Monday, December 21, 2020

A Studio Tour

I've been working on my art, sewing and working space for almost a year - the first few months in my dreams and since June, on the real thing. I hope that you'll join me on the grand tour!😊

Celebrating my art studio

In June, my son moved into his own apartment. I have to admit that it was pretty tough to see him leave - but, the art studio that I had been dreaming about has now become reality. Since my son is doing wonderfully well and comes home every couple of weeks, I don't feel that guilty about taking his room. The only guilt that is left is the quilt that I owe him! Hopefully the hardest part of that project will be done by the end of December, as part of my One Monthly Goal (OMG).

Welcome!

My seasonal door hanging quilts are much
safer from the weather inside the house :-)

Being the smallest bedroom in the house, it's not a large area. The previous owners had painted it bright yellow, and it hasn't changed. I was afraid that the yellow might not play well with my creations, but I shouldn't have worried!

Sewing space

As you come in, I have my sewing space which is about the same layout as it was in my bedroom. My trusty Jag is surrounded by all that I need to sew. When I need more support for sewing a very large piece, like my king-size bed quilt, I can easily bring my extra table and chair to help.

My sewing centre with my trusty Jag

Support for quilting large projects

I have a lot of things in my studio. It would be nice if it was large and airy but I've made it cozy, which is really my preference. If it was large, it would just be filled with more stuff 😀

Cutting and ironing area

One of my favourite piece of furniture in my space is this IKEA change table that I bought years ago. It served as a music centre when CDs and stereos were a thing. It has now made the transition to a cutting and ironing table, while still functioning as a small library.

For most of the cutting that I do, it's more than adequate. If I need to cut something big, I can always go to my kitchen table. I also converted a small hand-made shelf into an ironing space. I created a quilted mat this is slightly larger than the shelf and attached it with elastic. I love that it is the right height for cutting and ironing. When I don't need the ironing shelf, I just place it behind the unit. It's also great for cutting because I can get to three sides of the table (well sometimes Chevy has to move).

Cutting and ironing space

Portable table and design wall

The cutting table with the
ironing shelf against the wall

Fabric Storage Space

I though before I moved into the studio that I would have enough space in the closet - boy was I wrong! It's amazing how many things I had squirreled around the house 😊

I've had a great time finding baskets for my fabric. My latest purchases are my favourite - they are children's baskets for toys, again from Ikea. I bought the ones on the top-right shelf this spring and they contain most of my cotton scraps. Now Ikea have even better ones that are perfect for fat quarters. They are the three yellow stacked baskets on the second shelf of the unit on the left. I still have some fabric left in the bottom of my husband's closet (that's where most of it was hiding!). I should be able to bring them in soon.

Two units of Ikea shelving for my fabric

Sitting & Stitching Corner

I hadn't planed for a sitting area in my studio but sitting on my computer chair for more than a couple of hours is not comfortable. This fall, we got a beautiful new chair for our bedroom as part of our plans to create a reading area. I had this older chair that has great sentimental value (another Ikea purchase over 30 years ago). I tucked it in the corner, in front of my closet. It's a little in the way but I love sitting there for my zoom calls and for some slow stitching.

Sitting area for slow stitching

Art & Computer Space

This is probably where I spend most of my time - at my desk. My laptop and my embroidery supplies are all easily accessible from there. I have placed many things on large serving trays that I can easily move around, depending on what I'm working on. I had originally placed my sewing machine in front of the window but it turns out that I spend a lot more time at my desk, so I moved them around.

In the corner I have an older desk that I use for my current projects. Since I use it as a table, I have placed my mother's nightstand underneath it. There really is no wasted space in this room!

Corner table and nightstand

My desk - where I write this post, plan
my projects, watch tutorials, etc.

What I learned

I did a lot of research in the months before moving into this space (when my son started seriously thinking about moving out). He drew me a chart on graph paper of the space. I have to admit that none of it turned out as I planned.
Although the closet had been fitted with a wonderful storage system, it was way too small to fit all of my supplies and my fabric. Once I started filling the space it quickly became obvious that a trip to Ikea for shelving would be needed.
To make a long story short, almost everything in the room was moved around a few times before it got to this point. I can now say with confidence that at this time, it's the best use of the space for me. I love it!

Learning from the Quilt Show

I just spent an amazing week in Pennsylvania. I went with a bus full of women to the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XX. We stayed in Lancaster PA and traveled each day to quilt shops, the quilt show as well as one day touring Philadelphia. Here are some of the quilt shops we visited – I highly recommend all of them!

My favourite was Burkholder Fabrics in Denver PA. It’s huge and bright. The prices are great and the personnel very friendly and helpful. On our way to Lancaster, we stopped in a Sauder’s Fabric. There was a lot of fabric, good prices and helpful personnel.

During our shopping day, we went to Intercourse PA. It’s a quaint village in Amish / Mennonite country. There is a small but lovely quilt museum over The Old Country Store that is worth visiting. The Old Quilt Store also has gifts and fabric at the back of the shop that you’ll want to check out. Don’t forget to stop in at the Intercourse Canning Company down the street for samples of their jams and pickled products! Thanks to these guys, I will have lovely pickled beets for the winter (‘cause who wants to stop quilting to do canning....not me!) I also bought some pickled sweet brussel sprouts – they are awesome! For my daughter, who loves all things bacon, I picked up some bacon lip gloss at the Intercourse Canning Company (to quote her “to grease up those lips”) and some candied bacon at a small vendor! I tasted the candied bacon – delicious. Enough about shopping except to say that I now have enough notions, batting and fabric for the upcoming year (or two). Notice books, patterns and courses are not on that list!

Wonderful mural in Philadelphia

The Quilt Show had some wonderful special exhibits and quilts. As well as looking at the quilts as works of art, which they are, it was also very educational. Now that I've tried my hand at free motion quilting and art quilts, I can now look at quilts in the same way that aspiring artists look at paintings in a museum – with a view to learn from them. I took about a hundred photos – to learn about composition, colour, the use of embroidery and embellishment, and of course quilting. One of the first things I did when I got home, other than start washing all that fabric, was to organise the photos in categories so that I can refer to them when I want ideas and inspiration.

I was sure that I wouldn't be doing any shopping at the quilt show since I had bought so much on the way there – right! Some of the vendors had great prices, but the best part was meeting the authors of patterns, books, rulers, etc. I know that it’s a lot of work, time and expense to have a booth at this type of show but it really was great to thank these authors and creators for their work.

What I learned during my trip:

There is such a thing as too much shopping (I never in a million years thought I would say that!)
My girlfriends were right – to do that much shopping, you have to be really well organised and have a good idea of what you want to buy.
You can fit an awful lot of fabric in a large suitcase (though it will weigh a ton!)
Travelling with a bus full of quilters you’re not sure you know is not risky – we have so much in common, it’s easy to make friends.
I have no idea where most of the States are located – so I bought a cute little app that will help me learn them. After those 50 states, the rest of the world!
After thinking about quilting all week, I thought I would be dying to start quilting – but I seem to be exhausted and am spending my free time reading!