Sewing Room Makeover: The First Step

I've been thinking all weekend. I know what I need to do. I need to ask hard questions: Do I love this? What will I do with this? How long have I stored this without using it? Do I have a project or a plan to use this? Where will I continue to store this?

If the answer is affirmative, then by all means I want to store the yarn or fabric or beads or paper, but I will try to make a plan for how I plan to use it. I could find a pattern and add it to my upcoming project pile. I could at least write a note on an index card and tuck it into the fold of the fabric, or attach it to the label on the yarn with a safety pin. If I have a specific project in mind, I need to set aside the yarn, thread or fabric together in a project bin or in my workbasket so that it doesn't get buried too deep in the stash. When I'm ready for a new project I will try to go to the project bin or workbasket rather than plan something entirely new, which usually requires new supplies.

If the answer to the hard question is negative, I think I know already what I have to do. Here are my best suggestions for excess craft supplies. In case you have the same problem I do.

• ask crafty or teacher friends if they have a need

• make a giveaway basket to take to the next fiber swap or club meeting

• sell those items in a yard sale

• make a donation to a school or a charity thrift shop

Do you have a good idea for dealing with excess craft supplies?

This project may take some time, but I've begun the initial sorting. I've emptied one large RubberMaid tote, freeing it up for items that I want to keep. Thanks for the earlier suggestions about the room and I hope you'll continue to contribute your ideas. I'll post my progress as it happens. If you happen to follow me on Pinterest, please hit the "send" button with pins of ideas you think might help me. I can use your help.

Spring Cleaning in the Sewing Room

Okay folks, this is one of those true confession posts. I think it's time to do a little spring cleaning in the sewing room. I had a resolution in January to organize and store my supplies more efficiently. Here it is, a couple of months later and I still need to work at it. Who's with me? My son casually mentioned the other day that he (and his wife and our three small grandchildren) would like to come visit. "Wonderful," I said, "We would love it!" Then I walked into this room, which is also the guest room, and began to panic. You can see the bed under the pile...

I know! You are probably thinking "How does she even work in that mess!" Even more importantly, "Where is she going to put three small children?" I didn't clean anything for the pictures and I apologize for the early morning light. I wanted to clean it, but decided to reveal my problems, in the hope that you might have some good suggestions for storing stuff. Especially small stuff. Well, and large piles of fabric. And yarn! (sigh...) You can see that I don't have a lot of real estate in this room. The rest of the house is just as bad - no room at all. But I need my stuff! I do most of my crafts right here in this corner. The ironing board is my work table.You can see my breakfast is there as well. I'll confess that I emptied the overflowing trash before I took the picture. I didn't think you needed to see that.

I admit to being a pack rat. I think it comes as a consequence of being frugal. (I guess you could just read cheap.) I love to be creative and that means I need supplies, often expensive supplies. So I'm always on the look out for deals and sales and good stuff from other people's sewing rooms. I try to collect ahead for when I might have a need and I always save leftover supplies (even scraps) for the future. Sometimes this gets out of hand.

My husband teases me still about the two boxes he moved into our first apartment. They were labeled "large material scraps" and "small material scraps." I guess you could say they were part of my hope chest! He has been moving them around ever since. I don't think I'm a hoarder, except perhaps with fabric, and maybe fiber. But I do have a lot of craft tools and supplies and I find that it is hard for me to pass up a good deal. I've been thinking and realize that I have to do something

Well, the first day of spring is just around the corner. Wish me good luck with my spring cleaning. I likewise wish you success. I was inspired by a picture of Donna's fabric sort over at Jackson Family Farm. Please, if you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to share them. You won't hurt my feelings.

I took a picture of the hope chest. It has been sitting open because I need to re-organize that as well! You can see there is no room for the Pink & Brown kitchen set in there. Time to shift some things to the "auxiliary" hope chest!

Color Strategy for Kitchen Linens

Crochet brightens up the edge of these pretty handtowels in the "Sunflowers" set.

My strategy for hope chest kitchen linens is a little different. We may wish to do something other than timeless or classic, and I think one can be a little wilder with her dishtowels than, say, a bed quilt. There are so many appealing paths to follow with fun kitchen themes and cheerful colors. So, for me, any color goes when it comes to a kitchen towel. These linens get so much use that they are likely worn out before you could ever change your mind or get tired of them. Miss Abigail and I have several themes and colors going on for her hope chest kitchen linens and even some sub-sets within sets. Many of these colors overlap and items could fit into several different sets. Some sets are started and some are merely planned. Most of our sets start with a piece of fabric for an apron. But some have begun because of a cute towel, like the sunflower towels shown above, or an appealing skein of yarn.

This was the first fabric I purchased for a kitchen set. Abigail and I have been working on things for this "Floral" set for quite some time. Green is my favorite color and I love florals. Abigail has always loved red and pink. Yellow is a strong color in this set also and there is just a bit of plummy purple as an accent. Okay, I have to admit that I picked this fabric because I liked it. Abigail is not strong on florals right now, but I'm counting on changing her mind one day.

Miss Abigail says her favorite color is blue (at the moment) so this next fabric answers that. Yellow, green and white expand the possibilities. The fabric is actually much brighter and more cheerful than this picture shows. Abigail has made a number of items to go into this set. We have a set of "daisy" printed hand towels that match this fabric, so daisies are a sub-set of this "Plaid" set.

