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- [00:08]
A
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the Social Hour podcast. I'm your host, Audra.
- [00:11]
B
And I'm your host, Bethany. And today we're talking about loving your space. Because if you didn't know, it's almost Valentine's, and what better reason to show your space some love? And we're going to talk about, you know, organizing things that make you enjoy it better. Just taking some time. So maybe this will be a good reminder for you this week to just give your space some love, because it's going to love you right back.
- [00:32]
A
It will love you right back. In our last episode, we talked about whips and UFOs and how unfinished projects can weigh on us mentally. Today we're going to take that a step further and talk about how Those whips and UFOs and other clutter can just take up the physical space in addition to the mental space.
- [00:50]
B
Yeah, I mean, we don't want our space to feel chaotic or stressful or guilt inducing, like we kind of talked about with the whips and everything. So, like, how can we make it work for us where when we come in, it's not feeling overwhelming, but it's feeling like a getaway from all the other things in our lives that stress us out? Right. There's enough out there. This is supposed to be our little, like, happy place. And so sometimes we just need a reminder, like, it needs some care, too, and caring for your happy place, your sewing space, whether that's a whole room or your kitchen table. I think it's worth taking some time to just think about how we're using that space and how we can make it work best for us.
- [01:27]
A
Yeah, we don't want it to be a dumping ground. We don't want it to be our creative storage unit, because ultimately we don't want it to be also a shame spiral. We don't want to walk into that space and instantly feel down when we're trying to come into that space to be creative.
- [01:43]
B
Absolutely. So today we're going to share some very, like, practical, realistic ways that you can do this week to make your space a space that you love again. If. And sometimes we all go through these phases where we love it and we don't, and we have to change some things, and that's okay. And so we're going to talk about some quick things, some quick wins that you can do this week while you're listening to the podcast, even to keep you motivated to get some things done. Just a few little tweaks can go a long way. And yeah, so let's chat about it. But first, we've got our icebreaker question. What's our question this week?
- [02:15]
A
Audra, what do you love about your sewing space and what do you secretly wish you could change?
- [02:21]
B
Okay, I'll go first. I love that it's its own room. I can shut the door if I need to. I love that everything, for the most part, has a place to go so it feels like I can put it back together when I'm done creating. What I don't love is that I have a second space down on the other end of my house. It's like a guest room. So my main sewing room's a converted one car garage on my little ranch house. Okay. And it's next to the laundry, which is fine, but it does not get very warm in here in the winter. So I always have a space heater running. So if you hear my teeth chattering in today's podcast, it's. Cause I don't have the space heater on, so you don't have to hear it. But I'm cold. And then down the hall is this guest room. And then it's like my studio where I can film. And I have a lot of storage in there and have more machines in there and other projects. And so I'm kind of split between two spaces, which sometimes can be great for, like, having a dedicated filming space. And. But I always find that I'm running back and forth between the two when I'm needing something. It would be really nice if my space could all be one and if my current space could be, like, double or even triple its current size, especially now that I have this giant longarm in here. So I think a lot of people would agree that there's no such thing as having enough space for sewing. Like, we always feel like we could use more.
- [03:33]
A
Yeah, I'll just jump in my. What do you secretly wish you could change again? Also, it's. I wish I had more room. What I love about my space is, you know, I. I sewed at my kitchen table in the beginning, and then as I progressed, I took over a guest room in the house we were at previously, which was, right, Charlie's bedroom. And still in this house. My sewing room is right next to Charlie's bedroom. And there's something I've always loved about that. When I was a single mom, I'd put her to bed and then I'd go sew. So she would fall asleep to the sound of the sewing machine, like, every night. And I think there's just something really nice about having that connection. Cuz she'll be in her room doing homework or just chilling or reading a book. And I'm in my sewing space and she can see me and she can partake in the process and she can have opinions. She also uses my tools when she's not supposed to. And then we'll cut things she's not supposed to.
- [04:26]
B
A little too convenient.
- [04:28]
A
A little too convenient. Like, quick side story, I came up to my swinger one day because like all of us, we leave things where we want them to be or we know where we leave our things.
- [04:38]
B
Yeah. Even if it is a chaotic mess sometimes. Yes.
- [04:42]
A
I'm one of those people that I clear off my spaces when I'm done because I like coming into a clean space. But I walk in and on my pressing table is my rotary cutter. And I'm like, I did not leave my rotary cutter on my pressing table. And I go up and I look closer, there's about like a 2 inch cut through my pressing table down to the wood, like through the fabric, through the padding, down to the wood. And I was like, yeah, that definitely wasn't me because it's not something I would do. And so I asked her, I was like, did you use my rotary cutter? Oh, no, no, no. And I'm like, are you sure you didn't use my rotary cutter? And she's like, oh, well. Well, I just need to like cut the neckline off this shirt. So this is one of those moments where as a parent, the creative part of me is like, oh, I'm so excited that she like decided to alter her clothes and do her own thing. And inside I'm like, but why'd you use a rotary cutter on the pressing table?
- [05:31]
B
Rage, rage, rage, rage.
- [05:34]
A
So, so I looked at her and I was like, okay, in the future, use the scissors. That's number one. Number two is I don't want you using tools you haven't been trained to use. Like. Cause she's never been trained to use rotor cutter. And I looked at her, I go, this could quite literally cut the tip of your finger off. So.
- [05:47]
B
Well, I've seen adults on videos that haven't been trained to use a rotary cutter and it makes me cringe every time. So yeah, they're very dangerous.
