Sewing Room Reveal!

I've been back in the US for 4 months now, and finally feel like my sewing room (aka the guest room) is really my space.  Thankfully I was already happy with the paint color and could start by simply rearranging the furniture to give me more open space.  I painted a small laminate drawer unit and an old microwave cart bright turquoise, gave them new hardware and I am now using them to store patterns and muslin fabric.  The old end tables are now stacked on top of one another to the right of my sewing table.  This is temporary until I find a more suitable shelving unit, but for now it's fine.  Without further ado...photos!!

As you enter from the Hallway

To the left: cutting table, Vacation photos, Dressform and repainted drawer unit holding patterns 

Workstation! Note the New SERGER!  & Paris Posters hanging above

Grandma T's old dresser holding thread, supplies, and fabric.
Grandma M's painting hanging on the wall

There are a few noteworthy items shown in this room.  There are good reminders of both of my grandmothers as well as good reminders of some of my travels.  The dresser in the above photo originally belonged to my Grandma T as well as the upcycled microwave cart.  The painting above the dresser was painted my my Grandma M. (that's her in the small photo on the dresser holding my then 10 week old eldest daughter).  The blue dress hanging on the closet door is one I made for Grandma M.  She lives in Arizona most of the year and when I saw her in July, she commented that she can't find cool, comfortable dresses that she likes...so I made that one for her.  I'll be shipping it to her tomorrow.

Above my sewing table are 2 posters of Paris which I bought there in November 2010, and had framed in India.  Above the cutting table are 3 photos I took in Virgin Gorda (British Virgin Islands), Sandy Cay (BVI), and then the Kauai Hyatt Resort where we went on our Honeymoon.

On the microwave cart are glass vases from Goodwill that I filled with sand, shells, and coral that I collected in the Maldives last December.  On the right are are star shaped drink stirrers made from coconut shells which were too cute to leave.

I made the headboard several years ago and had enough fabric left over to whip up some new sewing machine covers!  The Serger cover isn't great, but it does the job. :)

Last but not least, I was browsing in World Market and found this metal sign:

Normally, I don't like the signs I see around like "DREAM" or "Keep Calm and Carry On" and other silliness, but this one spoke to me.  As someone who struggles off and on with depression it seemed like words to live by.  And I love my new sewing space so it was perfect!!

Sewing posts are on their way!

Back in the US, Sewing Room Redo and some Sheryl Crow Lyrics

Lyrics from Sheryl Crow's "Every Day is a Winding Road":


"I'm just wondering why I feel so all alone
Why I'm a stranger in my own life"
....
"I've been wondering if all the things I've seen
Were ever real, were ever really happening"


I've been back in my own house for 8 weeks and I still feel this way.  There has been next to no sewing, and no blogging.  During my first week back, I donated 10 bags of stuff (mostly my own clothes) to Goodwill.  Looking around my house, I just couldn't believe the STUFF: the cluttered counter tops, the clothes hanging in my closet that I'd never wear again (either due to style or the ridiculous pre-children skinny sizes).  I truly felt like a stranger in my own life.  


Even though I've owned this house for almost 7 years, it's as if a different person has moved back in.  Out in the blogosphere, there are a number of sewing bloggers who have recently moved and are doing the redecorating thing.   Patty the Snug Bug has been quite the inspiration for me.


I'm working on permanently setting up my sewing space in the guest room.  Before I was in India, I didn't sew much at all, (and it was usually home dec stuff), and my sewing machine was stashed in a closet.  So to make the guest room my own workspace, sewing studio, or "atelier" (as I like to call it), big plans are in the works.  Our upstairs office will become a playroom, and lots of junk will be tossed and donated.  I've moved an extra desk from the office into the sewing room to hold my machine.  Buying a serger is also on the to do list, but I really need to get the mojo back before buying one.    


I have emptied a small 2-drawer end table that used to hold a TV and it will now do dual duty as a bedside table and hold my pattern collection.  A microwave cart that used to hold my printer will be the second bedside table and will hold...umm...not sure yet, maybe my book collection.  I primed both of them and painted them a bright turquoise blue and will put on new nickel hardware for both.   Photos will follow. 


The guest room closet and the dresser I acquired from my grandmother ages ago will be used for fabric storage (note to self: buy and install closet shelves).  The huge box of maternity clothes that has been residing on the closet floor for the past 5+ years will need to find a new home as well as all other baby stuff.  (I'm done!)
  
The iron and ironing board have set up residence.  I bought and installed a ceiling fan this week.  The builders of my house had a little mental lapse when they only installed one A/C vent in the very large room.  Since the guest room faces west and gets full afternoon sun, it is always too hot during the summer.  The fan will definitely help.  I've also been replacing my incandescent light bulbs with brighter CFLs to make it bright enough to work.  


I'm still waiting for my shipment from India to arrive.  It's scheduled for July 6th and I am becoming impatient.  It will have been over 10 weeks from the day the packers came to when it is arriving here.  Ugh.  Even more annoying is that the shipment cleared customs in New York back on June 11th.  4 work weeks to go from New York to Virginia???  Arrgh.... Yes, I miss the balance of my wardrobe, my kitchen stuff, my fabric stash, my handbags, and my golf clubs, but what I really want now...is my artwork.  Not having all of the photos, posters, prints, and the original painting that I bought at a coffee shop in Hyderabad is really limiting my decorating speed.  You see, also on the redecorating block is our family room.  I repainted it back in November of 2007, and put up temporary curtains soon after.  Those temporary curtains (really a purchased valence pinned to the existing valence) are still there.  They need to go.  They really need to go.  I want to repaint (probably brown) and make new curtains (fabric options are in the stash!), and make a photo wall with some of our travel photos.  But first, I need to get that painting!!! 


So that's what's going on with me.  We may have some forthcoming "before and after" posts regarding my redecorating.  :)


On a sewing note, I'm almost finished with my second pair of TNT pants!  These 2 pairs are so awesome they merit an impressive blog post.  Once the mojo is back, and once they are finished, I will share them with the world!


Thanks for sticking with me!