Sewing Station & PJ Pants Phase One

I finally got some time to head down to the much neglected craft studio and clean, organize, sort, and set up my sewing machine. I have a tendency to work on craft projects on the main level of my house (in the living room/dining room) instead of doing it down in the craft room (closer to the action that way!) but I always end up leaving half finished projects strewn around, create a mess, and get stressed out at myself! I HAD to get organized downstairs.

Once I got the existing craft studio "stuff" sorted out - I set up a sewing station. I want my machine to be out all the time, ready to go on a whim, rather than having to unpack it every time I want to use it. I had a small dining room table that I've had for years... got it for $29 on clearance at Meijer when I was living in a small studio apartment by myself. Anyhoo, I digress. I had this table in a corner of the studio and it was just begging to become a sewing station...


Now I have my machine, notions, books, and patterns all in one place. Perfect! I even have my fabric stashes under the table for easy access. Now I just need to find a cheap desk chair to go with it... my folding chairs are just a tad too low. Something adjustable in height would be better.

I'd show you more of my studio space, but, well, it needs some work. Don't get me wrong, I consider myself VERY LUCKY to have a space in my home that is all my own and 100% dedicated to crafting, but wen you consider we haven't lived in our home a year yet, it's an old home (early 1920's) and my studio is in the basement, which was partially finished in the 70's/80's you can get a good picture of what I'm working with. You can see the crazy paneled walls, and old carpet. Being a basement, it's always a little moist down there, and the light isn't too great.

We plan on re-modeling our basement within the next year or so, but I'm getting more and more anxious for a quick fix. I'm investigating ways to spruce up the room and make it more comfortable and functional until we have the time and $$ to invest in a complete basement re-haul. I'm thinking a coat of water-sealing paint for sure, and plan on seeing if I can score some cheap area rugs after the "back to college" time is over. And then I need to see about shelving and decor. Any ideas? How do you keep your craft space functional, organized, and comfortable? Do share! More to come I am sure...

Phew! I digress again - I'm just Chatty Cathy today!

So once I had my sewing station set up it was only natural that I get going on a project. I was kind of nervous to start anything from a pattern - patterns intimidate me a bit. You see, I am really not good at following instructions. I have this mentality that I'm smart enough to figure things out as I go along... and that it'll all just fall into place! : ) While some of you master sewers out there (Hi, Mum!) may very well be able to do things on the fly when needed/desired, I am certainly there yet. With reluctance, I picked out an "easy" pattern for PJ pants. Mum had given me some flannel she'd had in her stash for ages so this seemed perfect.

Yesterday I got started, and managed to cut, pin, and zig zag all the edges of the pieces... (see, I'm learning things!)



I guess I'm supposed to zig zag all the edges to stop fraying, since I don't have a serger (YET!) to use. I think the pieces fold over like this to form the legs of the pants...


... but I really can't be sure, since I haven't read the directions yet... ha! : ) I have them in front of me I swear, and as soon as I'm done with this post I'll be reading them and studying up before I do anything else. Stay tuned for more updates on the PJ's!

Oh, and there's one more person who's happy the craft studio is cleaned up...


This is one of my cats, Beyonce (we call her Mizzy) who LOVES to hang out in the studio, and most recently has taken to sitting with me while I sew. Or in this case, sitting AT the sewing station. She's my sewing buddy. Maybe she wishes she could sew too?

That's it for today! Happy Labor Day weekend for those of you starting your weekend tonight!