- [05:56]
A
There's a pro and con to her being so close. She knows this space and feels comfortable in this space. But then like, she thinks she knows it more than she actually does. But anyway, I digress. I've always loved that it's been by her room, just because it's felt like it's brought a connection between us. Even though she really has never shown an interest in sewing, she likes to have an opinion on things I'm making, and that's always been really fun. And I think I just really enjoy that she feels comfortable coming in and out of here in a way that she's part of the process. And so that's what I love about my sewing space. Similar to you, though, I have things. My long arm is in the basement, and my sewing studio is on the second floor of the house. I think if it was closer, I would use it more because it's kind of out of sight, out of mind. And then I go downstairs to work out, and I'm like, oh, yeah, I've stuffed something on the long arm. It's just. I kind of forget about it. So, like, everybody, I would love to have more space. We all would love to have more space. But that being said, you can always make creativity with just a small little table. You don't need a whole room. So just. We are very, very lucky, Bethany. We are beyond lucky that we have spaces. So we are.
- [06:58]
B
And, you know, I didn't always have the space that I have, and I didn't always have the studio that I have. It kind of became a necessity with my career. So I think that kind of pushed the priority of what we use this space for in our house. We also don't have guests stay over. I don't want guests staying over. So I just was like, I don't need a guest room. I don't want anybody staying over. And, like, my family's here.
- [07:24]
A
That's why I've never been invited over. That's fine.
- [07:28]
B
I mean. No, it's just. You know how it is.
- [07:31]
A
Yeah, no, I know. I get it.
- [07:33]
B
I've stayed at your house, though. You actually have a guest room, though. I. I have. We have three small bedrooms, and there's. We only need two of them. And it just was like, we're not using this space, and our house is small. It's a little 1972 ranch. So we had to make the most of the space. And it just kind of made sense, like, the one time someone might come to visit. It's not really worth it to keep it the rest of the year in a space that we aren't using. And so I was like, out with the bed that nobody's ever slept in and in with a studio space, and it's been great. But, yeah, I do wish it was all Kind of one big space. But anyways, we're going to talk about how your room sets the tone to kind of kick this off.
- [08:11]
A
Well. And really, whether you have a dining room table or a kitchen counter or a three car garage, that's your sewing studio, whatever you have, your environment matters more than we like to admit because it can directly affect your creative energy, whether you realize it or not. And again, this kind of, this carries over from our whips and UFOs conversation last week, talking about how things can mentally weigh us down, that not realizing coming into a chaotic space can also do the same.
- [08:41]
B
Totally, totally. So let's talk about how you can support your actually sewing space. We want you to be able to walk in and be creative. Like, I will tell you, nothing's worse than feeling like, oh, I'm going to go in there and get to work on something. And then you see your cutting table, which is sitting right here next to me, and it's just covered with stuff. And you're like, I have to clean up a mess before I even can start being creative. And it just takes the wind out of your sails. And sometimes I'm like, I don't even feel like doing that. So now I don't want to sew. So now I'm just going to go sit and do something else. And I'm not being productive or not doing the things that I love. And that's, that's very deflating as soon as you walk into your space. So for me, and like Audra said, I try my best to tidy up so that my plate, my space is always functional when I'm walking into it so I can get started now. I have stuff on my table right now, but it's the project I was finished working on last night that I have to continue to work on today. So it's okay for it to sit here, but there's also now a box sitting here that I got yesterday that I need to unpackage. So, like, there's more that's landed here, but it's just like things I need to do, but I don't have piles of stuff. And I think that's really important. I will say this. I recently, if you follow me on Instagram, you know, I recently gutted this sewing room that I'm in right now and completely renovated it due to the fact that I got a longarm. There's no way I could have put this longarm in here with all the countertops and, and stuff that I had in here. And what I noticed over the last year before I even knew I was going to get a longarm was that the countertops became a catch all. And it's great to have countertop space to have different machines set out. I had a computer station and I had a cutting machine. And then I still had my whole cutting island too. But I found that any gaps between stuff was a catch all for stuff to pile up just to move it off my island so I can. And nothing really had a place or all the places I had to put stuff were full. I don't have a closet in this room, so I had to get really creative with storage. And you know, it just. It was always like I didn't have enough space. But truth be told, I had too much stuff in the space. So we're going to talk about that too. But sometimes you just got to do an overhaul when a space is no longer working for you. This space in the last four, almost six years that I lived in this house has evolved. Every year. Something has changed because my interests have changed. I'm not doing epoxy and woodworking anymore. I'm not running a business out of here anymore. So as my. My needs have changed, my space has changed with it.
- [11:10]
A
Having that adaptable space and making sure it stays in a way that is workable for you is so important to ensure that you have follow through in what you're going to do.
- [11:22]
B
Yeah, totally. And one of the key things we're going to talk about today is how important it is that everything has a place to go. So when you are done working on a project, those rulers have a place to go, those scissors have a place to go. And that can look different for everybody based on your space. Like we said, if you have a whole room, maybe you have a pegboard and you hang stuff up. Or if you are working at a kitchen table, maybe you pack it up and have a closet. Or maybe you have a small cabinet next to the kitchen table that you kind of store your stuff in. Just the reset of the space is important so that when you come back in there, you know where that ruler is, you know where your favorite scissors are, you know the tools that you need, or that next project you're going to work on that fabric that you had set aside, you can find it. I'm probably like the kettle, what is it? The kettle, the pot black, whatever.
- [12:09]
A
The kettle black.
- [12:10]
B
Yes, that's it. Because I'm over here saying all of this, but I have two quilts that are completely missing and for the life of me cannot find them right now, and I've made the binding and the binding is with them and they're together. I know they. No clue, no clue where these giant quilt tops and their binding are. And you found your patriotic quilt, so you'll find I did. Way after the fourth of July. You know what they'll be.
- [12:32]
A
You're already prepared for this year, I
- [12:34]
B
guess
- [12:37]
A
to piggyback on Bethany said about everything having a home.
- [12:40]
B
Yes.
- [12:41]
A
Your creative space, your sewing room should support how you actually work. Not what you see on Pinterest, not what you see on Instagram, not some bougie sewing creative aesthetic. It's needs to support how you actually work. And everybody works differently. What you see may work great for someone else and it might not work for you. And just know that that is perfectly okay. So as we're talking about making your space work for you and organization, remember we're talking about again, what works for you. Not this beautiful imaginary space that AI created that is just not realistic.
