OK, the new studio is pretty much finished and I am happy to say being used. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. As I’ve been up there working this week I keep saying out loud “I love this room”. Most of the thanks goes to Joe for giving up his man cave. I married the most wonderful man ever.
When you first walk into the studio this is what you see. Now the fact than I can get a quilt that is this large, 96″ x 96″, on my design board is fantastic. In my old studio the lower portion of this quilt top would have been on the floor because my wall space was much smaller than it is now. To the left in the photo are my sofa and cutting table, back to back. To the right is a large work table and……you’ll see the rest soon.
While I am standing in the door to the studio and I turn to my far left you will see my ironing table. I talked about this in a previous blog. The top is an old hollow door that had been left in our basement when we purchased our house. That was nice of the old owners. I don’t think they ever thought it would be used in such a way. Do you? I covered the table with an old wool blanket that I purchased at a house auction and then purchased drill to wrap over the blanket. Over the years I found that drill held up much better than the muslin I once used on my ironing surface. The drill is attached to the hollow door using a large staple gun. This is a fantastic surface when I am pressing large pieces of fabric or large quilt tops, backing fabric….. One of the few things I am still waiting for is the pendant light that will hang above the ironing area. I have a line of track and there will be two track lights and one pendant light over the ironing board. When they get here I’ll be able to get ride of the standing light.
Even though I had this similar set-up in my old studio I did not have the center area for storage. This is the other side of the ironing area. The two end units were purchased at IKEA. They are the bases for a bathroom sink. Perfect height for ironing. Then Lewie built the center area with 2 doors and shelves inside. A girl can never have too much storage space!
As I swing my camera from the ironing area, along the left side, you come to the sofa and cutting table.
I believe I told you before that my cutting table is actually a kitchen cabinet from IKEA. I do like IKEA. I have had this unit for a least 15 years or more and it shows no signs of wear and trust me it gets used a lot. The height is perfect for rotary cutting. I have my spare rotary mats stored on the floor under the cabinet, just like I did in my old studio. And because this cabinet weights a ton and a half (it is really heavy) I removed all the drawers so when Joe and his buddies carried the cabinet it would not be so heavy, and still it weights a ton! One of the best purchases I ever made for my studio.
If you sat on the sofa this is what you would see….my large work table, also from IKEA, and my 2 sewing tables back to back. When I was trying to decide on a layout for my new space I liked the idea of the two sewing tables being back-t0-back. When I am working on a large quilt it will give me a lot more table surface. My TV is centered on the wall straight ahead. I had 3 outlets put in the floor. One is between my two machines and one is under the large work table. The other one is between the sofa and cutting table area. Boy, am I glad I decided to have those added. Some days my brain is working properly.
To the left you can partially see my thread drawer holder. This is also from IKEA. I am starting to sound like an IKEA commercial! I had a drawer similar to this in my old studio but Joe found this bigger one when he was looking for the work table for me. (Joe had to go to the Philadelphia area on business and since we don’t have an IKEA close to our house Joe offered to do some shopping for me. What did I say….nicest guy in the world). Just like my old one this one is also on wheels so I can move it around the room as needed.
Years ago I had my thread in cabinets on the wall. Every single time I needed a spool of thread I had to get up and open all 4 cabinets and look for the thread I wanted. One day I thought if my thread was closer to me and arranged by color and not by type of thread it would make my life easier. Normally when I am working I need a certain color….say green. Now all I do is open the drawer with all the green thread and find what I need. It saves me a lot of time. I love that I can place it right beside where ever I am working.
If you were sitting on the sofa and looked to your right you would see my biggest splurge in the room. My Herman Miller chair. Yes, I treated myself to the world’s best chair. When I was in Appleton, Wisconsin they had Herman Miller chairs at the desks in the hotel room. They had a paper in the room telling about the chairs. I did some investigating when I got home. The price was….lets says high! I asked Joe to use his magic fingers on the computer and see if he could find me one at a better price. But, no such luck. So, I bit the bullet and bought it anyway. When I was on my way to teach in Delaware I made a little detour to a store that sold Herman Miller chairs so I could check out my options and do some test sitting. I figured as much time as I will spend it that chair it would be my biggest splurge. After using it this week I am very happy I made the right decision.
Still sitting on the sofa and moving to my right I have my drawers that Lewie built.
Keep moving to the right and you’re back at the doors. Above the doors I decided to hang one of my favorite pieces of art that I have ever purchased. I wanted to surround myself with many of my favorites pieces of art to inspire me when I am working. I purchased this piece in Mexico. I had it hanging in my old studio. This piece is truly inspiring.
