Paw Prints Across My Heart

I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime.  I think this sentiment is not restricted to humans, but applies to any living being who enters our orbit.  I've presented my dog, Max, to you on several occasions through various blog posts, including this one I wrote last month about his unusual sleep behaviors.  At the time I published that post, I had absolutely no idea I'd be saying goodbye to my big guy just days before Christmas.

BLC Day 16: One Canine's Nocturnal Behaviors

I've mentioned my big guy, Max, in past blog posts. I love this dog! As an American Bulldog, he possesses a large, bulky chest and upper body with slightly bowed front legs. When something has piqued his curiosity, his perked up ears and furrowed brow gives him an aggressive appearance which, partnered with his deep bark, is quite impressive and can be intimidating. To me, however, he's a great big love and my dawg!!

BLC Day 4: Poppin' Wheelies!

I have long dreamed of having a beautiful and functional space in which to enjoy the various craft activities which interest me.  I recall in the pre-Pinterest days initiating and saving online image searches to see how other sewing-enthusiasts have set up and organized their sewing spaces.  And who hasn't thumbed through a copy of Dream Sewing Spaces by Lynette Ranney Black?

While working in my Sewing Room now, I look around and am pleased to see the progress I've made in improving its efficiency and appearance, but it has not been an overnight process. Most of the improvements have been done over a period of about 10 years - reminds me of the saying "slow and steady wins the race."  Case in point, my Project Table which I actually completed building in 2014 and blogged about in January 2015.  It has truly become a workhorse piece of furniture in my Sewing Room, and provides a lot of great storage capacity underneath its table top...

BLC Day 1: Saving My Bum

I recently shared with you that my Sewing Room serves many functions, including where I manage my household affairs, so it's fair to say my office chair and desk has received lots of use since purchasing them in 2006 and '07 respectively.  My desk, purchased on Target.com, was part of their "Our House" collection and I liked its streamlined appearance and function, plus the approximate $99 price tag was right up my alley.  At the time of my purchase, this furniture line was being discontinued and the only color available was white, so I knew I'd be painting it black as soon as it arrived.

Images taken in 2012

The chair was purchased from Art Van, a well-known furniture store in the Midwest.  I think I paid about $100 for the chair - a price I would never ever pay again for a similar item.  Hindsight is 20/20, right?  Anyway, the seat bottom flattened out significantly over the years.  In fact, I've had several "Princess and the Pea" moments because I could feel the hardware through the seat cushion whenever I sat in the chair.  It is, however, in otherwise good condition, so I decided to simply replace the seat padding.

The space between my desk and chair is one of Max's favorites.

The Cataloging Process

Having recently come to terms with my pattern addiction which has resulted in an accumulation of well over 700 patterns, it was important for me to develop a process which allowed me to protect my collection from light and dust exposure, while enabling me to quickly and effortlessly review them when searching for a specific pattern or a design element to incorporate in a garment.

I shared in previous posts (here and here) the evolutionary process of my storage methods, up to and including the one I'm currently using (see here and here). With my desire to protect my collection from environmental elements satisfied, I focused on developing a method of cataloging the full collection so I'd be able to browse through them without having to take down each box and literally flip through every pattern. I used to do just that...an extremely tedious process which often isolated me from my family.  So, I really wanted more of an e-cataloging process which would work for me.

I absolutely love a good pattern sale, so after purchasing new ones, I mark on the envelope the date they were purchased and proceed to scan the envelope front and back images to my computer.  For about a year now, however, I've been purchasing vintage patterns from various outlets, primarily eBay.  Once they're finally delivered, I take inventory of each pattern to determine its condition and completeness.  Most of the ones I've purchased have been in pretty good shape, while the components of others - envelope, instruction sheets and pattern pieces - need special handling and/or repair.

Snowy Stitching Sunday

Good Day Everyone!

It's been somewhat busy in my home lately, primarily with the return to work after the holidays, and I am almost ashamed to admit that I still need to take down my tree and decorations.  In my defense, I am waiting for family assistance because this is no longer a one-woman job.  So, it almost goes without saying that I've not been working on new sewing projects.  But I shared with you that one of the areas in which I want to be more consistent is my blogging, irrespective of any specific "sewing" projects on which I may be working. So, here goes...

We have quite a nice snow storm going this morning in Southeast Michigan, which always reinforces the desire to hunker down and stay indoors, as demonstrated by my furry sewing buddy.