Mission Organization: Sewing

My birthday was last weekend and part of my present from my husband was this:

Yay!  A cutting board and a clear quilter's ruler!  He also got me a rotary cutter and I now have all the basic equipment needed for a six-week sewing class I'm going to be starting in less than a month. 

I've been knocking around the idea of taking a multi-week class for a while. I've taken one-time classes here and there and I think I have an idea of what I'm doing in general, but my foundational skills are kind of lacking. I'm hoping that taking this class will encourage me to tackle more challenging sewing projects and help me be successful at them!

I have a tiny corner of our bedroom to store my sewing supplies and things were out of control. I had bags of thread, ribbon in every nook and cranny, and fabric crammed into a cupboard with no sense of organization.

So, I got down to the business of figuring out how to corral everything into a small space.

The first thing I did was collect all my elastic, rickrack, and ribbon and put it all in one place - this adorable ruler box (also a present from my husband - apparently I buy nothing for myself). Note to self: stop buying ribbon no matter how inexpensive it may be in the clearance bin.

Then I went through my fabric, folded it, and stuffed it back into the tiny cupboard. The thing is, I've been collecting bits and pieces of fabric from my life for years in the hopes of making a tshirt quilt, even though I don't have the actual skill set to do so. After some basic sewing classes and a quilting class, I'm hoping I will be able to get rid of most of the tshirts, pajama pants, and assorted other non-wearable, but memory-filled clothing items at the bottom of this cupboard.

I had to deal with the thread, so a trip to The Container Store yielded me a clear storage bin designed for spools!

 I have my mandatory jar full of buttons, of course.

And a bag for everything else: seam ripper, needles, fabric shears, sewing gauge, and all the rest.

I have devoted one shelf of a bookcase to sewing books, patterns, and a notebook that I hope will be filled with useful hints and tricks after this class I take, too.

And then there's the suitcase.

I went a consignment shop in Columbus when I was with Bestest Friend and fell in love with this orange-y red Samsonite suitcase and I snatched it up for the bargain basement price of $32. I would have paid twice that and it may be the start of a love affair between me and old luggage.

The inside is in pretty good shape. There's a tiny bit of water damage, but it's mostly awesome.

I'm totally using this to take all my fabric and notions back and forth with me to my class. I'll carry my sewing machine in one hand and my orange Samsonite in the other and be the happiest girl in the world.

And now my world of sewing is organized. I just need to actually make something.