I haven't done much sewing/quilting this week at all. I did meet a new friend and that was a lot of fun. A lady that has the same quilting machine as mine asked if she could come to see my setup as hers wasn't set up yet and she was stymied. That of course required that I clean up the sewing room until it was presentable for company. It al
so motivated me to make some changes for 'temporary fix' to "final solution' on some items.
A while back I need a design wall for a project I was working on. My quick fix was to tack a fleece blanket to the wall. Precarious, droopy, but served the purpose at the time. This week I bought a piece of wooden stripping, stapled the blanket to it, installed a couple of picture hooks and hung the wood&blanket from it. No more droop, considerably more stable. Since I was already on the ladder, I also strung the thread tiki lights along the top just for laughs.
I took the practice pieces off the quilting machine and put on a piece of paper (I buy cheap gift wrap when it’s on sale and cheaper still) so that I could demonstrate the machine and she would be able to see the patterns, placement, etc. That's what you see on the frame-the wrong side of some Christmas paper.
Then it occurred to me that we would need an extra chair in the sewing room. One of my boys had had a chair, but somewhere along the line the back had come off and disappeared into oblivion. As I cleaned I had thrown my scraps and leftover project pieces into a basket to be cut up for future scrap projects.....I had just put in something that would be about the right size for the back of the chair. Well, of course that required that I stop cleaning immediately and make a back for the chair (can you say ADD boys and girls??). There were two pieces that I was able to use as a front and a back, but it seemed too light weight, so I found a piece of batting from the same scrap basket and put it between the two pieces. Presto Chango- a seat back, which coordinates with the actual seat in less than half an hour.....and I needed to take a break from cleaning, anyhow!
The bottom line is after all the straightening and making changes, we had a delightful visit, got along like a house on fire and plan to stay in touch. However after getting all my surfaces cleaned off, I don't want to mess them up again!! It took until this morning for me to go in and cut some more bricks for the Bricks and Stepping Stones and to sew a few of them together. hmmmmmm, I wonder how long it will stay neat?? And –ever wonder why we make do for so long with stop gap solutions instead of doing things up properly for ourselves from the get go?
14 comments:
Hoq clever of you on the chair back and I love those spool lights! What better place to hang them for a bit of serendipity!
That is a great idea for the chair back. I love those lights - they are too cute! I have been doing the same thing with my desk; it needs fixing, but instead of taking the time to do it, I just go strait to sewing and pretend it isn't broken because it would eat into my precious quilting time to fix it.
The chair back is cute. It is amazing how we can live with little things broken and messy and only fix them or clean them when company comes or we just can't stand it any more!
Right now my challenge is curtains in my studio. I have a tree right outside the window so for the summer no one can see in. But once the leaves start to fall I will be needing curtains.
My Mom's favorite line is 'What would we do if we never had company?!?!?!?'The nooks and crannies would never get cleaned. You do have a nice set up.... Have fun sewing...
Melanie
sounds like a productive time for you -- you got cleaning done and your new friend got longarm instructions... mutually benefitial :-)
Nice use for the thread lights... and great idea for the chair back!
Love the chair back solution! What kind of frame is that you are using with your sewing machine? I never thought of practicing on paper! Love the design wall, especially with those great lights!
I really like those tiki lights!
Some of my best cleaning and organizing has been done because I have company coming. Good job! The chair looks great!
I think it's because we don't want to slow down and take the time out from quilting for cleaning and finding permanent solutions!
With my house for sale every other room in the house is neat and clean - my studio however is still a mess. It seems like the more I go through things to organize them the messier it looks.
It doesn't help that I'm trying to downsize so there are piles everywhere for things to keep and things to give away AND the trash cans are overflowing too!
You are very resourceful. I like the thread lights on your design board.
"ever wonder why we make do for so long with stop gap solutions instead of doing things up properly for ourselves from the get go?"
Time, my dear. Time.
Also, as my friends and I believe-we always work/clean better with a deadline looming.
Cute lights, and I love the chair back. At least you're using the stash.
It is so much better to work with a quilt when the surroundings looks good too.
I take a 5 minutes pick up after myself a couple of times a day - and try to do one procrastinated thing a day - makes a lot of positive difference. Today was mending my DH's shorts.
I just recently got a Gracie II frame. can you tell me more about your practice paper idea?? that's sounds super!! i've been practicing with muslin but it's still more $$ than I want to spend.
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