Day 4 - The Design Area; Part 1

Technically, doing the yarn stash was day 3 so day 4 is cleaning up the design table area. 

This area is in a nook in the sewing room. It's the space left over when the closet was installed. It has our antique corner desk and a table in it. The Juki box is stored in there for binders to be stored on but it's not exactly what I had in mind. That may all change when I clean out under the stairs. 

The area I looked at today is where the table is. As it is flat it is the parking spot for paper, patterns, books, and much more. If it didn't fit on the cutting table, it got put on the table. 

The peg board needs to be dealt with. I need to hang the wall hanging somewhere in the sewing room if I decide to keep it. The buttons and patterns need to be put away. The pattern you can barely see reminds me I need to make daughter a vest from fabric she gave me 7-8 years ago. The rulers are kept there for drafting and the containers below need to be reorganized. Not a lot to do but it needs to be done. 

The table is a disaster. The boxes are for Christmas presents. I need to move them into the Christmas gift tub so I will remember to use them. The rest needs to be unloaded onto the cutting table and dealt with. How much do I need to keep and what can I unload. Yes, there is a bit of hoarding going on. I'd love to have just two baskets on the table that holds extras like glue sticks, pencils, erasers, etc. I use for designing. A notebook and pads of graph and tracing paper can go with the binders on the Juki box. They will be close at hand when I go to do designing and drafting.

I bought three courses from Pixie Faire. The first one was couture sewing and I have 15 pages left to finish the course. I'm going to work on it next year and complete it. It is in the binder with Design Academy. I don't have drawings or pictures in that course as I have them all on the computer. I want to revisit this course as I'm into making complete outfits for the dolls rather than a single item.  

The binder I did work on was the Pattern Academy. I thought it was a total disaster but it was very well organized into sections and those sections were in the correct order. I put the pages into page protectors and need one more package to have it done. It was a lot of work but I'm happy as to where I am and will finish it when I get a package each of page protectors and dividers. 

The garbage has been dealt with and the binders are on the Juki box. I really need something higher for them to sit on as I have to get up to get them. But they are neat and ready to be used for referencing. 

The other part of the design area has a corner desk in it. I keep a lap top computer on it so I can read patterns. I will transfer the Pixie Fair course folder onto it. I keep file folders, envelopes and a few other things I don't use often but still need. On the top are some precious items I like. They need to be dusted and then I will show a picture of that part of the design area. 

The goal is to have a neat space where I can sit and work at when I'm doing an outfit for the dolls. I can look up ideas in the design course and tweak pattern using the drafting course. And I can make reference to couture sewing techniques when making some of the outfits I have planned. 

I won't be working on the table today as I'm out and when I get home I need to start working on another Christmas gift. I need to get it started so I can sew some on it each day. That way I can work both on it and more decluttering. 

Sewing Room Thoughts

Yesterday was cool, sunny, cloudy and fairly calm. The high got to 3.3C. This morning it is cloudy, 1C, and periods of rain in the forecast. We could see the temperature rise to 14C tonight before falling to 2C. An interesting day of weather. 

Lifestyle

Yesterday I went to New Minas to do some shopping. I was into Michaels to get the yarn for grandson's socks and also bought a box for daughter's necklace and some fairy lights for my new Christmas decoration. I then headed to Walmart for a few things I needed. On the way home, I stopped at the quilting store for buttons, flannel, and interfacing. 

I stopped by to see how the new quilt store is progressing. The sign is up and the windows are covered with paper. I did read on Facebook later that they are unpacking everything and putting it on shelves, etc. Opening day is coming sooner rather than later. 

Once home and the food was put away, I left the rest as my knee was extremely sore. I went out right after lunch and covered the garlic with straw and a layer of burlap. I also covered the Spousal Unit's rose bush with burlap and weighted it down with bricks. Once back inside I had a quick look at my knee and saw it was swollen a bit. I sat with heat on it and had a nap. The knee was still swollen and sore. I'm moving from heat to cold to see if that will help. 

