Letting the Light In

The new light in my sewing room was installed last week.  I just love, love, love it!!!!  Have you seen the show American Pickers?  Sometimes Mike, Frank, and Danielle find industrial fixtures on their adventures in old abandoned buildings.  Since I don’ t have $500 to spend on a rescued light from their shop, I found a pretty decent substitute at Lowes.  It’s industrial and modern looking and was just the right price!

It also helped that a reviewer said “you can perform open heart surgery under this light.”  That sounds about right for a sewing room!

The only drawback is the Edison bulbs emit a yellowish instead of white light.  It’s a small price to pay though and a drawback I’m totally willing to live with.  I took this photo of the light illuminated at light so you can see the yellow glow.

Speaking of light, my friend Sara sent this heart wall hanging to me recently which brought a lot of much-needed light into my life.  I’ve been having a bad couple of months on a personal level, so this was just the ticket to brighten my spirits.  You hear it so many times, but it’s true, the people in the quilting community are so generous and warm-spirited.

I love the fabrics she chose for the squares and polka dot binding since purple is my favorite color ever!  And the handstitching around makes it even more special.  I don’t know how she found time to make this heart plus all the other beautiful quilts and stitched projects she shares on her blog Growing Stitches.  Did I mention she’s also 39 weeks pregnant!!!???  She’s one busy mama!  Thank you, Sara, it looks fantastic hanging in my sewing room!

She was worried the coral color looked a little orange, but I think it’s the perfect compliment to the purple, so much that I used these colors for the inspiration for my next quilt.  The fabrics are all from The Intrepid Thread.

Have a super Wednesday and hope everyone is staying warm!

My New Sewing Space {or more aptly “Ode to Ikea”}

My sewing space is just about finished.  It’s been painted and stocked, just a few little tasks left to complete. 

The room gets a lot of natural light during the morning hours.  I’ve got my regular sewing machine on a desk my husband altered so my machine sits flush with the tabletop.  What a difference that makes!

My kids Beatrix and Esther have their own machines set up permanently in the room.  Veronica has her own stool so she can join in the fun.  The old orange leather and chrome stools were free from the dump; the yellow stool was a Craigslist find.  {White Ikea table from Freecycle}

Stash organized ROY G BIV style.  Scraps organized by color too, although I need to get crackin’ using those scraps so they can fit more comfortably in the bins.  {Storage shelf & plastic bins from Ikea}

And lastly all the rest of my fabric, quilt tops, WIPs, and notions are stored in this amazing storage unit {also from Ikea, called the “Algot”} and boy can it hold a lot of stuff! 

Here’s the Innova 18” longarm I mentioned.  I’ve already quilted my first quilt on it and can’t wait to do another.  You can still see the dining room in the background—we just picked out French doors and they will be installed in the next two weeks, weather permitting…

Oreo thinks the longarm is her own personal cat hammock. 

My plan is to get the Penny Patch quilt on the frame today and get that one started.  Have a great weekend!

The Winter Blahs

I think yesterday was the last cold day for southern Maryland.   Every day next week will be in the 60’s and 70’s.  Hurray!  I am tired of winter.  Even this squirrel that hangs out in my plastic chair every morning enjoying the sunshine is ready for spring!  When I see him, I bang on the window, but he doesn’t even bat a squirrel eyelash!

My sewing room makeover is almost finished.  In between waiting for the last coats of paint to dry I am working on this blog post.  I haven’t painted the ceiling yet, but that will be another weekend.  I have seen a lot of beautiful sewing rooms with white desks, shelves, and cabinets and I really love that look.  BUT…

My sewing room is dark.  The tables are dark, the shelves are dark, even my kids’ craft table is dark wood.  The only thing light colored are the walls.  I painted the them a really light grayish white called “Toasted Coconut.”   Here’s a really sad confession:  Our home is about 30 years old.  The walls in this room and our bedroom have never, ever been painted.  They are the white matte color that builders spray on the drywall. 

Anyway, I live with a man who would not appreciate me painting any of the shelves or furniture white.  So we are living with dark wood.

Here is one of the newest acquisitions in my sewing room, a glass front storage hutch from Ikea.  I picked it up at Salvation Army for $20 a few months ago and it’s been sitting in the garage until last week.

I had to have it when I saw the cool skeleton key in the front lock.  It works.  But I don’t keep the key in it because one of the kids runs off with it every time I leave it in the keyhole.

I spray painted the glass to look frosted.  I don’t recommend it.  But I read some reviews for the stick on kind and one person said it looked like she’d gotten drunk and glued saran wrap to her window.  So, I think this is pretty good considering.  It hides the clutter behind the doors.  My husband added new magnetic closures and braces since the kids keep leaning on the doors when they are open. 

I have some other treasure store finds to share once my room is put back together!