Phoebe Get's a New Desk

No, the new Pfaff isn't here yet.  But I've been wresting with what to do for my sewing space.  First I had converted the closet in my dressing room (Steve's old room) into a sewing space by installing a countertop at desk height.  It worked ok for shorter sewing sessions but it was a little cramped for longer sessions and was a bit of a pain moving the machines back and forth between sewing and serging.  Then I moved the sewing into Danielle's old room where I could have the tv on and used a 2' x 4' folding table.  The setup was working but the table did tend to vibrate and bounce around a lot when running Sergio.  I've been checking Kijiji.ca every day to see what's out there with the thought of buying an old desk and working with that - I needed something with some weight.  Then I finally decided to quit being such a cheap b@stard and buy the desk I want!  I'm tired of trying one thing after another and not being happy with it, so I wanted to get it right.

Please ignore the colour of the walls in these pics, I'll be painting a nice soft sage green come the spring - dark blue was my dear daughter's thing when she had possession of the room.  This second pic is of the narrower wing of the table to show how much room (depth) you have to sew.  I wanted to go with an L-shaped desk because I could see myself sewing away on Phoebe and then swivelling in my swivelly office chair (that I still need to buy) to serge away on Sergio.  To be honest I didn't think there was any way I could fit it in the spare bedroom that I am using as a sewing room because of the queen bed in there (not to mention the great big treadmill that I'm doing a really good job of ignoring) but my wonderful partner said of course I could if I moved the chest of drawers that the tv stood on and put the tv on the corner of the desk.  He really pushed me to get what I want.  I think he's scathingly brilliant, don't you?  If the cords look really thick to you that's because every piece of exposed wire in my house has to be covered in sheathing to protect it from becoming kitty chew toys.  That saga will be a post in itself. Also, it's hard to see but the red book under the tv is my Wonderwoman notebook - because sometimes sewing needs a superhero!

I also finally got rid of the coffee can table risers for the 6' folding table I am using as my cutting table and made new risers out of pvc piping.  They are very sturdy.  I tried to put wheels in the ends but version 1.0 (involving foam wrap stuffed in the ends around the wheel swivel pins) crashed and burned.  I was going to try version 2.0 with doweling inside the pvc with drilled holes for the wheel pins but that would have to wait until the snow melts for me to get Sally out of the garage so I can get to my tools.  The pvc legs are working fine in the meantime and I may just leave well enough alone.  The table slides easily across the floor and doesn't leave any scratches or marks.  Although the table is the same height as it was on the coffee cans it is 3" shorter than I planned (I'm 5'7" and wanted it a little higher) because I accounted for the size of the wheels when I cut them.  If I decide to stick with leaving the wheels off I can always just cut 4 new longer ones as I have lots of stock left.

Incidentally that's my knitting machine hiding behind the table.  And it's not your imagination, you ARE being watched.  That's my eyeball jammie fabric in the wheelie cart.  Ok Phebes, we're ready for you!