Members share their space

Welcome to the series where members share their sewing space. Today is my (Lindsey) turn. Enjoy!

I sew in a spare room. I spend more time in here than any other room in the house when I'm home just hanging out, so it has more than just my sewing. I like to keep most things stored out of sight in the closet. If I let the room get too cluttered, it's not fun for me to sew or spend time in here. Here's the two sides of my closet: on the top shelf I have my projects in shoe boxes or bags, along with yarn and a few other assorted items. The works in progress in the closet tend to be long term projects: one's that I've put on the back burner, or long term projects like blocks of the month. The floor has a couple of tubs with my fabric. I don't have a big stash and I like to make sure it doesn't outgrow those tubs. I want to hoard fabric but I try to resist! In there is also my spare sewing machine, my ironing board, my roll of batting, finished projects. The room is small, and during the winter I leave my bike on the trainer so it's a bit crowded at the moment.




On the other side of the room, I have some mini quilts on the wall by the window. That chair always has my most current works in progress on it, ones that need quilting or binding, and I have recently put a dent in that pile so there is only one quilt needing binding right now. I got that curtain wire and clips from IKEA and love it for hanging little blocks and fun, inspiring things along that entire wall. Those dogs are always laying on the futon, keeping me company when I'm in here.

My sewing machine (a Baby Lock Melody) sits on a small desk from IKEA. I actually love the desk's small size because when I'm free motion quilting, I can jam the quilt in the corner against the wall instead of worrying about the quilt falling off the table. This desk has a keyboard tray that is really handy for storing notions or extra fabric when sewing.

Next to the desk is my bookshelf that has more fabric storage and other things. This is where most works in progress that I'm just starting hang out until they're too big for a shelf. I also have some precuts and bundles on the shelves. I really try to keep the top of the shelf cleared off so that it's space I can use. I really don't like clutter so I prefer to keep everything put away or in the closet so that the clutter doesn't get too bad.
You can also see my design wall (a flannel-backed tablecloth) with the Modern Metallic challenge.

You'll probably notice: I don't have any cutting table in here! I don't have room with the current set up, although sometimes I will cut on top of the bookshelf if the pieces are small enough for my small, rotating mat. Instead, I usually cut on my kitchen island.
Thanks for taking the tour of my sewing room!

Members Share their Space

Welcome to the blog series where we get a peek inside members' sewing spaces. Today is Jeanne's turn. Enjoy!

entrance to my 3rd floor sewing room

Here are a few pics of my ever changing sewing space.  I like change and am constantly changing my space to fit my current whim.  Currently I have two spots.  The 'real' one is on the 3rd floor of our house.

ironing area - 3rd floor

cutting area - 3rd floor

My husband I share a big loft type space.  He has his electronic stuff on one half and I have my sewing stuff on the other.  Along with an extra bed and mini refrig.  It was our son's room before he moved out for college and now 'life'.  I tend to not use this space much as my hubby is not up there much and I seem too far away and alone.

 storage in closet - 3rd floor

(are you all noticing a pattern of cats in the sewing space pictures? I guess we all love our pets!)

sewing area in family room

Instead, I like to work downstairs in our family room.  I bought a little table at costco and put it behind our couch. I feel more connected down there. And can catch up on my shows while sewing.

cutting area on kitchen island

I use our big kitchen island for my cutting and ironing area.  So as you see, I've kind of taken over parts of most rooms in our house.

Thankfully, my hubby doesn't mind all the sewing stuff around.

Members share their space

Welcome to the series where COMQG members share their sewing space. Today is Laurie's turn.

Here are the photos of my quilting space. The first shows how I hang my finished tops and backs over the banister on the second floor, just outside of my sewing room. 

The second shows my ironing board with my latest work in progress -- a red, white and blue quilt

My sewing machine and cutting mat set up. 

I store a lot of fabric in large plastic
bins (that's how I moved my fabric from CA up here to Bend). I like the bins because the
fabric can lay flat without having too many folds in it, and the fabric stays out of the sunlight. 

I also store smaller pieces, by color, in clear plastic bins that I keep out of
sunlight in my sewing room closet. This photo shows my blue bin next to my red bin. 

Finally, I included a photo showing a couple of pin cushions I made for a sale that my guild in Santa Barbara held. I had fun making them out of fabric that was my mom's (note the plaid in the "Butterscotch" pin cushion and the pink mohair in the "Neo-politan" pin cushion). I really enjoyed that sale, as three of my quilts, one of my pillows, and some of my pin cushions were purchased in support of the guild!

