Sewing room-also The World's Greatest Mother-in-Law

Today The World's Greatest Mother-in-Law came to my house for the third or
fourth time to help me clear up my "sewing room". She has always been
TWGMIL but this is way above & beyond the call of duty.
Backstory:

Layer 1
This room was DS#1's bedroom and when he joined the army he didn't take
much. Now he is subletting a room from a friend and still doesn't have much
space. Some of his stuff got dumped in boxes & lugged to the basement-
(Don't look at me like that- if he wanted it packed nicely he should have
done it himself.)
-and some was just shoved into the tiny closet or piled in the corner.
Layer 2
I bought some sturdy wire shelves on wheels and started putting bins of
fabric on the shelves & gradually added piles of fabric, partly finished
projects, bags of notions & doo-dads hung over the corner posts of the
shelves, some dresses that are too long for my closet, bags of wool &
wool-like garments I got cheap at an auction & partially felted, patterns,
and craft books. I love fabric and I always have good intentions when I buy
it.
Layer 3
Last fall my brother and DS#2 built me new shelves/entertainment center for
my living room. the stuff from the old shelves got put.....in my "sewing
room" of course. Most, but not all, was put back onto the new shelves.
Layer 4
This spring DH and I got new carpet in the living room and hall, and
eliminated some furniture. Some of the stuff that had to be moved was
piled....in my "sewing room". I couldn't get in the door.

So...
TWGMIL has been helping me an hour or two at a time to reclaim my space. She
says she doesn't mind. Who am I to call the dear woman a liar? Unlike me,
she is organized. Unlike me, she is persistent. Unlike me, she does not
procrastinate. I now have a clear path from the doorway all the way across
the 10'x12' room to the window, and it is 90% to her credit, not mine. Today
I found a box of music CDs and took them back to the living room. I found a
big box of DH's stuff and got him to take it to "his room/office" that was
DS#2's bedroom until last year. I found a huge plastic bag full of other
plastic bags o-u-t! Other things have been folded neatly & placed on the
shelves. I still can't get to the closet, maybe next week, when TWGMIL comes
back, but it is almost possible for me to get in unsupervised and locate
more junk to discard or to relocate to it's rightful owner. Not done yet.
When I am I will do a Happy Dance for that, you betcha.

Jane in NE Ohio who has been reading about your great sewing rooms &
successful stash reduction, and so I have to share.

Jane, congratulations and hugs and Happy Dancing for you! Not because you
have World's Greatest MIL but because you know it. My own MIL spent 25
years (more or less) hoping I'd go away. I didn't and finally she loved me
best. Twenty-five hurtful wasted years. I am just so happy that you are
enjoying yours. How wonderful. And she's an inspiration. Tomorrow is
trash pickup day. I think I'll go find some good stuff to contribute.
Polly


"Jane Kay" wrote in message
...
Today The World's Greatest Mother-in-Law came to my house for the third or
fourth time to help me clear up my "sewing room". She has always been
TWGMIL but this is way above & beyond the call of duty.
Backstory:

Layer 1
This room was DS#1's bedroom and when he joined the army he didn't take
much. Now he is subletting a room from a friend and still doesn't have
much space. Some of his stuff got dumped in boxes & lugged to the
basement-
(Don't look at me like that- if he wanted it packed nicely he should have
done it himself.)
-and some was just shoved into the tiny closet or piled in the corner.
Layer 2
I bought some sturdy wire shelves on wheels and started putting bins of
fabric on the shelves & gradually added piles of fabric, partly finished
projects, bags of notions & doo-dads hung over the corner posts of the
shelves, some dresses that are too long for my closet, bags of wool &
wool-like garments I got cheap at an auction & partially felted, patterns,
and craft books. I love fabric and I always have good intentions when I
buy it.
Layer 3
Last fall my brother and DS#2 built me new shelves/entertainment center
for my living room. the stuff from the old shelves got put.....in my
"sewing room" of course. Most, but not all, was put back onto the new
shelves.
Layer 4
This spring DH and I got new carpet in the living room and hall, and
eliminated some furniture. Some of the stuff that had to be moved was
piled....in my "sewing room". I couldn't get in the door.

