All hung up!

One day after coming back from one of my meetings at Sultan Abdul Samad building, I came across a shop that looked like it was selling things that shop owners would usually buy to put up or organize their things in the shop. You know, those bars with hangers to hang clothes, bags etc?

I have been looking for some sort of organizer or hangers to hang up my handmade bags so that it will be easier for me to see what I have made, and so, easier for me to refer to it should I forget how to make it. It will also be easy for friends and future customers to see what bags I have in a more organised way.

So, yesterday, Friday, 9th December 2011, during my long lunch hour break, I decided to hop on the LRT from my office to the Masjid Jamek Station and check out the shop.

A whole new world opened up in front of me as soon as I stepped into the shop! Talk about being a frog under a coconut shell (Katak bawah Tempurung). LOL!

They have so many things which I have been wondering where to get if and when I open up a shop, and now I have the answers! Well, most of it, at least! LOL!

I don’t know how to describe the things they have and I was too shy to ask if I could snap a photo of the shop. But, knowing Malaysians, especially those that are ignorant of the power of IT and the blogging world, I am sure the shop owner would say No. So, to save myself the embarrassment, I said nothing, and just talked to myself silently and controlled my excitement from within. *grin*

Anyway, I came home with the handbag hanger like I had planned on buying. Imagine me carrying this on the LRT? LOL! It came dismantled but still it was long and quite troublesome, but, I carried it back anyway. *grin*

It is supposed to be used to hang my handmade bags, but, since I don’t have time to sort out my sewing area at the moment, I decided to temporarily use it to hang my handbags I bring to work. My bags looks more organised now rather than having them all stacked up in a box at the corner of the room.

I can see the bags I want to use immediately instead of having to rummage through my wicker basket looking for the right bag.

I think I will get another one instead of bringing this down to my sewing area for my handmade bags and leave this present one in the bedroom. It looks good at the corner of the room. I told my hubby we can even use it to hang the clothes we want to wear for work the next day – have everything all hung up ready to wear the next day! Neat, huh? LOL! *wink*

Sewing Area Makeover

This is another long overdue posting. OK, so what else is new, right? Heheheh..*wink*

My cousin, Idah, reminded me that I have yet to post about the makeover of my sewing area. I posted on Facebook more than a month ago that I went out shopping at IKEA to get my sewing area reorganised. My Father-in-law calls our house, or, rather the corner of the house where I do my sewing, a tailor’s house or corner.

Hmmm.....I’d rather it be called a creative and design area, as that is where my creativity comes to life! LOL! *wink*

Anyway, I must agree that the area is starting to get a little bit (ONLY a little? LOL!) disorganised. I have my sewing things almost everywhere, and the dining table no longer looks like a dining table. My hubby always jokingly says to anyone who comes to our house, “I don’t know where the dining room is anymore in the house since I can’t seem to find the dining table.” LOL!

OK! OK! I get it! I have to get things organised. I heard you, Dia! *grin*

So, on one of the Saturdays in June this year, I got started on organising the area.

First, I went to IKEA and got myself two black table tops with red legs. I had initially wanted to get the solid beech wood table top which I had bought before which I had put in my craft room upstairs. But, this time, I thought that, since the tables are going to be placed in the “almost gone” dining area, I wanted it to be a little bit more presentable and they are to match the existing decor of the house, which is a mix of red, black and white, with peach walls.

However, I had failed to notice that the black table tops are made of only particle boards whereas the beech wood table tops are made of solid wood.

It took less than an hour after putting it up and placing my two heavy sewing machines on it when I realised that the table top had started to warp. I felt like kicking myself for not seeing this. Now what do I do?

I am worried that before long, my very precious machines might come crashing down under its own weight. Shudders!

I could pack the tables up and return them in exchange for the beech wood table top like what I should have done in the first place. But, it wasn’t going to be that easy. It was quite a task already getting them home in the first place, the table top being very long. I could barely fit the long table top into my cute Kembara, and having to drive ever so slowly as my vision was partly blocked due to the length of the table blocking part of my vision of the side mirror. I am not about to go through that again. I had to do some quick thinking so as not to further exert more pressure onto the table top.

Luckily at the same time that I bought the table top, I had also bought a set of wire baskets with large drawers. The height was just nice and would fit in nicely under the table top, acting like a second leg or support, which would help to take in some of the weight of the machine and distribute it evenly across the table top, and I did exactly that.

Hubby suggested that I monitor any further warping of the table by drawing a line on the wall to see if the table top goes below that line.

It’s coming to 2 months already since I organised the sewing area and had the table top assembled, and so far, the warping of the table top has somewhat stopped! Phew! I hope it will last for as long as possible.

So, here’s the before and after photos to give you an idea of my sewing area makeover...

BEFORE: Gosh! What a mess! No wonder hubby said he could not find the dining table! LOL!

AFTER: Looks so much better, right? *wink* Not the best, but still better than before....



I think I should think about sewing a skirting or something so that I can hide everything that's under the table. What do you think?

BEFORE: Now you see it.....


AFTER: Now you don't!



BEFORE: Here's a quiz. Can you find the dining table?



AFTER: Tada! Here's the dining table, and I even have flowers on it, though I think I need a new vase of flowers. This one's wilting already, and they are artificial! *grin*




Here is a close-up of the sewing machines neatly lined-up next to each other. I can have Em embroidering while I work on the other machine without having to move much.

There is also a corner for my embroidery threads and anything else to do with machine embroidery.

Yesterday, 16th June, I went out to IKEA and got myself this red swivel chair so that I can sit and adjust the height just nice so that I won't end up having a backache when I do lots of sewing.

Here's a close-up of my work and cutting area. I am in the midst of doing a new bag.

What do you think? Not bad, huh?

It still needs more organising, but it's a start. Or, shall we start looking for a bigger house? *wink*

I just hope that it will stay neat and organised for as long as possible. I have returned the dining table to its original usage as it was meant to be. *grin* But, to have a large meal at the dining room would still be a tight squeeze, but it is still better than what it used to be. *grin*