AFTER cleanup this is the north end of my sewing room .
Nothing motivates me to clean house like incoming guests.  The first time we were scheduled to host our new Bible study/fellowship gathering I did a good bit of tidying up, but we had to cancel because I had bronchitis.    This week, it was our turn again. Okay. No problem.
And then….the ladies said, “Oh good! We finally get to see your sewing room!” Gulp…gulp. I thought I might be experiencing my first panic attack.
Usually, when we have guests I just close the door to my lady cave. Company respects a closed door. But it seems that everyone who has ever stitched wants to see others’ sewing rooms. I know I surely do. And these ladies sew.
Now, Dear Readers, by inviting you in I am reaching up to another level of friendship with you.  A few, Judy Day, Suzanne Sawko, Terri Click, Mildred Turner, Linda McGehee, Rheeta Booth and June Mellinger, have seen my mess and still call me “friend.”   I hope you will be as understanding.
So here is/was my sewing room before my cleaning tornado. Actually, I had already begun the cleaning process and took some small comfort in the old saying that things often get worse before they get better. This was worst not worse.
WARNING! GRAPHIC IMAGES!
BEFORE clean up, north end. Â Actually it was even worse but I had already spent a day in there.
Then there was the south end.
BEFORE clean up–south end  Things were piled up as I emptied boxes and moved things to clean behind it all,.
Now, after the big clean up, you, too, can see my sewing room. It’ not pristine but it’s as good as it’s going to get and I’m tired of all this sorting and organizing. I need to sew.
AFTER–The Dream Machine sits on its apron on a relatively tidy table at the north end.
Like The Dream, each machine has an “apron.” I find these very helpful and always bring one along when I take a class. Of course, this one is overloaded, just like my sewing room.
The tote on the machine bed is a special order taken by Laurel, my 11 yo granddaughter, who has quite a successful little sewing business going. She still has to stitch the name. Her big push now is to earn money for summer theater camp.
AFTER–sewing room south end. My neatnik husband says he has never seen that cutting table. Humph! The poor man gets a nervous tick anytime he wanders in here. No wonder he has never seen it.
At this end of the room sit my Brother Duetta (4500D) and Quattro (6000D). The cd player is there, along with a small tv which I only turn on the for news. I find television too distracting when I am trying to sew. Music works best for my sewing entertainment.
Brother Duetta (4500D), Brother Quattro (6000D)Â and a bookcase with Liberty of London tana lawn, other fine fabrics and stabilizers
This photo was taken on a rare occasion when neither machine was at work. Behind those big Brothers is my serger and the ironing station.
I really love the extra large ironing board as well as my old timey football shaped iron  and Elna press. There is a Vin-Max puff iron clamped to the table. This ironing hardware meets all my needs.
ironing station
On one of the white storage units sits an old sewing machine cabinet drawer with my basic ironing sprays–starch, water, sizing, and lavender linen water. On the other a larger box holds two hams, a small sleeve board, iron cleaner, cotton scraps for cleaning, and fray block. The big box by the window is filled with stabilizer.
In the center of the room is the basic sewing area with my old Pfaff 7570.
This is also the only other floor space in the room large enough for our elderly, 1o5 lb. German shepherd/great Pyrenees mix, Hannah, who often naps there.
our sweet old Hannah
The blue bin under the table is filled with ribbon. The small antique trunk on the floor stores unfinished projects. It’s waaaaaay too small for this purpose.
Notice the antique sewing table. It is 36″ wide and has yard stick markings along the back edge.
Isn’t that neat? This table was a birthday gift years ago from my husband. I just love it. And him.
Most of my fabric is wrapped onto comic book boards and shelved. My handy, helpful husband installed window shades over each fabric bookshelf to protect my stash from Florida’s non-stop sunshine.
Pull down window shade helps protect fabric from fading.
Most of my sewing reference books are in the “library” next to The Dream Machine. It’s not exactly like orderly libraries with the Dewey Decimal System, but I can lay my hands on any book I need.
sewing library
The pile in the corner is an overfilled little trunk with to-do’s. Working that stack down to nothing is on my bucket list along with running a marathon.  Neither list item is likely to happen any time soon. Or ever.
This is another picture of the library, taken at night, with my constant companion, Rastus, in attendance on his rug.
faithful Rastus
By the window in an old seed package box are the patterns I expect to make up almost immediately (ha!ha!). The others are organized in bins in the garage. The Bernina 930 on the floor is hoping to be adopted into a new home. Let me know if you are interested.
It’s been said that you should change your sewing machine needle after 8 hours of sewing. Is there a similar dictate about cleaning sewing rooms? The last time I did a major, long-overdue overhaul was when my wonderful sewing friend, Terri Click, came to visit four years ago.
Wow! That long ago! Time flies when you’re having fun and clutter builds when I sew. Sew I’m going out on a limb to proclaim that sewing rooms should be cleaned every four years. Now I’m in compliance.
FYI, I’m working on a post with some organizational and helpful sewing tips.  Funny, isn’t it, that I should be lecturing about this? It reminds me of a video I once saw featuring a burgler telling the audience how not to be burgled.
Meanwhile, I would LOVE to see your sewing room. Will you please share pictures and tips for how it works (or doesn’t) for you? Don’t be shy. I came clean.
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