This next photo is a close-up but you’ll never be able to see the details. It is made by hand. On a wood foundation the artist places a hot wax. On top of the wax the artist places pieces of yarn to form the design. Impressive. Really impressive. When I purchased this piece many years ago I remember I could not sleep that night. I was worried about the money I spent making the purchase. This is another one of my splurges that I have never regretted. I still love this piece of art and appreciate the work that went into making it. Joe built a backing on the piece and painted it white so when you walk into the studio you don’t notice it because it is over your head. But, on your way out of the studio you surely will notice it. The maker is telling a story just like many quilters do in their work.
In the little alcove behind the cutting table I had Lewie build me a box in which to store my batting. It is also on wheels so I can be moved if necessary. I wanted it in white so it just kind of blends into the room. I think when I am sitting to hand sew on the sofa it could be moved over beside the sofa and used like an end table.
OK, let’s more to the back of the studio. Along the left wall, just down from the batting box, is my drafting, lightbox table. The metal was a strange shade of gun metal blue. Joe painted it white for me so it would fit nicely into my new space. Right before it was moved from my old studio I leaned on the glass to kill a stink bug that was in my studio. Well, you guessed it….I broke the glass. It is nice that we live next door to a glass cutter. I hate those stink bugs for more than one reason. One of the few things I am still waiting for is my chair for at this table. It should be here this coming week.
To your right is my desk and storage shelves above. These were prefab cabinets from Lowe’s. I know…what happened to IKEA. Hey, these were close by when I needed them and worked perfectly. Lewie took the 2 center doors on the top shelf and replaced them with glass. I had this vision that I wanted to store some of my favorite things in this cabinet and be able to see them.
I opened the glass doors so you could better see inside to see some of my favorite things. I arranged my embroidery threads by color, again, just like my other sewing threads. Having them arranged this way makes me happy. And when I am looking for let’s say…red thread…I simply pull down the red thread jar. On the second shelf, to the left, are some antique buttons I purchased at a house auction many years ago and they are in antique glass containers. To the far left is a pin cushion made by Sally Collins. Sally sent me this amazing gift as a thank you for some little thing that I did for her. I have admired her work for so long I told her when I got this incredible little package in the mail I felt like I had won the lottery. I could not possibly put pins in it! Heaven forbid. Maybe some day I’ll be able to….but not yet. Her work is done to perfection. Behind the bight colored doll is a fabulous little counted cross stitch piece my sister made for me years ago. Love it and appreciate all she put into making it. On the bottom is another one of my favorite doll makers. I stumbled onto this artist when I was traveling in the state to Washington. It makes me feel good just looking at these shelves.
Hanging under the cabinets are pieces from another Mexican artist. Each wing on this hummingbird is hand painted. The workmanship is so beautifully done.
On top of my cabinets in another piece by the same artist. Again, each individual feather is hand painted on wood. Each feather is removed to get it home and then reassembled. I took a photo before it was disassembled so I could get it back together again. That was smart thinking.
Keep going to the right and you next come to my bathroom and then fabric shelves. First, lets talk about the bathroom. In my old studio I did not have a bathroom. I had to go down one floor and through the bedroom to get to a bathroom. Now, I just take a couple of steps and there I am. When I used to have to go downstairs I was easily distracted by the laundry, the computer office area, etc. No more of those distractions.
And then of course my shelves of fabric. The door in the center of the photo is a closet area. Perfect for storing more stuff.
More fabric shelves. This is the multi-colored, black and gray fabrics.
And then the soothing color wall of fabric. If I’m having a bad day I could lay on the floor and look at this row of shelves and feel much better. I owe a big thanks to Lewie for building my shelves, drawers and cabinets. The room is awesome because of all Lewie did for me. Thank you Lewie.
So, just a couple of final items and the room will be totally finished. I have some small rugs that I ordered. One will go in front of the sofa and one on the floor in the bathroom. My pendant lights and drafting table chair should be here soon also. Things have come together nicely. I plan to produce some amazing quilts in this room. That’s the plan.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Last year in the spring I read the book “The Help”. When I heard they were making a movie on this book I could hardly wait to see it. The book was so darn good. Many times when I’ve seen a movie based on a book that I liked I am very disappointed. But, not this time. I loved the movie as much as I loved the book. Each actress cast played her part to perfection. When I was describing some of the characters to a friend of mine this weekend I told her that Bryce Dallas Howard plays the roll of the bitch and she played a great bitch. I won’t be surprised if she gets an academy award for this roll. And Emma Stone played a great “Skeeter”. She was perfect for this roll. But, best of all for me were “The Help”. Viola Davis made be cry with her incredible performance. And Octavia Spencer as Minni. Oh, she made me laugh and cry. At one point in the movie when many people are clapping a lady in the attendance was so into the movie she clapped right along with the movie characters. That’s how into this movie you will be. You need to go see this movie. And if you have tears close to the brain…as one of my friends describes me….you’ll need a couple of tissues. Some might say it’s a chick flick but Joe liked it just as much as I did and agreed that it followed the book. But, then as you know, Joe is an exceptional kind of guy.
What are you waiting for? Stop reading and go to the movies.