Posted on by agilejack

If it’s Tuesday I Have a Sparkling Sewing Room!

Monday was a day of getting shit done. Here’s a list:

  1. My friend went and got her updated Covid Vaccine
  2. We took a couple big bags of stuff to Good Will (Some of it from my sewing room!)
  3. We pulled out a ridiculous amount of polar fleece in my garage that I’ve been meaning to give away and delivered it to a place where a happy recipient will retrieve it.
  4. We drove an hour to Hopewell, OR, for agility class and got to see some friends.

Here’s my friends at agility class. I’ve shared photos of Rico in this barn before.

They all say “hello!”

Here’s Heather, my friend who built this barn, explaining something complicated. She’s the one teaching the class.

Here’s the enormous pile of polar fleece that I’m giving away. It feels sooooo good to have all of this out of my garage. I purchased this fleece, mostly 5-yard pieces… nearly 20 of them… before I moved to Portland.

I used to make dog leashes and dog toys — for many years. Once I moved to Portland I lost my fascination for all this hand work and got interested in making other things. It’s about time I got rid of this stuff. It will go to a woman who makes dog toys for the local Humane Society shelter. That feels like a pretty good use for this!

We did spend a little bit of time on Monday working on my sewing room. But today, we finished it up! After days of sorting fabric and selecting fabric to get rid of, today was a day of finishing these tasks up and then putting it all back together.

When the day started today (Tuesday), here’s what my sewing room looked like.

Most of those bins hold my batik fabrics that are stored under my cutting table. There are also some bins of scraps there that have been organized and reduced. The scrap bins came from the space between my cutting table and chest of drawers.

While all this stuff was piled in the middle of the room, I pulled the vacuum out and cleaned the empty spaces before putting it all back. I also dusted and cleaned all the surfaces.

Here’s a glimpse of what my sewing room looked like a few weeks ago.

Here’s what it looks like today.

The closet has been straightened and I’ve added some fabric bins to the top shelf.

I broke out my label maker so I can clearly see what is in the bins.

Here’s my sewing table. It’s ready for my sewing machine once I break down my kitchen sewing studio.

And here’s my cutting table with all the fabric below organized and streamlined.

Here’s the file cabinets to the left of my cutting table. The top has been organized and cleaned and the space on the floor has been cleaned. This is the space where my ironing board usually sits.

And here’s the cubby hole between the cutting table and chest of drawers where bins of scraps are stored. It’s all been reduced in mass, cleaned, and some feed bag stuff was taken into the freed up space in the garage.

Here’s the chest of drawers. Of course, all those drawers were organized and filled a couple days ago. And now the top is looking pretty pristine.

We also took a trip to my long arm quilter this afternoon. My friend dropped off four quilts to be quilted and I dropped off two. My red KFC scrappy trip quilt and my Moss Garden quilt for my bedroom. It was fun to pick out thread colors and quilting designs. I can’t wait to see them. We will take two more to her next week. We have to finish up the backings.

After dinner tonight I had an appointment to get my own Covid booster shot. This is the version that’s supposed to do better at covering Omicron. It’s hard to believe I’ve now had FIVE shots to keep myself safe. But I feel good knowing I’ll be better protected.

Once we got home we fired up my kitchen sewing studio and started working on four more blocks for my red KFC Fractured quilt.

We were both a little tired but pushed and finished up four more blocks.

This makes 24 blocks completed. Sixteen more to go, so we’re on the downhill slide.

Tomorrow we plan to work on my friend’s quilt backings and getting ready for an adventure.

I’m ready for bed!

32 Replies to “If it’s Tuesday I Have a Sparkling Sewing Room!”

  1. Wow! You have really worked hard and gotten so much accomplished. I’m envious of the more organized space. Now, when are you two coming up here to help me get squared away!!!

