKEA to try to suck you in for more than you had planned. I like your idea of hanging up your WIPs. Mine just sit on top of the half shelves that hold my stash. I figure if I fill up that space then I'm not allowed to create any more WIPs without finishing something first :) But your system looks great!

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  5. What a great make-over! love your use of the space and using other random tools and gadgets to create a practical space! =D

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  6. Oh Emily this looks amazing! Janice looks very at home and fingers crossed that Allie doesn't think any of your new organizing stuff is cool to play with! I also see a certain something hanging in your closet that I am longing to get back...ya know once I finish yours!

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  7. Your sewing space looks great! I need to overhaul mine, too, but I need to rid of a bunch of other crafty stuff first (scrapbooking and stamping stuff that I'm not using). I've been wanting one of those magnetic bars for a while....just not really sure what I would stick to it :)

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  8. Looks like you have some great ideas for organizing! I love how tidy your room looks...maybe if I adopt some of your methods my room could be that neat?! It looks lovely...a great space to create in!

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  9. Love how you've hung up your WIPs. Much better than my current system of piling... :)

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  10. It came out great and there are some fun ideas I'll have to incorporate.

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  11. Looking great! I love your bunting!

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  12. Lovely! I'm jealous. Ikea is a great place to go for ideas. I especially like your mason jars of fabric scraps. Cute!

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  13. Isn't it great to be organized? And I like that you did it on a budget. I did the same. I bought shelving from a thrift store and from Ikea's 'as is' department. Slightly damaged but who cares. Leaves more money for fabric. Hope you get inspired to make more beautiful things!

    BTW, I am being featured on Quiltstory today and my story includes a link to one of your posts. It inspired the name of my quilt! Be sure to check it out!

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  14. Your new sewing room looks so inviting. I think I would have a hard time leaving. Enjoy!

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  15. I like your redo. I have lots of glass jars to use for small scraps. I have not been motivated yet. I just redid my sewing room too. I feel like I am much more organized.

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