- [13:17]
B
Yeah. Unless you have all the space in the world and a ton of closets. I really, most of us are working with minimal storage. Like I told you, I have no closet in this room, so everything is very strategic. So I use things like cubbies. I display my fabric so I always can see what I have. Because I found that if I put them in bins, I forget what I have. But that's what works for me. I do have like those bit. Those rolly drawers, the plastic rolly drawers. There's like three of them up under my longarm and so I can see what's in each drawer. And I've got one for just my threads. I've got one for kits. I. But I've got one for some other crafts or shipping supplies. So, like, I have next to me two cabinets, and then I put a top on it and I put them on wheels. So that's now another countertop for me to have a pressing station and lay stuff out over here. But then there's drawers and then there's a space underneath that I can put some bigger things like my other bins and stuff. So, like, I have to get pretty creative with storage and. And it's all about making sure there's a place for everything. But one thing I did before I renovated this room, and one of how it was laid out before is I utilized Wal space. So if you don't have a lot of storage options and you're running out of space in some under bins or cubbies or whatever, or some of the small things Right, A pegboard. Get a nice little frame for it if you want. You can bake a pegboard. It's not expensive. I think I had. My frame was like a vintage mirror frame. And actually the mirror broke. It fell on the floor in here. When I was moving in, I was like painting and it slid and fell and the mirror broke. But I love the frame and so I kept the frame. And my dad had this idea. He's like, why don't you just buy some pegboard from the hardware store and put that on the back and then you can hang that. And it's a pretty frame with a pegboard. And I just bought like the hooks and the baskets and everything. That hook into it is big. I hung all of my scissors from it. I hung my rotary cutter. Everything was right there. I could just reach and grab what I needed right off the wall. And then when I was done, it went back there so I could always see where it was. It was really helpful. I did remove it from my current space. Cause it's not what I need in my current space, but it was great. And so just think about that. Like, I had all of my rulers hanging. I haven't hung them up since. I've renovated the space because I'm still figuring out where I want everything. But eventually my rulers are going to get hung up again on the wall. Because it's so nice to have them up on the wall so I can see them. They're safe. They're not going to get broken or bent. So yeah, use your wall space. I know we want to hang pretty pictures and maybe hang a quilt and that's great and all, but like, save some wall space to be functional. Use your hooks. Use like this whole wall behind me. I've got a quilt on it right now, but it's actually a. A design wall that's hanging up. But then I can take it down if I need to. It can still be aesthetic and functional. Yeah.
- [16:00]
A
I mean, I've had pegboards in my sewing room for the last 10 plus years. And for the exact same reason. I love it. I just reach and put it back and reach and put it.
- [16:08]
B
You've got your thread hanging behind you on the wall. I have some of those here too that I need to put back up now that I've got my layout situated. I wanted to live with my layout for a couple months before I started putting holes in my freshly patched wall. There's still some things I'm working on, but like, I still, I saved all of those things. Small shelving. Like, you can really. I had a lot of shelving in here that I could put stuff on. So, yeah, just use your wall space where. If you have it.
- [16:33]
A
So I'm going to talk quick about my thread for those of you who are on YouTube and can see me.
- [16:37]
B
Yeah.
- [16:38]
A
So I've got two thread hangers hanging here behind me. One is cotton threads, and one is polyester threads. So that's it. Just. It's a quick, easy way for me to know, depending on what project I'm working on. So if I'm working on a quilt, I'll go for the cottons. If I'm working on a bag or clothing, I'll go for the poly. Or if I'm just looking for specific color, I'll use whatever I have. But that is why I have the two different racks behind me is because then I just. It's an easy go to, like, that's cotton, that's polyester. And then all my embroidery thread is stored away all together in a bin. So it's just. It's a quick thing of asking yourself when you're setting up your space, a couple of questions. One, can I easily find what I need? So can you easily go towards your polyester threads? Can you easily grab your rotary cutters? Can you easily find your rulers? So these are things that are really, really important, because if we can't find what we need, we're gonna get frustrated, and then that will bring down that creative energy. Cause it's really. It's makes us pause when we're, like, kind of in that momentum to go,
- [17:41]
B
like, I can't find anything.
- [17:42]
A
Yeah, exactly. Like, when you can't find. When you can't find what you need as a basic function, it's really frustrating, and it just dampens down that creative fire. And can you put things away without having to rearrange stuff? Or conversely, can you get to things without having to move stuff? Like right now, I have. It's frustrating me, and I'm hoping I can resolve it this weekend. I have a big box of something in the closet in my sewing room, which I need to deal with. But that big box sits right in front of where my faux leather and cork scraps live. So whenever I have scraps to put away, I've got to move this box to put them away. So now what's happening is I'm just stacking my scraps on top of said box because I don't want to move the box to put the scraps away. So it creates a Chore. Yeah, it becomes a chore. So it stops us, it slows us down, it gets us frustrated. So try to avoid those hurdles if you can and really think about what do you make the most, what is your most common project? And does your space support that? Does your space support the rulers you need to make a quilt or the hardware you need to make a bag or the dress form you need to make apparel or insert thing here? But does your space support what you are creatively focused on most of the time? And if it's too complicated, you're not going to maintain it. If it's too complicated, you're going to get frustrated and that just creates mental and physical hurdles towards your creativity.
- [19:13]
B
I mean, I, I like to do all the sewing so I can fall victim to this easily. But right now I'm in my quilting era. I've got this long arm in here, so that's what is accessible to me the most right now. But even still, even if I had all the room in the world to have all my different sewing activities or types of sewing that I love to do in one space, I'd still have like areas that, like, this is my bag making area with my industrial machine and all my bag making supplies are in this area right this corner of the room. My longarm and my quilting stuff's over here. Like, it' still going to feel like separate spaces. My embroidery stuff is over here with my embroidery machine. Like, it's, it's going to feel like, like little subcategories in a space. If one day I win the lottery and I can have those dream sewing space. Have you ever seen that meme where it's like a house plan layout and it's like the house and then like the rest of it is like the sewing room and I'm like, yes, that's the house plan I need. Who can build that for me?
