losing my sewing room

Kate Dicey wrote:
Crisp cottons and silks made into garments with simple shaping
respond reasonably well to such treatment, and I'm way too lazy to
press
anything that doesn't really need it. However, there are things and
fabrics that do a lot better with real pressing (nasty cheap poly
bridal satins, for example, that do not finger press AT ALL!), and
some areas
of sewing where pressing is more than half the job - as in some
tailoring processes, where fabric must be stretched, shrunk,
molded, and
set into specific shapes in order to fit, and this needs to be done
in
one area before the next stage is completed or you won't be able to
get
the iron in there to do it! There's no way to get the banger in a
sleeve once you set it into the body of the jacket, and without it
your seams will definitely look amateurish and half done.

Yup! :-)

I shall
be using
vast amounts of steam and pressing on the lovely Melton cloth for
the 1808 era 71st Glasgow Highland Light Infantry jackets I cut out
yesterday. Each seam and pleat will be steamed and walloped with me
trusty chunk of wood until it is crisp and flat... Nay, FLAT!!! In
some places, seam allowances need to be pressed flat while the seam
itself has an elegant curve to it... Fun doing that, and the back
seam
and the very curved sleeve seams must be done before the sleeves
hit the body of the jacket.

HSSSS! HSSS!! Thump! Thump! HSSSS! HSSS!! Is this the Hogwarts
Express, or Kate, pressing a sleeve seam? It's Kate... ;D

What Kate said, amen! ;-) I probably do *little* less pressing
while constructing children's clothing, but anything really
important...no skimping on the quality details.

--
Beverly
---to reply, delete no spam and .invalid---

Debra wrote:
On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 07:52:32 +0100, Kate Dicey
wrote:


Lisa wrote:


whaaaa!
I went from having a whole bedroom to the laundry room and now in a
few weeks we will move to a house with an even smaller laundry room.
(That's what happens when you have kids--they get the bedrooms!)
Anyway, my question is how to organize my stuff so that I can still
sew. I was thinking of finding some sort of wheeled cart that I could
put my machine and serger on along with the most often used notions,
iron and such. I'm not sure what to do about the ironing board. I
guess I'll have to haul that out every time. I need this portable
stuff to be easy to put away whether or not I'm done with the project
(small kids around!)
I hope this is only temporary. We'll only be in this house for a year
and then who knows what the Navy will do with us next!
Lisa R

Will you have room for something like a Horn cabinet? I know those
things are expensive, but it would mean just closing it up and it could
live somewhere like the dining room or the corner of the living room, so
you could sew where the kids were under you eye.


Isn't there something better looking out there anymore? The Horn
cabinets I was able to find were ummm...uh....utilitarian is the best
thing I can say about them. We shouldn't have to hide our cabinets
under something because they are ugly. A cabinet can look good while
being useful. My mom's cabinet looks like an expensive wood writing
desk when it's closed so it looks great in her livingroom. It's got
plenty of drawer space for notions and such too. I'm looking for
something similar, but it doesn't have a brand mark on it anywhere.

Debra in VA


I like the idea of taking the Horn type cabinet to a furniture maker and
getting a proper wooden one made. Horn and all the others seem to be
made of flimsy stuff and never have *quite* enough storage space in
them! And, as you say, they are ugly!

--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

"BEIDesign" wrote in message
news:2L%%c.141424$9d6.76923@attbi_s54...

"Tom Farrell" wrote in message
om...


You don't really need to iron when sewing. Really, you don't. I
promise. Finger pressing is plenty good.

What an odd thing to say. The first thing I tell someone I teach to
sew is "90% of quality results come from proper pressing." I'm not
talking about "ironing", which I do rarely, but
"pressing-during-construction". Skipping that step results in shoddy
work, IMNSHO.

--
Beverly
---to reply, delete no spam and .invalid---

The only thing I don't use the iron on when sewing is lycra (bodysuits et
al) - even I of "I like the wrinkled look" get out the iron when I'm sewing!
Just my opinion, but a quick pass with the iron beats finger pressing any
day - and is faster, too!
Cynthia

