I think I have finally got my knitting room to the stage where I can actually knit in there without falling over something or losing the very item I need.
My room is about 9 foot square, probably was a nursery when the house was built in 1976. I removed the carpet and now have beautiful hardwood floors that my steno chair travels around on with ease.
Entering the room from the hall, you can see I have three machines set up. They are covered when I'm not working on them to keep the dust bunnies from invading their innards.
On the back of the hallway door, I have this handy door hanger that holds all kinds of tools, wires, extra scissors and so on. This changes from time to time as some things become obsolete and need to be discarded.
NORTH WALL
When the hallway door is opened into the knitting room, in behind I have removed the bi-fold closet door and had hubby put in some shelving for my pattern books, magazines and some other odds and ends. Below the shelves is a wooden two drawer legal size file cabinet with a little drawer on top for "stuff".
In the top drawer of the file cabinet I have hanging files for my punch cards - this works really well and they don't get damaged or bent out of shape just quietly hang there until needed.
Right beside the storage closet is a short piece of wall on which I have placed a peg board. This holds my clamps, garter bars, cast on combs and other sundry items that I don't want to have to play hide and seek to find. All is out in the open and easy to reach.
Below the peg board are two small shelving units. These hold my reference books, most of my attachments for the machines like carriages, linkers and on top a couple of yarn winders.
In the corner beside the book cases and under my television platform, is another little shelving unit for my ribber weights, some more attachments and of course some yarn.
Beside the corner shelves is also a plastic roll around three drawer unit for more storage.
EAST WALL:
We have turned the corner and here is my Singer 360 (without the ribber at the moment), under the window. Under the window is a little shelving unit I found in my travels that is perfect for storing all kinds of goodies. Again within easy reach no matter what machine I may be working on.
Below the 360, I have put a little shelf on there to store my Bond machine and also have my yarn holders there. The yarn is fed up through the table as I can't move it away from the wall.
Here are the holes in the table top, which are lined with plastic tubing. I set up my yarn below the table, feed it up through the appropriate hole and away I go.
Beside my 360 and in the next corner is my double yarn tree. Love this little gem as it holds a lot of yarn cones in a very little amount of space.
SOUTH WALL
This is where my Bulky Studio 155 with ribber lives.
Over the Studio 155 is a bulletin board to hold swatches, extra circular needles and reminders that I might need from time to time
Below the Studio 155 is more storage for my large yarn winder, which is on a wooden pedestal to raise it up for me as my old back can't take too much bending over these days. Also a little collapsible stool that I sometimes pull out just to put "stuff" on where it is handier than behind the main bed.
There is a little step platform there which I need for reaching the upper shelves of the storage cupboard but otherwise is kept fairly clear or with extra yarn that I may want handy for a current project.
In the corner is another little shelving unit that holds my knitting DVD's and other items I use for cataloguing my patterns etc. On top is my fan (hot flashes need cooling down at times) and of course my telephone which has a head set so I can talk but still have my hands free to do whatever needs to be done.
WEST WALL
We are almost around the whole room!
On the west wall I have installed 4 shelves to house yet more coned yarn.
Below the shelves of coned yarn is my LK 150 set up and ready to go. The table it is on came with my Singer 360 but I use it for my plastic beds (stored underneath) or for my laptop computer if I'm working on a pattern.
Below this table there is a shelf just under the top which is very handy for storing carriages, garter bars and so on that you need as you work. Below that is another shelf spanning the cross bars on the legs that hold my HK 100, LK 100 and a box of needle retainers for all my machines, kept dust free and out of the way.
My ribbers are usually on the machines at all times, however the day I took these photos my 360 ribber was sitting on my guest room bed. It has now been put back on the machine.
One thing I have found to be extremely handy is the rotating storage bins I use for my transfer tools, rulers, latch tools etc. There is one behind my LK150. I have for each machine so the tools are always handy. I bought these at Staples but I'm sure any office supply store carries them.
Lighting is also very important. I have a florescent light on the ceiling with two long "daylight" bulbs.
For the bulky I have a Ott light there that works on hydro or battery and finally another light with the LK 150. I really need these when using darker yarns.
Finally I have a very comfortable steno chair (seen in first photo) without arms which I find perfect for me. It is adjustable and comfy to sit in.
I must admit I do have a supply of yarn balls and skeins. Again I took over a closet in the guest room because there were two! We put shelves in there and that holds 10 tubs of yarn labelled for easy locating of whatever I need for a particular project.
Hope you enjoyed the tour of my tiny knitting room and the closet yarn annex. I have learned to keep things neat and organized or I would be in a real mess. Fortunately it has also taught me to finish each project I start so I don't have a lot of UFO's to deal with so I'm thinking that is a good thing! Happy Knitting Everyone!