- [20:09]
A
Well, we need to make sure we have space for the person that's going to come wash and do our hair every day when we lottery.
- [20:14]
B
Oh yeah.
- [20:14]
A
That's what we want to win the lottery is someone to come like wash and do our hair every day. So we need to make sure there's
- [20:18]
B
at least like, and then a nice kitchen for our chef cook for us too. We're gonna have a compound. I mean, if we win the lottery, we're not going to tell anybody. But there will be signs.
- [20:27]
A
There will be signs.
- [20:28]
B
There will be signs. Let's talk quickly jumping into like the next step of this is we talked about how Important it is to have everything, to have a place to go. If anybody can speak to this next topic of purging, donating, and letting go of your stash that you aren't using without having this guilt about it, I'm. I'm the one to talk to you about it because I literally just did this. If you've been following along since like November. I started as soon as I knew this long arm was on its way. I got into like, I gotta get ready for this. Like, I cannot have these boxes living in the middle of my kitchen until I figure this out, because that's debilitating. So I was like, I've got to start purging right away. And I knew I wasn't going to do a ton of garment sewing like I used to. And so I pivoted focus a little bit. I could still come back and do it whenever I want. And I still kept quite a bit of garment fabric, but I didn't need it on display anymore. So I went through and stuff I'd bought years ago that were no longer my style. I started selling them in little bundles on my Instagram stories. You guys bought them all and I love it for you. And now you're turning them into beautiful things. So I feel good about letting those things go because I know that they're gonna be made into something that they deserve to be made into. And I know I'm never really gonna get to do those things. So I really purged a ton of my fabric stash, like garment knits and stuff. But I also went through and I found old stuff from when I used to do epoxy work and these custom epoxy tumblers. I'm like, I don't need any of this. I'm not doing this again. Like, I loved it, it served its purpose. But that was almost six years ago. I'm not gonna do any. I don't need to hold on to these molds or these cup turners or all these tools and this old epoxy that's gone bad. Why am I still holding onto this stuff? And so I got rid of a bunch of stuff and then I donated. I took two carloads full to a place here in Nashville called Smart Art. It's a donation based store and they have. It's a huge foundation that does wonderful things for adults with disabilities. People can donate things that they're no longer going to use. New and gently used things. They always have like vintage machines there. It's really hard. I try not to go shop there because I will walk away with another machine I don't need, I don't have the space for. But I. It's a great place for you to be able to take stuff and know that it's going to go to another creative person. So I think I took one, two, I took three cutting machines and I still have one. So like I, it was time for me to do a major purge. It's amazing how quickly all this stuff will stack up. And I can't tell you enough how freeing it was to purge those things. Now if you are shopping at SmartArt and you happen to find my quilts, I will take them back, I'll buy them back from you because they may have ended up in a donation bag. I really hope not. But I have no idea where they are at this point. And if they did, I hope you turn them into something beautiful. I can always make it again. It's not the end of the world, but it is frustrating. But this is why we're purging and destashing and donating and everything. And now that I've done that, like I have space for the things I do need to hold on to. So now even though there's a lot of stuff in this room, it all has a place. And it feels like I can breathe in here again. I didn't realize just how suffocating this space had become. And I'm telling you, I have a 10 foot frame longarm in here and I feel like I have more room to breathe in here than I did before. Okay, if that tells you that's just how much space, how quickly it builds up. Do you have that issue? I mean, I know you have a lovely closet, but I know you are very organized with it too. But you, you, and you've talked about this before, you don't have a lot of excess like I do.
- [24:02]
A
Well, I, I do, I do.
- [24:04]
B
I mean, I think we all have excess. But I mean like I was pretty bad.
- [24:08]
A
I have, there's things I just can't get rid of. Like I still have a whole bin full of jewelry making stuff. I've got all kinds of like paint stuff. I have all these different things. A lot of it though is because I do other projects when I do like props for theater or et cetera. Like somehow I always end up need, needing something in there and I try to keep it organized and stored away. My jewelry stuff is all in a bin. And then every now and then Charlie will be like, oh, I want to use it. Yeah, so I do. But I mean and we've talked about in previous episodes about donating and purging. Here in Madison we have something similar. It's called Textile Arts center. And they've got a donation day, which is great, and you can donate stuff. And then they have a shopping day where people can come shop. I've never ever had an issue if something creatively doesn't inspire me anymore, giving it and paying it forward to someone, because there will be someone who it does creatively inspire or who they will really love. Because we all have our eras. We've talked about this. We all have our eras of just things we like in the moment. And then a couple years later it's not our style anymore. So it's really just finding the right home for things. Something to think about when you're donating stuff is there's a variety of places. So obviously we've talked about like Smart Art and Textile Art Center. I tend to avoid donating my creative stuff to a Goodwill or a Saint Vinnies just because there I feel like there are some more targeted places I can go. So I will reach out to local schools. So when I was cleaning out my space probably two times ago that I cleaned out my space, I had like a ton of felt and a ton of things that really could benefit art class. So I reached out to the local middle school and intermediate school and I said, you know, could you use these fabrics? Could you use this felt? And she said, absolutely. So I went and dropped off a big bin because I knew they could use it in their art class. So I like to donate it to schools or community groups or even local guilds that are doing scrap busting projects or they're doing donation quilts. I like to really donate my creative stuff towards another creative venture. I feel like sometimes if we donate that stuff to a local normal charity shop, it just kind of ends up on a shelf and doesn't get the love it it could deserve.