So...
TWGMIL has been helping me an hour or two at a time to reclaim my space.
She says she doesn't mind. Who am I to call the dear woman a liar? Unlike
me, she is organized. Unlike me, she is persistent. Unlike me, she does
not procrastinate. I now have a clear path from the doorway all the way
across the 10'x12' room to the window, and it is 90% to her credit, not
mine. Today I found a box of music CDs and took them back to the living
room. I found a big box of DH's stuff and got him to take it to "his
room/office" that was DS#2's bedroom until last year. I found a huge
plastic bag full of other plastic bags o-u-t! Other things have been
folded neatly & placed on the shelves. I still can't get to the closet,
maybe next week, when TWGMIL comes back, but it is almost possible for me
to get in unsupervised and locate more junk to discard or to relocate to
it's rightful owner. Not done yet. When I am I will do a Happy Dance for
that, you betcha.

Jane in NE Ohio who has been reading about your great sewing rooms &
successful stash reduction, and so I have to share.

She sounds like an absolute GEM...can I borrow her? LOL

-IRene

On Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:16:32 -0400, "Jane Kay"
wrote:

Today The World's Greatest Mother-in-Law came to my house for the third or
fourth time to help me clear up my "sewing room". She has always been
TWGMIL but this is way above & beyond the call of duty.
Backstory:

Layer 1
This room was DS#1's bedroom and when he joined the army he didn't take
much. Now he is subletting a room from a friend and still doesn't have much
space. Some of his stuff got dumped in boxes & lugged to the basement-
(Don't look at me like that- if he wanted it packed nicely he should have
done it himself.)
-and some was just shoved into the tiny closet or piled in the corner.
Layer 2
I bought some sturdy wire shelves on wheels and started putting bins of
fabric on the shelves & gradually added piles of fabric, partly finished
projects, bags of notions & doo-dads hung over the corner posts of the
shelves, some dresses that are too long for my closet, bags of wool &
wool-like garments I got cheap at an auction & partially felted, patterns,
and craft books. I love fabric and I always have good intentions when I buy
it.
Layer 3
Last fall my brother and DS#2 built me new shelves/entertainment center for
my living room. the stuff from the old shelves got put.....in my "sewing
room" of course. Most, but not all, was put back onto the new shelves.
Layer 4
This spring DH and I got new carpet in the living room and hall, and
eliminated some furniture. Some of the stuff that had to be moved was
piled....in my "sewing room". I couldn't get in the door.

So...
TWGMIL has been helping me an hour or two at a time to reclaim my space. She
says she doesn't mind. Who am I to call the dear woman a liar? Unlike me,
she is organized. Unlike me, she is persistent. Unlike me, she does not
procrastinate. I now have a clear path from the doorway all the way across
the 10'x12' room to the window, and it is 90% to her credit, not mine. Today
I found a box of music CDs and took them back to the living room. I found a
big box of DH's stuff and got him to take it to "his room/office" that was
DS#2's bedroom until last year. I found a huge plastic bag full of other
plastic bags o-u-t! Other things have been folded neatly & placed on the
shelves. I still can't get to the closet, maybe next week, when TWGMIL comes
back, but it is almost possible for me to get in unsupervised and locate
more junk to discard or to relocate to it's rightful owner. Not done yet.
When I am I will do a Happy Dance for that, you betcha.

Jane in NE Ohio who has been reading about your great sewing rooms &
successful stash reduction, and so I have to share.

I saw your note about plastic bags. I seem to have the oddest aversion to
throwing away "perfectly good" pieces of cardboard.

I usually have a piece or 2 of poster board that I use for templates or
patterns. So I'm not sure why, when faced with a heavy piece of cardboard I
rat-hole it like it's worth something.

