Studio Unveiling

During the winter, while I was working, my studio slowly started to accumulate all of our crap, once again and became the cluttered junk receptacle of days past. So my first order of business, now that I have time off, was to get it reorganized and into workable shape. Surprisingly it didn't take that long. I moved all of the books we decided to keep into our guest room in the house and had my husband take the huge, bulky bookshelf to his office to clear out some space. 

Once most of the clutter was put away and organized I made a trip to Ikea in search of 3x3 cubbies. Unfortunately they don't carry them any more. I got two 2x4 cubbies and thought I would lay them side-by-side for cutting and storage. It wasn't ideal but I was stuck. Then my friend Ramona said that they carried the 3x3 cubbies at Home Depot, so I swung by there and found them! Four 3x3 cubbies and a 48"x48" piece of plywood later and I have my brand new storage and cutting table. 

It's big but I love it! It's the perfect height for cutting. Right now I don't have a cutting mat large enough to cover the entire piece of plywood but what I have will do for now. The plywood top makes it sturdier and covers the hole in the center of the storage unit. I made each of the four cubbie stations and put them together into a box formation, securing them together with brackets. I'm storing all of my fabric around on three sides, but I'm avoiding putting my fabrics on the lower level because my garage accumulates dust quickly. Then I have fabric boxes for more  dust-free storage (I need to get more of these) and I have books, magazines, etc. stored in the rest of the cubbies. I even hid bags of polyfil and pillow forms in the dead space in the center of the cubicle.

My design wall slides out to double in size, and once I do a little more reorganization it will be full-size all the time. I am re-evaluating my design wall and considering getting another Ikea wire hanger, like the one I'm using for my curtains, to string along the other wall with a piece of flannel to make a retractible design wall, but I'm not there yet. 

I also hung some rulers and tools with simple nails for temporary storage. 

Finally, I bought some large glass vases at Ikea for scrap storage. I've separated scraps by cool, warm and neutrals. 

There is still more clutter to clear (as you can see) and organize but the space is close enough for me to be able to work in there full time. And I moved my machine to the opposite wall so I have a better view when I'm working. It feels so nice to have a space dedicated to sewing and the little things I need to finish up to get the space perfect, like tightening up the curtain wire, can wait. For now, I get to sew!