- [26:12]
B
Yeah, I agree. If I'm going to let it go and get no dollar value in return for it, like I want it to go strategically to things that I know will make the most of it, whether it's to a place like Smartart. But I know we don't all have places like that around us. So like you said, schools, contacting my teacher friends and you just gotta accept that like you're doing this so that you can utilize your space, you're not going to get the money back that you spent on said things. Even though I sold some of my fabric, it was pennies on the dollar for what I paid. Okay, so, like. But it had been five plus years since I owned some of those fabrics. It's like that money's gone. You just gotta accept it and just say, like, I just need it out of my space. I'm. I need to love my space again. I need to purge. How if I'm not gonna get money out of it, how can I make sure it's going to a better home? So I feel good about releasing it. Even if there's nothing financially, I'm gaining from it. And honestly, sometimes that's easier to just let it go, especially if you're on a time crunch like I was, than to try to do like the whole yard sale thing. Because you people don't go to yard sales for usually craft supplies, so you're not usually going to get any value out of it. And that's so much work. So you got to do what's right for you. But donating, passing down to grandchildren or nieces or nephews that want to be creative, that's another option too. It's so funny. My neighbor that lives next to me, they're in their late 80s and they went through. And a couple years ago, and we're cleaning out some stuff, and she used to sew and do things a little bit, and she found this whole bag of, like, fabrics, and she brought it over to me in a Walmart bag. And she's like, I thought you could use these. And I was like, oh, my gosh, thank you. Like, I didn't need them, and they weren't really my style. I think the only thing I kept in there was like, a vintage Care Bear fabric that I was like, oh, I have to keep that one. But you know what I did? I took that bag of fabrics to my sewing club and I said, hey, does anybody want any of these? And I have a lot of beginner new sewists in our sewing club. And I'm like, take it. It's free. And you can practice on it before you use your favorite fabric. Just play with it. And they. They ate it up. There's so many ways that you can give back to fellow sewists in that way, especially beginner sewists who maybe are on a tight budget or they're young and they're just getting started, and they're starting to realize how expensive this hobby can be. And they want to play and they're learning and they're making mistakes. So here, pass it down, pay it forward, and it gets it out of my space. But it gives it to someone who's used, and they're so grateful for it, and I'm just so happy that they love it. And, like, there's no reason for me to hold on to those things.
- [28:42]
A
Yeah. A couple years ago, I was cleaning out my stuff, and there's a little girl in our neighborhood who is starting to learn to sew. And so I text, like, I could
- [28:49]
B
set up your whole space for you with my ex.
- [28:51]
A
Well, I have all this. All these fabrics. Does she want them to practice? She's like, oh, my God, yes. I mean, it's also. The parents are like, oh, my God.
- [28:58]
B
Thank you.
- [28:58]
A
I don't have to buy all this fabric. So let's talk about decorating and celebrating your work. I mean, one of the fastest ways to really fall in love with your space again is to be able to look around and have proof of your creativity and remind yourself of why you're in this space.
- [29:15]
B
Yeah, no, totally. And as you can see if you're watching on YouTube, I have a quilt hanging. I just pinned it to my design wall, but it's just hanging there. Have a little color behind me, but it just brings light to my space and color to my space, and it makes me happy, and I change it out. And then if I need to work on a quilt, I can take this down and put my quilt pieces up. I love doing wall hanging, like, quilts, because then I can for every holiday and season, because I can put them up in different places of my home, and it just adds some warmth and texture and color, and it reminds me that I made that. That's really pretty, you know, and it's just so fun to see.
- [29:53]
A
Yeah, I do the same thing. So I've got a wall hanging right outside my sewing studio that I actually need to change. Maybe I'll do it after we're finished recording. But also, my space, you can't see it because it's behind. It's behind the laptop. But I have a couple wall hangings hanging that are my favorites. There's ones my quiltcon reject, and I love it because I tried something new that I'd never done before. And I'm still beyond excited with how it turned out. And I've got another one that I submitted for a show that I got a participation ribbon for, which is fine. I still have the ribbon on it because it makes me feel good. But it's fun to have those things hanging because it should be a reminder of what you can do, of not things that are unfinished, but things you can do like that Quilcon reject wall hanging. I still love it. I still am so excited about what I did because I had an idea and I test ran it, and part of it worked and part of it didn't, but I just played.
- [30:41]
B
I played and I had fun memories.
- [30:43]
A
And I. Yeah, I did my own quilt math. I solved all the problems when the quilt math didn't work. You know, like, I have it hanging because it makes me happy.
- [30:52]
B
Yeah.
- [30:52]
A
And you should have that in your space.
- [30:55]
B
In my studio, I still have a dress form even, and it was one thing I just couldn't get rid of because even though I'm not making a ton of garments anymore, I still like to display something that I've made that I'm really proud of. And sometimes I'll rotate it through. So in that room, because it's a guest room, I do have a very tiny closet. And so I have some of my garments that I've made in there that are like, special occasion things or like special projects. And one of them is like a scrappy pink ombre dress that was like, make your own fabric and then turn it into something. And I made a whole dress out of scrap fabric. It was wild. It was the most fun project, but. And I just made it all up in my head. But, like, I'm so proud of it. It didn't win anything in the competition at the convention, but I was so proud of it. And so I leave it on that dress form. And of course, every time I walk by the room down the hall, I think someone's in that room, and it gives me a heart attack. But. And then I'm like, oh, that's my dress. She's pretty. So it's okay. She's not gonna hurt me. She's pretty. But I like to. My dress form is never naked, is never naked. When I recently, I swapped it out to have one of my local friends in my sewing club. She worked at Joann's before rip, before it closed. And she got me one of their aprons as, like, a little keepsake. And so I have that on there with one of my name badges from an event that I was at. So it looks like this is mine, but I have pins and stuff. Like, you know, you go to events and you get pins and patches. I have them all kind of collecting on that apron. And it just reminds me of all the things I've done. It's. It's on my dress form right now. So now, right now, she's wearing a green apron. But yeah, I Change it out. Like, sometimes I have the formal dress that I made that I'm obsessed with, and it was satin. And I worked so hard on that dress and it looked so good. And probably one of my favorite garment mace I've ever made, a floor length gown. But sometimes I put that one on there. It just because I want to look at it. It's pretty. I don't have anywhere to wear it to. I just want to look at it. And I think that's totally fine. Is displaying your art. One other thing I've done, and I've got the frames. I just need to put them in as I've made like foundation paper piece blocks. And then you put it in a frame and frame it on the wall. Like your quilt blocks don't always have to be turned into a bag or pillow or quilt. They can just be art on a wall. And I love doing that with foundation paper piece blocks. And so I have several that I need to put in frames. And I just go to, like, hobby lobby and get some cute white frames and they all match. And so those are gonna get hung up on the wall in here. But like I said, I'm still working on my layout a little bit, but yeah. So there's your. Your art, your creativity can absolutely be a decorative way to add color and fun into your space. And like, we used to put our kids art on the fridge. This is kind of like us doing that as adults.