losing my sewing room

(Debra)
Isn't there something better looking out there any more? The Horn
cabinets I was able to find were ummm...uh....utilitarian is the best
thing I can say about them. We shouldn't have to hide our cabinets under
something because they are ugly. A cabinet can look good while being
useful. My mom's cabinet looks like an expensive wood writing desk when
it's closed so it looks great in her living room. It's got plenty of
drawer space for notions and such too. I'm looking for something
similar, but it doesn't have a brand mark on it anywhere.
Debra in VA
---
Debra, yes, there is, and I see them advertised regularly in a local
re-sale paper.
Back in the 60's and 70's, Singer made/marketed some beautiful wood
cabinets. One of them looked like an armoire, a lovely piece of
furniture, with a fold-down shelf for the machine, and plenty of stash
storage.
Some history: Avon products used to offer these cabinets to their
sales force as an incentive. Earn so many points, and you could choose
an item from the incentive program catalog. When they phased the program
out, I had to use my points, augmented with cash, so chose a nice
mahogany-colored sewing cabinet with an automatic machine lift and
fold-out top, 3 shelves beneath. It's still a great durable cabinet, and
would even look nice in a formal setting. Keep looking--you can still
find these great durable cabinets, for a fraction of the cost of a Horn
cabinet.
Cea (also in VA.)

Ikea do a small table top ironing board which is much easier to store
than a full sized one, although it's not so good for ironing large items
(It's fantastic for baby clothes!) They also have gate leg tables which
are small when folded, and various different cabinets and storage units

www.ikea.com

I bought a vanity case which has pockets and elasticated "bits" that
hold scissors etc. It also has a hanging hook. You could always make
something similar.

Have a look around, you may find something that will work but isn't
designed for sewing.

Sarah

On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 10:39:03 -0400, wrote:


losing my sewing room

(Debra)
Isn't there something better looking out there any more? The Horn
cabinets I was able to find were ummm...uh....utilitarian is the best
thing I can say about them. We shouldn't have to hide our cabinets under
something because they are ugly. A cabinet can look good while being
useful. My mom's cabinet looks like an expensive wood writing desk when
it's closed so it looks great in her living room. It's got plenty of
drawer space for notions and such too. I'm looking for something
similar, but it doesn't have a brand mark on it anywhere.
Debra in VA
---
Debra, yes, there is, and I see them advertised regularly in a local
re-sale paper.

Would your local re-sale paper be "Your Message Board" or "The Thrifty
Nickel" by any chance? We have those around here, plus one more I
can't remember the name of right now. I'll keep looking in those.
I've also heard of an online auction that is for Virginia only, but I
haven't found it yet. Haven't seriously searched for it but I think I
will now.

Back in the 60's and 70's, Singer made/marketed some beautiful wood
cabinets. One of them looked like an armoire, a lovely piece of
furniture, with a fold-down shelf for the machine, and plenty of stash
storage.
Some history: Avon products used to offer these cabinets to their
sales force as an incentive. Earn so many points, and you could choose
an item from the incentive program catalog. When they phased the program
out, I had to use my points, augmented with cash, so chose a nice
mahogany-colored sewing cabinet with an automatic machine lift and
fold-out top, 3 shelves beneath. It's still a great durable cabinet, and
would even look nice in a formal setting. Keep looking--you can still
find these great durable cabinets, for a fraction of the cost of a Horn
cabinet.
Cea (also in VA.)

Aha! Great to know some history for this type of cabinet. I don't
know if my mom's is one of them, but it could be. Mom bought it at a
local flea market for $20. The woman who sold it had gotten it from
her mother, but she didn't get her mother's Bernina, and she wasn't
really interested in sewing. She used it as a writing desk for a few
years and then bought something she liked better. The desk,
mahogany-colored like your cabinet, has pretty brass hardware and is
rock steady and mom just puts her portable machine on it for now. DH
could re-work the insert hole to fit her machine, but she doesn't want
to add to our already huge list of projects, so she covers the hole
with a piece of glass and sets the machine on top of it. The machine
lift is manual, and that's just fine for us whenever we get around to
installing the machine properly. I don't see the need for machinery
to raise my machine out of the cabinet. Machine heads are not
terribly heavy.

I just don't understand why the cabinets today cost so much. They
look like build-it-yourself melanine furniture. Melanine is cheap
stuff and I could get that at K-Mart, Walmart, or Lowe's cheap.
Shucks, I could design my own cabinet and get melanine boards at
Lowe's and build something custom for about 50 bucks, or I could buy
furniture grade wood and make something pretty for about $150, and it
would hold up better over time as well. I simply have too many
projects at this time to do that.

I have a small space I plan to put my machine and I've got an idea
that will work marvelously for fabric storage. It's a sweater rack
designed to hang from a closet rod. It's made of canvas with boards
inside the canvas shelves. I bought it for another house and it's
been in storage since we moved. All I need to do is hang it from a
sturdy decorative curtain rod and I've got stash storage galore. I've
taken a small spice cabinet that I wasn't using in the kitchen and
removed most of the spice jars so it now holds thread spools and the
few jars I kept now hold filled bobbins. The bobbins won't unwind in
the jars and since the jars are clear I can easily see the bobbin
thread color to find what I need. Best of all it can be mounted on
the wall along with a small shelf with a drawer that I can store my
rotary cutter and other things in. I've got an old oak teacher's
chair and all I need now is a cabinet for the machine. Looks like
I'll have to make do with a small table until I find that cabinet I'm
dreaming about.