Cindy


"Jane Kay" wrote in message
...
Today The World's Greatest Mother-in-Law came to my house for the third or
fourth time to help me clear up my "sewing room". She has always been
TWGMIL but this is way above & beyond the call of duty.
Backstory:

Layer 1
This room was DS#1's bedroom and when he joined the army he didn't take
much. Now he is subletting a room from a friend and still doesn't have
much space. Some of his stuff got dumped in boxes & lugged to the
basement-
(Don't look at me like that- if he wanted it packed nicely he should have
done it himself.)
-and some was just shoved into the tiny closet or piled in the corner.
Layer 2
I bought some sturdy wire shelves on wheels and started putting bins of
fabric on the shelves & gradually added piles of fabric, partly finished
projects, bags of notions & doo-dads hung over the corner posts of the
shelves, some dresses that are too long for my closet, bags of wool &
wool-like garments I got cheap at an auction & partially felted, patterns,
and craft books. I love fabric and I always have good intentions when I
buy it.
Layer 3
Last fall my brother and DS#2 built me new shelves/entertainment center
for my living room. the stuff from the old shelves got put.....in my
"sewing room" of course. Most, but not all, was put back onto the new
shelves.
Layer 4
This spring DH and I got new carpet in the living room and hall, and
eliminated some furniture. Some of the stuff that had to be moved was
piled....in my "sewing room". I couldn't get in the door.

So...
TWGMIL has been helping me an hour or two at a time to reclaim my space.
She says she doesn't mind. Who am I to call the dear woman a liar? Unlike
me, she is organized. Unlike me, she is persistent. Unlike me, she does
not procrastinate. I now have a clear path from the doorway all the way
across the 10'x12' room to the window, and it is 90% to her credit, not
mine. Today I found a box of music CDs and took them back to the living
room. I found a big box of DH's stuff and got him to take it to "his
room/office" that was DS#2's bedroom until last year. I found a huge
plastic bag full of other plastic bags o-u-t! Other things have been
folded neatly & placed on the shelves. I still can't get to the closet,
maybe next week, when TWGMIL comes back, but it is almost possible for me
to get in unsupervised and locate more junk to discard or to relocate to
it's rightful owner. Not done yet. When I am I will do a Happy Dance for
that, you betcha.

Jane in NE Ohio who has been reading about your great sewing rooms &
successful stash reduction, and so I have to share.

Also, I wanted to say how lucky you are to enjoy your MIL.

I thought my MIL really loved me and I thought we got along great for over
30 years. I found out right before she died last year that she never liked
me. She gave away her huge stash and all of her sewing stuff (she's the one
who taught me to sew) rather than risk me having any of it. And those were
her exact words.

Her mind was clear right up until the end, so it wasn't age or senility. I
will never have any idea what I did to her, other than marry her son. She
told me she was only nice to me so that I wouldn't keep her beloved son and
granddaughter away from her. I can't imagine why she thought I would ever do
that.

I had been in the family since I was 17 years old. I considered her my mom
just like my own mom.

People are odd sometimes, aren't they?

Cindy


"Jane Kay" wrote in message
...
Today The World's Greatest Mother-in-Law came to my house for the third or
fourth time to help me clear up my "sewing room". She has always been
TWGMIL but this is way above & beyond the call of duty.
Backstory:

Layer 1
This room was DS#1's bedroom and when he joined the army he didn't take
much. Now he is subletting a room from a friend and still doesn't have
much space. Some of his stuff got dumped in boxes & lugged to the
basement-
(Don't look at me like that- if he wanted it packed nicely he should have
done it himself.)
-and some was just shoved into the tiny closet or piled in the corner.
Layer 2
I bought some sturdy wire shelves on wheels and started putting bins of
fabric on the shelves & gradually added piles of fabric, partly finished
projects, bags of notions & doo-dads hung over the corner posts of the
shelves, some dresses that are too long for my closet, bags of wool &
wool-like garments I got cheap at an auction & partially felted, patterns,
and craft books. I love fabric and I always have good intentions when I
buy it.
Layer 3
Last fall my brother and DS#2 built me new shelves/entertainment center
for my living room. the stuff from the old shelves got put.....in my
"sewing room" of course. Most, but not all, was put back onto the new
shelves.
Layer 4
This spring DH and I got new carpet in the living room and hall, and
eliminated some furniture. Some of the stuff that had to be moved was
piled....in my "sewing room". I couldn't get in the door.

