The topic of the week for the Stashbusters blog ring is showing our sewing rooms. I have browsed through some really beautiful studios on other blogs and hope that those quilters really appreciate their space. Our house is very small - less than 1,000 sq. feet and there are four of us living here...so space is very limited. Before we had children, I had an entire room for my quilting... and it was great, because I had just started quilting and didn't have much stuff!
And now...well, I wouldn't exactly say I had a quilting room. My space is in the basement, with an unfinished ceiling, a cement floor and very poor insulation. I have a little space heater to help keep me warm in the winter. I share my quilting room (which is about 10' by 12') with the washing machine, dryer, laundry tub, hot water heater and small freezer. And from time to time, the sewer backs up which puts sewage in the middle of my quilting area....I kid you not!
So I love to look at books of other quilters studios and dream about what I might someday have. One of the best studios I have seen is in this book by Judy Murrah. There are some fun little projects in this book to inspire quilters, but mostly I enjoyed the photography of her studio....lots of natural light, extremely well organized, lots of storage shelves, large ironing and cutting tables, and a huge design wall.
But back to my reality...my little space is a mess and I couldn't possibly bring myself to show it to you. I will show you my favorite cupboard that my sister-in-law gave me. I have some of my quilting magazines, albums full of quilt photos, quilt books, and my little jam jar collection of tiny bits of fabrics are on the bottom shelf. There is another cupboard to the left of this one and you can just see the corner of the table where my sewing machine sits. My husband built a cutting table that is hinged to the wall and can lift up when I need to get something out of the freezer....that works well.
Even though my space is small and the conditions are trying sometimes, I take pride in the fact that I have continued to make quilts and enjoy my hobby no matter what. My biggest problem is to carve out space in my schedule to actually get downstairs to enjoy time in my little quilting (laundry) room.
For years my "studio" consisted of one bookcase and a card table with my featherweight. I mainly did applique which I kept in old Oatmeal boxes! The strange part is I got more sewing done then!
ReplyDeleteKathy, you've been to my blog so you've seen what a shameless mess my sewing area is! It's not what you have, it's what you make in it.
ReplyDeleteLook at this way - with the washer and dryer so close you don't have to go far to wash and iron the fabric and then be ready to play.
ReplyDeleteI love your cupboard. I adore using other pieces of furniture for my quilt tools and toyw.
Sewing space is where we create - a room, a corner, a closet, it doesn't matter as long we can create and be content! A room just enables us to make a bigger mess, LOL
ReplyDeleteBTW, I love your jam jar collection - very cute!
Thanks so much for popping in to visit my blog and leaving comments.
I love those little jars. Exactly what is in them? and what is the story behind them? Thanks for taking time to visit my blog and leave a comment. I'll add your blog to my bloglines so I can keep up with you!
ReplyDeleteThe jars are filled with trimmings from squaring up blocks, scraps from paper piecing, and dog ears trimmed from half square triangles.
ReplyDeleteI was told that this is called "quilter's jelly"!