Sewing Room Makeover

I was a recent guest last week on Amber's blog A Little Bit Biased and wanted to make the same post here on my blog. For those that have already seen this post I'm sorry about the repetition but, for those who haven't seen it, enjoy!

SEWING ROOMS like QUILTS are always a work in PROGRESS.

I still have lots of things that got pushed to the storage room that I will have to go through later, things that need organizing, things I need to get rid of or donate. I still have curtains to make and my sewing chair needs to be recovered. I also need to paint my clock RED and find a rug for my floor. But for now, I am very very happy and pleased with the results as you will see from the pictures I've taken.

The before pictures were taken in June of 2009

Here's a glimpse of what things looked like before new flooring and new paint.

It was a process getting it to this point and I liked it a lot, but there was a lot of clutter and stuff everywhere. The old pinkie taupe carpet had to go. It was 13 years old and ugly!!!

The curtains are nice but they don't match my room anymore.

I have yet to make new ones.

My portable design wall is held up with push pins.

The MESS began after a flood in our basement which resulted in all new carpet and with new flooring comes new paint. It's kind of like the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. . . he's going to want a glass of milk to go with it."

So, if you give a quilter a brand new wood floor. . . she's going to need a new paint color to go with it.

And that's how it all happened.

Lucky me!

Here's a look at the mess that I had to pull out of my room and store in various places like my daughter's bedroom. Luckily she's away at college. lol.

Thanks to my dear sweet husband, Mr. Bitty Bits, for painting and helping me move my crap from room to room to room as we prepared for the new carpet in the basement and the wood laminate flooring in my sewing room. He was a good sport but by the end we were exhausted. This all happened in October and it took us until just before Christmas to get it all back in order just in time for our Christmas company.

The after pictures were taken in February 2012

Here it is. . .

The

BIG

REVEAL!

The flooring is a beautiful charcoal grey wood laminate.

The paint is by Sherwin Williams and the color is "Knitting Needles"

Did you notice my DESIGN WALL with the SWOON block and four other little blocks on it?

Well, it's actually a Design Wall QUILT!! Yes, I created a Design Wall Quilt. The binding and the fabric I used matches the other quilt I made for my sewing room. I had my friend Kaylene quilt an overall sewing motif on the quilt.

I didn't want to just put up my old design wall which was basically a piece of plastic with flannel on it. I thought it would look tacky. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. The quilt is hung with clips that are attached to a rail system from IKEA.

Also, the wall unit is from IKEA along with the great storage boxes. It's quite a functional piece of furniture and holds a lot of my fabric and cute things.

I loved Amber's use of curtain rods for her wrapping paper and freezer paper so much that I decided to use them in my room. I used the second curtain rod for my grosgrain ribbons, ric rac, and organza ribbons. I really love having my favorite red polka dot wrapping paper and ribbons at my finger tips. Thanks Amber for that great tip! Here's the LINK to her post.

The two canvas prints are both from the Moda Girls of Sweetwater fame. Their blog is Sweetwater MAKE LIFE SWEET. I picked up one of the prints at Spring Market last year and the second one I bought recently at their online store. I matted them both in red cardstock and put them in a floating glass frame that I picked up at Target for $19.99.

The grey clock I also picked up at Target and plan on spray painting it a cherry red.

Here's a view of my cutting table which has remained in the same spot as in the before pictures. It's been a good place for it and I can access my things from both sides of the table. There are drawers on the front side and open storage boxes on the opposite side where I keep all of my plastic project boxes.

You can also see the smaller version of my Merry-Go-Round Quilt (Cover Quilt on the Feb 2012 American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine) hanging on the wall by the lamp. The only difference is that I used mini pinwheels in place of the posts.

Here's the backside of my cutting table where you can kind of see the open storage boxes. I also love the thimble pottery that I found at JoAnn's over a year ago. I think my friend and I bought every single one they had left. I have 3 different sizes and use them to store my tools, pens, pencils, markers, scissors, zippers and selvage scraps. They are one of my favorite finds. . . EVER!

Oh. . . Yes. . . here's another favorite find.

I found these containers at Target last year and I just knew I had to have them. I started out with about 4 containers and then it grew to 8. Now I have 16 of them. They were a little pricey and that's why I picked them up a few at a time. I don't regret buying them at all. They are a great way to store the things that I use all of the time not to mention how cute they make things look. Besides I just couldn't resist the RED lids.

Buttons!!!

I just adore buttons. . . and love seeing them in their cute containers!!!

Here is a view of my ironing board and more storage boxes. The picture was taken from the other side of my cutting table looking toward the door where you come into the room. The banner was made using my Hugs & Kisses Tutorial from the Moda Bake Shop. I thought it would be fun to use the letters in my blog name to hang in my sewing room. The big scissors are plastic and I happened to find them at the Dollar Store for just a $1. I've been looking for more of them and haven't found any since. I felt really lucky to find the only pair of RED scissors they had!

