It has been really busy around here! My sewing came to a complete stop as I was moving, settling into a new space and working on getting my old place cleaned and rented out. It was a lot of work, but it is all behind me now and I couldn't be happier about it. I am putting finishing touches on my new sewing space and I can't wait to show it to you but in the meantime, I am going to share my old sewing space. I put a lot of thought and love into it and I felt like my sewing room in my old apartment was perfect for me.

First off, I would like to say that I think I am really lucky to have the whole room for my hobby. A lot of sewists only get access to dinner table or a small corner. I cherish having so much space dedicated purely to my hobby, and I consider myself very lucky. True to my nature, I repurposed pretty much all my furniture in my sewing room. The table that holds my sewing machine and serger was picked up off Kijiji for close to nothing and repainted. The oval-back chairs were also picked up off someone for free, since the previous owner’s cat got to them and pretty much shredded the back to pieces. I’ve repainted the legs from black to white and re-upholstered them. The back of the chairs was tufted, but I ended up omitting it since I didn’t think it looked that good. They turned out amazingly comfortable! Here is my dog Skye testing out the chairs right after they were finished: A couple years ago I invested into wooden thread holder racks that you hang on a wall. I used to keep my thread in plastic containers but with the purchase of my serger my thread stash quadrupled and I could not keep it in a container anymore. I spray painted the thread racks so that they look a little nicer than just raw wood. I keep my collection of Burda Magazines (2009-current!) in magazine holders in my red bookcase. I’ve also picked up the bookcase for barely anything off someone and painted it red. My only complaint with it is that it is not wood and the paint doesn’t stick to it as well as it does to wood. Even with light sanding, 3 layers of primer and a couple layers of top coat. So I am thinking of eventually switching my bookcase to something else that’s wood. I also keep all my sewing books and reference material and other patterns in the bookcase. I am still trying to figure out a place for my rolled printed patterns though. As for the gray wingback chair, it is going to have it's own post ;) My main issue was my cutting table. I really wanted to create a softer, antique, very feminine feel in my sewing room. But it was impossible to find a table that was tall and big enough to be a cutting table in the style I was looking for. After hunting for a while and coming up with nothing, I decided I would try and build it. Yep. Build it. As in from wood and with carpentry tools. I drew out a picture and figured out what I need. After all, it’s almost like sewing – you see a technical drawing and you figure out the details from there, right?… I was smart enough to call my big brother in to help though. I don’t think I could have done it all by myself. So I picked up all the supplies I needed, I even found those beautiful legs already pre-cut in 36” height! I glued my tabletop together from two pieces of wood that were 76” long and 36" wide, and held them together with clasps for a bit until they stuck. Then one Saturday my brother came over and we got to working. I showed him my design and together we figured out what we need to do. A few hours later I had an amazing all wood cutting table, that was big enough and tall enough, and had removable legs for ease of moving!!! I painted it over a few days and then it was ready. I am absolutely in love with my cutting table. It’s tall, long, wide, just like I need it, and beautiful just like I wanted! I painted both tables in the exact same colors so that they kind of match. To protect the table tops from pins, scissors and other stuff I ordered glass to the size of the table top. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but I am definitely liking it now! It protects my tables and it’s so easy to work with and keep it clean! In front of my cutting table I have one of Ikea Ribba frame holders. I got the longest one. I use it to hold all the little tools, like pins, chalk, notepads, etc. Things that I find myself always reaching for. My scissors are hanging on the wall in front of my cutting table. Each one has its own hook. There are also hooks for seamstress tape and all my rulers. In the middle of the wall in front of my sewing table I always keep a clear magazine holder. That’s where I put all my instructions when I sew, be it printed patterns or Burda Magazines. This way they are right in front of me and I don’t have to go looking for them under all the fabric. Under my cutting table I keep a filing cabinet and a metal filing cart from Ikea. Filing cabinet is not used for its intended purpose… I just keep stationary (LOTS of scotch tape) and unassembled printed patters there. In my filing cart from Ikea I keep all my sewing notions and little things I use for sewing. I try to keep it tidy, but it always gets out of hand. I will not be showing my fabric stash in this post as I just forgot to take a picture of it before I packed it all up. I pretty much kept it all folded in my closet. I promise more detailed pictures with a post of my new sewing space! I plainly forgot to snap all the details prior to the move. Moving and packing is such a hassle… But that's okay, because then this post would be way too long! Anyways, I am hoping I will be back to blogging about my makes very soon! Especially since I already have a few new items I can’t wait to share! But in the meantime here is a tiny preview of what corner of it is going to look like: Love, Anya