Sewing SIG Discussion

Creative Arts Sewing Arts
#1

Sewing SIG Meeting
Attendance from Friday, May 17th: @MizGeek @sinless @cookiecody @Cairenn_Day

I know the Sewing SIG meeting was very last min and some can’t attend so I want to give everyone the opportunity to discuss the future of the SIG. Speak now or forever hold your peace. Haha, JK. You can message me privately if you’re shy.

Creative Arts granted Sewing 5K with pending expansion back in March, we used around $600 for supplies. I have an itemized list of the things that were purchased.

What we discussed and voted on from the last three meetings:

-Sell Janomes (~$100 each)
-Sell Current sewing station (~$100)
Additional $700 for equipments and supplies

Items to buy ASAP:
-Three Babylock Zest (https://www.sewingmachinesplus.com/bl-zest.php)
-Juki F600: Sewing and Quilting (https://www.sewingmachinesplus.com/hzl-600.php)
-Seven rolling chairs: if you know a cheaper option, please let me know (https://www.containerstore.com/s/black-bungee-office-chair/d?productId=10022641&q=bungee%20chair)
-TV: Safety and 101s refresher videos (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D4F2P26/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_K943CbJJHSEXE)
-Storage shelves
-Peg boards and organizers
-Full length mirror
-Desk lamp
-Sewing notions (thread, needles, sewing feet, fabrics, pattern paper, etc)
-Paints/Supplies: @Kriskat30 said we have extra paints, so the extra money set aside for paints will go to more sewing notions.

Things that can be made: I will need volunteers to help build. I will have dimensions. Please and thank you.

-Two Sewing tables with side shelves
-Fabric rolls organizer
-Flatform for Thor so people can sew and not having to worry about sewing their fingers together

Things we will buy once we get settled:
-Juki 8700 (https://www.sewingmachinesplus.com/sewing-machines-industrial-juki-ddl8700.php)
-Commercial Serger. Another option is to buy a bunch of home sergers that sew different finishing stitches.

Things to buy in the future far far away:
-Multicolor embroidery machine
-Long arm quilting machine

Sewing will be moving into the current Digital Media Room.

Plans for sewing room: Attached is the final layout (Solid lines are the items we have; dotted are the items we need to buy/make. Each square is a foot). Room is approximately 12.5x20ish.

I know the room is small, especially with the new items coming in, but we just have to work with what we got. The larger items are on wheels, so we can move things around to make it work… maybe.

We voted to install a door into interactive from Sewing. We also voted to repaint sewing with calm and cool color, similar to the new Digital Media room, so everyone can look at the calming walls and chill when their sewing is not going according to plan.

For safety and convenience, the ping pong table (Teaching and Cutting table) will ALWAYS be down. If you need the extra space for whatever reason and all the other classrooms are taken, you may fold it up, but you will need to put it back down.

We will get the Thor and any new industrial sewing machines RFID. @StanSimmons. Please and thank you!

@Edenblue @BarkingChicken @Hardsuit @sewwhat @jrkriehn @dryad2b @matthshooter @SewingStuff @John_Marlow

Someone please tag Diana, Chair of Tour, and anyone else you think will want to be part of the discussion. Thank you!

SEWING%20ROOM%20LAYOUT
SEWING ROOM LAYOUT.png2006×1338 335 KB

Sewing%20Table
Sewing Table.jpg1241×1030 272 KB

#2

Are these prices what you think you can recoup?? 'Cause I doubt that…

Pardon my ignorance, but is there a specific reason for choosing a Juki? And have you contacted local dealers to see what they have to offer? Reason I ask is that a LOT of dealers include a year of support when you purchase a machine from them.

For cheap furniture options, we might want to investigate some of the (gently) used office furniture stores. And perhaps you should wait on snagging SEVEN until you’ve used the room for awhile. You can borrow from the CA group or go borrow some extras from Interactive/Lecture hall in a pinch.

???
Has this been approved by the Board? I have a hard time seeing that “fly.”

I realize you are excited about all of the possibilities and want it to be fabulous NOW, but if I’m reading your floorpan correctly, there is less than two feet between the commercial machine area and the ping pong table. As someone who has spent 2-3 days bumping chairs with someone during a workshop with about that much space, it’s unpleasant to say the least. Not to mention, what if someone who uses a wheelchair wants to come in to take a class or sew?

On your sewing desk design, those shelves… what are they going to be holding? All I picture is broken shelves/bruised shins in a matter of weeks. How high is that table? While I think stacking stools like that would be awesome for the pingpong table, since that is higher than the average table, They look like they’d be a bit tall for sitting and sewing.

Yeah, I know. I’m being “Debbie Downer” here, but I have to encourage you to slow down and get what you HAVE into place in your space, before you start a buying spree. Groovy tools are useless without a really functional space to use them. There’s a good chance that we can find tables within the space with similar dimensions to your sewing table plan. It’d be a lot better to borrow them for an hour or so to set up your imagined space and see whether your customer base can even sit three people within a six-foot space with table legs not on the very outside corners.