Here's a close up view of my wire shelf that I got years and years ago from Longaberger. I use it to hold my bottles, aprons, my favorite pincushion bunny from my friend Thimbleanna, my small Longaberger basket and my PEZZY fat quarters that I recently bought. If you need a bunny pincushion she sometimes has them to sell but if not she does have the pattern for sale in her store. Go HERE to buy the pattern.

I have one window in my sewing room and it provides a bit of light in the afternoon. That's the one down fall to my sewing room. It has very poor lighting. I hope to resolve that problem at some point with track lighting of some sort. Anyway, sometimes I can get a good picture in my room when the light is coming through the window in the afternoon. Here's a few pictures of my red chair and my favorite tall dresser that I keep fabric in along with other crafty things. It's a great piece of furniture. I LOVE my RED chair too!!!

My cute bear is from Gap and I bought him 12 years ago when my daughter was a baby. He's just so cute sitting there on two of my favorite quilts.

This quilt is a baby quilt that I made and taught a few years ago. It's a replica of an antique quilt that I bought at a local antique store call "Star Flower Mill" The squares are appliqued in the center of each white square.

My friend Kaylene quilted an amazingly intricate design on this small quilt.

I hope you enjoyed this inside look at my creative space. It's the very best part of my day when I can spend time in my sewing room. I don't get to sew as much as I'd like too, but come summer when I have time off from school, you will definitely find me down there almost every day of every week.

A little piece of advice. . .

Big or Small. . . Find a SPOT and MAKE it YOUR OWN!

Bitty Bowl of Pins Tutorial Part 3 & 4

Part 3 of the Bitty Bowl of Pins Tutorial.

Let's begin by cutting a 3/8" strip of silver metal.

The metal is a bit heavier than heavy tinfoil.

I just used a ruler and one of my older blades.

It cuts easily with no problem at all.

Then cut the 3/8" strip into 2" lengths.

Find the letter stamps for P, I, N, and S .

Line them up and tap letters on stamp pad and then stamp on a sticky note. This will be your stamping guide. Line the metal up with the stamped letters on the sticky note so that the letters fall in the center of the metal as seen in the picture below.

Now take the first letter P and lightly tap the top of the metal stamp with a hammer. You really don't have to hit very hard as the metal is very soft. You can practice on a piece of scrap metal to get a feel for how hard you will want to hit the the metal stamp. Continue the process with the remaining 3 letters, I, N, and S.

Using your rotary cutter (with an old blade) cut just a snippet of metal off each corner at an angle.

You have two choices for the metal rivots on each side of the PINS letters. On the original pincushion I used silver brads and an 1/8" hole punch as seen in the picture below.

Or you can use the a silver iRock gems. They are attached using the heated application tool as seen in the picture below.

The letters are made black by filling in each letter with a sharpie pen. Then rub off any excess with a scrap of batting.

Attach mini glue dots to the back of the metal sign.

Now attach the metal PINS sign to the porcelain bowl

Press and rub edges to mold the metal to the bowl.

Bitty Bowl of Pins Tutorial Part 4

Consists of gluing the pincushion into the bowl.

I used hot glue and applied it to the inside of the porcelain bowl and then pushed the fabric pincushion into the glue and did any quick adjusting before the glue set. Hold your hand over the pincushion and firmly hold in place until the bowl cools off.

Your Pincushion is now complete!

I do hope you enjoyed this little adventure with me.

Have a great week!

Here are the Links for Part 1 & 2

Bitty Bowl of Pins Tutorial Part 1 :The Supply List

Bitty Bowl of Pins Tutorial Part 2 : Making the Pincushion

Bitty Bowl of Pins Tutorial Part 2

Here is Part 2 of the Bitty Bowl of Pins Tutorial. I hope you were able to locate the supplies to make this little project. Remember though that you can use any fabric to make this pincushion.

I will have to make a few pincushions out of other fabrics to inspire you.

Well let's get started.

Here's a picture of what you'll need.

Cut your piece of fabric to measure 4.5"x9.5"

Fold the short ends (5") together.

Sew right sides together using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Press the seams open.

Pull a length of quilting thread from the spool measuring about 36" long.

Thread needle and knot one end.

Measure down a 1/4" and sew a running stitch around one raw edge of the fabric.

Pull the running stitch tight to pull the fabric in.

Wrap the thread around the gathered fabric.

Secure the thread, tie a knot, and cut the end of the thread.

Turn fabric right side out.

This will become the top of your pincushion.

Stand it up.

Here's a view looking in.

Fold the top edge down 1/2" and press.

Sew another running stitch close to the top edge of fold line.

Pour in a generous 1/2 cup of crushed walnut shells.

Put in a little stuffing to prevent the crushed walnuts from leaking out.

Pull running stitch tight.

This is the point that you will make any adjustments to how full and

how tight you want your pincushion.

You don't want it too tight because you need to mold it to fit into your bowl.

