KATHY'S VINTAGE SEWING ROOM

Unfinished sewing and craft projects in boxes, stacks of cherished vintage needlework magazines, patterns saved for “someday,” even my dolls. It seemed stupid to keep that stuff when we moved from “the big house,” especially since most of it had to be stored. Often I thought to myself, “I should just get rid of this stuff,” but I held tightly to what I loved most, refusing to just give up on my dreams. However, I knew that unless I could establish a place as my creative center, I just as well discard it all. Out of the darkness of frustration, an idea began to take shape where all had seemed hopeless. I saw that the farmhouse “guest room,” a room just waiting for some sort of transformation to give it character, could be my sewing room. This realization brought with it the confidence that I could make it a place uniquely my own. First, we shoved the bed onto the short wall under the slope of the ceiling to maximum the standing space. Then we placed my sewing machine cabinet near the window where light and view are best. When I sew I look out over the pond and Little Canyon. I stored my stacks of project boxes in the little closet under the eaves where I can reach them. I even incorporated the walk-through closet into my plan, setting one of those “cheapy” bookcases just opposite the door. Mike reinforced the bottom shelf for my magazines; other shelves hold sewing manuals, collectibles, and pretty boxes. I repainted the frame of a vintage privacy screen and Mike helped me tack new fabric panels on it. I also cleaned and put new fabric panels on a vintage oak sewing notions box that belonged to Grandmother Portfors. The old wooden horse, “Dobbin,” a vintage toddler toy from the family collection, sits on top of the sewing cabinet. So – no more guilt, no more frustration. Thanks to all of you who provided encouragement.