Dinner was out with family and I enjoyed it very much. We looked at a video taken last year on Christmas Eve in Japan. It was a tour of 3 different Christmas garden in Tokyo. It was amazing at how many people were out and to see how crowded the city is both building and people wise. 

Sewing Room Thoughts

    While knitting last night I thought about the sewing room and how I am cleaning it up area by area. I decided to do the design area next. It is cluttered and needs quite a bit of work organizing the course work I have for couture sewing and doll pattern designing. I need to put papers into page protectors and binders. I also need to decide what to do with some notebooks I have. One I am using to write down information I need when sewing a one off item that needs fussy cutting. Can I put some into the thrift store boxes and some into recycle. 

    As I look around the room, I have two areas that are annoying me and will annoy me until I reach my goal of having little to no stash. One is the shelving unit that holds the stash. I want it gone as I think it looks ugly. 

I would love to have that area either with a dresser or nothing. The shelving unit can go into the garage to hold tubs of decorations for Christmas and Halloween. When we bought it, it was needed as I had no where to put the stash. I did not want to add kitchen cupboards to the room. My goal when we moved here was to sew down the stash. 

    The second area that annoys me is the closet. Though I can close the doors on everything, it is just too full of notions, pillow forms, doll's fabric, etc. I have been good about using it but it never seems to have less in it. It is mainly because I store everything in tubs and baskets. I'm too embarrassed to take a picture of it until I start cleaning it out. 

    In the closet is all my embroidery thread. I have decided that I want to do more embroidery this coming year. I did start doing embroidery this year but stopped when the Spousal Unit's care became more time consuming. His care was always  came first which I don't regret for a minute. I have enough thread and stabilizer to embroider for a long time. Some projects will be small, others will be larger and I'm looking forward to doing it once again. 

    I have been writing down what projects I want to sew next year. I am realizing that I am a project person rather than a stash builder. When I look at the stash, I look at projects. I also realize that I can only make one project at a time. I cannot brain wise sew more than one project unless I am making several of them such as towel toppers. I have tried to assembly line sewing but........ I can have up to 5 small projects on the cutting table at one time but prefer to have only up to 3.  

    Last, but not least, I take a long time to clean up the sewing room. When I declutter, I organize and clean at the same time. My philosophy is why put items back into a dirty area only to organize and clean it later. Cleaning takes but a few minutes and organizing it allows me to try and keep it organized as I use it. 

Today

I am off shortly to help son until noon. I am taking my knitting with me. I will probably start cleaning the design area by putting course work into page protectors and binders. That is a big job and one I will be happy to have done. Tonight, I will knit on the doll's sweater. 

Until the next time.....................................................

I Have Too Much Yarn

Yesterday's weather was one of sunshine, clouds, and showers. The wind blew making it feel cold outside. The high got to 10.7C. It was 1C this morning and we are to have a mix of sun and clouds and a high of 5C.

Lifestyle

We've had so much wind that the wind meter on our neighbour's deck is missing the part that goes around. I am hoping they took it in as the last few days have been very windy. If not, and it's broken, I shall miss it. 

I did a load of laundry, folded another load of laundry, and cleaned up around the litter box. Every time I looked outside, it was windy and raining. It is mid November and we are in our rainy season. But it sure didn't inspire me to do more in the house.

Yesterday was support group meeting and it was a good one. The discussion was lively and we did talk about future planning especially having a Power of Atterney. It was a great discussion in which lots of information was shared. I have to say that I am glad that we had done so much planning starting in April. It helped with the process during the later stages and after the Spousal Unit's passing. 

I rested as much as possible in the afternoon and it didn't help much. Moving about helped more as it kept everything limber. I know much of the pain is the weather but part of it was being at the sewing machine for long periods of time.

Sewing

I got two buttons sewn on and now I need to find two more the same size at the quilting store. The ones I bought were too big and looked awkward on the towel toppers. 

I started figuring out the size of the pieces I need for the next bag. It is another custom cut bag which takes a bit of time to design. Part 1 is mostly done and I need to confirm that those measurements are correct and then start on part 2. Everything needs to add up to 20" x 40" before I can cut out the pieces. 