So...
TWGMIL has been helping me an hour or two at a time to reclaim my space.
She says she doesn't mind. Who am I to call the dear woman a liar? Unlike
me, she is organized. Unlike me, she is persistent. Unlike me, she does
not procrastinate. I now have a clear path from the doorway all the way
across the 10'x12' room to the window, and it is 90% to her credit, not
mine. Today I found a box of music CDs and took them back to the living
room. I found a big box of DH's stuff and got him to take it to "his
room/office" that was DS#2's bedroom until last year. I found a huge
plastic bag full of other plastic bags o-u-t! Other things have been
folded neatly & placed on the shelves. I still can't get to the closet,
maybe next week, when TWGMIL comes back, but it is almost possible for me
to get in unsupervised and locate more junk to discard or to relocate to
it's rightful owner. Not done yet. When I am I will do a Happy Dance for
that, you betcha.

Jane in NE Ohio who has been reading about your great sewing rooms &
successful stash reduction, and so I have to share.

Hi Cindy,

You hit the nail on the head when you said - other than marry her son - my
MIL never got over the fact that I married her favourite chosen son.

Di

"teleflora" wrote in message
...
Also, I wanted to say how lucky you are to enjoy your MIL.

I thought my MIL really loved me and I thought we got along great for
over 30 years. I found out right before she died last year that she never
liked me. She gave away her huge stash and all of her sewing stuff (she's
the one who taught me to sew) rather than risk me having any of it. And
those were her exact words.

Her mind was clear right up until the end, so it wasn't age or senility.
I will never have any idea what I did to her, other than marry her son.
She told me she was only nice to me so that I wouldn't keep her beloved
son and granddaughter away from her. I can't imagine why she thought I
would ever do that.

I had been in the family since I was 17 years old. I considered her my
mom just like my own mom.

People are odd sometimes, aren't they?

Cindy


"Jane Kay" wrote in message
...
Today The World's Greatest Mother-in-Law came to my house for the third
or fourth time to help me clear up my "sewing room". She has always been
TWGMIL but this is way above & beyond the call of duty.
Backstory:

Layer 1
This room was DS#1's bedroom and when he joined the army he didn't take
much. Now he is subletting a room from a friend and still doesn't have
much space. Some of his stuff got dumped in boxes & lugged to the
basement-
(Don't look at me like that- if he wanted it packed nicely he should have
done it himself.)
-and some was just shoved into the tiny closet or piled in the corner.
Layer 2
I bought some sturdy wire shelves on wheels and started putting bins of
fabric on the shelves & gradually added piles of fabric, partly finished
projects, bags of notions & doo-dads hung over the corner posts of the
shelves, some dresses that are too long for my closet, bags of wool &
wool-like garments I got cheap at an auction & partially felted,
patterns, and craft books. I love fabric and I always have good
intentions when I buy it.
Layer 3
Last fall my brother and DS#2 built me new shelves/entertainment center
for my living room. the stuff from the old shelves got put.....in my
"sewing room" of course. Most, but not all, was put back onto the new
shelves.
Layer 4
This spring DH and I got new carpet in the living room and hall, and
eliminated some furniture. Some of the stuff that had to be moved was
piled....in my "sewing room". I couldn't get in the door.

So...
TWGMIL has been helping me an hour or two at a time to reclaim my space.
She says she doesn't mind. Who am I to call the dear woman a liar? Unlike
me, she is organized. Unlike me, she is persistent. Unlike me, she does
not procrastinate. I now have a clear path from the doorway all the way
across the 10'x12' room to the window, and it is 90% to her credit, not
mine. Today I found a box of music CDs and took them back to the living
room. I found a big box of DH's stuff and got him to take it to "his
room/office" that was DS#2's bedroom until last year. I found a huge
plastic bag full of other plastic bags o-u-t! Other things have been
folded neatly & placed on the shelves. I still can't get to the closet,
maybe next week, when TWGMIL comes back, but it is almost possible for me
to get in unsupervised and locate more junk to discard or to relocate to
it's rightful owner. Not done yet. When I am I will do a Happy Dance for
that, you betcha.

