Sewing room wreckage

I was amazed that it didn't take longer then working just this morning to get things organized in my room. Once I jumped in, it just got done. The worst part was the anticipation of doing the job. Be brave and do it. JJ

I'm convinced that thread snippets procreate on my floor. I pick them up or vacuum, and by the end of the day the floor is a mosaic of thread. And yes, I use a trashcan.

My sewing projects were neatly stacked a few days ago. Looks like a tornado ripped through the room. I suspicion that tornado is one orange tabby cat looking for a comfortable bed!

Cindy

Sounds like a nightmare! Here's hoping you get everything sorted!

I'm still trying to find the path to my sewing room. I still have orders to go out, and it will take me a year to get all the chenille lint off of everything.

Gail

It seems that I organize my sewing projects every other day!! What I have taken to doing is just bagging the pattern, fabric, and notions together and stacking them. Then, I just grab the next bag and go to work, regardless of what it is. Right now, I'm trying to work my way through the pants for my son (he's a tall, but skinny 3.5yr).

Larisa

sew> My sewing projects were neatly stacked a few days ago. Looks like a tornado

Ah, the cat factor. I've been sorting fabrics on the dining room table lately and they seem irresistible to Rocky Raccoon, my brown tabby. He's not content with trashing the accumulating pile of 'chuckout' on the floor

- he prefers to knock over the neat piles of colour-coded yardage, then chase my carefully sorted buttons across the room...

:) Trish

LOL! My cats love to chase the plastic rings you pull off of milk jugs. I can't jump up out of my sewing chair without the orange devil plopping down in it. And when I try to pick him up from the chair, he bites me! How do you remove a persnickety cat from your sewing chair?

Cindy in WV, who is owned by 1 sweet calico and 1 orange devil

The best thing we ever found when 'training' our two cats and our yellow Lab was a plant mister set to 'jet' (actually it is a regular plastic spray bottle meant for cleaning products but it does the same job). A couple of quick squirts and they soon learned what is allowed and what is not. It has now got to the point where even picking up a totally empty bottle will stop them in their tracks.

One of our cats (the largest) is a real pain when it comes to sewing as he loves to lie against the sewing machine and stick his head under the 'arm' to get closer to the heat from the lamp! I swear one of these days he is going to get sewn into a kite!

Larry

I absolutely hate it when my cat nests in my fabric. I have fabric that I've bought with the idea of making gifts or goodies for sale. Unfortunately, my cat likes the silky or sheer fabric that shows the caress of her clawed massage forever and ever. After my cat has curled up in it, fabric doesn't look new any more. I've given up on using shelves (a nest on a shelf is her favorite thing), and now keep everything in bins until the last minute. Whatever I get out to work with it becomes a target lounge area.

I love my kitty. This is stressing me out. Do any of you cat people have advice for how to deal with this?

lol-- speaking of stress, I just jumped because she surprised me by jumping up onto the keyboard of the piano that sits by the computer desk. Sudden bass plunking sound! Now she is trying to get a drink of water from the very bottom of my cup. Mommy water is better than kitty bowl water. Somebody small and furry needs to be held.

Xena

Canned air.

Kathleen

...This is stressing me out. Do any of you cat people have

Mummy water is definitely better than kitty water. Mine upset my bedside glass so often that I switched to Perrier. She took a good sniff, and sprayed cat snot all over me. So much for that idea.

The cats are NEVER allowed in the sewing room, as most of my stash is on shelves, and they just climb behind and push stuff off (that which they don't claw or shed fur on). Luckily, I don't sew downstairs all that often.

I have to confess to hissing fiercely or threatening them with water spray if they come near me when I have a needle - the only things that seem to deter them. Bad owner...

;) Trish

Cindy write, How do you

Thanks for the advice guys. I keep a spray bottle of water on my ironing board. Next time Mr. Devil tries to plop his orange caboose on my chair, he'll get a squirt. I can't keep the cats out of my sewing room. It's an open den-basement type area downstairs with no door.

The orange devil is actually a sweet cat most of the time. It IS a little irritating when he wakes my husband and me at 5:30. Jumps up on full bladders and nuzzles our faces till we let him outside. Why is it a cat purrs louder at 5:30 AM than any other time?

Cindy

Exactly! canned air well aimed at a cat butt gets them away from the sewing area for an extended period of time

Larisa, who knows from experience

Kathleen wrote:

Also try the cats ears - one of my cats vanishes into the distance if you blow on his ears!

HTH, Sarah

Thank-you Larry! I have been advised this before, but not got round to it, with your success story in mind, I'm going to give it a try with my 2 cats.

I have similar fears, one of my cats has now taken to walking on the sewing table and rubbing his head on the sewing machine (I suppose at least he hasn't tried it on the serger yet!) - but in doing so, if the foot lever is up - he's knocking it down - and having your foot slam down is (a) suprising and (b) bl**dy annoying if I didn't want it down! This same cat has also started to get very friendly when I am hand sewing and cutting all the spare threads... highly dangerous - I nearly trimed his ear the other day! In fact he actually walked on my scissors at one point!

I do shut the sewing room door if I know the cats are awake when I am trying to cut a pattern out, as I do this on the floor, and having 1 or

2 cats walking on it when you are trying to keep the material flat, pin delicate tissue and then cut out with big shears is just too stressful for me - and highly dangerous for them!

I wouldn't mind if they just curled up out of the way! I am thinking about nmaking them fleece sleeping pads (*if* they are lucky and very good

- I've got a huge stash back log for humans to go first!) which may help with the problem eventually! In the mean time - me for the water pistol!

Sarah

Since I don't see my previous reply, I'll try again. Be careful about spraying the canned air too close to the cat or in it's face. The air is highly compressed and is quite cold as it comes out. If you have ever gotten your hand close to the nozzle you'll know.

I use a piece of decoy MM polar fleece to keep my cats off anything I don't want them on. And yes, they know the difference between that and the inferior brands. For one particularly determined cat I had a basket for him on my cutting table. When he insisted on getting in the way, I said "in your basket" He got three chances, and after the third try if he was still a pest he got escorted out of the room and the door closed. He did learn that if he wanted to stay close by he had to behave himself. He also got a nice pat on the head when he got in the basket, which for him was what he wanted in the first place.

Joy S-E

LOL! My cats love to chase the plastic rings you pull off of milk jugs. I