Friday Finish: Studio Redo

I've wanted to show pictures of my studio as a Friday Finish ever since I moved my space upstairs, but before I could take decent pictures, it would either get messy again or I would rearrange it.  I'm constantly repositioning my sewing table, ironing board and cutting table.  I think I finally have it where I like and now our house is on the market ;-)  My studio is as picked up as it's ever going to be, so let's take a look:

planning area

to-dos and inspiration board

Right outside my room is an alcove with a desk, shelves, bulletin board and an extra design wall.  This is where I sit when participating in online guild meetings which happen about once a month.  There's also room for a laptop, printer and quilting books.

Design wall

Usually the latest quilt project(s) is on this design wall as it is easier to stand in front to rearrange blocks and then step back to get a better look.  The design wall has been taken down temporarily so as not to overwhelm prospective buyers....ha!

the left side of the room

When you walk in my studio, my sewing machine in on the left as well as another design wall and a bookcase.

my Juki, Janome, and Featherweight

There are also some lovely handmade gifts from friends all around my sewing space!  More gifts have been added since this picture was taken....I'm still going through my mail and unpacking from retreat.

the right side of the room

On the right when you walk in is my fabric stash, directly in front is my ironing surface and then around the corner is a small closet.  I love looking across my machine and seeing the lovely fabric eye candy and more handmade quilty goodness from friends.

closeup of shelves

Most of my fabric is folded around comic book boards and "filed" on the shelves by color.  Additionally, I have shelves dedicated to precuts, novelty and favorite fabric lines.

Pegboard

My pegboard above my ironing surface is a favorite feature of my studio.  There's a container to hold my Flatter spray, various size baskets for notions and patterns, a magnetic board, and pegs for rotary cutters, scissors, rulers and small artwork.

small area for displaying notions

Under the ironing surface is more storage.  I also have a foldout cutting table that I rarely use.  Now that my fabric is on mini bolts, I find I can cut yardage on a smaller cutting mat right on my ironing board.

one of several turquoise rolling carts

Several aqua Ikea rolling carts hold WIPs...the idea being each bin holds a different project.  If that were the case, I would need twice as many carts!

beautiful minis gifted to me (other than the far left)

Above and below are updated pictures of my mini quilts after rearranging to accommodate my sister's latest gift!

wall hanging made by Michelle - pattern from book Paper Pieced Modern

Now that summer is almost over and school is about to start, I am spending more time in my sewing space, and I love that!  The hard part is keeping my area clean while creating....I'm a messy quilter!

currently on my design wall - two different MCM Bee quilts in progress

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts.  I like seeing where others create so I hope you don't mind me sharing my little creative area.  Thanks for stopping by,

What's Up Wednesday: Organization and new projects

Not too long ago I moved my sewing room upstairs.  I'm still in the process of arranging it exactly the way I want it which means organizing fabric, machines and tools.  One day soon I will share a full reveal.

loving my new pegboard

In the meantime, I will say having this new pegboard is helping with the tool organization.  Rulers, rotary cutters and scissors are neatly hung on hooks and within easy reach; I love the Ikea "bowl" that keeps my Flatter spray right next to my iron; a magnetic strip holds the latest pattern I'm working on along with other items; several Longaberger baskets are put to good use holding pens, binding clips and odds 'n ends; other hooks hold washi tape, patterns I want to make, a mini AAQI quilt and even mini charm packs.  

free pieced letters

As far as sewing goes, I started another project using the Word Play Quilts book.  I have a few letters pieced already.  We'll see where this goes.

siggy blocks

Pulled out these siggy blocks from last summer.  I'm playing around with layouts for this quilt which needs to be completed by next week...yikes!

What's up with you this Wednesday?  Thanks for stopping by,

Lots Going On

No matter my desire to blog regularly, I can't seem to average more than two to three posts a month.  I'm determined to get back to my once-upon-a-time-five-days-a-week posting schedule.....

You are were here!

I have been busy and have some interesting things to share.  I am home now after almost three weeks away.  I won't bombard this post with three weeks of pictures, don't worry.

Instead, I'll show a view teaser pictures to give you an idea of what I've been up to!

moved my sewing lab upstairs

visited this little guy

introduced my grandson to quilting

hung out with some quilty friends

enjoyed my daughter's spring break

came home to some really fun mail

I hope you have been spending some quality time with friends, family and your sewing machine!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

What's Up Wednesday: Sewing Time

I enjoyed some quality sewing time today on this rainy first day of spring Wednesday.

36 patch blocks

Four more 36-patch blocks are pieced for my Cowboy/Cowgirl quilt.

Shoo Fly block

April's OrlandoMQG block of the month is done.  I have made many a shoo fly block, so don't know why I had to pull out my seam ripper not once but twice while piecing this simple block.  We followed this tutorial for making the 12.5" blocks.  For my block I used scraps of Architextures fabric.

Oops

I finished the quilt top for a gift several months ago but wasn't happy with one particular section so it was put aside.  Today, I pulled the quilt top out and unstitched then restitched the offensive area.

Unstitching

The quilt top and quilt back are now ready for basting.  I am showing just a tiny peek in case the recipient pops over for a look ;-)

Sneak Peek

 So far I have maintained the organization of my fabric stash as I have pulled, sewed and acquired new fabric.  My family is quite in shock that The Lab is still clean!

Fabric additions

These three yards of fabric arrived today, and I immediately wrapped them neatly around my comic book boards.

Edited to add:  Since Google Reader will soon disappear, you can Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hope you enjoyed your first day of spring.  Thanks for stopping by,

Friday Finish: Eye Candy

Well, it's not your typical finish, but for me it's a major accomplishment.  