- [33:32]
A
Oh, it's our own kids art. All right, so we're going to talk about some of the sensory things in your space, because that's important too. Not only functionally, but just emotionally.
- [33:43]
B
I think it's important. Obviously, having good lighting in your space so you can see is really important. Whatever that needs to look like for you. We all have different eyes and different needs when it comes to lighting, but I have, I don't know, 8 can lights in this small room. And then I have a studio light. So sometimes I turn it all on, and I love it. So I think lighting's really good. Obviously it's important to have, like, really sharp scissors, making sure your tools are functioning and changing out those rotary blades, changing out the needles on your machine, just doing the things that will create obstacles or make things harder than they need to be. Cleaning your machine, like doing all those kind of things, Having a really comfortable chair. If you're going to be hanging out in your sewing room and you want to crank out a project, you need to make sure your chair is comfortable for you. And we all have different levels of comfort and needs, and you've got to decide what is going to work for you. And sometimes it can take a little while to find the right chair. Okay. And just because of what I have or what Audra has doesn't mean that that's going to be comfortable for you. So you've got to sit and test them. Right. Having a good table height. Like, my table here is at a good height to sew. But then I take my machine off, and it's actually got hydraulic legs. It's like one of those desks that goes up and down, and then I can raise it so it's at a good height for me to cut out. So I'm not hurting my back. Back. Because if it's gonna hurt my back, I'm not gonna want to do it. It's those little things that are gonna make it more enjoyable for you to be in the space as long as you want to be.
- [35:01]
A
It's all the ergonomic stuff. And I know, like, we're always like, oh, ergonomics. But truly, especially in sewing. We're standing, we're sitting, we're cutting all the. The ergonomics really actually matter. I mean, I know there are times where I'm sewing, and I do, like, the sewing hunch. You know, the sewing hunch over. And then all of a sudden, I stand up and I'm like, oh, my God, my back didn't like that.
- [35:24]
B
It's not because we're in our 40s. It's just because.
- [35:26]
A
Yeah, it's just because it's not comfortable. Like, we. We shouldn't be sitting like that. Now, granted, when I sit up straight to sew, it feels super awkward. But also, I know it's better for my body. Don't ignore the ergonomics.
- [35:36]
B
And I. I want to say real quick that there's. I love a little mini ironing station. And I know a lot of people like to have one next to their machine while they're piecing, to have, like, quick little presses as they're piecing, especially with foundation paper piecing. That's great. But, like, I actually intentionally have my main ironing station across the room, so I have to get up and stretch. It's intentional. Like, yeah, it would be faster if it was sitting right next to me, but then I'm gonna. I'm gonna burn out faster and not be able to go as long forever as I'm sitting too long and my legs are going numb and my hips hurt, my back hurting. I guess I'm getting Older, but I'm not helping things at all by being sedentary. So maybe spacing some stuff out so that you do have to get up and move is intentional for you physically. Because if not, you're going to sit there for too long, and then you're going to have to get up and move and you're not going to be able to sit back down. Just think about those things as you're planning out your space or where you want things to go. I love, like, currently my computer sitting on a mini ironing station that rolls around my room. And that's great, but sometimes I stand at it, sometimes I sit at it. It just depends on my project. But I make sure that I'm getting up and moving. And I know people that actually set alarms, like, on their phone or they have a little alarm nearby that is like, every 30 minutes or an hour because it goes by fast. We're having fun. Right? Time flies. But like, to remind them, like, get up and stretch. Go get a drink of water. Go see some fresh air for a minute. Like, whatever you got to do, it's good for you to get up and move, and it's not going to slow you down in your zone. It's going to help you keep going to take those few minutes of breaks and then sensory.
- [37:10]
A
Some things to have in your space. I always light a candle. I love a candle in my space.
- [37:15]
B
Always.
- [37:15]
A
I always have a music, a show, a podcast going.
- [37:20]
B
Audiobook.
- [37:21]
A
You're. Yeah, you're the audiobook. I can't do it because then I lose focus. But we just have to have those things in our space that make us want to be there.
- [37:28]
B
Yeah. Yeah. And keep going and have fun. Keep going and make it feel cozy. And I do light a candle every time. I do have a TV in here, but very rarely do I turn it on because I find that to be more of a distraction to slow me down. Which is why I like the audiobook, so I can visually focus on the project while I listen to the book. But podcasts, music. I'll turn on music in here and have a dance party. Like, I don't care who's looking. I'm having fun. I do that a lot when I'm cutting because I'm standing up and I'll just, like, jam out. Or if I'm using my projector, I'll dim the lights and light a candle and have my projector going, and it sets a cool mood. It's dark and moody in here, and I'm cutting out projects. I Love it when my projector's on it. And I. I specifically wait to cut stuff with my projector at night, so it gets real dark in here. So it's just the glow of my projector and me jamming out to some music and cutting out. Anyways, we're going to talk about Protectors next week. By the way.
- [38:21]
A
I know, I was going to say that's a great foreshadowing of the next episode. All right, so this is. I get to say my favorite saying. Now we're going to talk about the power of 10 minutes because it is not a full time job to keep your space organized. So this is where I get to say my. The power of 10 minutes, which I'm going to copyright someday. Your sewing room doesn't need to be spotless. It just needs to be in a way you can reset it. Whether it's in the middle of a project, at the end of a project or whatever. You don't need a lot of time, I promise.