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#3

That will have to be approved by the Education committee first. We did not know about this proposal at our meeting on Saturday. @Team_Education

@Team_Infrastructure and @Team_Expansion may need to approve as well.

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#4

You might want to float that past:

  1. Classroom/Education
  2. Expansion group
  3. BoD

SiG’s don’t typically get to make structural changes or decisions of this nature.

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#5

I heard from Astrud and Shay, who talked to James from expansion and now a board member that we can possibly install a door from sewing into interactive. I was told to have a vote during the SIG meeting and we voted yes.

So yes, we want a door if the option is available.

#6

Users of the sewing room shall not interrupt a class or event in the Interactive Classroom under any circumstance.

I do not see any advantage of adding that door for the general user of the Interactive classroom with the possible exception of increasing the maximum occupancy of the room due to having an additional exit.

Now if you would like to trade the sewing and digital rooms in return for the current CA room, we may entertain negotiations. Two separate rooms of slightly smaller size suits us better.

#7

Someone told me we bought the janome for $400 each, I took their words for it so I thought selling for around $100 is reasonable. If not, we can price accordingly.

The prices on sewingMachineplus is comparable to the local dealers, all machines come with a one year warranty. We can also buy from Sunny Sewing, I’m not sure if they will have free shipping. Juki is dependable and cheap-ish.

We actually voted down from 12 to 7 chairs. CA will have classes that will require chairs, and it doesn’t make sense to go hunt down chairs at the start of every class when we have the budget for it.

We can move the Thor if someone is determined to sit at that location. The ping pong table can be shifted over. The only time we might run into a problem if there is a full class, and chances of that happening are slim.

The shelves on the side of the tables will be where we store the extra sewing machines, or if someone want extra work space they can remove it from the table and store it there temporarily. The sewing table is set up for 6, but realistically 4 will sew comfortably there. The table in the pic is not to scale.

In order to grow as a SIG, we need equipments that will attract people into the space. I realized the space is small, I’ve been complaining to everyone that is listening to get a bigger room, but this is the hand we are dealt with so I’m just gonna go with it. If it’s an inconvenience for some but better for most, then it’s a win in my book.

#8

I may be wrong but I think the idea was so that when they do large sewing events they can just wheel all the machines into interactive instead of having to lug across the building. @BarkingChicken

#9

If we can have the current CA for sewing, I will give you a BIG hug the next time I see you!

#10

That is correct.

#11

Sewing will have to share the room with the planned occupants of the digital room and whoever else CA may decide to put in there. Education needs two separate rooms and the old CA is still beset with wall/not wall…

#12

So maybe have a door with the lock on the classroom side?

#13

Sewing got Digital Media, I believe vinyl will be in the conference room. I will happily share it with the alien noise machine if we can have the extra space.

We might have to vote on this in the next CA committee meeting. @Edenblue @BarkingChicken

#14

The lock will be in sewing side.

#15

I do not think that will work. Education will need assurance that random people will not be barging into the classroom while it is in use.

#16

Then how will Sewing have assurance that people won’t be barging into our space when there’s a class?

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#17

Education did not ask for the door…

#18

Touché. If we stay in current CA room, we won’t need a door.

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#19

Re Rolling Chairs: Shop Costco.com. they have a great selection, pricing, and warranty. Test the chairs with different sized members. Not all the chairs need to be the same, as our members are not. We also have tax exempt account at Sam’s Club.

Re Standing Tables. Great for many, not great for others, so please mix and match.

Re the door into interactive: As a sewing sig member and Education Chair Elect, here are my thoughts:

  1. If there is a door, it should be away from the corner. you and Interactive lose the space for the door (36") as well as the adjoining wall (another 36"+). bring it out 10’ or so. The closer to the entrance to the former Digital Media room, the easier the path to transport items.
  2. CA gains not just the conference room, but also Digital Media and the entire common room. This is a huge increase in space. It will be used for teaching, and sewing has the strong option of using the Common room for their classes. Items can be wheeled thru the existing door.
  3. The interactive is our largest teaching room. Ideally it is used for the largest classes and events. the Common Room, Purple and other rooms might be better suited for the ~6 students plus machines per class + cutting table if needed.
  4. All of Bill’s concerns are valid.
  5. Education owns Interactive. It is a multi-use room suited to meet many user needs other rooms do not. Education’s mission is to always assist learning AND teaching. I am well aware of the efforts @Print_Witch @Hardsuit @Aneres and others go thru to set up a room with the right equipment. We will help find the balance.
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#20

So… is that a no for Sewing and Other to get current CA room in exchange for former digital media and conference? Please let me know so I can stop drawing a small corner for Vinyl in the current CA room.

The sewing tables will not be standing height. 31” height x 6’ length x 18” depth. A certain someone, who shall not be named cough @nacho cough still have not emailed me the file with the drawings and dimensions.

Sewing technically can’t take up CA common area for classes because that will take away space from other SIGs classes in CA, especially when we have our own “sewing room”.