Knitting

Today's project in the sewing room was to clean up the yarn stash. I brought the 7 tubs of yarn into the family room and sorted them out one tub at a time starting with the sock weight yarn and moving up to the worsted weight. I have a lot of yarn to knit up so I'm going to snoop around and find out where I can donate hats that I can knit up for those in need.

There is enough yarn to knit 3 pairs of socks in light yarn and 1 pair of socks in heavy yarn. Then there is 3 bins of mid weight yarn for hats and doll items and 1.5 bins of worsted weight for other items. What is strange, is that I may need to buy a ball of yarn to finish up grandson's socks. 

When I finished sorting the yarn, I cleaned the cube, the wall behind it and the floor. The cube was dusty and the floor was dirty. It is nice to have it looking clean and tidy again. 

I did knit on grandson's socks last night and the first sock is done to the toe. I had just enough of the yarn to do the foot. It was close as I have about 9" of yarn left. 

Thoughts

    As yesterday was a rest day, I won't be doing a separate post on the yarn stash today. It was such a simple thing to do as there were no hidden items in the containers. Just a lot of yarn. The only thing I haven't dealt with is the knitting needles. The tub I had hoped to put them in is full. I'm still thinking on that one. I think it may be knit down a lot of the yarn and do a reorganization so they can go in one tub. 

    I have a few knick knacks in the sewing room and each hold a special meaning to me. The ones on the cube are mainly about my maternal grandmother as she was avid seamstress. The wooden cones held linen as my maternal family were also weavers. 

    I am enjoying the house being clean and need to do the next upstairs cleaning on the next nasty days. We have rain on Wednesday and snow flurries on the weekend. I have been keeping most areas tidy but need to sweep/wash floors, dust, and make sure the areas that get cluttered are tidy. I'm finding I'm more calm and relaxed now that I'm getting the house under control.         

Today

I am heading out to New Minas this morning after I put gas in the car. I need to get a ball of yarn for grandson's socks, and buttons at another store. I should look for winter boots also. In the afternoon, I am going to press the fabric for the reusable bag, put the straw on the garlic and cover the rose bush with burlap. I want to knit in the evening as I need to complete my projects, especially the doll's sweater. Knowing how much yarn I have in the stash, I will have to knit most evenings. 

Until the next time......................................................... 

Day Two - Put Patterns Away

 Day two was to put patterns away. I don't keep quilt patterns lying around as I store them on the computer in such a way that I can access them from either lap top. Knitting patterns are stored on the iPad. But doll and craft patterns are another story. They reside in the sewing room. 

I spent quite a bit of time hunting for the patterns I had shoved away or tossed onto the table I like to sit at and draft doll patterns. I even looked in the closet and found two in there. I put them all onto the the cutting table and sorted them out. Pdf patterns were put into page protectors. I sorted them out so the ones I want to sew next are at the top when I put them into their storage container. I had to really push down to get the lid on storage container I keep these in. 

I have chosen only to have this container for doll patterns. Once it is full, I have to discard some of the pdf patterns as I can print them off if I want to sew them again. At the moment, I have sewn about 50% of them more than once. Several I've sewn countless times. 

There were two patterns for sewing bags that needed to be put away. I did check the craft patterns and kept all 12 of them. I didn't look at the garment patterns as I purged them hard in January. 

I woke up during the night remembering I have one more doll's pattern to put away. It is in a basket of fabric. I will do that today. 

My sewing project yesterday was towel toppers and I had a long sewing spell and finished them to buttons. I suffered from it and the weather with my knee and hip aching last evening. 

Thoughts

    I am finding that I have more positive energy in the sewing room since cleaning off the cutting table and putting away the patterns. I really want to sew for longer periods of time. I have to be careful as it does make my knee sore. 

    I have been putting ideas for 2023 into my planner. My planner will be filled by the end of December and I'm going to get a new one. It will have a sewing section in it as I do most of my planning upstairs. When I write my daily to do list I do include the project I want to sew, what I need to buy, and countless other things. I can look back at what I've done over the course of the year. 

