I spent the last two weeks reorganizing, cutting and sorting my scraps. They can get so out of control, can't they? 

I have always sorted my scraps according to color in bins and this has always worked really well for me. I have a bin for black/grey, pink, red, blue, orange, yellow, purple, brown, and green. I also have 3 more bins reserved for the whites and low volume. One bin is for Kona white and Kona snow (each is in a ziplock bag in the bin so they don't get mixed up), one bin for the low volume fabrics that have color and one bin for tone on tone white/cream fabrics.  

  What I spend the last couple of weeks doing was go through each color bin and cut them up into usable sizes. I decided to not cut the larger than 10" scraps. The rest got cut into 5", 4 1/2", 2 1/2", 2" and 1 1/2" squares. I also saved the longer strips. I am hoping taking it to this level will help me to use them up faster. All the hard work, which is cutting, has now been done, so I can grab and sew or use them in a leader and ender project. 

All the 2 1/2" squares live in a bin all of their own, but they are stacked according to color. 

It was a huge job, but seeing all the bins sorted so nicely is so satisfying! Now to get back to the sewing machine and make something with them! 

I spent the last two weeks reorganizing, cutting and sorting my scraps. They can get so out of control, can't they? 

I have always sorted my scraps according to color in bins and this has always worked really well for me. I have a bin for black/grey, pink, red, blue, orange, yellow, purple, brown, and green. I also have 3 more bins reserved for the whites and low volume. One bin is for Kona white and Kona snow (each is in a ziplock bag in the bin so they don't get mixed up), one bin for the low volume fabrics that have color and one bin for tone on tone white/cream fabrics.  

  What I spend the last couple of weeks doing was go through each color bin and cut them up into usable sizes. I decided to not cut the larger than 10" scraps. The rest got cut into 5", 4 1/2", 2 1/2", 2" and 1 1/2" squares. I also saved the longer strips. I am hoping taking it to this level will help me to use them up faster. All the hard work, which is cutting, has now been done, so I can grab and sew or use them in a leader and ender project. 

All the 2 1/2" squares live in a bin all of their own, but they are stacked according to color. 

It was a huge job, but seeing all the bins sorted so nicely is so satisfying! Now to get back to the sewing machine and make something with them! 

I decided the other day that I needed to change things up a little bit in my sewing room. I have been looking at this wall hanging for a very long time. It was time to make something new to hang in its place. 

What could be more perfect than Thimble Blossoms original Spools quilt pattern? Some of my most treasured  Bonnie and Camille scraps are in this quilt. 

Saturday I spent the day making a sewing machine cover for my Bernina. Nadra @ Ellis and Higgs wrote a great tutorial. It is written in German, but Google translate is helpful in figuring it out. It took me longer to decide how to design it than to make it. I did forget to curve a couple of the corners, but it looks okay and it isn't worth the time and energy to undo the binding to fix that, right? 

For the ties, I used twill ribbons from Moda fat quarter bundles. I have a box full of them! 

The back side of my cover...

The two tutorials can be found here: 

Bernina 700 series sewing machine cover.

Bernina 500 series sewing machine cover.

Have a happy day!

I decided the other day that I needed to change things up a little bit in my sewing room. I have been looking at this wall hanging for a very long time. It was time to make something new to hang in its place. 

What could be more perfect than Thimble Blossoms original Spools quilt pattern? Some of my most treasured  Bonnie and Camille scraps are in this quilt. 

Saturday I spent the day making a sewing machine cover for my Bernina. Nadra @ Ellis and Higgs wrote a great tutorial. It is written in German, but Google translate is helpful in figuring it out. It took me longer to decide how to design it than to make it. I did forget to curve a couple of the corners, but it looks okay and it isn't worth the time and energy to undo the binding to fix that, right? 

For the ties, I used twill ribbons from Moda fat quarter bundles. I have a box full of them! 

The back side of my cover...

The two tutorials can be found here: 

Bernina 700 series sewing machine cover.

Bernina 500 series sewing machine cover.

Have a happy day!

My new door hanging is all finished. =)!!

I keep Command Strip products in business. I use them all the time. This is a perfect example. I don't want to put nail holes in the door, so I bought the small plastic hooks..

...add a couple of safety pins on the back of the quilt...

...and hang it up. =)

I hope to see you all tomorrow for my day in the Wake Up to Kona blog hop. I can't wait to share my project!!

Have a Happy Wednesday!!

My new door hanging is all finished. =)!!

I keep Command Strip products in business. I use them all the time. This is a perfect example. I don't want to put nail holes in the door, so I bought the small plastic hooks..

...add a couple of safety pins on the back of the quilt...

...and hang it up. =)

I hope to see you all tomorrow for my day in the Wake Up to Kona blog hop. I can't wait to share my project!!

