Saturday, September 08, 2007

Ya Can't Keep A True Fanatic Down...

Well...my son moved my sewing machine upstairs for me so I wouldn't have to manage the stairs with my back out. I found that if I sat up nice and straight, I can still sew. LOL! You know how we crafters are...we're gonna go nuts if we can't create for too long. I managed to knock out this little pillow with the aid of Mr. Doan and his back pills. It's listed on Ebay with a Buy It Now price of $21.99. See the link in the sidebars to my auctions. And if you're interested in getting some of these cute gingers (as well as a large variety of other appliques cut from antique quilts) then do a search on Ebay for vintage_crafter's adorable auctions.



Next project, once I'm good to go, is gonna be a pink and brown gingerbread pillow. Here's a rough sketch of the front (it will have another frame and a large ruffle). The back is going to have a very girly ruffled pocket and a "ballerina" gingerbread doll in a tulle skirt, a pink hair bow and probably a magic wand. :) It will be perfect as a Grandma gift, just tuck in a small gift or a gift card in the little pocket and leave the pillow on your princess' bed!

Friday, September 07, 2007

And She Stumbles Just Short of the Finish Line...

Well, bummer...I have never had a back problem in my life and wouldn't you know it, back pain decides to make its debut right as I'm finishing up this project. I was simply walking through a doorway yesterday when I felt something just "give way" in my lower back. I was suddenly flooded with pain. Whoa! Never had THAT happen before. So this is what people are talking about when they're whining about back pain. I'll be more sympathetic from now on! *g*

Anyway, just putting my clothes on and driving my kid to school will take heroic effort on my part. So finishing up this room or doing anything besides lying on the couch feeling sorry for myself is out for awhile. I will finish up my room, report here and resume regular blogging as soon as this passes. And I hope it passes quickly because simply lying around has never been my forte.

Charity

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

And into the home stretch...

Okay...third wall is complete. This one only needed a little tidying as I had set up my fabric storage a couple of years ago. Now I'm into the home stretch. The final wall is a big mess. It might take a day or two to get it completed. And the next project will be to revise my floor plan with new electrical outlet locations and new lighting plans. Since we're doubling the room, I have to rethink these things.

Fabric storage is simple white wire shelves with plastic bins, organized by color. Under the shelves are large bins for bulky fabrics and small drawer units for my fat quarters, cuts under a yard and trims. At the end of the wall is an area for hanging garments in progress and special occasion fabrics that I don't want folded and crammed into baskets.



Under the hanging garments area is a rolling cart that I use for works in progress. Each basket contains an unfinished project or a project that I want to be tackled next. Everything needed pattern, fabric, notions, etc. are in the basket and ready to go! Because it's on wheels, I can roll it over to my machine area when work starts!



Will post final pics tomm. or the next day.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Wanna Make a Dolly?

I've only sewn two dolls in my lifetime. The first was one of my earliest "real" sewing projects. It was a Holly Hobbie doll. I was about 11 yo at the time and it didn't turn out bad at all. The second was an 18 inch doll that I made for a friend's daughter. I also made her a gorgeous wardrobe and an armoire to hang them all in. It was great fun! I found two vintage Sunset stitchery doll kits at a thrift store a couple of weeks ago and it brought the memories all back again. The Christmas doll sold already, but I still have this one left. It looks slightly "flapper"-ish to me. :) If she doesnt' sell, I think I will keep her myself, but alter her clothes a bit. I'm thinking more glitz and glam in black maribou and sequins. Something kind of Audrey Hepburn-ish. That is if you don't grab her first! :) If you're interested, click here

UPDATE - Sorry, but the doll kit has sold!


And this is kind of how I'd gussy (hussy?) her up...

And so it goes...

