Sewing Space

I really enjoy sewing. I love to sit down at my machine when I've got a few minutes and throw together something useful. Now, I'm not a great seamstress, by any means, but I can generally come up with something workable, given enough time and some extra fabric to cobble together my mistakes.



But, getting the machine out and commandeering the dining room table was an ordeal. I usually have free time in the evenings, and that's the time when we're trying to pull together dinner and it's just a mess. Leaving the machine out for longer than a day was really difficult, because it tied up the dining area.

So, I did some 'net searching and looked at a lot of sewing room plans and photos, and came to the conclusion that our guest room had extra, unused space that just might make a nice sewing area. First, we moved the furniture along one wall. Then, I pulled out an old card table and traded the entryway table for something a little more modern.

And the Princess and I (with a little help from a curious chihuahua) put together a permanent sewing area.

I used the card table as a cutting/ironing table, with a couple of shelves for fabric storage tucked underneath and out of the way.

And I added a design board above the sewing table, for inspiration as well as for putting together quilt blocks. I just stuck some random fabric up to see if it worked (it does), but at some point I'll start a quilt and I'll be able to use the design board to plan out my block placement.

And, now, if I want to work on a project over several days (or even weeks), I can do that without disrupting everyone's routine. The best part, though, is that both tables fold away and there's ample room in the guest closet for all of the mess if we're having guests. This way they don't have to feel like the "guest" part of the room is an afterthought, nor do they have to tiptoe around my mess. I can leave one table and chair out as a writing desk and whisk everything else into the closet. And I have a sewing space of my own, finally!