Have a Happy Wednesday!!

I painted the fan blades with the left over paint from my pink desk. It looks so much better! =) 

I painted the fan blades with the left over paint from my pink desk. It looks so much better! =) 

Beads and chandelier crystals

along with beading wire,

 add a light kit,

and a sweet husband to do rewiring, 

I now have a pretty chandelier. =)

Beads and chandelier crystals

along with beading wire,

 add a light kit,

and a sweet husband to do rewiring, 

I now have a pretty chandelier. =)

I am so glad you are here and I hope you enjoy my little tour of my new sewing room. To see the before pictures, you can visit here. 

The most important spot in my room is this chair. It's a place for my friends and family to comfortably sit when they come for a visit. The arms of the chair are looking very worn. I need to make something to cover them up and make them look pretty.

My scraps, sorted by color, are in the bins with the blue lids. The other bins hold my fat quarters and half yards. I keep my yardage folded and stacked using this method by Happy Zombie.

On the other side of the wire shelf, I have a small peg board (that needs painted, but I was in a hurry to get things set up) that holds my most used tools and smaller rulers. I simply zip tied it to the shelf. I love zip ties! 'S' hooks are for my purchased patterns. 

The tool chest holds my needles, bobbins and other various small sewing supplies. I purchased it at Harbor Freight. 

One of my very favorite things is my cutting table. It was once a very ugly desk that I found at the Salvation Army for $1. You can see pictures of its transformation here and here. 

Under the desk has great storage. I keep my Viking sewing machine there so it's handy for those times when I need her. My former sewing room had a closet to store things, so finding a new place to put those things was a challenge. These plastic bins are an example. They hold my "special fabric" and used to live on a shelf in the closet. They found their new home under the desk so I can still access them easily. 

New shelves! I lost a tall wire shelf in the move and I needed a place for my books, my buttons and some pretties. As I adjust to my new place, somethings may get shifted around, but for now, this works. 

I love the step stool I found at Goodwill. It gets used a lot so I can reach things on the tall shelves. 

The tall cupboard we originally purchased to add more cupboard space in the kitchen is a great fit in my room and holds my precuts perfectly.

The ironing board is my extra table I use when quilting a larger quilt. I set it up on the left side of my table to hold the extra weight of the quilt while I am working on it. 

Ohhh...This is another one of my very favorite things. My pink kitchen cabinet pressing station. I begged the owner to sell it to me. It's true...You can read about it here, here and here. 

I found the area rug at Menard's for $17. I found fatigue mats on clearance that I placed under the rug. They make a world of difference when standing for long periods of time. 

More shelving. I think I have enough room to store stuff now. ;-) 

My first baby doll. My mom always said I loved the hair right off of her. She has a very silly name. Ready? Santa Claus Doll. Why? Because Santa gave her to me. It made sense to a me when I was 3 years old. =) 

Moving on, the sewing table and my beloved Juki. Love this machine! 

My office area. My one goal for this room was for me to have my sewing table so I could see outside and have my computer placed where I could watch Netflix while I worked. I am so glad we were able to get it worked out to be able to do that. 

I am so glad you are here and I hope you enjoy my little tour of my new sewing room. To see the before pictures, you can visit here. 

The most important spot in my room is this chair. It's a place for my friends and family to comfortably sit when they come for a visit. The arms of the chair are looking very worn. I need to make something to cover them up and make them look pretty.

My scraps, sorted by color, are in the bins with the blue lids. The other bins hold my fat quarters and half yards. I keep my yardage folded and stacked using this method by Happy Zombie.

On the other side of the wire shelf, I have a small peg board (that needs painted, but I was in a hurry to get things set up) that holds my most used tools and smaller rulers. I simply zip tied it to the shelf. I love zip ties! 'S' hooks are for my purchased patterns. 

The tool chest holds my needles, bobbins and other various small sewing supplies. I purchased it at Harbor Freight. 

One of my very favorite things is my cutting table. It was once a very ugly desk that I found at the Salvation Army for $1. You can see pictures of its transformation here and here. 

Under the desk has great storage. I keep my Viking sewing machine there so it's handy for those times when I need her. My former sewing room had a closet to store things, so finding a new place to put those things was a challenge. These plastic bins are an example. They hold my "special fabric" and used to live on a shelf in the closet. They found their new home under the desk so I can still access them easily. 

New shelves! I lost a tall wire shelf in the move and I needed a place for my books, my buttons and some pretties. As I adjust to my new place, somethings may get shifted around, but for now, this works. 

I love the step stool I found at Goodwill. It gets used a lot so I can reach things on the tall shelves. 

