SEWING ROOM UPSTAIRS

One more hard day of lugging a laundry basket up the stairs loaded down with fabric, I don't know how many times.  My knees are telling me it was a few too many times though.

When I finally got all the fabric up and sorted, then I started bring up the drawers from my sewing table and the leaves for the cutting table.  At least I got the men to bring up the tables, though.

It looks a little bare right now, but I'm sure I'll have it all junked up very soon.

In fact, I think I'll be out there sewing up a storm first thing in the morning.  I really wanted to sew tonight, but I'm just too tired.

One of the fun and interesting things about reorganizing my stash was getting re-acquainted with and counting all the pieces of fabric I have.

I will admit it, I am a fabricoholic.

I have some really ugly pieces of Elvis fabric - (I can't believe they let them license them).

I have 116 pieces of fabric with a horse motif, 2 that are zebras, 3 with cowboy boots, and 1 seahorses.  (Most of these are 1/2 yard pieces).

I was astonished to find I have 414 pieces of paisley fabrics.

I have a big stack of hand-dyed fabrics by Judy Robertson from her yard of the month program.

I am short on yellows, but I have golds.  And Diane B is right, I have way too many browns.

I have a lot of plaids.  I have some Kaffe Fassett fabrics I would love to use.

I need to start using this fabric.  Now.  

I'd like to make quilts, but I don't know what to do with them.  I'd really like to just make the tops and have someone else quilt them.  You wanna?  We could donate them.

FABRIC STASH - END OF DAY TWO ORGANIZING

I spent the first day cleaning up from the construction.  I got out the vacuum and went at it.  I decided everything either had to have a home or it was going away.  I started taking things downstairs and piling them up in Darrell's shop.  It's only a matter of time until he puts a stop to that!  But I will eventually do away with it all.  We need a big garage sale this summer.

Anyway, I started taking fabric up that afternoon, but I didn't take any pictures.

This is where I stopped at the end of day two.  

It all has to be re-folded and organized.  It' kind of fun going through it all and remembering what I have.  It's seems it's been a long time since I've been through it.  I'm finding things I had forgotten I have.  But, I need to start doing something with it all.  I have little stacks of fabrics that I had some sort of plan for....but most of it I don't remember what exactly. 

STUDIO FABRIC STORAGE

The above picture is the finished project.  Below are the process pictures.   I did some research about systems for storing my fabric stash.  I had criteria - I wanted to be able to see the fabric and get to it easily; I wanted the bins deep as possible because of the layout of the room's sloping ceiling.  That end isn't really usable space without stooping down.  I found this wire basket system through Organizeit.com.  It was expensive, but simple to install - a choice of time or money.  Being short of time, or should I say, Darrell being short of time, I decided to go for it.  

Darrell built the simple four section box, and installed the 'ladders' that the baskets slide on.  We found the other cabinets for free on Craigslist and he built toe-kicks for them, installed them and put new countertops of MDF edged with mahogany.  

I spent several days painting the inside of the old cabinets white and painting the outsides, and putting shellac on the top of the counters.  

At the last minute, I decided it might be fun to add some color - that short wall behind the new cabinets never really got painted properly.  I stopped at Rodda on the way home one day and picked up some dark yellow (gold) paint - it's called 'Hacienda Clay'.  I was surprised at how 'warm' it ended up being up against the already warm amber shellac.  Oh, well.

Now I just have to lug all my fabric up there, re-fold it, and organize it.

No problem.

WRONG KIND OF PAINTING

Got a coat of primer yesterday and a coat of paint on the Fabric Case today.  Needs one more coat of white, and then I'm going to push it into it's corner and wait for the husband to install the hardware for the baskets.

Boring!               Turn the music up!

STARTING ON THE OTHER SIDE

Darrell got up early and made this case to house my fabric collection.
I've purchased a metal basket drawer system to store it in.
This box will hold the basket drawers.

 Those are the some of the baskets on the right.  Again, the studio is in a state of disorder, to say the least.