Oh, and the last photo shows my cat helping me with my "curves" quilt.

Members share their space

Welcome to the series where we share members' sewing space. Featured today is Kristin's studio space. Enjoy!

My studio space starts with the built in desk and cutting station that was actually built for our previous house.  We took it with us when we moved and it was great to have this built in storage that I already knew how to fill!  I also like the raised cutting area to reduce back strain.

I also tend to surround myself with the work of friends and artists I love.  My collections inspire me every day.  I have a tall chest of drawers that I use for storing thread and other craft supplies. 

My sewing space is all portable and has been rearranged several times in the 2.5 years we have lived in this house.  I like that my tables are easy to transport to other activities and to rearrange for various things I might do in the studio.

 

My sewing table is a Sew Ezi table that allows my machine to sit down at a proper height for me.  I can switch out machines with inserts that fit each one.  I also love my exercise ball chair- a tip from Shannon P.  My ironing board has an extra-large surface created by Erin B.’s boys and makes ironing large cuts of fabric a breeze

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My quilting fabric has always been stored in an armoire, but has spilled out into the closet over time.  I keep the most used fabrics close at hand in here.  I also have drawers for miscellaneous items.  My embroidery thread storage can be glimpsed on top of the armoire and it looks like a mess, but is actually organized by color on embroidery hoops.  I have enough thread to last several lifetimes!

I have a regular sized closet where I store lots of fabric, plus other craft supplies like yarn.  It’s a big mess right now, but I use the hanging canvas shelf units for some items and others are in plastic bins stacked below.  I also am lucky enough to have a secret closet behind the real closet where I keep my batting, finished quilts, extra bins of fabric and other craft supplies, etc.

I had to go back to some old photos to show my design walls properly.  This is the first studio space where I’ve had room for design walls and I find that they are absolutely necessary.  I have two 4’ x 6’ sheets of insulation board that I covered with batting.  I am somewhat sorry there’s a door between them as it’s hard to work on projects larger than 4’ wide, but I tend to work small, so it’s fine most of the time. Since the insulation board comes in 4’ x 8’ sheets, I cut 2’ off the end of each one and used one for the inspiration board over my desk (covered with canvas) and another one is a portable design board covered with batting.  It’s very useful for classes and retreats.

One thing that you don’t see in my studio is my collection of quilting books.  I do have several shelves of books, but they didn’t fit in this room. They are at a room at the other end of the hall.  

Members Share Their Space - Christy

Welcome to a new series where COMQG members share their sewing space. Enjoy! 

The best feature of my sewing space is the closet.  I use it to store my work in progress projects which I've hung on coat hangers.  It gives me a visual reminder to work on what’s already underway rather than start new projects.  However, this doesn't always work and I end up starting lots of new things anyway!  

I just downsized my fabric storage to a small cabinet purchased from the Humane Society Thrift Store in Bend.  I used some simple plastic brackets and pre-made shelving from ACE Hardware to double the number of shelves in the cabinet.

I sew on a Juki TL-2010Q.  I bought it after 18 months sewing on a Brother CS-6000i which was a great starter machine.  The Juki sews so smoothly and the quilting is first rate.  I love the 9” throat, which makes large projects almost painless!   

I built the ironing table using Elizabeth Hartman’s tutorial.  I added a wooden box on top of the TV dinner tray to raise the height.  The larger square ironing platform is the perfect size for me even thought it makes the table a little tipsy.  

The Toes in the Sand quilt by Jaybird Quilts is up on my design wall right now, I'm working on layout.  Because I’m using my own fabric choices I think I will end up deviating from the suggested layout in order to balance fabric color, and value.  

I’m looking forward to eventually finding a taller cutting table.  I do love having the cutting table close to a window where there is lots of natural light.  I've got scraps stored in a few plastic bins perched on a reclaimed piece of cedar.  

Members Share Their Space!

Welcome to a new series where COMQG members share their sewing space. Enjoy!

Sarah has a small room, but she loves the openness in the middle for spreading out a work in progress or piecing. Here's a panorama of her space.

Her new fabric storage. She has bins for scraps, and larger pieces folded on the shelves, mostly organized by color. 

And finally, her brand new (to her) awesome Bernina sewing machine! She's already been working on some really cool embroidery and sewing projects with it.