Sunday, November 13, 2011

The Sewing Room

For the last nine years, from the time we moved to California, my sewing room has been a mess. It’s a matter of space. This house is smaller than our old Carolina home by more than a thousand square feet. We thought we had left enough stuff behind, but no. We sold, donated and tossed. It didn’t seem to matter. We still had too much stuff!
I admit that I have a lot of sewing supplies. And it’s not news that I’m a fabric slut. Actually, I own a generous collection of the whole sewing trifecta: fabric, gadgets and thread. I love it all, but storage has been a challenge.
So, until recently, my sewing room has been a mess. The words“Clean House” and “Bobbi’s sewing room” have become synonymous.
Well, worry no more. No longer will we have to call search parties to find small children in my sewing room. The days of making your way around mounds of unidentifiable sewing detritus to sew a seam are over. I’ve seen the light. And I’m not talking about a high intensity Ott Light!
It started when I was browsing through a local antiques/thrift/junk store in downtown Placerville.I must have mentioned that I sew to the proprietor because he forced me to the back corner of the store where, tucked behind a stack of motley street signs across from a spring sprung floral sofa was (as he said it) “U’re Going to Love  this. I have right here a Gen-U-Ine Sew-Ing Cab-net.”
Despite the proprietor’s resemblance to a snake oil salesman, he was right. I loved it. I laid all of my cash on his counter and put the thing on layaway. A mere 90 days and a hundred and fifty dollars later, I drove the van home loaded with one Gen-U-Ine Sew-ing Cabnet.
As you can see, it looks like a wardrobe. It’s even kind of shabby chic looking with the white paint. If you look at the paint closely you can see it’s not its original color.
 white-cabinet
It’s a sewing wardrobe from the 50’s or 60’s, from before the days when wardrobes were a common item in a family room or living-room.
Inside the cabinet is a pull down desktop.
open1
And do you see the little gold square?  That’s the Singer label.
singer-tagopen-desk
Pulling the desk down reveals storage, shelves and spool-racks.
There’s even a raised bed to create a flat surface behind your sewing machine. Because my sewing machine isn’t a circa 1966 Singer, the raised section doesn’t match the height of my sewing machine.
Though not exactly right for my sewing machine, it IS right for serger storage and usage. And, the bottom of my cabinet houses the machine I’m not currently using.
bottom
Though I’ve been sewing forever, I had never seen a cabinet like this one. Imagine my surprise when Tecla (a dear friend I’ve mentioned before) called me from a yard sale saying that she had found the coolest sewing machine cabinet ever.
Well, I didn’t believe her cause I had just brought home the coolest sewing machine cabinet ever, my vintage Singer cabinet.
Well, she was right. She had found the coolest sewing cabinet ever made, a twin to my cabinet. It was an identical twin, only still sporting its original pecan wood finish and typical 60’s handles. Other than that, it was the same. And this one was only $25!
brown-cabinet
I’m no fool. I snapped it up.
I use the second one for my computer and storage of a variety of sewing supplies. It’s amazing what happens when you have a place to put things. Now my sewing room looks like this:
full-room
One of these days I’ll re-finish one or both of these cabinets, but for now I’m just happy to have them.
So, Niecy Nash, be gone!
On another note, did you see the gorgeous Bernina 830 in this picture?
I’ve had it since June and other than a few hiccups during the learning curve (all operator error), it's been perfect. I'm giving it a work-out. I love this machine.
If you’re wondering at all why it’s been so long since I’ve written a blog post, it’s because my creative writing muse had been busy helping me write a book. I can’t say much more about it except that I’m done with my part. It will now take the publisher another year before it’s out the door.
I am happily back working the blog.

9 comments:

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

I just turned pea green. I am so jealous I can barely see straight. It was a fabulous find for the first one...it was just an unbelievable cosmic occurrence to find the second one. Congratulations on such wonderful additions to your sewing room!

Anonymous said...

Wow, who'd a thunk you would find TWO Gen-U-Ine Sew-Ing Cab-nets! I'll bet it feels good to be that organized.

Anonymous said...

Gin-U-Wine Cab-Nets! Amazing! They look great. Maybe rather than refinish, just take 'em both out back and apply a good coat of spray paint?

Welcome back to the Blog-O-Sphere. You were missed. Any hints on the book? A teaser perhaps?

Oooh, I bet the title is "Bobbi saves New York" or maybe "Bobbi Saves the World" or "Bobbi's Guide to Extra Ordinary Embroidery and Life"

Tecla said...

So glad to have been a part of this adventure into the past/present! I love your space and all the room you have to sew to your hearts content.

Tecla said...

So glad I could be a part of this adventure into the past/present of your sewing space. I love how you have such a nice space to sew to your hearts content.

Bobbi Bullard said...

Wish I could comment more on the book. I'm so excited about it. What a test of my patience.

Creations by Celeste said...

I have one of those in my upstairs hallway with the Singer machine still inside. I bought it in the 80s and had it in the dining room of our other house. It was great because when I folded it up no one suspected that it hid my sewing machine.

melvin said...

Hello Bobbi, have a nice day.
Melvin

ncsewer said...

I bought the same cabinet brand new from the Singer Sewing Machine dealership after returning from Germany in 1980. I am still using it and have always liked that it looks like a nice piece of furniture.