Organizing Your Sewing Space

My husband and I spent most of today organizing our home.  Once we got going, it was kind of fun to find a place for everything, and put everything in its place.

So then I got to looking up sewing organizers on Etsy and had so much fun, it was hard to stop.  Here are a few of the items I found, and the shops which sell them.

She Will Love It makes these gorgeous five-sided sewing boxes.

Brennie Quilts makes a number of quilted patchwork organizers.  This one comes with a cute little pincushion

Here's a Pretty Pincushion from
Whimbrella





and a Coming Up Roses Felted Needle Book by JN Originals

Another needle book, this one by bugnikdesigns .  This seller has some adorable felted play food items too.

Flower Girl Design sells a pattern for making your own coffee can organizer

Crewel Jewels has a shop full of sewing organizers including chatelaines, acrylic needle cases, and seashell pin cushions.

 

The Wood Shoppe
fashions items like thread spool holders out of, you guessed it, wood.

and finally, if you would like something a little different, how about this altered martini glass sewing set by

Cest Magnifique

Happy Organizing!

Kona Crush & Other Goodies

Just got in a shipment of fabric, pretty exciting in my household!

This is the first face to face look I've had at the new Kona Crush fabric from Robert Kaufman. 

Kaufman says of it:  "crumpled," "crinkled" and "textured." Strong in the market, this is more than a passing trend; this relaxed, cool look is here to stay. Great basic with a fashion forward touch.   It is, of course, 100% cotton, but heftier than regular Kona at 4.8 oz per square foot, and a generous 55" wide.

Can you see the texture in this fabric?

I am going to have to do some experimenting with this one!

Getting Things Done

I find that the more specific my daily list, the more I accomplish.

For example, this:

• sew bags
• vacuum
• work on paper order
• haircut
• exercise
  

is not as effective as this:

• serge edges of bags, wash and dry
• vacuum bedrooms
• cut out all paper for order
• haircut at 3 p.m.
• walk 20 minutes, yoga 20 minutes
  

I always have good intentions and high hopes when I make my list.  But, if it is not specific, I tend to be unrealistic in my goals, and then get overwhelmed and discouraged.  Before I know it, the day is done, and I am disappointed in myself for not accomplishing enough.

With a specific list, my work is broken into small, doable elements which I can fit in around the anchors of my day such as meals, work, prayer, Bible time, daily household maintenance chores, etc.

Hope you all have a productive, and fun day!

99 Cent Shipping

For some reason I never noticed until now that there is not a cent sign on the keyboard.  I like the cent sign, and I miss it.  Is it because hardly anything costs less than a dollar these days?  Remember when a bag of groceries was about $10, now it is more around $40.  How about gasoline, remember 35-40 (where is that CENT sign!), cigarettes .50 per pack.  I could go on.  Here I go, off on a tangent....

Anyway, this post is not about all that really.  I just wanted to announce that starting tomorrow, and running through the rest of January, shipping in my fabric shop will be .99 per item for U.S. destinations, 1.99 for Canada, and 3.99 Everywhere Else.                 Happy Shopping!

P.S. If anyone knows a keyboard shortcut for the cent sign, please share it with me.

3 Sets Done, Four 2 Go

I got a new sewing machine, and am having FUN!

My New Favorite Organizing Tool

My new favorite organizing tool.

These have been in use for a long time by the retail industry, but are new to me.  Have you seen them? They are called flip fold, and come in at least two sizes.  I bought a set on the recommendation of a neighbor, and have been busy folding everything from clothes to fabric.  It's fun too!

I think a good place for them would be in my laundryroom.  That way I could fold things immediately and quickly as they came out of the dryer.

I'm planning on giving one of these to my daughter, but might need to buy a second pair so we can each have one of both sizes.

Winner of 2nd Week Giveaway

Congrats to Michelle Jadaa from Canada, the winner of this week's Twitter Giveaway.  Michelle Retweeted one of my promo's, and was chosen by a random number selector.

I learned some things about Twitter in the process, and gained some new followers.  Thank you all so much!

Now on to this week's giveaway....

I am giving a free fat quarter of premium cotton fabric to to anyone who spends  $10 or more in my shop between now and Thursday, the 21st..  You will find that my shipping prices are low, most items ship for $1.99 or less.  I have been busy listing new fabrics too, so be sure to check it out.

Sewing Machine Woes & Decisions

I've made some progress on my place mat sets - about half of them are ready to be quilted.  Not as far along as I had planned though, due to a sewing machine malfunction.  My main machine has been humming along for a few years, and is now in need of at least a tune-up.  I am finding it is not that easy to find a sewing machine repair shop these days, at least not for the kind of machine I have.  So I am making due with an old straight stitch console Singer until I can get it serviced.  The Singer has a nice even and balanced stitch, but does not have the capability of doing freemotion quilting.

I am considering buying another machine, as a backup to my main one, and also  as a lighter and easier model to take along to quilting retreats and such.

In the meantime, I am putting the old Singer to good use, getting all the placemats ready to quilt.

On a different note, a new shipment of  beautiful Bali Batiks has arrived, which I will be listing those over the next few days.  Also, there are still a few more hours for you to get in on this week's giveaway, if you haven't already.  Get the details here.

This Week's Giveaway!

This week it is all about Twitter.

1st - Follow my shop on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/FabricFascinate

2nd - Retweet one of my shop promo's

That's all there is to it! You will be automatically entered to win one yard of a solid color Kona Cotton of your choice, plus a 12 pack set of Thread Tamers.

If you haven't used Kona Cotton before, you will find that it has a high thread count, which gives it a wonderful hand; and my Thread Tamers will put any unruly spools in order in no time!

And the Winner is..........!

Congratulations to Akiko, 
the winner of this week's giveaway
of a 1 yard assortment of Hoffman Batiks!

 

Later today, I will announce this week's giveaway,

so stayed tuned!   (hint - it's all about Twitter)

 

Grand Opening!

January marks the grand opening of my fabric shop, which means some special deals and giveaways for you!

First off, for the week of January 1-7, I am offering  .99 U.S. shipping on each item in my shop. If your order totals $35 or more, shipping is free in the U.S.

Secondly, I will be having a giveaway each week of January.  This week's giveaway is for a 1 yard assortment of beautiful blue batiks, 1/3 yard of each. These batiks are hand painted in Bali, where a "double chop" technique is frequently used to overlay one design over another, adding tremendous dimension to the fabric.

To enter, please visit my shop, and then leave a comment here with a link to an item you like.  If you add yourself as a follower to my blog, I will enter your name a second time in the drawing.   If you are already following, please just note that in your comment for a second chance.

I will use a random number selector to choose the winner on January 8th.