Sewing Room

I've been a little busy lately and have not been on the blog scene.  The reason....MY NEW SEWING ROOM!! 

My mom made this Raggedy Ann wood plaque for my room when I was little

Here is a little tour of my new project room.  I have more to do to make it the room of my dreams, but I have already enjoyed sewing and chillaxin' in my very own diva attic!

We started with wood studded walls above the garage and an old work bench (which is wonderful storage).  My husband worked on heating and cooling and sheet rock.  He installed a wood floor which was obtained from some very nice people down the road that were installing new...FREE!

Heat and cooling unit.  Love climate control.

Sheet rock in progress.  This is the north wall before.

More sheet rock in progress.  This is the south wall and work bench.

Recycled wood floor installed, but what a mess.  Check out the plug ins going in above the bench..oh yeah.

After the floor and sheet rock were finished, a very nice fireman/part-time construction contractor came in and put texture on the walls.  Finally, it was my turn to get to work...  I decided to paint the room white until I can make up my mind what color I want.  Actually, I may just go crazy with accessories and leave it white.  Work in progress...always.

Here is a tour of the after:

South wall finished. 

 This is the only picture I have of the light fixtures.  The ceiling isn't high enough for the chandelier I wanted, so flush mount it was. ha  The hardware store had two fixtures on clearance.  BARGAIN!

Work benches.

 I decided to paint the inside of the benches.  I may eventually put a curtain up to hide the clutter, but for now it's good.

Lots of storage!!

Curtain.  The first sewing project in the diva attic..

I made valences for the windows using fabric by Moda - Half Moon Modern - Aqua Scissors.  Perfect fabric for a sewing room :) .

Glass front for fabric storage.  Small hanger area for work in progress.

 These cabinets are actually closet organizers.  I wanted a glass front cabinet and have been searching for something VERY affordable.  I found these at Menard's and just love them.  The hubby cut the hanging bar down a little to make it fit just right.

My new sewing table.

 My new sewing table was the splurge.  It is a Horn #5580.  It is elevated and has an air lift. (I opted out of electric lift..)  I love that it is the perfect height for me and is a great cutting table.  I found the drafting chair at Hobby Lobby and was able to use that trusty little 40 percent off coupon.  It was a steal of a deal.

Drafting chair and storage in sewing table.

I did get an insert to fit around my machine after I took this picture.  My machine now sits flush with the table.  I love that feature.  Quilting is so much easier.

Sewing table as cutting table.  Love it!

My Grandma's sewing cabinet.  My old Kenmore on top.

 I am lucky to have my Grandma Haskin's sewing machine and cabinet.  I've never tried the machine inside the cabinet, but she used it all the time and I'm sure it's a good back up.  My poor Kenmore sits on top.  I know the Kenmore works and comes in handy for those industrial strength jobs.  The thread holder on the wall came from my Grandma Wycoff.  There are  big spools on the holder that show prices of 18 cents.  You sure can't buy thread for that anymore.....

My sewing center.

North wall finished.

Quilts I made for the kids.

My husband's Grandpa made this shelf out of old thread spools. 

 This shelf is so cool for the sewing room.  It holds a little thread right now until I get my spool holders put up.  My husband does metal art.  Check out Duck Creek Designs to see some of his creations.   My name 'cut out' was one of his first practice projects.

Future home of the sink.

I planned to have a sink here by now, but I can't make up my mind what kind of cabinet I want.  I want a deep sink and not a vanity sink.  The hole in the floor is where the drain goes.  My husband is a plumber so that comes with perks...  LOL

The DIVA ATTIC.

So now you know what I've been up to.  I have some projects and stories to put on here also.

Lots more to come,

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Sewing Machine Shopping

I have spent the whole week end shopping for a sewing machine.  I suspect you all know what I'm talking about when I say this is mind blowing.  I had no idea this would be so hard.

Here is my sewing love.  She and I have put a lot of miles in together.  I don't want to lose her but give her a little rest. I have had her in my life for 26 years and I will never say good bye to her.  She has made some beautiful dresses, quilts, curtains, costumes, decorations, clothes, and purses.  She whines a little, but so would I if I had to put up with the abuse she has had to endure.  lol

My husband was so sweet to take Friday afternoon off to take me to a little quilt shop about 45 minutes away.  It's a Bernina dealership and I went armed with the idea of purchasing one of two machines I had seen in magazines.  I had no idea what the price would be, but I knew Bernina had great machines and I really wanted to have a machine with that fancy stitch regulator for free motion quilting.  Embroidery is something I'm also interested in but the main feature I'm looking for is a big throat area.

My dream sewing machine is the BERNINA 830LE.  This machine has everything I want.  It also has a very big price tag.  It's not out of the question, but I keep thinking of all the things I could buy if I didn't purchase this one.

I also like the features of the BERNINA 580 E.  It's throat area is too small but this machine is wonderful.  The BERNINA Stitch Regulator fits on this machine to make fmq a lot easier, but the price of that little gadget makes me wonder if it is that important.  So....

I decided to look for a Free Motion Pressure Foot to put on the Kenmore and try my luck.  I thought a quilt shop might have one, so I went over to the closest shop to have a look around.  No feet, but a class was going on.  I met a lot of very nice quilters and they listened to my shopping woes and gave some much needed advice.  75 percent of them either owned a Janome or wanted the machine.  Wow, that really got me excited to know that I could have a machine with a big throat at a fraction of the cost of my dream machine.  I won't have embroidery, but at this price, I can purchase a separate embroidery machine and still buy thread.... lol 

The Janome MC6600P is looking like a great option for me.  The price is right and it has some great features with some fun stitches.  I could do more that stitch a straight (somewhat straight) line.  It has a lot of room for king size quilts, which is one of the main features I want.

I left the quilt shop ready to go home and start my Internet comparison shopping....again.  But, I still wanted to find a FMQ foot for the ole Kenmore.  I found another Sewing Machine dealer with a google search on my phone and decided to head over there.  This is my last local chance for a foot.  The search didn't reveal what kind of machines they had, but I was willing to take a chance.  I'm desperate for supplies around here.

 

Hello sweetness.  The shop was downtown and sells vacuum cleaners as well as ......wait for it.... yes, they have JANOME and a pressure foot.  Of course, they do not have the model I'm interested in, but Miss Carol will order it and she was very helpful in the embroidery machines as well.  I haven't used the foot yet, but hope to try it out later today on my little Kenmore love.  I want to start this class: 

The instructor, Leah, uses a Janome Horizon 7700, but I've read there may be glitches.  I've read good and bad about all machines though.

Here are a couple links I've used in the search:
http://www.sewforum.com
http://www.PatternReview.com

If you have any advice, I'm welcoming thoughts.  Please.

I need to sew and quit worrying about the next machine of my life,

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