Returning Newbie

[Runrover]

Hi everyone: I've been away from SG and sewing for several years.   Work, spending more time on my fitness (tennis is great for the body, bad for carving out tennis time) and our recent move to a new home just used up pretty much all of the "my" time I had.  It's wonderful to be back to both though. It's so nice to see familiar and new electronic faces...it's almost like I never left.   Posters (advanced and new alike) continue to be extremely supportive and helpful. It just reaffirms what I've always thought, sewers are just the nicest people. Years ago, I got such gracious advice from folks like Kathryn, Liana, Marji and so many more.

We've move into a new home - bigger than our last. I'm just getting my sewing stuff out of boxes, bins, etc. One of the benefits of the move will be I'll have my own sewing room; no more sharing it with one of the bedrooms.  I'll have our bonus room (18 x 18) for my home office and sewing room. The room has lots of light and a small, but pretty alcove area. I'm so excited.   The first order of business though is paring down my outrageously huge fabric stash and pattern collection. For someone who has yet to advance beyond the beginner stage, I could literally open a sewing store -- I'm not joking. I'll be selling some stuff and giving some stuff away. It' odd, but now that I have much more space, I really want to become as minimalist as possible with fabric and patterns. It's going to be so difficult to let go, but let go I must.

Anyway, it's wonderful to be back. I'll likely need more advice and help as I try to get back into the swing of things. This year I've resolved to go deeper in my sewing and hopefully move beyond the beginner stage.  I'll keep you posted on how the sewing room is going - I desperately need to reacquaint myself with using all the neat features on this site.

Cynthia


     

[Madrona]

Cynthia - Welcome back.  It sounds like you have a wonderful 'fresh sewing start' in this new home. 

[fzxdoc]

Cynthia, it's so nice to have you here! We've missed you!

How thrilling to have a large sewing space at your disposal and the urge to sort through and pare down your fabric, patterns, and notions stash. I did that just about a year ago after we had also moved into a new home.  I have to say that it is a real thrill to sew in a room of appropriate size for my machines and cutting table and to have a place for all of my fabrics, sorted and placed where they are literally at my fingertips whenever I need them.  I gave away tons of fabrics, patterns, and notions to the local shelter for battered women, and everything was snapped up in no time, so don't worry about the stuff you no longer want finding a good home.

Just in case you get discouraged at the volume of work required to sort and set up a sewing room, let me tell you that the carrot at the end of the stick is an amazing joy every day you spend in a well-organized space with an easily accessible stash of fabrics, patterns and notions. Your creativity is never blocked by trying to figure out where something is. Pure sewing bliss! 

I'm going to look forward to your posts, since I always enjoyed them. 

BTW, here is some info that we give to all of our new (or returning) posters. It contains information about the site that may help you get around a bit more easily:


1.   Visit the “Are You New?” topic by clicking here:  Are you new? 

2.   Learn about the forum rules by clicking here: Forum decorum...FAQs

3.   Play in the Sandbox by clicking here : Sandbox .  There you can play around with a lot of the features of the site to your heart's delight (like posting photos or creating your avatar) without affecting any of the other active topics.  It’s truly a “no worries” place to play and learn.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask one of us four site administrators or the site moderator.  One or the other of us is almost always around.  On the opening page, at the bottom, where it lists who is online, our names show up in bright red or bright blue.  You can always send us a private message at any time if you need help.

Again, Cynthia, welcome!

Kathryn

[Runrover]

Thanks Kathryn and Madrona. Kathryn, I so appreciate your comments about the sewing room. It's good to hear there's light at the end of the tunnel.

It's starting to feel overwhelming. My gosh, I've got a whole room for sewing and I'm already thinking I need a bigger room. Right now there are boxes, bins, books, file cabinets, sewing machines and trunks everywhere. It's hard to imagine, but they're all related to sewing and DH says there are a few more trunks and plastic storage containers at our old house. We've finally got someone in our old house - renting, but that means I've got to get our stuff out pronto. I'm just hoping the second floor of our new home doesn't collapse from the weight of it all. It will be great to donate a huge portion to some local community organizations and a local high school that still has sewing as part of its curriculum.

Thanks for the helpful links. I think I really need some play time in the sandbox -- literally and figuratively

Cynthia