I am just moving from a 2 bedroom to a 3 bedroom condo -- the lure being having a huge room to use as my sewing room. It opens onto a glass enclosed porch that will house my new mid-arm HQ Avante. So I wonder -- what is one thing that you suggest that I absolutely must have? It might be something that you have re-purposed to use in your sewing area; it might be an inexpensive notion or an expensive piece of furniture. I want to know what I should look for to add!

I am excited that I will no longer be sewing on the dining room table and will be able to keep things set up all the time.

Peace and quiet :lol:

Plenty of light

Table with a well for the machine bed to be at the same level as the table

Cabinets with doors to protect the fabric from dust

Nice chair

Spool racks for the thread (also covered with plastic

If I had a mansion or a hovel, I would insist on the metal shelves I just got a week ago. They are so very space saving. They are taller than I am and there are 5 shelves in the unit. I love it and wish I had bought them years ago.

An ergonomically correct chair and supportive shoes (for when I quilt standing up).

For me the #1 must have is a good comfortable, adjustable chair.

After that, plugs where you need them (not where the builder decided they should be back in 1923!) plenty of shelves, various sizes of clear plastic storage boxes, lots of pins (both yellow headed straight pins and safety pins of various sizes), several pin cushions (in various places), a good iron and a larger ironing board than the over-the-door one that I have, and nobody else using my space for anything else!

Didn't think about the outlets - but got everything else! And I love the first response that i go that said "Peace and quiet"

CD player and lots of CDs--I play them loud so I don't hear the phone ring!!

diet dew!!!

CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!

Congrats!!
I would say a place for my ironing board so I don't have to keep moving it.

Good lighting and a comfortable chair and large table.

Oh, and my most used item is a razor blade to rip out stitches! :lol: :lol:

A huge container of red licorice, my Ipod and Bose stereo and plenty of light. Oh and earplugs for the cat, I tend to raise the volume when I sew. :)

I have pretty much everything I need in my sewing room, for sewing in general. But lately I have been sewing a lot. I have lots of drawers for things, and thought I was so organized. However, after every product I had such a mess to clean up. My table was littered with marking pens and scissors and snippers, and all the other stuff.

Well, I have a cute fabric basket my daughter gave me years ago that I was using for stamps and notepads and such. It has a central place and lots of pockets. I decided it would work better to keep all the often used tools in one place. I am still teaching myself how to put things back in it and that is a challenge, but it is working very well. It takes just a few minutes to straighten up my spot instead of much longer. And it is actually making my work go faster since I am not constantly searching for what I need.

a large cutting area, a good quality iron, and a pomeranian to sleep at your feet.

TV and/or iPod with speakers. It's really difficult for me to quilt in silence... I start talking to the fabric

Besides what everyone else is saying.....chocolate :lol:
I wish I had a design wall. I don't have space :cry:
Enjoy your space :thumbup:

A nice comfortable chair that raises up and down! I have a computer chair and has the air seat lumbar. I bought it at an office supply store, love it!

KATIA -- I have a folding buffet caddy made from an Hawaiian print that I use for classes that i will now put on the table. It holds my snips, cutters, markers and cell phone. I should use it all the time and not just for classes. Thanks for reminding me to get it out!

And instead of a Pom, I have two cats. Missy likes to sit on the top of my machine!

Besides all the furniture, cabinets, tools and equipment, make your sewing room YOURS, and yours alone! In my room, I have favorite family/friends pix everywhere, dried flowers and mementos from my past.....treasures that sat in trunks or boxes for years that mean little to others, but the world to me. :) And just for fun: hanging on the doorknob is a handmade wooden sign "No Boys Allowed" !

First of all, CONGRATS!!! A really good ergo chair, sharp scissors and cutters, peace, and few if any interruptions. Oh and my computer and printer.

just to get it clean and keep it that way

I LOVE my drafting table I got at a garage sale for $3--set up flat & is a nice tall height for cutting & getting my embroidery hoops set up. Also have a TV as I'm a night owl & spend many nights with Letterman & Craig Ferguson

What I really would like to have? Somebody to clean up after me!!! That would be the best time saver!!!

:lol: Ditter

A door. My room has no door right now and I am always getting interupted.

I found that a bulletin board hanging on the wall behind my machine was an excellent place to hang pattern instuctions when I was using patterns. I plan to have one behind my machine again so I can post my quilt pattern/instructions. It was easier to look up than to grab the instructions from the side. I also had one of those little metal boxes with lots of drawers (now they are plastic) that sat on my sewing table behind my machine and to the right (I am right-handed). I kept extra empty bobbins in one drawer. There were lots of drawers for extra machine needles/sewing needles. Both items were very handy and saved me much time. Enjoy your new room! Can't wait until I have one again of my own.

I agree.

Good lighting
TV
Stations that are easy to reach and force me to get up from time to time.
Enough space to be able to move around without bumping into shelves or having to tiptoe. (I look like the hippo ballerina from Fantasia in my room. lol)
Solid table at a good cutting height.
Floor that is easy to clean and easy to find pins. (No carpet for me.)

Organization! And with a twitch of the nose for it to stay that way.

A design wall. I have a 16ft. x 8ft. design wall area and it stays full all the time.

Good Lighting!

Oh something else I've found quite useful is one of those hanging shoe or jewelry organizers with all the pockets...you can make your own with pockets of various sizes for all the little things you want handy, but sorted...extra bobbins, spools of thread (if you don't have a spool caddy), scissors, snips, extra needles, marking chalk, pens, notepad, whatever...just hang it right by your sewing machine or cutting area.

A table so u can lay your work out and leave it out so when u r done and come back 2 it u will know where your at. My DH put mine so that it falls down from the wall. It up when its not in use to give me more floor space. which is great.

TMG: what a great idea for a "collapsible" table. That's my biggest problem. My room is small and I use a round drop leaf table that's elevated on wood blocks to cutting height. It's only 36" across when opened. I'd love to have a large cutting and work area.

Good lighting! Things you love on the wall. a thread catcher/pin cushion by your sewing machine.

Floor mats, the rubber type that lock together for both sides of your Avente.
Congradulations!!

Tons of bobbins for the Avente, extra needles for it in sizes 16, 18, and 20. Lots and lots of thread, muslin and/or cheap sheets to practice on.
I also have a peg board for my rulers and template I use on my HQ16. I like having paper and pencil near my frame to practice quilting design. Long tape measure and scissors , both small and large that stay at the frame. Wet erase markers, dry erase board and markers.
These are all things I have and use at my frame.

I found a smaller farm table at a liquidation sale for $20. It's just the right size for a cutting table and I put bed risers underneath the legs so it will be the proper height. No backache while I'm cutting! I painted a sheet of pegboard, my husband hung it over the cutting table for me and I hang all my rulers, rotary cutters and anything else I use at the cutting table. I have found the cutting area to be as handy as a pocket!

Everything that the ladies are mentioning is great-but my first thought was what great light you will have on your sun porch. I'd make sure you can shade yourself and your fabric from the sun when you need to--so you don't fade from the heat and your fabric doesn't fade from the UV. How lucky you are to have a room of your own for your hobby. I think you'll find you get so much more done when you can leave projects which are in progress out so you can snatch 10 minutes on them here and there. Enjoy!

Good lighting is most important to me.

Good lighting, roller cabinets for thread and notions, cutting table, good iron & board. Good desk type chair at proper height. Life don't get any better.