Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Good news....

You may remember that just days before Christmas (in the middle of sewing some handmade presents!) my sewing machine broke down. I took it to my nearest sewing machine fix-it man who broke the news that he held little hope of finding a replacement for the part that was broken. Well he rang this afternoon to say he could not find a replacement part BUT he has cleverly fixed it himself and road tested it successfully! Now that's the type of sewing machine fix-it man I like! Obviously I would have relished the chance to research and buy a new machine but our finances won't allow that this year and also my Elna has been good to me over the years we've been together, making numerous items of clothing for the girls and I, mending holes in my husbands shorts and taking up hems etc.. not to mention all the quilts, pillows and other items I've produced over the years. I think my Elna deserves another chance. Might have to for go any free motion quilting though as that was what broke the camels back in the end so to speak.
So in preparation of getting my sewing machine back I went up to my sewing attic to have a bit of a tidy up after my handmade Christmas present sewing frenzy. I always like to start a new project with a clean and tidy space. I guess that's just part of my personality as I can't get totally absorbed in a project if there's housework to do. I know there will be people out there that are the complete opposite and can ignore a mess but in general not me.

I seem to have a fascination with pretty ribbons and ric-rac of all widths so much so that it was getting a little out of hand and messy. Having supplies organised and tidy saves time and frustration when you looking for a particular ribbon, button, piece of fabric or sewing tool. So with my ric rac and ribbons I cut pieces of cardboard, wound the ric-rac/ribbon around and cut slots for the ends to go into to hold them in place.

Of course I had to colour coordinate them so they look pretty.

Here's some of my favourite ribbons, just love the ones with the threads down the middle.
So what do you do to keep your supplies in order?? If you have any great organisational tips for your creative space I'd love to know!

11 comments:

myBearpaw said...

Oooh, thanks for showing us all your pretty ribbon! I love the ric-rac. I am afraid I am a very untidy and disorganised person, so have no good tips, but I like the way you have wound the ribbon round card - that's what I do with my xmas lights!

Diane said...

Look at you and all your nice organized trim! I wind mine like that too and then they go into a box. I have some big ric rak that I use on quilts that I have 4 yrd lengths of that I store in a pretty large vase... I have three of them on a shelf, one has that, one has all the little triangles cut from binding and other places and one has small other bits of fabric. Once day these will be maverick stars or ticker tapes :)

Unknown said...

so glad to hear that your little Elna is feeling better. i just inherited a 1973 elna from my mother-in-law and it runs like a top. i oiled it and cleaned it and read the manual when i brought it home so hopefully it will work for a very long time to come, like yours.

my ribbons and laces were organized a little while ago. now they're a mess again. ugh. oh well at least i can admire yours. so pretty! thanks for the push. it may be enough to get me up and tidying!

Deborah said...

Lovely ribbons! I store some of mine in glass jars on a shelf.

Lara said...

Catherine I am so so pleased that you've got your machine back! What a relief... think you definitely should still enter the competition though ;)

Our spare room is a complete disaster at the moment with preparations for the move. I'd love some sorting tips too! Hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of the holidays.

Karen said...

Great news about your sewing machine! You definitely have an excellent repair man. Your ribbons and ric rac look so pretty.

Sue SA said...

Gorgous collection of ric rac and ribbon, I am green! I only have a small collection, so I just store mine on old fat plastic cotton reels. I have been saving plastic cotton reels for years with no good reason, until I stumbled on this idea. Now I give the small (100m) reels to my son's kinder and they thread them into necklaces or make gluing creations with them. Glad to hear that your machine is back on track, I get upset when i have to leave mine at the mechanics for a service! Happy quilting Sue SA.

Louise said...

You know there is a sewing machine fix it place in Waihi? If I remember rightly, it's down Union St and I know it does Berninas but I'm sure it would do other brands too. Just a note encase you ever need to get a second opinion on something...

georgie said...

Oooo I love ric-rac something I love collecting too,I must say I'm terribly dis-organised so I often end up buying duplicate's of supplies because I've put the first one somehwere soo safe I can't find it!
Hope your well.
Love and hugs Georgie xx

XUE said...

Love your cheery collection of ric racs & ribbons & tapes. Don't have any spectacular organising tips but am excited as I am in the process of putting together my new sewing room in our new home here in Dubai. A Bernina would be a wonderful replacement!

by Daisy said...

yaiii for your fix-it man :) i'm suree your Elna appreciates you not giving up on her.

and what a wonderful collection of ribbons and ric rac. it's so nice to have everything organized, isn't it?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...