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    1. I love that cutting table. It’s a restaurant kitchen table. I bought it online several years ago and I’ve loved every minute of using it. it was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

      Anne

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  3. Oh my, you’ve been busy.. I think we all go through this but it isn’t Spring yet…😊. Glad for you as it makes life simpler when you can find something quickly. Now have some fun.. and that Quilt is looking good ‼️‼️

    Liked by 1 person

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  5. Hi,

    I have a question about the quilt blocks. with the purple(I think) strips that are on the blocks. Are they sewn on the block or fused on?

    thanks,

    Avigayil

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. Your room looks wonderful! If you and your friend are ever looking for other employment, the two of you could travel the world organizing your readers’ sewing rooms!!! Your quilt is coming along, and I can’t wait to see it all put together. It’s going to be stunning. Glad you both got the next Covid booster. That’s on my agenda, too.

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    1. I’m lucky to get my room cleaned every two years! I’m not going to be any help to anyone else!

      the quilt won’t change much from here on out… it will just get bigger! Maybe too big.

      Get your booster!

      Anne

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  7. That was fun to read, I was tired just thinking about all the stuff you and your friend accomplished, great work!!! How did and what were “puppies” doing with all of your activity? Thanks again Doreen

    Sent from my iPad

    >

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    1. My dogs hung out in the back yard most of the day. I can’t have Bender in the house when I’m doing stuff like this because he’s literally underfoot all the time.

      They are happy to hang out in the yard when the weather is nice like it is now.

      Anne

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  8. Cleaning up a “studio” absolutely takes another person to help you! Otherwise it’s an impossible job. Anytime I’ve tried to do it by myself I make an even bigger mess. I have most of my fabric in see thru plastic boxes marked with the contents also. It really helps when you’re searching for something. Congrats on getting quilts ready for your longarmer. I have far too many tops just waiting to be quilted. What an inspiration you and your friend are.

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    1. I have a good number of quilt tops done. I’ve been chunking away at getting backs made for the ones I plan to have quilted eventually. It’s nice to know the backs are done and when I want to have something quilted I can just grab the package. I really HATE making backs! So better to do one at a time every now and again so I don’t wear myself out.
      Anne

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  10. Y’all did a great job organizing! It does feel good letting go of things when there’s someone who wants it 😻 So you mainly have batiks and Kaffe in your stash? The fractured quilt is so pretty!

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    1. My stash: mostly Kaffe fabrics. A good number of batiks. PLenty of Australian Aboriginals. and a smaller number of stuff that doesn’t fit into those categories. I have a small range of fabrics that I buy but I do occasionally stray outside of that.

      anne

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  11. It’s energizing to organize. We all know it will get messed up with the next big quilt project. But knowing everything has a place makes it easier to put it all away. And quicker to start a new project. I know for me the battle is always the letting go of past interests. Marie Kondo has really made it so much easier. Can’t wait to see this fractured quilt finished. Where were the boys when all this organization was going on?

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    1. I have a hard time letting stuff go until I just start feeling overwhelmed, and then stuff just has to go!!! I try to take advantage of the times I feel like getting rid of stuff. I rarely miss anythign I’ve given away.

      Anne

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  12. Thanks for sharing. Perhaps you’ll motivate me to finish organizing my sewing room. Nice to have a good friend to hel. Enjoy the rest of your time together.

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  14. I love reading your blog everyday – I look forward to it – you inspire me! What size do you cut the aged muslin for one bag? I need to order some and wasn’t sure if I should get 1/2 yard or one yard?? Thanks.

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      1. Thanks Anne. I must have missed the bucket bag tutorial. Is it possible for you to send it to me? Or, tell me the date it was posted. Thx.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Thanks so much!! I had the opportunity to buy several yards of older KFC so I’m planning to make everyone bags for Christmas. I want to try a Frankenbag or two as well. Thanks again. Enjoy your girlfriend time.

        PS. If you are interested in a darn good sale on KFC fabrics, let me know. I’m sure she would do mail order. She’s trying to close out her very small quilt store in Packwood WA. I bought $350 of KFC and batiks!! ( about 25% off. Selling by yards only at sale price- some of the fabrics are from 2017.

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