Week of fun - a staycation!

I've had scheduled on my calendar for some time now that this next week would be a staycation. A week at home not to do the usual normal things, i.e. cooking, cleaning, business quilting, etc. But this week has been set aside to do projects that never seem to get done. It's going to take some planning and prioritizing to accomplish even half of my long list of projects. Eliminating some of my usual activities is also quite diffiicult, but a respite from life is often what is needed to revive the creative juices. Now that I have my new studio it seems like it's the opportune time to take a break from the usual and take time for some fun stuff. Even the weather is supposed to cooperate this week. Stay tuned on this blog for how my week goes!

A Beautiful Customer Quilt

It's exciting to quilt a beautiful quilt. This quilt was not only beautiful, but very well pieced with no wavy borders (something I see all too often). That made it a joy to quilt. Sometimes I know just what to do and other times I labor long hours over what to quilt on a particular quilt. This was one of those, 'I know what to do', so I got right to it. There's a leaf vine in the borders and each block has a feathered wreath that has a different center design. The pieced border repeats some of the rest of the quilting designs. Dark green and dark beige thread was used in the quilting. I was happy with how it all turned out and the customer was very happy too. Best of all it was my first customer quilt in my new studio so that made it twice the fun to work on.

First Day Of Quilting

The change from my old studio to my new studio feels rather like moving from Motel 6 to the Hilton. I have almost twice the space. I've gone from cement floor where I had to wear special rubberized clogs to keep my feet from aching to quilting in my stocking feet. Gone are the days of only one window so on some quilts I could only work at certain hours when the light was coming in just right through the window. Today I even burned some new music onto a CD and cranked it up in my studio. I could actually dance to it if I wanted to (and only if no one was watching)! Before I started this customer's quilt I laid it across the machine and stepped back -- 10 whole feet and was able to visualize different designs from a distance. Regular breaks in my quilting were spent by gazing out the windows at all the yard work that needed to be done, the cats wandering around the yard and often staring back at me -- wondering what in the world I was doing in that room! Funny how a new space can inspire quilting. My enthusiasm for quilting felt like it had gone up several notches. There's still a pile of bins and boxes in one corner but that can wait for another day -- right now I need to quilt!

Pictures of the New Studio

Here's some pictures after working much of today on arranging my quilting and sewing in the new studio. It was fun but challenging. I like order, but quilting and sewing doesn't really lend itself well to a lot of order. Maybe it's being creative and artistic that doesn't lend itself to order! Note the one corner of my new studio with it's pile of bins and boxes. Finding a home for all that will not be easy. Stay tuned for the first project to be produced from this beautiful room!

Move To The New Studio

It happened! Over the weekend we moved all my sewing and quilting into my new studio. What a task! Since we were switching two rooms around and both rooms were full of paraphenelia, it was a huge undertaking. After painting the room, we moved all my daughters things to one side (as much as possible). Then we started to dismantle the longarm. It's been in my old studio for 9 years so I had no idea how it came apart. I asked my husband if he wanted me to take pictures of it, or find the manual so we knew how to put it back together, but being a guy, he said he didn't need instructions. Well, I would have been lost after the first two bolts were removed, but my great husband expertly took it apart and then reassembled it in my new studio.

After the longarm was in place, then everything else was emptied out of my old studio. There were boxes piled everywhere. I found projects and fabric that I couldn't even remotely remember ever having! By this time it was late Saturday night so everything had to come to a halt until Sunday afternoon. The next step was cleaning the old studio. Then we began to move all of my daughter's things into that room. Meanwhile we had piled up things all along one side of the new studio. Finally, everything was in the right room. The process of getting everything into a new place lasted well into Monday. I have about 2/3 of my sewing room put away. What is done looks wonderful, but one corner of my new studio is filled with bins and boxes of projects and nowhere to store it. There is a great walk-in closet in the room and someday I will have that for storage, but right now it still contains all my daughter's clothes and other items that will have to stay there until she returns home and for as long as she still lives at home. So it may be close to a year before I get use of the walk-in closet. I have a few ideas to help store my projects and fabric but at least some of it will have to find a home in either our shed or our garage.