Jane in NE Ohio who has been reading about your great sewing rooms &
successful stash reduction, and so I have to share.

Cindy, that's a bit beyond 'odd'--- like just darn mean. I'm sorry she felt
she had to unload on you at such a time. I happen to think you are pretty
terrific!!!!! But that's just my very humble opinion..... VBG

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

"teleflora" wrote in message
...
Also, I wanted to say how lucky you are to enjoy your MIL.

I thought my MIL really loved me and I thought we got along great for
over 30 years. I found out right before she died last year that she never
liked me. She gave away her huge stash and all of her sewing stuff (she's
the one who taught me to sew) rather than risk me having any of it. And
those were her exact words.

Her mind was clear right up until the end, so it wasn't age or senility.
I will never have any idea what I did to her, other than marry her son.
She told me she was only nice to me so that I wouldn't keep her beloved
son and granddaughter away from her. I can't imagine why she thought I
would ever do that.

I had been in the family since I was 17 years old. I considered her my
mom just like my own mom.

People are odd sometimes, aren't they?

Cindy


"Jane Kay" wrote in message
...
Today The World's Greatest Mother-in-Law came to my house for the third
or fourth time to help me clear up my "sewing room". She has always been
TWGMIL but this is way above & beyond the call of duty.
Backstory:

Layer 1
This room was DS#1's bedroom and when he joined the army he didn't take
much. Now he is subletting a room from a friend and still doesn't have
much space. Some of his stuff got dumped in boxes & lugged to the
basement-
(Don't look at me like that- if he wanted it packed nicely he should have
done it himself.)
-and some was just shoved into the tiny closet or piled in the corner.
Layer 2
I bought some sturdy wire shelves on wheels and started putting bins of
fabric on the shelves & gradually added piles of fabric, partly finished
projects, bags of notions & doo-dads hung over the corner posts of the
shelves, some dresses that are too long for my closet, bags of wool &
wool-like garments I got cheap at an auction & partially felted,
patterns, and craft books. I love fabric and I always have good
intentions when I buy it.
Layer 3
Last fall my brother and DS#2 built me new shelves/entertainment center
for my living room. the stuff from the old shelves got put.....in my
"sewing room" of course. Most, but not all, was put back onto the new
shelves.
Layer 4
This spring DH and I got new carpet in the living room and hall, and
eliminated some furniture. Some of the stuff that had to be moved was
piled....in my "sewing room". I couldn't get in the door.

So...
TWGMIL has been helping me an hour or two at a time to reclaim my space.
She says she doesn't mind. Who am I to call the dear woman a liar? Unlike
me, she is organized. Unlike me, she is persistent. Unlike me, she does
not procrastinate. I now have a clear path from the doorway all the way
across the 10'x12' room to the window, and it is 90% to her credit, not
mine. Today I found a box of music CDs and took them back to the living
room. I found a big box of DH's stuff and got him to take it to "his
room/office" that was DS#2's bedroom until last year. I found a huge
plastic bag full of other plastic bags o-u-t! Other things have been
folded neatly & placed on the shelves. I still can't get to the closet,
maybe next week, when TWGMIL comes back, but it is almost possible for me
to get in unsupervised and locate more junk to discard or to relocate to
it's rightful owner. Not done yet. When I am I will do a Happy Dance for
that, you betcha.

Jane in NE Ohio who has been reading about your great sewing rooms &
successful stash reduction, and so I have to share.