Debra in VA

wrote:

I like the idea of taking the Horn type cabinet to a furniture maker and
getting a proper wooden one made. Horn and all the others seem to be made of
flimsy stuff and never have *quite* enough storage space in them! And, as you
say, they are ugly!

There are plans for these in a woodworking catalog my DH sometimes receives.

http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product...778349&offerin
gs_id=7

(If this link doesn't work, just go to www.rockler.com and navigate your way
through to Project Plans to Sewing Accessories.)

I have considered requesting that he make me one of these ready for the
eventual day that we decide to move into smaller quarters, but as I have no
plans to "downsize" in the near future I have left it on hold.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

losing my sewing room

(Debra)
---
wrote:
Debra, yes, there is, and I see them advertised regularly in a local
re-sale paper.
---
Would your local re-sale paper be "Your Message Board" or "The Thrifty
Nickel" by any chance? We have those around here, plus one more I can't
remember the name of right now. I'll keep looking in those. I've also
heard of an online auction that is for Virginia only, but I haven't
found it yet. Haven't seriously searched for it but I think I will now.
---
No, the pub. is called 'Trading Post', and I am inordinately fond of
it. It covers the Hampton Roades area.
Another place to look is at thrift shops, and you might consider
placing a 'wanted' ad in your local paper, now that you know what to ask
for.
Could haunt the yard sales like your mama did.
---=A0=A0=A0=A0
=A0=A0Back in the 60's and 70's, Singer made/marketed some beautiful
wood cabinets.
snip history lesson
---
Aha! Great to know some history for this type of cabinet. I don't know
if my mom's is one of them, but it could be. Mom bought it at a local
flea market for $20.
---
Look on the back of the cabinet, and inside. Seems to me there was a
metal plaque, but
my cabinet is in an immovable position, so I can't verify this.
---
The machine lift is manual, and that's just fine for us whenever we
get around to installing the machine properly. I don't see the need for
machinery to raise my machine out of the cabinet. Machine heads are not
terribly heavy.
---
I did say auter-majik, didn't I? And it's not, really--no motor, just
a spring-loaded mechanism, which eases the lift up. A more likeable
feature, the older I get.
---
I just don't understand why the cabinets today cost so much. They look
like build-it-yourself melanine furniture.
snip
I simply have too many projects at this time to do that.
---
Yup--and most people lack the skills to do that, so they've kinda
gotcha! there.
A friend shelled out a huge amt of $$$$ for one of those cabinets, and I
give it an 'F' for durability. One end of it is held up by a brick/real
board combo, jury-rigged.
---
snip good ideas
stash storage galore. I've taken a small spice cabinet that I wasn't
using in the kitchen and removed most of the spice jars so it now holds
thread spools and the few jars I kept now hold filled bobbins.
Debra in VA

Debra wrote:


Isn't there something better looking out there anymore? The Horn
cabinets I was able to find were ummm...uh....utilitarian is the best
thing I can say about them. We shouldn't have to hide our cabinets
under something because they are ugly. A cabinet can look good while
being useful. My mom's cabinet looks like an expensive wood writing
desk when it's closed so it looks great in her livingroom. It's got
plenty of drawer space for notions and such too. I'm looking for
something similar, but it doesn't have a brand mark on it anywhere.

Debra in VA

Some years ago I got a kit from Yield House to make one.
It looks like an armoire, with 4 doors. Behind one door
is a drop-down table. The whole thing was pine, which I
stained and oiled. My DH did not love it, and it was sold
in a housecleaning frenzy, but there must be some out
there, and perhaps even available from an unfinished
furniture place - some of them carry Yield House, though I
don't know if they still offer it.
--

Joanne @ stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us
http://bernardschopen.tripod.com/
Life is about the journey, not about the destination.

On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 04:36:54 -0700, Pogonip wrote:

Some years ago I got a kit from Yield House to make one.
It looks like an armoire, with 4 doors. Behind one door
is a drop-down table. The whole thing was pine, which I
stained and oiled. My DH did not love it, and it was sold
in a housecleaning frenzy, but there must be some out
there, and perhaps even available from an unfinished
furniture place - some of them carry Yield House, though I
don't know if they still offer it.

I'm not looking for an armoire because I have a window right in front
of the sewing machine area but I can do a search for Yield House and
see if they make something that appeals to me. Thanks for the tip.

Debra in VA