Miss Abigail has grown up on a homestead, and I want her to take "Country Memories" with her when she leaves home. So, naturally I'm working on a denim and rusty red country theme set. Straw yellow and mossy green colors overlap both of the previous sets as well.

Miss Abigail has always liked pink too. Hmm, another floral. I sure hope she changes her mind about that. I guess, if she really hates it later, we can do a fabulous giveaway! I like the colors "Pink and Brown" together.

Finally, a really pretty aqua, turquoise and brown fabric. I love these "Kitchen Utensils!" Since Abigail loves to wear these colors, I knew she would like them in the hope chest.

We have a couple of other themed sets, as well - a red, white and black "ladybug" set, the "sunflowers" set (because I saw those cute sunflower hand towels!) and a "garden" set. And, of course we couldn't leave out all of the holidays... (sigh) My husband thinks we're running a hope chest factory! He says Abigail will need a hope chest U-Haul and heaves a big sigh of sympathy for her long-suffering future husband. I know it seems like I'm carried away by all of this kitchen stuff. But, in the end, whatever is excessive will be passed on to others as gifts. I have neices, and friends, and there are always grandchildren. No worries! Right!?!

The Color and Style Strategy

As I explained before, I expect that Miss Abigail's future household will be quite eclectic and jumbled in color and style. Early households invariably are. Almost everyone I know sets up housekeeping in a space in which color is already present, and most often, there is no opportunity to make changes. In the case of an apartment the color scheme is usually off white, beige or some variation of brown. Kind of boring! But, one can only hope for such a nice, neutral apartment, since in other cases, the colors might be even less appealing. We rented a duplex once with a hot pink candy striped bathroom. It felt like Mary Poppins! My sister, early on, lived in a small rented house with a multi-colored carpet which she called the "cow" carpet. I'll let you use your imagination. You could probably tell me other stories. Furniture is a second issue. My sweet mother-in-law generously provided a mossy green couch and a wild green and yellow floral recliner when I first married my husband thirty some years ago. We were very thankful to have them, but it is a good thing I didn't expect anything to match.

No one can possibly anticipate the colors of their first few homes. Even trying to use a favorite color scheme may not work, since clashing colors may already be present. I really think the solution to all this uncertainty resides in choosing a deliberately patchwork kind of style - non-decorating to begin with! If we use a wide variety of classic colors blended with neutrals, items should "match" each other pretty well. I love patchwork quilts and my favorite "style" is the all-over scrappy quilt. When fitted into an overall plan, all the colors end up blending just fine. You simply count on the neutral colors of the sashing and borders to bring it all together and make it whole.

So, my plan for the hope chest is for aged and comfortable, a sort of purposeful mis-match style that seems accommodating and is always less than elegant. If we go for the "dime-store decorating" style to begin with, whatever we make will match whatever comes along next. Abigail may have other ideas later, but this is my current working plan. For everything except kitchen things. I'll talk about that next.

The Color Question

“How do you choose colors or patterns for the hope chest?” “Won’t color preferences and fashions change over time?” The inability to answer these two questions might inhibit having a hope chest altogether, since such uncertainty constrains making choices. It may seem easier to wait.

I do understand the problem. Fashions change and certain colors and patterns can reflect certain time periods. When I began this project, Miss Abigail was still quite young and simply didn’t have an opinion about much. At this point in time, Abigail knows a bit more about what she likes when it comes to color and style, but she is still very changeable as to which color is her “favorite.” The following facts help me resolve this problem.

1. Because favorite colors change throughout your life, choosing the one particular color cannot be the primary consideration in creating a hope chest. Rather, many classic colors and traditional patterns will always be fashionable.

2. Our family tends not to be particularly fashionable anyway. I am certainly more practical than trendy and I admit that my own household reflects this. Our limited resources flow in directions other than fashion. I’m actually hoping to pass this value along to Abigail. So, if some items seem a little dated by the time she uses them, I'm hoping that it won't matter to her.

3. In my experience, most early households feature a pretty big mix of collected items and have a kind of characteristic mingling of different colors and thrift-store style. Some objects might be deliberately chosen, but just as many are gifted or scrounged from relatives. Early marriage certainly illustrates the adage that “beggars can’t be choosers.” I assume Abigail’s first household will be quite eclectic, just like all the others.

4. I don't intend for most of these items to last Abigail through her whole lifetime. I certainly hope the bulk of the kitchen linens will be used up and replaced after some time. I only want her to have beautiful things to use in those early years when resources like time and money are tight. Miss Abigail will have plenty of time to collect or create what she loves later, when she is more established and secure. I do recognize that silverware or patterned china are a little different. We're waiting on these items for now, and I will certainly urge Abigail to choose the classic and timeless.

So, in my mind, at least, the issue of color and pattern doesn’t have to be such a big problem. And a hot pad is just a hot pad, after all. One colorful quilt keeps you just as warm as another. Although you may make a different choice, I’m banking on the fact that Miss Abigail will enjoy using a beautiful, handmade hot pad, whether or not it matches her current favorite color scheme.

I actually do have a kind of organizational scheme for the hope chest, at least for those items that I’m making now. Miss Abigail may take things in a different direction as she comes to “own” the hope chest more, but for now I’m driving the train. Stay aboard, if you’re interested. The hope chest color strategy is coming up next.