My fabric is now neatly folded and sorted and stored by color/category.  Whoo hoo!!!!  I guess you could say this project has been a WIP for a very long time ;-)

Isn't it pretty?!

I was about 95% finished with this huge task when my middlest came home from college for his spring break, so I took a break too.  I took advantage of him being out of the house for a dentist appointment today to complete the remaining 5%.

Home Decor fabrics and stripes

I have to tell you this finish feels so good!!! Having all my fabric neatly arranged so I can actually see what I have is huge.  This process also made me realize (well, confirmed actually) that I have way too much a lot of fabric.

Ikea shelves

If you read my previous posts and/or followed my pictures on Instagram, you know that I used Jennifer's tutorial for wrapping my fabric around comic book boards.  I may or may not have made more than one trip to my local comic book store for the required amount of boards.

Some of my solids

Want a little tour of my shelves?  I'd love to show you around my fabric ;-)  

The above picture shows the two shelves that hold my solids.  The top shelf has a bin for solid scraps and mini bolts of shot cottons and linens. The other shelf holds the remainder of my solids.  If you compare the pictures above and below you can see that I have two rows of solids stored in one shelf.

Baby fabric, low volume and solids

I left my batik fabrics alone because they already look pretty folded as they are.  I have a shelf of fabrics dedicated for baby quilts and another for low volume fabrics and some special fabrics that I don't want to get lost in the crowd.  There is also a shelf for quilt books and a picture of my lovely sister.

Kaffe, browns and blacks

 I have collected quite a few Kaffe prints for an eventual Dear Jane quilt so those have their own shelf.  Below that is a shelf for browns and blacks.

Precuts

This shelf holds some of my latest precuts and some hand dyed fabric.

binding strips

I also have a shelf for my ipod stereo and binding strips.

Oranges, precuts and scraps

Here are my orange fabrics, a basket for scraps, shelf fore more precuts and a shelf for scraps of neutrals hidden behind a basket of paper hexies and a jar of binding strips.

Books and color

 You'll notice that I don't have many yellows or purples so they share a shelf.  Behind the Pillow Pop book are containers of scraps by color.  The glass jars you see here and there are for smaller scraps by color.

I am surprised that all my blues fit on one shelf though there are two rows of mini bolts on that shelf.  You'll see again more plastic containers holding scraps by color.  I'd like to pretty those up at some point, but for now it works.  There are a few colors of minky that I didn't bother wrapping but instead folded and put next to the scrap bins.

backing fabric and more scrap baskets

 The bottom left shelf holds backing fabric that I have acquired on sale.  The shelf to the right of that has another basket of scraps.  This one holds strips.  There is also room for a couple of quilt books there and extra comic book boards.  After prettying up my scrap organization I want to tackle my quilt books.

Well, thanks for stopping by and letting me share a small part of my studio with you.  Linking up with Amanda's finish it Friday.

Hope you find some time to sew this weekend.  It's Worldwide Quilting Day on Saturday!!!!

Mini Monday: Spring Cleaning

The fabric organization is ongoing here.   I have now made a THIRD trip to the local comic book store for more boards.  They even gave me a frequent shopper punch card!  I am determined to tame organize my fabric stash before I do any sewing, but I'm beginning to think I will NEVER reach the bottom of my fabric pile.

Topsy Turvy Triangles

  Since I have no sewing project to share today, I want to show you the mini quilt my friend Michele made for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.  I just love the movement of the teeny triangles.  This was my February Quilt a Month purchase, and it looks so pretty in front of my neatly folded fabric stacks.

Getting there

Here's a glimpse of my folding-fabric-around-comic-book-boards progress.  I haven't had a chance to organize by colors yet; I am just placing the fabric on the shelves as I go along to get them off the floor. The rearranging by colors/theme/designer will be the fun part!

Hope someone is getting some stitching time in.  Thanks for stopping by,

What's Up Wednesday: Good Stuff

Today marks the start of the OrlandoMQG's fourth year!  Whoo hoo!  I paid my dues and got a cool coffee mug with our logo.

March BOM

 Our block of the month for March is the Garden Fence made with modern grays and yellows.  I'm looking forward to making next month's shoo fly block too.  

mini quilt for AAQI

Many members participated in the Madrona Road Challenge and created beautiful blocks and quilts.  I made a mini quilt for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative by machine piecing tiny hexagons (as learned in my QuiltCon class) then machine appliquéing them to a solid background pieced in the text fabric. 

outdoor dining

Several guild members dined alfresco at a nearby restaurant after the meeting.  The food and company were wonderful.  After our QuiltCon adventure, we were missing eating meals together ;-)

new pincushion

Forgot to show the pincushion I received from LAMQG member Licet in a QuiltCon swap.  The pinsies were purchased from this etsy shop.

folding fabric

 When I left for QuiltCon, my sewing room (aka The Lab) was a disaster.  For some strange reason, it was still a disaster when I returned!  I took a picture of the room which even shocked my sister.  After that, I decided something had to be done.  

progress

I pulled out the package of comic book boards I had purchased after seeing That Girl That Quilt's neat and tidy sewing room, and over the weekend I spent some time using Jennifer's fabric folding method in an effort to tame the fabric mess.  

organized fabric

You won't believe how quickly I used up that package of comic book boards.  I had to make an emergency run to the local comic book shop for more.  You think this will enough to organize my stash?

comic book boards

I'm going to be in big trouble if it isn't  ;-)

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday.  Thanks for stopping by,