Still slugging away down in the depths of our basement...Today I worked on two 6 ft. shelves that hold the bulk of my completed creations (listed or waiting to be listed) and a good chunk of my craft supplies. This is the second wall. When the studio is completed this wall will be 22 ft long. The machine area will wrap the corner and take up about the first 8 ft or so of this wall. The next 6 ft. will be a Quilt Layout Wall, a section of wall upholstered with batting and flannel for laying out quilt squares into a final design. The remainder of the wall will be the open shelves depicted below as well as two closed storage 6 ft. cabinets. I have to measure this out. I think I might have more plans for this wall than I have wall. :)



The top two shelves of the first unit are papercrafts and small crafts that are listed on either Ebay or Etsy.



Very bad pic. I couldn't get enough light into the cabinet. Will try to retake it later.



These shoesboxes hold various craft supplies such as birds, cloches, florals, pinecones, wood shapes, etc. Tags help me locate items quickly while adding color. Items are filed alphabetically. On the bottom is a large crate of greens and my buttons color-separated in floss boxes.



Top shelf of the second cabinet contains papercrafting supplies in adorable 40s-style boxes, a 70s era hatbox and a vintage juice carafe.



Second shelf utilizes glass jars. The floral cannister set I found at a thrift store for next to nothing. I spray-painted their wood lids red to better match the color scheme. They hold wood eggs, faux snow, plastic pellets, and white millinery. The small corked bottles hold silver and gold glitter and jingle bells. A glass bowl holds seashells and some mercury antique birds that I found recently and absolutely adore. Smallest bottle holds my rusted safety pins (and it looks like I need to make another batch asap!).



The third shelf utilizes tins and hatboxes in red and black that I have picked up over the last few years. They are clearly marked as to their contents.



The bottom two shelves holds pillows currently on sale and boxes and papermache items awaiting their new looks.



I found this cart for 60% off the last clearance price at Fred Meyer's this weekend. It is heavy-duty solid and I got it for a steal of a price. I am using it as my "primitive gatherings" cart. The top holds the tray or butcher block and the drawers the various needfuls and necessaries. For those of you who aren't sure what a "gathering" is, I've provided a photo. I usually do a half dozen or so of these in the Fall so watch my Ebay auctions over the next few months.



Monday, September 03, 2007

Sewing Room Reorganization - Machine Area

I'm continuing my parameter sweep of the sewing room. I figure I may as well tackle this now so that the expansion and construction process will go smoother with stuff culled, tidyied and contained for easier shifting around as the electrical work and sheetrock goes in.

Today I focused on the machine area. Right now this is simply an old drafting table top supported on sawhorses. Lovely, huh? The final version will be made from red laminate countertops with white cabinetry above and below (with kneeholes for machine sections, of course). It will turn the corner and continue about another 8 feet or so. This will allow me to have my two sewing machines, two sergers and embroidery machine all set up at the same time. That way I can have each machine set up for different functions and won't have to continually rethread and readjust tensions!



I covered the nasty old drafting table top with some red plaid padded shelf liner. This not only brought a little color and an easy clean surface, but it will prevent my machines from "walking" through vibration on a hard surface. I upholstered and cork-boarded the back of my library shelves for pinning up inspirational photos, pattern instructions, etc. DH still needs to finish up the raw edges of the upholstered section with a yardstick frame.



These shelves are temporary and will eventually be replaced with white cabinetry - some with glass doors to allow "pretties" to show through. The various boxes and tins contain sewing necessities.













This is kind of how I would eventually like to see this room turn out! This is a pic from Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine.

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Studio Reorganization

I've decided to redo the organization in my studio so that the construction project will go smoother. I'm just starting at the door and working my way around the perimeter of the room. This is what I got done this weekend, my crafting library...



I have some more of the Mary Engelbreit magazine boxes on order so that I can get rid of those nasty teal and green plastic ones on the second shelf.




These are some adorable French letter tiles my mother-in-law bought me a couple of years ago. I've been waiting for the perfect place to put them and my studio seemed like the spot! Aren't they sweet? :)


Tomorrow I'm moving on to the machine construction area.