It was starting to feel a little cramped in my sewing space, so I have swapped the wheeled office chair for a dining chair, just to see how it goes. It was a really big chair and I had my cutting table really close so I could reach everything easily, but it meant that I never had to get up. It was nice in a way to close off the space so the girls knew the boundary between the play area and my work space, but they know it now and, to be honest, I needed a change! I love to move things around, so I have shifted the table to the other side of the patio door and now there is space for the girls to play and draw next to me. I now am forced to get up and stretch when I need to cut something, which is a good thing! It is perhaps not the best view from the living room, but this is no showhome! We are thinking about putting up a curtain between the rooms as it will provide a backdrop for photographs, close the room off when we need to and will also give the girls a “stage” for their performances.

This way there is more room for the ironing board when I need to press larger items than can be accommodated on the sleeveboard. The suitcase in the bottom right hand corner is for carrying my stock when I need to show it to anyone outside the house. There are quite a few projects lined up on the cutting table, from a handbag that I need to get lining for, to bibs, aprons and crayon rolls for birthday gifts.

This is my space. The walls are “Crabapple” by Ralph Lauren, the storage unit is a project organizer by Sauder at Canadian Tire and the shelves are from Ikea (“borrowed” from my husband’s office). The main table is a very sturdy folding banquet table and the cutting table is a stainless steel table from my Mum’s restaurant, which she didn’t need anymore. I have 3 machines: a White machine which I use for sewing on cards now that I have my lovely Janome 4030 QDC. I also have a Janome Harmony 9102D serger. The photo was taken before I had my beautiful Mac.

My sewing / crafting space

The window looks out on to our garden, so I get lots of natural daylight and can watch the birds. I also have those daylight-type energy saver bulbs. My fabric is stored on top of the project organizer, which holds lots and lots of paper, books, office and crafting supplies and bits and bobs for future projects. I also have a small-ish garage organizer that holds all my embellishments and ink pads. My ever-expanding collection means that there are also things under the table, but at least they are stacked neatly on a small shelf and I know where to find just about everything.

I love this space!