The tall cupboard we originally purchased to add more cupboard space in the kitchen is a great fit in my room and holds my precuts perfectly.

The ironing board is my extra table I use when quilting a larger quilt. I set it up on the left side of my table to hold the extra weight of the quilt while I am working on it. 

Ohhh...This is another one of my very favorite things. My pink kitchen cabinet pressing station. I begged the owner to sell it to me. It's true...You can read about it here, here and here. 

I found the area rug at Menard's for $17. I found fatigue mats on clearance that I placed under the rug. They make a world of difference when standing for long periods of time. 

More shelving. I think I have enough room to store stuff now. ;-) 

My first baby doll. My mom always said I loved the hair right off of her. She has a very silly name. Ready? Santa Claus Doll. Why? Because Santa gave her to me. It made sense to a me when I was 3 years old. =) 

Moving on, the sewing table and my beloved Juki. Love this machine! 

My office area. My one goal for this room was for me to have my sewing table so I could see outside and have my computer placed where I could watch Netflix while I worked. I am so glad we were able to get it worked out to be able to do that. 

The den before....

Sorry, dear, the deer have to go!

The beginning of my new sewing space. 

I lost a closet in the move, so figuring out where to store my fabric is the big decision yet to be made. We are thinking about putting shelves above the pressing station and the cutting station. 

I think it will work, though I had serious doubts yesterday. 

Be back later!

The den before....

Sorry, dear, the deer have to go!

The beginning of my new sewing space. 

I lost a closet in the move, so figuring out where to store my fabric is the big decision yet to be made. We are thinking about putting shelves above the pressing station and the cutting station. 

I think it will work, though I had serious doubts yesterday. 

Be back later!

Life is never boring around my home. I assume that is true for all of us. =) 

Kids moving *back* in, to kids moving *back* out...It can cause things to be a bit crazy and that is fine with me. I love my children, after all. =) 

All the moving in and out has caused Russ and I to revaluate how our home is set up. Russ knows how important it is for me to have a place to call my own and he sees the value in it., which means sacrificing my sewing room so that we have a guest room for those "moving back in times" was not an option, but moving my sewing room to the den was. Though the work is hard, it will be so worth it. I will be on the main level of the house, so I will be more connected to the family. Being isolated upstairs has been one of the drawbacks to my sewing room. The sewing room will now be a guest/long arm room. =) If a child needs to move back home for an extended period of time, we will move the long arm back to my bedroom, but for now, it will be wonderful having it out of my bedroom!

Today I will be putting a second coat of Powdered Snow (Behr paint) paint on the den/new sewing room walls and begin the packing and moving down stairs. =) 

Pics will be coming as soon as I get rid of the light bulbs that turn everything yellow. Yuck...I do love my daylight bulbs!

Life is never boring around my home. I assume that is true for all of us. =) 

Kids moving *back* in, to kids moving *back* out...It can cause things to be a bit crazy and that is fine with me. I love my children, after all. =) 

All the moving in and out has caused Russ and I to revaluate how our home is set up. Russ knows how important it is for me to have a place to call my own and he sees the value in it., which means sacrificing my sewing room so that we have a guest room for those "moving back in times" was not an option, but moving my sewing room to the den was. Though the work is hard, it will be so worth it. I will be on the main level of the house, so I will be more connected to the family. Being isolated upstairs has been one of the drawbacks to my sewing room. The sewing room will now be a guest/long arm room. =) If a child needs to move back home for an extended period of time, we will move the long arm back to my bedroom, but for now, it will be wonderful having it out of my bedroom!

Today I will be putting a second coat of Powdered Snow (Behr paint) paint on the den/new sewing room walls and begin the packing and moving down stairs. =) 

Pics will be coming as soon as I get rid of the light bulbs that turn everything yellow. Yuck...I do love my daylight bulbs!

Lisa @ Mom So Blessed asked me if I would share what machine I use to quilt with and the other tools I like to use in my sewing room. 

Sure! Why not! Besides, I like knowing what other people use and why, as well. =) 

My very favorite and the most important thing in my room is my Juki 98Q. 

I adore this machine!! 

She (all of a sudden "it" became a "she"...) does one stitch, a straight stitch and it does it to perfection. I rarely have to touch the tension knob.

 She is fast! Up to 1500 stitches per minute. I don't often take her to that speed, but I do find my self annoyed at other sewing machines that aren't going fast enough, so I must take her more to the limit than I think I do. 

She is sturdy. Made of metal and not a lot of plastic. Maintenance is a breeze. Oil her once in a while and clean to the lint. Easy peasy....

She is large enough to handle the biggest quilts. The area right of the needle is 6" x 9". Plenty of room to manouver a large quilt, and I have. Many times. 

In the two years I have owned her, I have never had any trouble what so ever. 