Just take out or add to it before you sew up the end.

Sew opening closed by criss crossing the thread from side to side across the pincushion.

Secure thread, knot, and cut off the end of the thread.

Cut off a piece of crochet thread measuring about 20"

Thread a long needle matching ends of thread.

Insert needle at bottom of pincushion pushing through to the top.

Then thread through one side of a two hole button and then through the other side of button and down again into the pincushion and out through the bottom of the pincushion.

Tie 2-3 knots in your crochet thread then cut tails within about an inch of knots. You may place a bit of glue on the knot to keep it secured. Do not cinch your thread too tightly as you will want a bit of give when you smush it in your bitty little bowl.

Turn it over to see your finished pincushion.

I've made two pincushions, so far.

Don't they look cute together?

Click HERE to go to the

Bitty Bowl of Pins Tutorial Part 1- Supply List

Click HERE to go to the

Bitty Bowl of Pins Tutorial Part 3 & 4-

Stamping the Metal and Finishing the Bitty Bowl of Pins

Coming Soon!

Bitty Bowl of Pins Tutorial Part 1

Thanks Everyone for all of your positive responses on wanting a tutorial for the Bitty Bowl of Pins. I thought I'd break up the tutorial into sections and start first with the supplies you'll need to make it.

I thought you might want to see a picture of it being held in my daughters hands so you could get an idea of the proportion of the bowl. It's smaller than you think.

Part One:

Supply List for Bitty Bowl of PINS

Just for your information. . . I tend to have all the supplies I need on hand whenever I start creating things but on occasion I still get to go to the craft store to find what I need for a project I'm working on.

Please remember. . . I've been collecting craft and sewing stuff for years and years. I just don't want you to feel bad or feel obligated to go out and spend money on something you may not use again. I'm just including the links to purchase any of the items you need to make the pincushion look exactly like mine.

Supplies:

• 1 Mini Bowl from Crate & Barrel

I bought my Mini Bowls at Crate & Barrel. Here's the LINK to buy it online if you don't have a store near you. These are the dimensions of the bowl: 1.75 oz. 3" diameter x 1.875" height.

Cost: $1.95

• 5" x 9.5" piece of fabric for the pincushion

I used fabric from the "Sew Happy" collection by Monaluna for Robert Kaufman which is now out of print, but if you do some looking around on the internet you may be able to find it. I did some looking and found it HERE. It's expensive, but you may be able to find it for less, so keep looking and I would recommend that if you LOVE it then you should buy it. . . NOW! It also comes in black.

Cost: $10.50 a yard

• Crushed Walnut Shells for pincushion filler

I bought it at a local pet store but you can buy it here at AMAZON You can also use Silica Sand which many quilt stores are carrying for quilters but, you can also buy it in quantity at a place like Home Depot.

Cost: $5.48

• AMACO ArtEmboss Soft Metal Sheets 9 1/4" x 12"

I bought mine at a local Craft Store. Here's the online link to AMACO for the Aluminum Sheet #50067S (medium weight)

Cost: $7.29

• 1/8" Metal Letters & Numbers Stamps from Harbor Freight

I bought my set at a local hardware store and my set only came with letters.

Cost: $7.99 (currently on SALE)

• 2.5"x2.5" Bench Block

If you're going to be doing metal stamping I would recommend you purchase a Bench Block or if you have an ANVIL handy, I'm sure that will work but, I bought my Bench Block from Beaducation. It helps the metal letter stamps give a nice clean impression on any metal surface. P.S. They also have a variety of metal letters and shapes. They also provide a Beginning Stamper Checklist that you might want to check out HERE.

Cost: $18.00

• Two Mini Silver Brads to make it look like the metal PINS label is permanent

I purchased my silver brads from a local Craft Store in the scrapbooking section

Cost: less than $3-5.00

• Glue Dots for glueing on the Metal PINS label.

I purchased my glue dots from a local Craft Store in the scrapbooking section

Cost: less than $5.00

Upcoming Tutorials for the Bitty Bowl of PINS. . .

• Part Two: Making the Fabric Pincushion
• Part Three: Stamping the Metal
• Part Four: Putting It All Together

Itty Bitty Bowl of Pins

Just thought I'd pop in to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day and to show you the sweet little red pincushion that I recently created and made for my RED PINS. I was thinking of doing a little tutorial for anyone who might be interested. Just leave me a comment if you'd like to know details on how to make an Itty Bitty Bowl of Pins for yourself.

I'm calling it my "Itty Bitty Bowl of Pins" because it's an itty bitty bowl that I found and I love anything that's itty bitty. I use to collect really small things when I was a kid. Just a side note... do any of you remember the original Pet Shop Pets? Well, my girls and I LOVED them and somehow I've held onto a few of the original Pet Shop Pets. I have them hidden away from my grand daughter who would adore them and then lose them. lol.

Bitty Bowl of Pins. . .

Remember to leave me a comment if you're interested in a tutorial.