Sewing Sunday Progress 3/14/10

Sewing Sunday progress was more about finding the right space to work.  I have had several attempts at making a great sewing space and have had to settle for less than perfect.

This is one area that I know many quilters struggle with. So I thought I would share insights into my attempts.

First off, I have a decent size home, but with small rooms, 3 floors but no real space to call my own as I also have 3 kids still living at home. We have 3 bedrooms, and and a partially finished basement. My son's room is in the basement. When we bought the house this room was an office (which would have made a great sewing room) But we could not afford a home with 4 bedrooms so sewing room had to wait.

Now my husband and I share an area of the basement that is not finished. There is an area for storage, the furnace and the water heater. His office area was a workout room for the previous owners. There is a partial wall separating him from me (I share the space with the storage shelves) Not pretty but usable space non the less. This is where I started and where I eventually returned after a few years. LOL

Let me explain: My oldest daughter moved out at 18, which made me very excited, not because she moved out, but because now I had a spare bedroom! I moved up in the world and into a room that had a window instead of a cement foundation wall!  This worked well for about a year. And then.............I got her back as a Christmas present last year. LOL Things weren't going well with the room mates and her finances. She dug herself into serious financial troubles and needed my help. So what was a mother to do?

Back to the basement again. Now I had to find a way to make this work again. And so I did. What does a person need to sew or quilt?

1. Table
2. Lighting
3. Iron / Pressing surface
4. Cutting area

That is it right? The real key here is setting up the proper height of the table and chairs to avoid back or neck problems.

One way to solve this is to get a table that is adjustable. I found one for under $40.00 this table is not large in size but the legs allow me to create the perfect height for sewing and cutting! There are 3 settings on this table, the lowest they call "kids table" which it really looks like, is the perfect height for sewing! Most sewing machines sit several inches above the table and unless you are lucking enough to afford a cabinet that allows your machine to be lowered and flush, you need to lower the table.

Of course you need to have a chair that lowers as well to meet your table height. If you use a table such as kitchen or dinning room, or even most standard banquet tables they are too high. Even if you raise your chair to the maximum height. (I know, as I did that for years and was not comfortable). Ideally you need to have the table and chair sitting so your arms at a comfortable 90 degree angle and feet are flat on the ground.

I had my chair raised to the max, then added a chair pad to raise me up enough to get that 90 degrees, but then my feet would dangle! So then I added a box on the floor (or a phone book) to raise my feet. What a hassle. But this did work until I discovered the adjustable table.

The other great thing about the adjustable table is when it is set at the maximum height, it becomes counter height perfect for cutting! No more bending and lower back troubles for me now!

Over head and task lighting and I am set.

So as far as my sewing progress is it was minimal, I only worked on a few of the "Fibonacci blocks" which I will show you next week. I am on the last 2 blocks, and will need your help in deciding how to layout the blocks!