Quiltingboard Forums - New sewing rooms are organized!

As you may know from other posts, I'm a new quilter, but not new to sewing. My beloved Aunti died suddenly last May, and we've been given a large chunk of her vast collection of quilting fabrics, tools (including one of her three sewing machines), etc. Digesting all this bounty has taken about a month. But, it's done at last and I'm sew pleased with it that I had to share. (I've gleaned so much from others' great ideas that I don't think there's much new here, but I'll share anyways, 'cause we all like to geek out about this stuff, right? Right!) ;)

I have two rooms that have changed since Aunti's bequest came into my life: my bedroom and an adjacent den (we call it the pass-thru room, 'cause in our antique farmhouse, it's a room that has four doors: one to the other bedrooms and stairs, one to the outside deck, one to our bedroom, and one to the only bathroom on this floor. There are a lot of doors and some walls, so here's what we did!

The pass-thru room WAS our movie room/TV and Lego center (for the grandkids). This hadn't been using it much, and when the grandkids were here, it wasn't that great because the movies woke up the babies who slept in adjacent guest rooms. So, out with the old idea, in with the new! Here's the "before" shot:

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You can see in this picture the shelves that housed our movies, a couch, and my bedroom beyond. Note the fish tank and window (you'll see them soon again!). :D There was a small love seat in front of the window, which mostly I used to fold laundry. We relocated it downstairs.

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In the pass-thru room, we removed the red couch, exposing the full wall. I got some 8" deep finished lumber, stain, and some angle irons. My husband helped me to build wider shelves below the movie shelves by screwing brackets to the board wall.

Then, I had to arrange all the fabrics that I had inherited. I wrapped any fabrics that were 1 yd. or longer on the polar notions boards that Aunti had left. It took me two weeks to iron, wrap, and label all of them. I arranged them by color, and then on the shelves (in descending order) I stacked fat quarters, 1/4 yd. pieces, 1/2 yd. pieces, and 2/3-3/4 yd. pieces.

Here they are all done:

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In my bedroom, we relocated my small couch and placed my new sewing machine. I love the west-facing, natural light during the day. (In winter, I am never blinded because a ridge out the window shields me from direct sunlight; in summer, trees also help shield this window from western sun glare.)

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After working in these spaces for a bit using folding tables, I realized that I needed a cutting table, and could use more storage. After searching Pinterest, I decided on using four ClosetMaid cubby units. (I searched the 'net and bought them from Walmart at $39/each and free shipping. They came in a few days!)

I placed one unit on each end, and two back to back in the middle. This means that I have a knee hole where I can sit on a bar stool with my back to the fabric wall if I want to do applique work at this table. It also means that the cubbies on the front are double-deep, so I can store my longest rulers right to hand where I can use them. We used simple, half-inch plywood for the top. Here is a half-finished shot:

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I had one of those 3' X 5' cutting mats from Aunti, and I read about creating perfect pressing boards using boards, cotton batting, and canvas. I had both of these on hand. So, using the nearby bathroom floor, we covered the 3' X 5' table top with batting and canvas to create a perfect pressing surface.

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So, now, my cutting table (36 1/2" high) is a pressing surface and a cutting surface with tons of storage underneath and the ability to sit up to it (on the back side). It's great for laying out lap quilts so I can ponder my quilting options after piecing, too, which is what's going on in these pictures:

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Note that we didn't put any bracing or extra framing. We just laid the top down on the cubbie units. This is because we're not sure if we'll want to leave this here forever or move it around someday. It's very stable and solid as is; the rug helps to hold it in place.

On the opposing wall of the pass-thru room, I have a rolltop desk that I bought off Craig's List that I didn't want to lose. I culled about 75 books from Aunti's collection (she had over 500, I guesstimate), so my husband and I put up similar shelves over my desk to store them. I also have my biggest rulers stored there, on top.

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That's it! What do you think?