So here we are, time to clean our sewing space from all the holiday decoration/gift-giving mess
plus the mess that was there before. Why it takes me until there is just a skinny path between
the doorway and my cutting table to finally decide to do something about it, I don’t just don’t
know. Most likely this is due to the fact that it is just easier to close the door to the room and
pretend the mess doesn’t exist with everything else that is going on.

Now to get started. My method may not work for everyone or you might have to do a modified
version depending on what your space is. To be clear, I have my own space and no one else
currently has any say on what is happening with the space except for me. Last year’s way
didn’t work for me. Today we are going to take everything out of my sewing room. The slight
exception is the bookshelves that run floor to ceiling in my room are staying put. They were a
pain to put in and changing to the other wall isn’t going to make a difference. Stuff on the
shelves will move but not the actual shelves. You will also need an empty-ish space to move
the stuff that is in your current area to that new area. I have a guest room, hallway, etc. If you
live with other people or pets you have to find an area that will work for everything for a bit a
time because this isn’t going to happen overnight.

In total honesty I took this picture partway through the process because I forgot to get an
initial shot. My room was bad. I had batting scraps piled on top of things and all over. By the
time the picture was taken, I had started with the removal of the batting leftovers. Now, while it
is tempting to start to go through things while emptying I urge you not to. The goal is to have
an empty room. If you start going through things it will take longer to achieve the empty room
and you are now sidetracked from the plan. There will be time, later on, to go through things.

With all that being said you might need to have a couple of boxes to put things in. My boxes
were labeled like this; notions, scraps, patterns/books, projects, stash, stuff for the machine, etc.
You get my idea. Go with what works for you and you need to have the all-important trash bag.
How I accumulate so much trash in my sewing room is beyond me but sometimes you have to
draw the line at what you are willing to keep as scrap and if something is broken and you
already have another one. Throw the broken one away! (It is ok, I promise.)

Progress! You might not be able to remove everything from your room all in one day. Take
progress pictures so you can see where you were and where you are at. It took me several
days to empty my room. Life happens and I couldn’t devote all my time to my sewing room
even though I wanted to.

I now have a floor in my room and not just a path. I knew it was bad but didn’t realize how bad
until I could see how clean it could be. While emptying your space, clean at the same time.
Vacuuming and dusting went hand in hand every step of the way. Not only does this keep the
dust from tracking to another space, it will save time when you go to put it away.
Everything is out of the room/space or as much as possibly can be. Wipe the baseboards,
dust, vacuum, and do any other cleaning you want to do. Yea! The room is empty! Read Part 2
so see what to do next.

Happy Sewing!

-Laura

Another year has flown by and it already feels like 2023 is picking up speed. This
year I decided that I wasn’t going to do the same resolutions that I do every year. This is
the year for making changes and focusing on the things that bring us joy.
My coworker, Rachel, reminded me that I didn’t really finish my new year’s
resolutions from last year. So, no resolutions, just suggestions on how to make
this year better. I don’t really have an idea of what I want the new year to bring right at
the beginning of the year. I have some thoughts, ideas, and wishes but they never seem
to formulate until mid-month.
My sewing room always seems to be something that I want to work on each year.
It is the room that can bring me joy and also stress me out depending on what it looks
like. Besides just picking up the mess that has accumulated throughout the holiday dash
(October-December for me) I needed to think about how my space works for me. This
past year, I realized that I never seemed to sew in my room except for a handful of
times. I want to change that this year.

Finishing the old to enjoy the new is something else I want to focus on. I, like the
majority of you, have unfinished projects and fabric sitting on the shelf just waiting to be
used. I also have a problem with new projects. I love to start something new. It brings
me joy and I like to work on them until I get bored. (Things usually get finished when I
have a deadline.) But the weight and anxiety that my unfinished projects cause me
doesn’t make me want to start sewing. However, I can’t keep pushing them off. So we
are going to find a way to do both.
I have a couple of other things I want to work on this year but I will share them in
future posts.
So, I urge you to take this journey with me. In these next few posts, I am going to
share my journey to have a better sewing room, have a little bit less clutter in my life,
work on projects old and new, and try new things.

Happy New Year and Happy Sewing!
– Laura

It is hard to believe that we are at the end of our Summer Sampler series. With fall starting next week, the temperature has finally started to drop here. So, you have made 12 blocks (or currently working on your blocks) and now what do you do? The real questions is what do you want to make out of them. Do you use all the blocks together? Do you make more to give you more blocks to work with? If you did both color ways do you combine them together? All of the above?

To answer all the questions…we are having a special Live with Laura on Saturday. Saturday morning at 9:15am Laura is going to show off the different ways she finished her blocks as well as give suggestions on what else you can do with your blocks. 

Since Laura has been buried under event stuff the last 2 weeks she will do a video today on how to make the blocks from the last 2 weeks. She will also talk about what else we need to do with our blocks before putting them in something.

This week we need to measure all our blocks and trim them so they are the same size. If you have never trimmed blocks before be sure to watch the video to see how to do it. All the blocks should be an unfinished 8.5” square so they finish at 8”. If they don’t, that’s ok just make sure they are all the same size. 

We would love to see your finished Summer Sampler project! If you are on social media please tag us at @idahosewing on Instagram or @Idahosewingandvacuum on Facebook and use the hashtag #idsewvacsummersampler . 

So mark your calendars and set your alarms to watch Laura on Saturday! 

Happy Sewing!

This is our last block of our Summer Sampler. We have one more week of our Summer sampler series where we will discuss different finishing options for your blocks. This block can be made different ways but we made it so we used a variety of different triangles to create this pinwheel block. The center pinwheel design is inside of a modified square in a square type of design. The layout of the triangles is what we want to pay attention to when we assemble the block. Be sure to check back next week to see different ways to put your blocks together. 

Happy Sewing!

This week we will be half square triangles to create the block. The layout of the pieces and their directions is what is going to make our brains work a little bit more. The piecing of the triangles is not difficult. Color value and the distribution of the fabrics gives the design for the block. 

Just a quick reminder, we will be closed for Labor Day weekend, September 3-5, so we can spend time with our families. We will reopen on Tuesday, September 6 at 9am. 

Have a Happy Labor Day Weekend!