The Hungry Crafter

I’ve been meaning to share my sewing space with you all for a while, and was finally given a shove by Kathy over at Pink Chalk Studio, who has dubbed July “Where I Sew” month on her blog. Be sure to check out the link up page over there for all your voyeuristic pleasure!

Someday, I hope to have a single studio room dedicated to all my creative affairs. Right now, things are a bit spread out, with “fine arts” (paints, pastels, etc.) and paper crafts living in the upstairs office along with the musical instruments, computer and graphic design books, while the sewing, embroidery and fiber arts live downstairs in a nook of the living room. Given that a). this is “where I SEW” month, and b). the office is so cluttered you could lose a leg walking through there, I think I’ll stick to my downstairs corner for the purposes of this post.

I’ll begin by introducing you to my torso. She doesn’t have a name (suggestions welcome! Shout ’em out!), but I think that’s only because I relish the opportunity to use the word “torso” in conversation.  As in, “What’d you get for Christmas this year, Jo?” “A torso.” Unfortunately, she celebrates her birthday every year by being relegated to the garage so that there’s room for the Christmas tree. The joys of townhouse living.

And here’s the nook in its entirety. Lovely spot for a Christmas tree, don’t you think?

Over to the left, you’ll notice the bulk of my storage in the bookcase: craft books and knit fabrics on the top shelf; quilting cottons and linens below; a display shelf of my favorite odds and ends; patterns, notions, rulers and the like in a vintage tool caddy; baskets for embroidery floss, wool roving, and felt; and finally, tucked away in the bottom, the unattractive bags of batting, interfacing, polyfil and scraps.

I picked up a couple lime-painted metal drawers at the same time as the tool caddy, and keep them on my sewing table to hold scissors and pins and rulers and marking pens, as well as my favorite sewing accessory ever: Owly. Yes, I am still five years old when it comes to naming conventions. I had better not ever seriously get into creating large art quilts, for fear of what I’ll name them. But back to Owly. Clearly, he’s a pincushion. His secret, though is that he’s also a tape measure. His tail pulls out, and you press his base to retract. Such fun!

To the right of the sewing table is a small bookcase where I store my apparel fabric and some additional patterns and books. On top of the bookcase is a lamp, excess spools of thread (long story), and a great bulldog print by Marc Tetro that I picked up on vacation in Asheville, NC. Again, no small children in my house, just a big one that has a thing for goofy animal art. (You did notice the strings of Mexican chickens hanging from the wall in the first two pictures, right?)

And that just about does it! Not much to my nook, but it’s bright, cheery, and gets the job done. Oh wait, before I sign off, how about some Christmas in July?

Told you it looks good there. Hope everyone had a great fourth of July. Merry birthday, America.