    I am a person who loves to declutter but I also want to organize and clean at the same time. Doing it this way is a bit cumbersome and slow but when done, I am always happy with the results. 

Today I am resting. I will sew buttons on the towel toppers but there will be no other sewing done. If I am able to, I may haul out the tubs of yarn and start sorting them once again. 

When I left the sewing room yesterday the table looked like this. 

Day One - Take Out The Garbage

 Yesterday was Day One yesterday of cleaning the sewing room It was take out the garbage which is a great way to start cleaning. 

Both garbage cans were just as full as the one shown. But, I just couldn't tie them up and toss them as say "Done" and then start sewing. 

The table was rearing its ugly head saying there was garbage on it. 

I started at the mat end and worked my way down the table. Fabrics were ironed, folded, and what ever else I needed to do before I put them away. Not perfectly away but on the shelving unit or in the closet. Scraps were put in a pile. Projects were sorted into piles. More items were put away and soon it was just projects on the table. 

Project 1 - the last potholder which was made from scraps. 

This one took the longest to prepare as I had to sew two pieces of insulbrite together and cut out all the pieces. The scraps tossed. Project 1 was ready to sew. 

Project 2 needed to be pressed and it was ready for piping. 

Project 3 was at the bottom of a huge pile of fabric and the fabric needs laundering. It will be a reusable grocery bag. 

Project 4 needed me to find the towels to put with the fabric and interfacing. They were located after a short hunt. The lobster fabric is a mock up of what the towel topper will look like. 

And lastly, Project 5 was the gloves for the Regency outfit. It was together so I added it to the pile. 

With all the projects neatly put on the cutting mat, I hobbled upstairs to get the cleaner, cloth, broom and dust pan. The cutting table was scrubbed clean and the projects put out at the far end of the table so I could see them. 

Next up was to sweep the floor and get the garbage out to the trash bin. 

It would have been so easy to just empty the garbage but when I looked at what I had done, I was proud of myself. I had a clean table to work on. I grabbed project 1 and had it done by the time I was ready for lunch. 

After lunch I made the piping and have it ready to ship. 

When I left the room, the cutting table was tidy and it had 2 less projects on it. Allowing myself to sew two easy projects was a  great reward for "Taking Out The Garbage". 

I'm Decluttering The Sewing Room Again

 I was amazed at how much clutter was in our home when the Spousal Unit passed away in September. Things were hidden that I didn't have time to deal with. Other things were put into boxes and stored in all sorts of places. It was time to deal with it all. 

As I cleaned the house of all the items that were stored or hidden, I knew I had to deal with the sewing room. It was the room that I sewed in but didn't clean up after myself. You make choices that aren't always the best ones when you have short periods of time to sew. And taking care of the Spousal Unit was my number one priority. Cleaning was not in the radar as the rest of the house was done by cleaners. The sewing room suffered but I just didn't worry about it. 

I was thankful that I had spent the time in January to follow Just Get It Done's decluttering challenge. Being organized allowed me to get a lot of sewing done -- the list until the Spousal Unit required more attention was long and the fabric from the stash decreased. I was really good about cleaning up after myself until I was unable to. And then I just lived with it and sewed for Christmas. 

Things got piled up on all the flat surfaces in the room. I had no energy to do more than sew when I could during respite. I would pile items up to get enough space to cut out a project and then sew it. My room was no longer my peaceful haven but a disaster zone. 

Once I was truly alone, I did some therapy shopping buying fabric to make and finish projects and a few pieces that I call grieving purchases. Up until then, I had only bought what I needed to finish a project. 

I kept track of what I bought and what I sewed as I could do that when I had a few minutes during meal time. As of today, I have bought more than 50% of what I have sewn this year. The worst ever in the past 3 years. On a good note, I have sewn most of the fabric bought. What goes into the stash will be sewn in 2023. 

Though I still have more Christmas gift sewing to do, I am going to start cleaning the sewing room today. I have a plan which I will work on when I can. And I will be joining the 2023 decluttering challenge in January to make sure I get everything done and that the room is not only organized but clean. I want to this room to be as calm and peaceful as the rest of the house is becoming.