My new sewing cabinet was supposed to be delivered on Friday Aug 26th, and was even on the truck and almost here. However, that day we got a LOT of rain, and the truck driver was concerned that he would get stuck in the mud on our roads, so decided to not attempt to get to our house and deliver it. Since it was being delivered by FedEx Freight, the truck was much bigger than the usual trucks used for delivery, so I don't blame them for not wanting to get stuck, and then having to figure out how to get unstuck when you are out in the middle of nowhere.
The next date it could be delivered was Wed Aug 31. No rain in sight on that day, and I was the last stop of the day for them. They were able to get it off the truck, and into my Studio with out any issues, and they removed all the packing materials!!! Here is what it looks like when it's all closed up.
When it's open, there is plenty of space to sew. The back panel isn't as deep as my old cabinet, but I think it will still allow me enough space if I'm quilting something on my domestic machine, rather than my mid-arm. But most of the time, that back panel will be down and the cabinet closer to the wall. It is the same height as my old cabinet and drawer chests, so if I needed more area, I could roll one of those behind it to help hold up any large quilts I may work on. The hooks on the door on the right are for holding embroidery hoops, so they will be convenient when I'm doing embroidery.
I was happy to find out the drawers in the little pull out cabinet are deep enough to hold smaller cones of thread. Most drawers are too short, and cones need to be laid down on their sides to fit in them. These are my Superior Threads Bottom Line collection and one of my Floriani cones. They fit perfectly inside the drawers and they can still be closed with out issue.
The top two drawers have the thread racks in them, however, both are removable. What I'm considering is keeping the front 10 or so pegs empty, in the top drawer, so that I can place the colors for any embroidery project on those to keep them in order and out of the way. I haven't decided if I will take the thread rack out of the second drawer and use it to store any notions I want to keep handy. I have more thread than will fit in those drawers, so I really don't need them as storage. I think I would rather use them as a place to keep what I'm using for any current projects I'm working on, instead of them sitting on top of the cabinet and being in the way.
The bottom drawer is much deeper, and I haven't decided what I will keep in there. Possibly the boxes of all my extra presser feet for the machines, or something else that I want/need to keep close at hand.
That drawer unit will slide into the opening and be out of the way, and there is an ironing surface that still needs to be sent to me (they were out of stock) that will fit on top of the shelf. I also am waiting for the insert to give me a flat surface to sew on, and that should arrive in a week or so. I'm not sure how often I will change out my machines, since the Solaris is so heavy, but I'm considering ordering an insert for my other two machines that I would set up in this cabinet, so that if one is in the shop, I can still sew on one of my other machines.
When I was opening the drawers, I found a cute little surprise...
Since this is a Kangaroo cabinet from Arrow, they tucked this cute Roo in there to keep watch over my projects when I'm away. And my new chair works perfectly with the new cabinet.
Now I just need to get everything unpacked, and get my sewing machine set up and I can start quilting again!!
Until next time... happy crafting!!!