It was only a year ago that I was posting a sewing studio update. A lot changes in a year! Three weeks ago, we moved into a new home and that meant a new studio. I had a love/hate relationship with the thought. I hate packing and unpacking. But there is no one, not even our professional movers that I would entrust with packing my sewing things. I needed to know where every single bobbin was going to be.

In the last 12 years, I have sewn in so many nooks and crannies of my home. I literally got in wherever I fit in. I started out in a corner of my bedroom. That became an issue quick when Michael was ready for bed and wanted the lights off... but I just had to get in a few more stitches! Plus, that wasn't exactly a situation where I could leave things and spread out. And then I took over the dining room. Again, not ideal. So a few years after that, I decided that since we had a huge family room to simple create a living room/dining room combo and just keep the dining room to myself. That was better for space. But still, it was always near the front door. I still had to keep things in order. 

So as soon as my children started leaving the nest, that's when I finally got to have a true designated sewing area that was all mine. No family traffic flowing through. Just mine! I fell head over heels in love with bedroom converted sewing studio. But I packed so much stuff into that room that I almost immediately grew out of it. We had toyed around with looking to move because we were no longer bound to the area because of the school district. For the first time in over 20 years, we could finally live anywhere that we wanted to! Joy! My new set up is pretty similar to the previous. The differences this time is obviously a lot more space. I'm in the basement and there are no windows. I'll take the space over the windows any day! And I'm back to ecru walls. I'd changed my wall color last year to a very cool pale gray. I may go back to that one of these days. No promises... That move wore me out and I can't even think about moving things around right now.

I added a basic shelf from Home Depot. The rails, s-hooks and basket are from Ikea. And I found the wire baskets on the shelf at the thrift store.

My machines are BERNINA Activa 130, BERNINA 350 PE...

BERNINA 1300 MDC and my Brother embroidery machine.

Having my thread at arm's reach is a must!

I like having patterns that I want to sew for the season nearby.

I replaced my iron a few months ago with the Sapporo SA-SP527 Gravity Feed Iron from Amazon. I also use a Wide Top Ironing Board.

I'm still using my cutting table, it's the Home Hobby Table with Drawers. We removed the casters and put it on risers. I'm pretty tall, so my table needed to be raised from the "average" height. Mine stands at 37" high. 

But now that I have a lot more space, I'll be upgrading this one soon. It's just out of proportion with this large space. I'll be creating something custom for my needs.

I'm not a fan of blank spaces on my wall. I wanted something reflective of my style. I'm completely obsessed with Oliver Gal's fashion prints. And maybe one day I'll splurge. But today, they're completely out of my price range, especially for the amount of space I wanted to cover.  

So I decided to find similar, inspired prints on Etsy that are printable. And I framed them in 11"x17" frames.

I don't know if any of you longtime Vogue Magazine readers remember back in the day, when they would publish these Manolo Blahnik illustrations in the back of the March and September issues. Well, I collected them for years! I framed them and I had them around the top of my closet. But I thought I'd put them out in plain view since I have the wall space.

Since this basement was meant to be a den, there's a fireplace down here. I think it adds a bit of glamour and drama to the room. Am I the only one that hates a naked dress form? Since I haven't had time to sew anything, I decided to dress my girl in something fabulous! This is Vogue 1288 made in gorgeous sequin pailettes. She really dresses up the room.

I have my favorite sewing books out on display. You can check out my sewing library here.

Mirrors are so freaking expensive! I was so lucky to find a great deal on this one from Home Goods!

And the full pattern collection lives here!

I love this cute little shoe! It's a daily reminder: "For we walk by faith, not by sight." - 2 Corinthians 5:7.

And even though I don't have windows, I can always just stick my head around the corner!

Every few years, I have to change up my sewing studio.  Sometimes, the space just no longer works... or I get bored with it.  Having a designated sewing area all to myself is truly a blessing that I don't take for granted.  Recently, my old setup just wasn't flowing for me, so it was time for a change.  

I first started with painting my 145 sq ft space.  I can't have crazy bright colors in my creative space. I need soft neutrals.  I took the former warmer ecru color and changed it to a cooler off-white shade of pale gray.  I bought my paint at Walmart and it's Colorplace Interior Satin - #11252/Country Fog.

I've found throughout the years that I function best in a L-shaped workstation.  Maybe it's all of the years I spent working in a cubicle!  I tried to get away from it, but I always revert back to that type of setup.  I stayed pretty basic by using 2 Tables from Target.  And something about a White Desk Chair says "a woman creates here"!

During the day, I get great natural light. But for nighttime sewing, I needed new lighting.  I added two Hampton Bay Carroll Plug-in Swag Pendant Lights.  They're hanging on Westinghouse Large Swag Light Hooks, secured with spring toggle wings.  I used the same hook for the iron's water tank.

I was in need of a new cutting table because mine had grown wobbly and I believe I'd stripped all of the screws trying to tighten it throughout the years.  This time, I bought the Home Hobby Table with Drawers because the base is A LOT more sturdier.  My Hancock Fabrics sells these in the store but they're not on the website.  Notice that I didn't use the casters.  Michael put the table on riser which gave me about an additional 3" of height.  It stands at 38", which makes a world of difference to someone my height.  And my lower back thanks him!  And the Cutting Mat is from Amazon.com.

Shelving and storage, I'm using a Wire Shelving Rack from Walmart.

Here is my ironing station.  I've been using my Consew Gravity Feed Iron for years.  Once you go gravity feed, you never go back to a regular household iron.  And I use a Wide Top Ironing Board.  And I also updated the Ironing Board Cover.

Here is the pattern stash.

My dress form as mentioned before is a PGM Pro.  I don't stash a lot of fabric, so it's put away in the closet.  

So, there you have it!