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Come behind the scenes at Bimble + Pimble for a #CraftRoomTour and see Amanda's sewing room in Canberra, Australia.
After years of sewing on the dining table I love the fact I have a dedicated space! It has lots of natural light, looks out over our back patio and is a seriously chilled place to hang. It's all kinds of awesome!
Tell us about your space
I am super lucky to have a whole room - it is 2.5m by 3.5m so there is so much room to spread out!
As I'm the only one in this space everything is exactly where I want it. Sewing materials are spread throughout my room and I have space for my knitting gear, journalling equipment and my graphic novel collection. It's a fabulous place to retreat to after a bananas day at work or to get my creativity on!
As my space is right near the front of the house it still feels like I am in the middle of things when I am working at my machine. The dogs and cat like to come in and visit and I can watch them run around like pork chops in the back yard from the window!
What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
Once upon a time this used to be a storage room with grey and purple walls and red blinds. It was pretty horrid! Once it was cleared out, I repainted the walls warm white and slowly bought furniture with an eye to having a dream sewing space. I have a dedicated sewing table and two cutting tables. Two bookcases house patterns, notions, books and knick knacks.
I have a cork board above my sewing table covered in anything that catches my eye - photos, cards, trinkets. Whenever I am stuck for ideas I love that I can look up and be inspired!
On the windowsill is a small collection of plants - I'm new to the whole plants inside idea so I'm proud these are almost a year old. Only one succulent died in the making of this windowsill garden!
How do you keep organized?
I'm a natural neat freak so I love finding new ways to keep everything organised! Yup, I'm that odd person O_o
I keep my patterns in stackable cloth covered shoe boxes I scored on a clearance sale with separate boxes for dresses, separates, miscellaneous and tracings. This makes finding things super easy and also hides any messiness inside the box. My notions are sorted into CD boxes and I have a little sewing box for my sewing tools. One day I hope to get a peg board installed to hang my most used tools from - but small steps!
After taking a couple of years to get my fabric stash under control I have a self-imposed stash limit of two shelves on my book case. It got to a point where I had so much fabric I didn't know where to start so two shelves is inspiring and easy to organise without being overwhelming.
Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?
My only tip is to keep the tools you use most frequently close to your workspace and return them there when done. This is such a time saver and means I can jump straight back into a project without hunting around for things. Gah! That is such a boring tip but I swear it works!
Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?
I have lots of my favourite things scattered throughout my sewing space! My bookcase has lots of my favourite graphic novels and books as well as trinkets that have great memories attached. My current favourite sewing item is my new Ernest Wright and Son shears which I received from husband for Christmas. I have to admit to having these on my table all the time because they are seriously cool!
I keep my work in progress garments hung on the hook behind the door and once they are hemmed and pressed they head off to my wardrobe. The only me-made creations I keep in my sewing space are my travel and personal journals on the shelves. It is so much fun to pull these off and see little slices of time.
How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?
I have the attention span of a squirrel on sherbert so I am not great at organising ideas as I change my mind so often! I do have a Pinterest board for sewing and style inspiration that I occasionally add to. More often then not I create on a whim.
Where do you look for inspiration?
I am inspired by all kinds of things - awesome makes by peeps on Instagram and blogs, outfits I see out and about and my fabric stash. Pinterest is also fantastic - but can be dangerous! I set a 20 minute alarm before I dive in there because otherwise it is four hours later and I am somehow looking at clips of dogs riding skateboards and not sure how it happened :)
If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?
My dream craft space would have:
1. Cutting benches at a good height for standing.
2. A clothes rail to hang works in progress and also store my fabric on hangers.
3. Built in speakers for having sewing room dance parties. Because ever rad sewasaurus deserves a mid-sewing dance break!
Whose craft room would you love to explore? Send us a message!
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