Two things here. The Pin Place magnetic holder and my favorite tweezers. I use the tweezers to pull the bobbin thread up to the top of my quilt when I am quilting and the Pin Place keeps me from losing it. I got the tweezers at Joann Fabrics. The Pin Place I found on line. Just give it a Google. 

This thread cutter I bought at Nolting's. When I am chain piecing, it's faster, handier and easier to use this to cut all the threads between the pieces than to use scissors. It came with a double stick tape to attach it to the machine, but I found it wasn't strong enough, so I attached it with a small piece of a Command Strip. It's not going anywhere any time soon. 

Machingers. Best quilting gloves ever, in my opinion. They don't stay clean long, but that doesn't affect the performance at all. =) 

Famore scissors.  The smaller 5" pair of scissors I won in the Quilter Wantobe Campaign last summer. Oh, how I ❤ these scissors. They cut like a hot knife through butter. I loved them so much, I asked for a 8" pair for cutting fabric for my birthday last year. They do not disappoint. I have a few more Famore scissors on my wish list. =) 

For pressing, I use one of two vintage irons I found thrifting. I own a Rowenta iron and it is very nice, however, once I started using these smaller vintage travel irons, the Rowenta stays put away. These babies get hot and they don't weigh a ton. 

 I bought the Polder Iron Cord Holder over 2 1/2 years ago and I have never regretted it. I will replace it if something should happen to this one. 

Several years ago, Russ made me a large pressing board to fit over an ironing board. When I found my pink cabinet, the pressing board found a new home. Originally I stapled the cover to the board, but after replacing the cover a couple of times because of the staining the starch causes, I no longer staple the cover on. Now I can wash the cover when needed and when it gets too stained for my liking, I toss it and make a new one. 

I hope this was helpful and somewhat informative. 

I would love to know what your favorite machines and tools are that you like to use. 

Happy sewing!

Lisa @ Mom So Blessed asked me if I would share what machine I use to quilt with and the other tools I like to use in my sewing room. 

Sure! Why not! Besides, I like knowing what other people use and why, as well. =) 

My very favorite and the most important thing in my room is my Juki 98Q. 

I adore this machine!! 

She (all of a sudden "it" became a "she"...) does one stitch, a straight stitch and it does it to perfection. I rarely have to touch the tension knob.

 She is fast! Up to 1500 stitches per minute. I don't often take her to that speed, but I do find my self annoyed at other sewing machines that aren't going fast enough, so I must take her more to the limit than I think I do. 

She is sturdy. Made of metal and not a lot of plastic. Maintenance is a breeze. Oil her once in a while and clean to the lint. Easy peasy....

She is large enough to handle the biggest quilts. The area right of the needle is 6" x 9". Plenty of room to manouver a large quilt, and I have. Many times. 

In the two years I have owned her, I have never had any trouble what so ever. 

Two things here. The Pin Place magnetic holder and my favorite tweezers. I use the tweezers to pull the bobbin thread up to the top of my quilt when I am quilting and the Pin Place keeps me from losing it. I got the tweezers at Joann Fabrics. The Pin Place I found on line. Just give it a Google. 

This thread cutter I bought at Nolting's. When I am chain piecing, it's faster, handier and easier to use this to cut all the threads between the pieces than to use scissors. It came with a double stick tape to attach it to the machine, but I found it wasn't strong enough, so I attached it with a small piece of a Command Strip. It's not going anywhere any time soon. 

Machingers. Best quilting gloves ever, in my opinion. They don't stay clean long, but that doesn't affect the performance at all. =) 

Famore scissors.  The smaller 5" pair of scissors I won in the Quilter Wantobe Campaign last summer. Oh, how I ❤ these scissors. They cut like a hot knife through butter. I loved them so much, I asked for a 8" pair for cutting fabric for my birthday last year. They do not disappoint. I have a few more Famore scissors on my wish list. =) 

For pressing, I use one of two vintage irons I found thrifting. I own a Rowenta iron and it is very nice, however, once I started using these smaller vintage travel irons, the Rowenta stays put away. These babies get hot and they don't weigh a ton. 

 I bought the Polder Iron Cord Holder over 2 1/2 years ago and I have never regretted it. I will replace it if something should happen to this one. 

Several years ago, Russ made me a large pressing board to fit over an ironing board. When I found my pink cabinet, the pressing board found a new home. Originally I stapled the cover to the board, but after replacing the cover a couple of times because of the staining the starch causes, I no longer staple the cover on. Now I can wash the cover when needed and when it gets too stained for my liking, I toss it and make a new one. 

I hope this was helpful and somewhat informative. 

I would love to know what your favorite machines and tools are that you like to use. 

Happy sewing!