New Legs

When I bought my new Nolting Funquilter back in 2010, in order cut expenses, I  purchased a perfectly good used table to mount it on. 

These old legs were leveled and height adjusted using that bolt and sliding up and down the slot.  There are no grooves to lock into to match all 4 legs to the same height.  Yes, we did  measure and draw our own lines to help.  The nut/bolt has to be loosened, slid up or down, and then tightened with no weight.  The problem is when the weight is put back on the leg even when tightened, can slip down a bit, especially over time...and not necessarily evenly slipping on all four legs!  Recognizing this, Nolting has made a few design changes and since Mike and/or his son Steve were going to be in the area (as in TN not GA or OH) this weekend they ordered the new style leveling legs for me.

The package arrived and Steve made the 2 hour drive from Marysville to do the install for me.

The problem.... the wrong legs were ordered/sent.  I need to have wheels on my legs so that I can move the frame to and from the wall depending on which side of the machine I am working on.  Unfortunately, my working space isn't big enough to center the machine in the room to be able walk around it, which is the more common set-up. 

So after some discussion and thought I made a mad dash to Lowes before they closed and purchased "moving men".  Those slider things that you put under furniture to make it easier to move heavy items around the room. 

So my new legs are now installed.  The machine is much more level (no rolling front to back or left to right when I let go!  I am much happier!  

The legs adjust height by just turning the legs left or right on those screw-grooved pegs.   I may still have to order the wheeled legs to give me just a bit more height, but I'll decide after working on her a bit. If I am working "half-cocked" or slightly bent forward it puts strain on my lower back and, well, ouch!   I'll be loading a practice quilt today and giving the new legs a try.  

Organization 102

The rooms have been emptied and rearranged, and while not completely organized I am happy with the results so far.

 
My quilting studio is now formed by a wall of shelves and boxes of fabrics and scraps.  As customers walk into the room there is a table to lay their tops on where we can measure and discuss work to be done. The boxes are labeled with content or fabric color.  I love that there is more open floor space for me to maneuver as I quilt along.

 The sewing studio is reorganized too.  Along the back wall of the room is a table with baskets of UFOs that need to be finished.... yes that pile is way too high!...but it was even higher last year, so I am making slow progress getting things done.  Next to that table it is my new pressing table that my husband made as a Christmas gift with some batting scraps in those pink crates underneath.  Right now it is piled high with fabrics that I am in the process of  preparing for three different quilt classes I will be attending in August.  The spare bed on the right wall serves as a "table" for my roll of batting with the extra roll stored standing on the floor in the corner.  At the bottom of the bed is the spare dresser in which I am organizing and sorting my fat quarters and storing my Dear Jane kits with work in progress.

Along the left wall of the room is my sewing table and chair.  I've discovered that I need to buy one of those plastic or wooden things for the floor as my chair will not roll on the carpet.  I've got a couple of  folding tray tables and my handquilting hoop and stand with the quilt I will eventually finish for me!  Now that it is set up and constantly staring at me I will be able to view and decide how to quilt the next block.  The last item along that wall is my cutting table... it is constructed with saw horse legs purchased from Lowes and my old butcher-block kitchen table. Yes, there is a pile of projects to be cut stacked here too, and I will get them all done eventually!   On the window sill above the table are my Civil War fabrics and some of my collection books

Lastly is the closet.  It is crammed full with two large tubs of various yarns and knitting projects, another two large tubs of fabrics and patterns for dresses and jackets that I planned on making, another large tub of kitchen towels and yarns and yet another full of colored plastic bags to be cut and crochet into waterbottle holders or entry-way rugs to help stop dirt and leaves from being tracked all over the house!  Not sure how it got knocked off, but I'll have to get hubby to put that one door back on it's tracks this weekend.

There are still more boxes to sort through, organize, and label, but at least now I can move my elbows while working and not have to worry about knocking something over.  I am so lucky to be able to expand into and take over two rooms... one for hobby and one for busniess!

organization 101

If you are like me and trying to get your sewing studio organized... again.  Check out Pat Sloan's posts on getting organized.  Lots of helpful hints.

http://quiltinggallery.com/2012/02/02/organization-101-pat-sloan/

My first step will be to empty both work areas.... my quilt studio on the left and my sewing studio on the right.

Thank goodness for strong young son's wiling to work for food!
LOL!

Organizing...again

Eighteen months ago when my new Nolting quilter arrived I cleaned out my portion of the basement, moving everything into the family room. I now had a clean quilting area in which to work, but a disaster in the family room.  So began one of my ongoing attempt to get organized.


Within a couple of months of setting up the quilter, I was going to need to get at the gas fireplace hiding in the brickface wall behind all those boxes in the family room.  I began going through the boxes and organizing some items.  All my unstarted kits got boxed up and stored in the bottom of the coat closet. My cutting table and two folding tables and my folding ironing board got put back in my quilting workroom.  My bins with completed for-sale work is stacked under the cutting table.  Some of my UFO projects were placed into trays and stacked on one table with my sewing machine in hopes that being able to see them daily would incite me to work on them and clear some working space. (Yes.. I have completed several of those projects this past year.)   I color-sorted and boxed my scraps and miscellaneous projects and piled them on top of and under the second table or hid them in closets and corners around the house, wherever there was a space. So I was back to a crowded quilting/sewing space again... and I had to go searching in boxes all over the house to locate any one specific item or project.(sigh)

A few months ago my daughter moved out and I decided to set up her room as a sewing studio and keep my current space as a quilting studio. I had to keep her large dresser and the spare bed but the almost empty room had possibilities.



I set up shelving for my boxes of color-sorted scraps, my goodwill shirt collection and boxes of miscellaneous fabrics.  You can't see the closet but it is full of yarn related projects and supplies in one half and fabrics and clothing patterns in the other half.  One roll of batting lays on the bed ready to be cut and the other is standing next to the dresser by the doorway.  I am in the process of gathering and pressing all my fat quarters and sorting them in the dresser drawers for easier access.

My Civil War fabrics and some books are up there on the windowsill in those pink crates, and under my brand new pressing table (Christmas gift from my husband)  are some boxes of batting scraps.  I still have boxes with "kits" in a coat closet and books and other misc fabric in the understairs closet.  Due to my most recent attempt to organize there is a a minefield of assorted boxes of stuff I'm trying to sort and organize on the floor that I have to step around whenever I go in there. Having boxes and labels is good , but  I hate not being able to see my fabrics at a glance.   And... yes, there is my hoop and the top I have been (not) handquilting for me.  If I set it up I might actually be able to work and complete it!

Now that I'm a bit more sorted and organized, I'm thinking about rearranging everything, once again.  I'd like to put my cutting and sewing tables here in the studio with my pressing table.  If I could leave my current projects set out and walk in and just sit and work I might get more done!

I would like to  invest in some nice cubicle shelves to display my fabrics and kits so I can see and use what I have before purchasing more!  The current shelves and an extra folding table could be set up in the the quilting workroom to define my space.  I'd have a nice clear table to consult with customers and maybe organize paperwork somehow to make bookeeping and taxes easier to deal with.  I guess the goal is to look more professional.