On 11 Sep, 11:40, "Polly Esther" wrote:
Jane, congratulations and hugs and Happy Dancing for you! * Not because you
have World's Greatest MIL but because you know it. *My own MIL spent 25
years (more or less) hoping I'd go away. *I didn't and finally she loved me
best. *Twenty-five hurtful wasted years. *I am just so happy that you are
enjoying yours. *How wonderful. *And she's an inspiration. *Tomorrow is
trash pickup day. *I think I'll go find some good stuff to contribute.
Polly

"Jane Kay" wrote in message
[snip]

I'm with you Polly, my MIl, (since departed) wished me away too. But I
stuck to my DDDH and tomorrow we celebrate 28 years marriage with all
the love we have -- and I'm gonna sign up for another 28 LoL. I even
hand made fresh buttery bread croissants for a special breakfast.
That's love for you!

Hugs
Bronnie
Really, we're just envious of Jane! Enjoy!

Jane Kay wrote:
Today The World's Greatest Mother-in-Law came to my house for the third or
fourth time to help me clear up my "sewing room". She has always been
TWGMIL but this is way above & beyond the call of duty.
Backstory:

Layer 1
This room was DS#1's bedroom and when he joined the army he didn't take
much. Now he is subletting a room from a friend and still doesn't have much
space. Some of his stuff got dumped in boxes & lugged to the basement-
(Don't look at me like that- if he wanted it packed nicely he should have
done it himself.)
-and some was just shoved into the tiny closet or piled in the corner.
Layer 2
I bought some sturdy wire shelves on wheels and started putting bins of
fabric on the shelves & gradually added piles of fabric, partly finished
projects, bags of notions & doo-dads hung over the corner posts of the
shelves, some dresses that are too long for my closet, bags of wool &
wool-like garments I got cheap at an auction & partially felted, patterns,
and craft books. I love fabric and I always have good intentions when I buy
it.
Layer 3
Last fall my brother and DS#2 built me new shelves/entertainment center for
my living room. the stuff from the old shelves got put.....in my "sewing
room" of course. Most, but not all, was put back onto the new shelves.
Layer 4
This spring DH and I got new carpet in the living room and hall, and
eliminated some furniture. Some of the stuff that had to be moved was
piled....in my "sewing room". I couldn't get in the door.

So...
TWGMIL has been helping me an hour or two at a time to reclaim my space. She
says she doesn't mind. Who am I to call the dear woman a liar? Unlike me,
she is organized. Unlike me, she is persistent. Unlike me, she does not
procrastinate. I now have a clear path from the doorway all the way across
the 10'x12' room to the window, and it is 90% to her credit, not mine. Today
I found a box of music CDs and took them back to the living room. I found a
big box of DH's stuff and got him to take it to "his room/office" that was
DS#2's bedroom until last year. I found a huge plastic bag full of other
plastic bags o-u-t! Other things have been folded neatly & placed on the
shelves. I still can't get to the closet, maybe next week, when TWGMIL comes
back, but it is almost possible for me to get in unsupervised and locate
more junk to discard or to relocate to it's rightful owner. Not done yet.
When I am I will do a Happy Dance for that, you betcha.

Jane in NE Ohio who has been reading about your great sewing rooms &
successful stash reduction, and so I have to share.



A good mother in law has a price beyond rubies. Mine was one of the
best, too. Damn, we miss her. Yours sounds like a treasure. Enjoy
every moment you have with her.

Believe me, the process of sorting the sewing room is a cathartic
experience. Do GET RID of things that no longer belong in the room:
Son's kit to storage, unwanted but still useful things to Goodwill or
Freecycle, things you want to keep put neatly away... More storage
units may be necessary.

I recently needed to reorganize my thread, to make it accessible, dust
free, and protected from light. This entailed a large amount of basic
Tidying Up, Reorganization, and Moving Out of extranious kit. Once
done, the room was habitable, easy to work in, a pleasure to retreat to,
and easily converted to Spare Bedroom when needed for guests.

mmmmm... Sewing!

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

I has a GREAT MIL who died 3 years after DH and I married. She was a
school teacher who traveled out of state each summer to visit her other
children. Her car and Singer SM was newer than mine and she loaned both to
me while she was gone. She was a treasure!
Barbara in SC