Getting Back on Track

When I left you almost 2 years ago (can you believe it?) I never dreamed the Covid crisis would keep me away this long.  I certainly didn't think being in isolation would keep me out of my sewing room for over six months.  It should have been the opposite, right?  I should have been sewing up a storm (as my mother used to say).  Alas, motivation is an interesting thing.  Its appearance has been pretty random around here.  

Right before I took my blogging break I had been doing "A Little Housekeeping" in my sewing room.  I recovered my ironing board and design wall and sorted through and organized all my scraps.

The next part of my housekeeping was just the simple basics.  First, cleaning and oiling my machine, and wow, did it ever need it! 

Next, cleaning up threads.  I have a great thread catcher right at my elbow .....

..... but it seems that when you throw threads at it instead of putting them into it, they end up on the floor instead. Huh.  Imagine!

Do you know what happens if the floor is covered in threads and you don't sweep often enough?  The wheels on your chair stop rolling because they're bound up in thread and snippets of fabric!

I'm not even going to tell you how hard it was to clean up that mess.  Let's just say it involved scissors, tweezers, and a lot of time.         

It wreaks havoc with your socks, too!

Once my sewing room was cleaned and organized I felt more like sewing.  Next time I'll show you everything I accomplished afterwards.

Oh!  One more thing!  When you clean your sewing room I would advise you to sort through your trashcan before emptying it.  You never know what might have ended up in there after it fell off the cutting table.  Yikes!

Now that I'm back (AND motivated) I'll see you soon.  I promise!

A Little Housekeeping - Part 2

If the condition of my ironing board was awful my design wall was almost as bad.  Ever since Hubby helped me make my design wall, about fifteen years ago, I've kept it covered in flannel, and it's always worked great.  Then, for some strange reason I no longer recall, I decided (when I moved into my new sewing room) the flannel needed to be covered with batting.  Who knows? 

That turned out to be not such a great idea.  Blocks refused to stick to it for very long, but stray threads seemed to love staying put and were almost impossible to remove - even with a lint roller!  And it got so saggy that I eventually got frustrated with it and finally decided to tear off all that uncooperative batting.  

Happy surprise!  The flannel underneath was still in good shape! 

I forgot to take "in the process" pics, but this is what it looks like "after".  Quilt blocks even stick to it.  What a concept, right?    
  

That turned out to be a big improvement and well worth the housekeeping efforts.  Next up - scraps! 

A Little Housekeeping - Part 1

I think my winter funk is almost over.  The sun is coming out once in a while, and the days have been a little warmer. I've been sitting in front of my Happy Light every morning for a little boost, so there is hope!

I've managed to get a little housekeeping done in my sewing room, and was it ever needed!  

My ironing board had certainly seen better days.  (That's putting it mildly!)

















Well, to be honest, it wasn't actually ripped, but it didn't take much effort to do that.  And it made for a better photo op, so there's that.  I took the "well worn" muslin off down to the heat resistant layer.....  

.....and pulled out my bolt of muslin.























Once the new muslin was stretched around the board I got to work with my handy dandy staple gun and tacked it down.







Ahhhhh!  Much better, right?  Kind of makes me want to sew.  Or should I keep it clean?  Nope!






















I'm very happy with my fresh ironing board.  Hmmm, what to do next?