- [38:50]
B
Yeah, we've got to stop apologizing for our messy spaces. That's a creative space and I want to see you using it. It's meant to be used. It's a creative space, is never truly expected to be spotless. I know a lot of people post like the aesthetically pleasing, but they cleaned up their space after they got done creating. It doesn't always look like that. Okay, so just know, like, your space doesn't have to always be spotless. I would be shocked if it was. If it was, I'd be thinking you're probably not really using it. Okay, so let's use our space. But then let's reset our spaces with those 10 minutes and take 10 minutes this week. Take 10 minutes or 30, 40 minutes while you're listening to this podcast and do clean your space. Clean your space. Purge a few. Even just one bag to purge one bag that you can put away and donate. Just do a little at a time. You don't have to do it all at once. Don't let this be overwhelming task. 10 minutes.
- [39:41]
A
You don't need a lot of time to do a little cleaning up. And then also, I always leave my space in a. I've talked about this before at a point where I can just come jump right back in. So if I'm. If I'm at the end of a project and my space is clear, fine. But if I'm in the middle of a project, so say I'm working on a quilt block, what I will do is I will leave today with things pinned so that tomorrow I can come jump right back in. Because that hurdle. Yeah, that mental hurdle of where did I leave off? You know? Or what do I do next? So I know I can come right back in and be like, boom, I'm in it. I know exactly what to do. I know this is pinned, and I need to start sewing here. So that mental barrier of what's my next step is gone. And that just feels really, really good. We're talking about, in general, this whole thing. We want you to love your space. We want you to feel creative in your space. But most importantly, it's progress over perfection. Just like sewing. We're not looking for a perfect space. We're not looking for that Pinterest or Instagram aesthetic. We're looking for a functional space for your creative endeavors. It will never be flawless. It will never be spotless, as long as the way you have it set up works for you, stokes your creative fire, and encourages you to continue to create. That's what this is all about.
- [40:58]
B
Absolutely. Couldn't have said it better myself.
- [41:00]
A
Mic drop. Okay, so with that, we're gonna go into stitch and share.
- [41:04]
B
Yes.
- [41:04]
A
What are you working on right now, Bethany?
- [41:07]
B
So the project on my table right now that I finished making all the half square triangles for yesterday, so now they're ready to be pressed open and trimmed down and then put into a layout, is I'm making a quilted vest to wear, to cook on. I. That's all I'm gonna make to wear, to quilt. I know some people go all out. I don't have time for that, and I just don't really have the energy for it, to be honest. I've got too many other things I'm working on. But I've been wanting to make a quilted vest for a long time, so it was just like, an easy, quick win. And I have. I'm using my strawberry fabric from Ruby Star that came out last year. It is very colorful and very fun, and so I thought it would be fun to pair with just a pair of jeans. And maybe, maybe if I have time, I'll make a pair of quilted sneakers to match, because I'm obsessed with this fabric. And my sneaker kits do arrive today, so I'm excited to get those. And my first big roll of batting arrives today. I bought a full size, like, a big roll of batting. I have no idea where I'm gonna put it, but that's a problem for tomorrow, and it's coming today, and I'm really excited about it. So what about you?
- [42:10]
A
I gotta admit, I'm still. I'm still in a sojo slump.
- [42:14]
B
Yeah.
- [42:14]
A
And it's funny, I've never been here before.
- [42:17]
B
Like, I've never.
- [42:18]
A
I've never been here. And the thing is, in my head, there's so many things I want to do. I'm like, oh, I can work on this. I can work on this. I can work on this. I can work on this. But then my motivation to actually do it is like non existent. I'm just. I told.
- [42:31]
B
My life is pulling you. Life is taking that energy that you would usually put into it and putting it in other places that you don't normally have to deal with. And it can be. I feel like the life that happens sometimes, like the, the highs and lows. Right. Can really pull the energy that we would normally put into our. So Jo. And that's okay. And you have to give yourself grace for that. But your 10 minutes could be just sitting and stitching. And if you did that every even every other day, even if you weren't making anything, you're just putting fabric through the machine. I think you might find that rhythm again. And we've talked about that, but it's hard.
- [43:07]
A
Maybe I need to go listen to our own. Our own episode about that.
- [43:10]
B
Guys. We keep it real around here. We keep it so real. Like what we preach is our own, like, experiences. And we're walking through it too.
- [43:18]
A
We absolutely are. It's so weird. And I know you're right. You're does that. I mean, and here's the thing.
- [43:23]
B
I have. You would tell me the same thing.
- [43:24]
A
I have plenty of things I could do. And the funny thing is, it's like I don't feel overly stressed right now. I don't feel overly overwhelmed. So there's no reason for me to be in this creative desert.
- [43:34]
B
Yeah.
- [43:35]
A
Like I told my husband today, I'm like, I feel like I'm in a creative Neverland. I'll get there. So I just. I'm slowly working through it. I know all the things I want to do. I just don't have the motivation to necessarily do it. So I just need to start doing one little thing at a time. And I know that I mean, and I. This is the first time in all my years of going to Quilt Con, I'm not planning on making anything for quiltcon.
- [43:55]
B
That's okay.
- [43:56]
A
That feels weird. And I mean, it feels okay, but it also feels weird. And I say that now and then. It'll probably be like three days before I leave And I decide to, like, jam something stupid out and stress.
- [44:06]
B
Make a bag.
- [44:07]
A
I make a. Yeah, exactly. I'm gonna be like, oh, let's do this. Three days before. I just. So I'm still working through it. That's the deal. I'm just. I'm still working through my sojo slump. There's, like, a thousand things I want to do, but I don't have the motivation do it. I just need to. I think maybe I'll go back and listen to our episode. Maybe I'll listen to myself about the power of 10 minutes.
