Crafty Cottage Clean Out

It’s been a busy few days this week getting life back on track after Hurricane Florence. No, we didn’t get any damage from the storm, thank goodness, but I did clean out the Crafty Cottage completely just in case.

This space hasn’t been so empty since the day we stuck the carpet tiles down! LOL!

I didn’t realize just how much stuff had ended up in the cottage until we cleaned it all out last Friday. I’ve gone through everything and reorganized my drawers and cabinets so only the tools and materials needed in the cottage are out there. I’m tired of tripping over lots of stuff that’s just not necessary.

Another plus – I finally found a home for my vintage treadle drawers:

You can find a lot of drawers like this on Ebay and if you also get the wooden frame, it’s easy to install to the bottom of any table through the screw holes that secured the drawers to the bottom of the treadle cabinet.

The only downside is treadle drawers aren’t the best designed. I know that might sound like blasphemy, but most treadle drawers are just too deep. Quilting tools and notions are relatively small and thin and they easily get lost in a 4 inch deep drawer.

That’s why I love this drawer set – the top drawer is only 1 inch deep and has an awesome automatic locking mechanism (a wooden bar on the bottom that pops down) to keep it shut. Most likely the purpose was to keep your scissors and sharp tools in the top drawer that would automatically lock when you shut it.

James helped me carry everything back out to the Crafty Cottage after school yesterday. Then Josh helped me carry out the Singer 27 treadle. Just in case you’re needing to move one of these, please know that it’s easy to take the cabinet off of the irons with just 4 screws. Even taking it out in two pieces, it’s still a very heavy, very painful experience (cast iron doesn’t bend, it bruises!)

My cabinet is a bit weird because the right side screw hole is nearly completely overlapped by another piece of wood. I have to take off the drawer frame on the right side completely, but that’s just 4 extra screws.

Now I just need to reattach the belt and I’ll be back in business! Would you like to see some videos on this vintage machine? It’s such a delight to play with and I know Quilty Box is coming soon. Maybe I can use that as an excuse to put my treadle through it’s paces!

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day