It is exciting to think of sewing and quilting in my new studio. In fact, in the excitment of anticipation, I will probably have trouble deciding what to do! My hope is to eventually use my new space to have friends in to sew with me. I also will be able to use my space to continue to teach sewing through 4-H to young future seamstresses and quilters.

Painting the new studio

Today is the day -- the new studio is being painted! I'm so excited. My husband prefers to do the painting -- a wise choice since I'm a messy painter. So I've had to wait for his day off -- today. The color is a mix of 4 different cans of paint, one from a clearance rack at a paint store, one from my daughter that was unused, one from a discount store and a part of a gallon from our garage. The mix was two gallons green, one gallon a greyish white and another part of a gallon of paint that was white. The end result is a creamy green that I'll affectionately name, 'studio green'. It looks great. Next will be the move. All my daughters things have to be taken out and then my longarm must be dismantled. Getting the longarm out of my old studio will be a challenge. Not sure how soon the move will take place since it will require several strong people's help. Stay tuned!

Color Choices

I have to choose a paint color for my studio. Since it has been my adult daughter's room there is no doubt that it must be repainted. Right now it has about 4 different colors on the wall and some zebra type lines as well as circles that say my daughter's name. I've gone to different decorating websites to look at what color is 'in'. I've been to several paint stores to look at colors. I now possess a multitude of paint chips, but what color do I paint it? The room has 5 windows (what luxury) so there is plenty of light in the room. My old studio is several shades of a golden yellow so I don't want to repeat that color. Most likely it will not be painted again or at least not for many years. Going neutral is safe but rather boring. Lately, I've gone in for more dynamic colors. Last fall I painted our half bath a pea green color -- I loved it. I have two brown walls in my living room and my dining room and kitchen have two deep red walls. My favorite color for the last few years has been green. I like to wear green, my eyes are a blue-green. Bottom line, though, is that I don't have much money to spend on paint and I have a can of green paint and a can of white paint. The green is darker than I want but if I mix them together -- hmm, it will be a surprise color. My own personal color of green. Stay tuned for pictures!

Sewing Purses

Another purse! It's been fun to do these little projects. They are little compared to some of the quilts I'm working on. This purse is for my daughter who leaves for Hawaii and other parts of the world in 2 weeks. She is attending a photography and Bible school in Hawaii for three months and then will travel to another part of the world to use her skills. What an adventure! I sometimes wish I was going. At least I have my sewing and quilting to keep me occupied -- and soon a new quilt/sewing studio. That's the silver lining about a child moving away. You get an empty room but hopefully a chance to fill it up with something exciting. My sister is turning one of her children's bedrooms, who has left the nest, into a library. I love that idea too. Hmm, who will be next to leave!

New Digs

The addition when it was under construction

I am so excited!!! I am getting a new quilt studio. It's over twice the size of my current space! Words can't even begin to tell how exciting this is. I have been without a sewing room for almost 17 years. My sewing machine has been in the family room, a hallway and our bedroom. Now at last my sewing will be able to go in the same room as my quilt studio.

My old studio -- only 9' by 15'

We added a family room unto our home 3 years ago with the intention that someday it would be my studio. At the time we needed it to house 2 of our children. Now with one daughter married and the other about to leave for a school in Hawaii the room will become my studio. The room is 16 by 16 so it has plenty of room for my longarm and my sewing.

Right now I'm planning the room. My sister gave me the book, 'Creating Your Perfect Quilting Space' by Lois Hallock several years ago. Many of the ideas and information is very helpful to planning my new studio.

I'll try to update this blog regularly of my progress. My plan is to be completely moved in my 'new digs' by mid April.

Another Purse

These purses have been fun to make -- almost addicting. Here's another one. This took longer than the first because I put piping around the middle and added a pocket into the seam between the handles. This one is for me.