- [44:24]
B
Yeah.
- [44:24]
A
Can I tell you I'll get there. I know I'll get there. I'm just not there right now.
- [44:28]
B
The other day, I was struggling with some news that I got, and I knew I had stuff I needed to do, but I was really struggling. My friend FaceTimed me, and we've done this. Her and I have done this before. We both also struggle severely with adhd, but it's called body doubling. And she. Her and I were FaceTiming for, I'm telling you, almost six hours. We FaceTime together, and I finished the binding on my quilt. She was working on a pattern. We kind of helped each other out. We chatted about life. It gave me something else to focus on instead of sitting in my sadness that I was feeling without having to really address it, but, like, keep me moving and motivated. And I felt so much better by the end of the day that I was able. Able to process that information without having to dive into it and talk about it a lot. But then I was distracted, so I wasn't able. Living in that and being sad. And I think we all struggle with, like, those highs and lows, but it's called body doubling. You could even just FaceTime for, like, an hour and sew with somebody can help re spark them. Because if you see them doing it, it makes you want to do it. And then you're doing it together, and you kind of get that. So, Audra, if you want to FaceTime and do some sewing, we can. And I'm saying, like, anybody can use that tool. And we don't have to talk. We're just there. What are you working on just there? How are you doing over there? Yeah, you know, but we're in the space together, but we're virtual. But it's. It feels connection. And that connection can help restart motivation. And it helped me yesterday in my sadness. It can help re spark a sojo.
- [45:56]
A
Okay, what is your. You love to see it.
- [45:58]
B
Oh, my. You love to see it is if you've been following me on Instagram. I had announced that I was going to do three retreats this year that I'm hosting the Sew With Me retreat. March, June, and October. They're all different projects. Well, I went and saw Kara at the Little Golden Fox in Madison, Indiana, and we have added three more retreats to my schedule this year. So now I'm doing six total retreats. Three that are solely hosted by me here in Tennessee, and then three that are hosted by Kara that I'll be teaching. So they'll feel similar, but like different vibes of experiences and everything. And all six of these retreats are completely different projects. So it's just going to be so much fun. We have a lot that we're doing. I'm just so pumped to be filling up my schedule with more opportunities to get to meet you guys in person and sew together. And then I've got some other things I'm working on for those who can't travel and sew in person with me, but we can still connect in more of a virtual way. So I'm working on things like that, too. But just the fact that I went into this year with three retreats planned and now I've doubled them in my first month of this year, I feel like is a huge win. And I just hope you guys are really excited for a lot of fun. I have shared all the dates and, like, a general idea of what they are each retreat on my social media. So you can go over there and go ahead and pencil it in. Registration for the April retreat at the Little Golden Fox in Madison, Indiana has opened up when this aired. It's already been open for 11 days. So I don't know if there's still space. I'm like, predicting the future here, but if there is, please come join us. We're gonna have so much fun. It's. If you've never been to Madison, Indiana, I hadn't either until January. And I fell in love. And before I left, I was looking on Zillow for housing prices. Way more affordable than Nashville because this town is like Hallmark. I mean, if you look at a Hallmark movie, you've seen Madison, Indiana like it, they look. It doesn't feel real. I parked my car there on Friday and I didn't drive my car again until I left on Tuesday morning. Like, I. I walked everywhere. It's the most walkable town. Wonderful coffee shops, great antique shopping. If you love antique shopping. So much creativity. They're the sweetest people. I. I'M telling you, I had the best time. I felt like I was in another world. And they have lights up year round, so at night it's always magical. They just put up their valentine lights. They're so cute. I'm just like obsessed. Anyways, we're gonna have a lot of fun there and you should come join me.
- [48:23]
A
Mine is that the days are getting longer, and I love that the days are getting longer. I just, it's, you know, I need more sunlight. I. I like waking up to the sun rising. I like the sun setting later. So I'm ready to have the sun rising with me at like 5am and I'm ready for the sun to be setting later at night. And so I just love, I love that the days are getting longer. It's beautiful. Last night I was walking out of the high school, working on props, and I was like, oh my God, the sun's still out. And this is amazing. And it just made me so happy. So mine is really simple. I'm just excited that the days are getting longer.
- [48:56]
B
It makes a huge difference. I'm sick and tired of looking at my clock at 7:30 going, is it time for bed? Cause it's been dark for hours. That's so it's hard to stay motivated at night. And as someone who's typically a night owl, I've noticed that I'm not really in the winter because it gets dark so much earlier. I start to shut down earlier, which is probably better for my sleeping habits. But in the summer, man, I am. The sun's still up at 9pm I've still got a few more hours in me and I'm going. So, yeah, it's hard. It's just a totally total mind shift. I will give a confession real quick. I have clocks in my house that are still set to the previous price change. And at this point, it's like, why even bother changing it? We just always look at it and go, oh, it's not 8 o'. Clock, it's really 7 o'. Clock. We just don't even change them. And so when we spring ahead, I don't have to change my clocks. I really only change my clocks once a year.
- [49:48]
A
I feel like there's something that can be psychologically dissected there. Anyway, our next episode, we are talking about projector sewing, which maybe I'll finally test my projector before next episode. I bought a projector back in April and I haven't tried it yet.
- [50:02]
B
So we're gonna get you. That's what we're gonna FaceTime and do together, and you'll feel so accomplished.
- [50:07]
A
Okay, we'll do it. All right. So thank you guys so much for joining us for this episode. Please like and subscribe. Share our social hour podcast with a fellow sewist in your life that you think would enjoy this or fellow creator. We would love to have you follow us on the social Sewist Facebook group. Tell us what you're working on, tell us about your space. Tell us anything. We love to hear it. You can find us on all the social platforms, and we look forward to seeing you next time. Yeah.
- [50:37]
B
Happy Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day.
- [50:39]
A
Valentine's Day. And Happy sewing.
- [50:41]
B
Bye.
- [50:42]
A
Bye.