retrogirl02

OH MY GOSH! You ladies are wonderful...my list of goodies is growing quickly. Luckily my husband is a sweetheart and will gladly help get this mess in order.

This week I'm taking inventory of my material, washing & ironing all that needs it so I can find a way to set up my shelves...and hopefully go shopping for a few items, including some new baskets/containers to store all of it in.

I feel bad...my hubby bought me an ipod and I told him I didn't need it (about 3 years ago) and asked him to return it. Do I dare tell him I changed my mind? LOL. :lol:

Keep the ideas coming, please! All input is welcome.

Barb M

Oh thank you Patty for showing me what the bed risers are, very good idea :)

Guess what i got today everyone? I have a large cutting mat, but i've been wanting a small one to have beside my sewing machine, so i dont have to get up to trim as i sew, and i found a small one 6x8" at the dollar store today for a buck! So i'm happy. So i would say this would be a mu7st have. I think a design wall, which i dont have yet, is a must have, so im gonna get a flanel baqcked table cloth for me to design on. And i think another must have, which i also havent done yet lol, is a small iron and board right beside sewing machine. I also think an ironing board with printed measuring grids on it is a must have. The ones i have seen at wal-mart are very expensive, and where the fabric cover is stretched, the lines are stretched out too, so im not going to pay that kind of money for one that is stretched. Right now, i lay a ruler down on my ironing board, so when i iron, i can tell if i need to stretch the fabric a bit bigger while i iron, or do no stretching lol. I think me and hubby will make me a small ironong board, and then i will use a perma pen to put a grid on it, i think that would work great :) It's also very important to have a stash of chocolate and coca cola nearby :) :)

retrogirl02

Barb,
You crack me up ~ yes, I forgot Coke as a must have LOL.
Absolutely.

retrogirl02

Thanks all for your thoughts...washing, drying and ironing didn't go as quickly as I expected....still more fabric to do (not that I'm complaining, mind you).

I showed my husband the hook pics and can't wait to get some of those little goodies....I thought having a hook for my scissors right next to my machine would be nice. I'm always setting them down somewhere and then forget where and have to get up for another pair. Oh the disorganization!

I'm thinking if I tried living my life slightly more organized, I'd have more time to quilt LOL. Just a theory, though. We'll see how long this project takes. It's got to be quick because it's already taking away precious quilting time.

RUTH CLARKE

Janeen - I am so glad it worked!!!

I must have my good scissors, bits of fabric for starting and stopping stitching so I dont get threads everywhere, my fabulous new iron and ironing board - Hubbie and kids bought me them for mothers day was so happy.

Also need my cutting mat, rotary cutter, needle threader for hand sewing, glasses to see, music to sing to (when no one is around except the dogs who love to join in) or to dance to when the muscles get tight or the brain get exasperated with unpicking. Need tea to drink to aid contemplation how I will fix the mess that I have just made. And chocolate to celebrate when it goes right!

Oh nearly forgot my Bernina Aurora 440 - my baby - another present from Hubbie & kids ...

Quiltinsolitude

I know this sounds crazy, but you can NEVER have enough empty altoids tins - I keep quilting pins in one, regular straight pins in another, safety pins in a third . . .and at one point when I was using shell buttons for fish eyes on a quilt top, I had an altoid tin full of shell buttons! The wonderful thing about these is that they are recycled, so I get to think I'm doing something green LOL

Izy

Well I might as well admit that JUST today I discovered the benefits of spray starch...now you know I am a newbie tee hee!! - How much easier does it make squaring up when you have cut on the bias!! :shock: I am doing another crumb block quilt and it has made such a difference, don't think I will be without a tin by my side now!!! :lol: :lol:

barnbum

I have two Play School wooden sewing baskets--very old. I picked them up at antique stores for a few dollars. Hold lots of odd stuff. :D

I really like my quilting calendar in there.

My room is tiny--so everything has to be useful.

It's funny--I never listen to music while I sew--or do anything actually. I love the quiet.

DreamXer

I couldn't do without my photos of friends and family, my design board (I made it from an old bunk bed mattress frame), the window, the couch, or my notebook so I can jot down ideas or just doodle...

I like the idea of the bed risers - maybe I could use them on my sewing table...

Barb M

Oh i'm with you Karla, i LOVE quiet too, and if i had to listen to music, and think at the same time, that would just multi-task my brain lol seriously...anyways, we
re in a small 2 bedroom apt, but our bedroom is huge. So in bedroom is bed, two clothing dressers, a fabric dresser, two bookshelves, one for hubby, one for me, our computer, and, a big ol kitchen table with my sewing machine on it. under sewing machine is more boxes of fabric lol, and closet has boxes of fabric. The ensuite bathroom is also MINE lol. Have small ironing board, and my cutting mat, on bathroom counter. Love having sewing and computer all in the bedroom. Above my sewing table are some shelves, with two lamps, and containers with all my threads and bobbins and things. I use my bed as my design board, and for sandwiching quilts, but thats a back breaker, so new plan coming for that. A pad of graph paper is a must for doodling and designing. piece of maskig tape on my machine gives me my exact 1/4" inch, and i always always use a cheater patch to start and finish seams now....so much easier doing it that way! And saves a ton of thread