Some Standing Issues

I've been using my standing desk at work & standing while sewing for a 2.5 months now.  I thought I'd post a few comments on how it's working out so far.

First, I've noticed that I do many things well while standing.  Surprisingly, sewing is easy.  Since I stand to iron and cut out fabric, it seems to be natural to just move over to my sewing machine.  But I notice for more detailed work, hemming by hand, sewing thread chains, I feel like I concentrate better and longer if I'm sitting down. 

It's similar at work. I find I do better with short-term tasks and projects (sorting through email, answering quick questions, reviewing schedules, light research).  For longer term/heavier concentration work, I really feel a need to just sit & concentrate.  Standing & concentrating just doesn't seem to be that easy.  

Another issue is that I only have one way I can put the standing desk in my cubicle (facing south).  Which means I am distracted by everyone who comes in either door (I sit by 2 exits).  Most people don't speak, just go about their work, but I see them, and that's distracting.  Whereas when I'm sitting at my desk (facing west), my back is to whomever comes in either door, and with my headphones on (I get thru lots of podcasts), I can really just focus.  I have really noticed the last few weeks that I'm having trouble focusing.  (A big deal as I have to do quite a bit of writing & writing is not ever easy for me.) 

I can totally see how a geek desk is the perfect solution if you want to stand more.  You can set it for 2 levels, and the punch of a button just sends it down or up to one of those pre-sets. However, at $874 for the small one (includes shipping), that won't be happening anytime soon!  
 
If you are interested in making your workspace (sewing or otherwise) more ergonomic, check out this post on Craftsy.  They mention chopping off table legs down to fix the height...instead I put cans underneath my cutting table legs to raise the height. (UPDATE: This totally rocks; I do tons of work standing at that table now.  Pinning, cutting out, reviewing pattern instructions, much better done standing.)

So tomorrow at work, I'll be using my lunchtime to undo my standing desk & go back to sitting.  I think I'll miss the standing, but I'm fortunate in that I get many opportunities to stand and walk in my job. I also walk from the metro, and stand in my kitchen & sewing room.  I won't be standing quite as much...but hopefully I'll get some more writing done instead!  

Standing While...Well, Just Standing More

You may have noticed that my sewing machine is up on a milk crate now....and I've got a standing desk at work, too. I thought I'd provide a few links about why I'm a convert, and also about where to get a standing desk and additional information, if you're interested.

What is screen apnea? This quotation really got me: "The computer becomes animated and we become less animated." Scary!

There are zillions of articles out there (and journal articles too, if you are so inclined) about how you increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, etc., if you sit a lot.  Here's one from February 2013 from the Independent. 

My legs were really tired the first week after work.  After the 2nd day, I had to buy an anti-fatigue pad.  I can walk miles, but standing (like in museums) is hard on my lower back...the pad really helps.  (You can see I'm standing on it in the photo above.)

I also have to admit I really look forward to meetings ('cause I'll get to sit!) and to working at the Reference Desk...again, because it's mostly sitting.  

And some people even have walking desks!  I would love this, but can't figure out how I'd get it at work, and I don't think it would work sewing--too much jumping on & off to iron, cut, try on, etc.  Here's Susan Orlean at her walking desk.  And here's a her article in the New Yorker.  (You'll have to subscribe to read it, though.)  

Work While Walking is full of great ideas & links, more about treadmill desks, but also about standing while working.  

And there are lots of sewists out there who stand while sewing (google "standing while sewing"), most of them seem to have started due to back problems.  That is not my issue, though; I just found a standing desk & decided to try it because it's supposed to be healthier. 

Geek Desk has desks that can be raised or lowered quickly...so you can easily sit or stand.  

And an article about posture...along with a helpful video.

Music?!  How about Stand? Amazing music & fashion from Sly & the Family Stone! And today is my 29th wedding anniversary...and the Roommate loves Sly.  Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Copy Your Clothes! Finished Item!

I finished it!  And actually, today was the 2nd time I wore it.  I got a good friend to take this photo of me at work, because I also wanted to show of my new standing desk.  The desk was out in the public part of the library (it's ancient), and was about to be moved downstairs to be given away or tossed, and I thought, well, I've been wanting to try a standing desk.  So I put it in my cubicle, rearranged my computer & screens and now I have plenty of places to lay projects I'm working on because my computer no longer takes up that space.  

I mostly like standing, but my legs are tired at the end of the day!  (I do easily get to 10,000+ steps every day now.) 

The first thing I did was buy an anti-fatigue mat...the cement floor underneath the thin carpet is not comfortable at all...much like standing in museums all day (which I love, but I always end up with lower back pain).  The mat helps a lot.  

Oh, but....back to the dress!  This was my first successful attempt at applying what I learned in the Copy Your Clothes class at Bits of Threads.  Below you'll see the original, which Mohammed made from a photo I had brought him.  I wore the dress for more than 5 years, so definitely got the use out of it, but it was faded and beginning to look beat up.  So, time for a new one!  

I took it almost completely apart and traced all the pattern pieces.  That's the easy way to copy your clothes--when you don't take them apart it's much more difficult to get the pattern pieces traced.    

I had a few bumps along the way, mostly because the original fabric was quite thin with some give, while the fabric I got from Windham is a bit thicker cotton and doesn't have as much give, even though I was careful to place the princess seams on the bias.  But it still looks great (I think) and I like it because the color's great (and goes with lots of my turquoise) and it also goes with my new black sandals!  

The original dress, that I took apart to
make a new pattern...

I also did a tiny bit of lining, mostly inspired by Ms. Scruffy Badger, who seems to line just about everything.  It's a summer dress & summer in DC means hot & humid, so I figure anything that helps the dress (and moi!) looking nice a bit longer is worth the effort. 

So you're looking at an example of the mini-lining I put in, using the poly/cotton blend I picked up on a super sale at Hancock.  I lined the sleeve completely, then cut shorter pieces for the front & back side pieces.  The dress & lining fabrics are just the right weight: they work together but you cannot see the lining at all when I'm wearing the dress.  I am hoping this will protect the dress a bit and let me wear it a long long time.  

More on craft/sewing room spaces - these are great, but too big! +GeekDesk!

Here are some nice rooms if you have a hankering to look at nice studio set-ups.  My problem is these rooms all seem to be much larger than what I'll have available...

I thought I'd found the perfect furniture at Crate & Barrel: the Bedford pieces you can fit together yourself.  But then I figured out all the furniture measurements & tried to fit them into my 10' x 6' room (thanks to my roommate's purchase of 1/4" graph paper--so helpful!).  Basically, I could fill up the room, but not be able to walk around in it!

Tricia Coyne / Gainesville Sun

So now I'm wondering about a standing desk for my sewing machine.  Check these out at Geek Desk...one of the problems my husband & I have is that we are tall (not real tall, but taller than average) and we find that even 36" high counters in the kitchen aren't high enough if we're working more than an hour or so.  And I use our kitchen table (30") for my cutting board, and have to stop every 1/2 hour or so because my lower back needs a break.  When we lived in Abu Dhabi, we had an Ikea Galant corner desk, plus a longer side piece attached & it was great because we had it raised all the way up  to 36".  For cutting strips for quilting and the cutting board, it was great.  But I had my sewing machine on another regular table at 30", which I sat at.  The photo is from this article in the Gainesville Sun about how unhealthy it is to sit & how a treadmill desk might fix your lower back problems. Now I heard that John Dickerson loves his new standing desk (and of course all the scary news about how as humans we evolved moving, not sitting), so I'm wondering if any other sewing goddesses have tried this?

Music?  How about the theme from Lost in Space?!