Monday, July 2, 2012

Settled in a Week and Sewing Again

All the boxes are unpacked. Our curbside recycling was picked up this morning.

As much as possible, everything is put away. Until we get the furniture we ordered several weeks ago, we're living very simply. How glad we are to have those bag chairs given to us by our sales agent! The little TV was purchased for my sewing room and will be replaced with a 46" HGTV when we get a new TV console. The console beneath the TV is the one we ordered, but it arrived damaged.

In the "dining room" which we're opting to utilize as a "conversation corner," a box of books awaits a bookcase. Still need to shop for a couple chairs, a lamp and rug. It seems the shopping never ends! The table (and four chairs) will go to our son on our next trip to Tampa.

I'm learning that it's going to take quite a while to turn the front bedroom into a sewing room. When you're starting with nothing it's quite a process.

I spent hours last week taking each piece of fabric out of white garbage bags and folding the larger pieces to fit temporary wire racks standing against the wall. It would have been nice to have had friends to help me with the task - not for getting the job done sooner, but for the companionship. Instead, I listened to the audiobook "The Choice" by Nicholas Sparks.

I finished the folding job Friday. These are all the fabrics I own except for batiks, repros, French (Provence) and Swiss fabrics, and Christmas prints which are in another storage container. I culled as I folded and came up with four plastic bags of unloveable prints/colors that I'll donate to the local quilt guild for charity quilts.

Though I'm not proud of how this room looks, at least I was finally able to get my brand new Bernina Aurora 440 out of the box! (Here's how I won my Bernina.)

I've been shopping for cabinets and behind-doors shelving that will fill the entire wall where the wire fabric shelves are now. You can see the blue painter's tape on the wall where I marked the height and depth of one of the cabinet options. I've narrowed the possibilities to three. 
  1. The least expensive: "SystemBuild" available through Wal-Mart (online only). There's a room-designing feature so you can see exactly how your cabinetry is going to fit into your space. The nice part is that shipping is free to a Wal-Mart store.
  2. Moderately expensive: Ikea "Liatorp" bookcases with glass and glass/panel doors.
  3. Most expensive: custom cabinetry. Custom cabinetry sure doesn't fit into my $2,000 self-imposed sewing room budget, but it's worth considering for the house's added value. Not that we plan to sell any time soon! Extra storage space is a feature our kids will no doubt appreciate when they inherit this house someday.
Here's the Wal-Mart SystemBuild layout I created. As much as I'd like to fill the wall with tall cabinets, I need a shorter cabinet for my small TV. 

The closet isn't pretty either, but for the time being I won't do anything with it. This space might not be needed for quilting supplies once wall cabinetry is in place. 

Happily, I've found a local store that sells Gidget II sewing machine tables. Until mine comes in I'll be sewing like this. I've begun catch-up on making Bloggers' BOM. The room certainly isn't organized, but it's bright, and I can watch the action - golf carts going by - on the quiet street in front of our house.

Speaking of golf carts... ours came in last Friday. We're really pleased with the colors we chose. Check out the cooler attached to the side, and that's a mesh grocery shopping bag in the back.

A golf cart ride can be somewhat jouncy, but it hasn't prevented Dan and Hogan from taking it to pick up mail each day. Dan is almost recovered from hurting his back during our move.

Tuesday morning I'm toodling off in the golf cart to visit another quilting chapter in The Villages; Tuesday evening I'll attend the monthly Quilting Guild of The Villages. All this is aimed toward making new friends and settling into a routine - one that must include lots of sewing! Linda

12 comments:

  1. glad to see your settling in to your new home :)

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  2. Nice to see your are settling well into your new home. Hugs,

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  3. Wow, it must be nice to have a new, clean and organized sewing room. And it appears spacious and full of light. What a blessing!

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  4. My goodness, can't believe you are all unpacked in such a short space of time. Love to golf buggy - my colours exactly - and delighted that Hogan can enjoy a trip too. Your sewing room looks like it will really come together - what a change from the basement. It is wonderful to hear how happy you are with your new home and I wish you heaps of fun and continued happiness there. Much love from "down under" xxxx

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  5. I love your golf cart. I also didn't fail to notice that you dressed to match!

    I had to laugh when you said "this is all my stash except for this, and this, and this, and this...".

    My sewing room has been outfitted with less expensive IKEA than what you're considering. It's held up very well.

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  6. Your happiness is infectious! I love the thought of you pottering around in your new home, beginning a new life, and making new friends, it must be so very exciting for you.

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  7. Everything is slowly coming together. Well done. Love your new golf cart. your sewing room is looking lovely in my minds eye- can I say I really like the Ikea shelving. very bright, modern and chic. You have managed the move and packing everything away in a time frame I could only dream of!

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  8. It really is starting to look like a home! I'm sure you are pleased about that after living "out of a suitcase" for so long. Your stash looks lovely! If I lived closer, I sure would have come to help you fold. Something I like doing ;). Love your new mode of transport.

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  9. How wonderful that you are sewing so soon, I would be too!
    Love the golf cart too!

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  10. What a fun post - glad it's starting to take shape.

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  11. the sewing room is going to be so nice when you get all your furniture in - so glad you're able to finally unpack and start playing with your new machine :)

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  12. Love the golf cart!!! I just love that quilt on your new bed. That was the one in the calendar, right?
    I bought the IKEA Billy bookcases and like them alot, they also come with doors if you want to add them, however I am using for books. Good to see you sewing again!

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