New cutting table | Crochet makes

My incredibly talented husband built me a fantabulous cutting table and I cannot be happier with it!

It's based on these free DIY plans by Ana White - though hubby changed the dimensions for me to the precise size I needed for my space. I bought these white containers from Kmart Australia which are a steal at $4 each, and I love how neatly they fit into the shelves. There is more shelving and white containers on the window side of the table, and the opposite long side is empty in the middle so I can use it as a sewing desk when I'm quilting a big quilt. It's also on castors so I can move it out of the way if I need the floor space. This desk is seriously a dream come true - it's transformed the way I work already!

When I shared the pics above on Instagram yesterday it broke my all time record in terms of number of likes and comments received by a post! Everyone loved it! This morning I told my husband: 'Oh my goodness, they like what you've made more than they like what I make!". He replied: "It's understandable - they're only human." Oh he does have a cheeky wicked sense of humour sometimes - seriously though, he is a keeper!

To show you the other side of the room, I have a long desk that's a computer desk on one side  and sewing desk on the other. The desk and drawers are from Ikea, so are the glass cabinets on the other side of the room. This picture was taken a few months back whilst I was still using the desk for cutting too - the mat is now on my new cutting table in the middle of the room, and I've moved the sewing machine to the middle of that leg space on the right. So much room now for everything, and I can just scoot on my chair between my computer and sewing machine as I need. The chair is white leatherette from Freedom and about 2 years old, and still looks brand new! It's wearing so well even though I'm on it most of the day, every day. Any stains wipe clean and no sign of yellowing - highly recommend.

I love how white and clean the space is - and very minimalist (though of course it doesn't always look as tidy as this!). I realised that as a designer I work much better in a neat and clean environment with as few visual distractions as possible.  A big contrast to my old sewing room where the walls were covered in mini quilts. It was sad packing them up into storage but they simply had to go! The only decorations adorning my walls now are a framed watercolour picture and my Scandinavian style wall clock (both from Temple & Webster).

In other news, I realised there were a couple of crochet things I made recently that I haven't had a chance to share here on the blog. I discovered the whole world of crocheting with packaging twine, thanks to Wendy @sewknotcrochet on Instagram. I simply had to drop everything, go to the hardware store to buy some twine (cotton variety, not the rough jute variety), and make the same basket and bag that Wendy had made!

Wendy has now published the pattern for the basket which you can purchase from her Etsy store. The bag pattern is from a YouTube tutorial by Fiber Spider - I made my handles longer to use it as a market bag. The basket and the bag both cost just a few bucks each, and they feel so strong and sturdy, and I'm sure will last a long time.

Thanks for visiting today and hope this post gave you some sewing room and crochet inspiration!