I grew up on a farm in a small house with 3 siblings. Mom and Dad's bedroom was small, and while there was at least one crib in there, Mom had her sewing machine cabinet in the kitchen. When the children all moved upstairs, she moved the sewing machine into the little space along side of her bed. It was usually covered with mending.
Some of my fondest memories are of lying on the bed talking to Mom's back (you say a lot more when you don't have to make eye contact) while she was sewing.
To this day I can't figure out where she kept all of the fabric! When they retired and moved to town, there were 40 years of Dad's farm records that came out of her closet.
Dayle