~ Picture Studio Tour ~

 I decided to do a picture tour of my studio for those who can't watch video.    I know living in Podunk we don't have the fast high speed internet that is available in the city. So I'm assuming some of you may have the same problem. If you would rather watch a video, my Studio Video Tour can be found here.  

My Studio is about 22' x 12'.  We think at one time it was a garage or carport.  You'll see why a little later.  It's hard to believe I have all this space.  10 yrs ago I was living in a small house with my sewing nook tucked away in the corner of my bedroom.  This room is constantly evolving.  Someday I hope to install kitchen cabinets on the walls and get rid of all the mismatched furniture.  

Moving out to the country in a larger home with my own sewing room was a dream come true.  Never did I think I would be blogging let alone designing and selling my own patterns.  Mr. Podunk has played a major role in my studio and new pattern business.  He's quite the handyman.  He made my adorable little green quilt display cabinet from a picture.  He did all the hard work of measuring and building and I added the chicken wire, hardware and paint.

The top is cluttered with design boards and frequently used sewing notions.  I've had some question about my design boards so I'll cover them in a separate post in the next couple of weeks.

Any available space on my walls is adorned with my quilts.  The quilt on the left is a free pattern here on the blog.  Just look in the sidebar of this blog for an image with the flower and pot quilt block with the words Back Porch Blooms quilt along.  Click on the image and it will take you to all blog post containing tutorials or print outs for the quilts made with Back Porch Blooms Block.  This quilt is called Cottage Blooms.  The quilt on the far right is called Podunk Posy, it too is free here on the blog.  If type Podunk Posy in the search box on the right hand side of the the blog you'll find all the post about this quilt.  

I'll eventually be adding them to the tutorials page on my blog.  Right now that portion of the blog is under construction.  The quilt in the middle is a design of mine called Promenading Tulips.  I used Lori Holts Tulip block from the book Quilty Fun.  You can find information about recreating this quilt by doing a search for Promenading Tulips in the search box of this blog.  I've also had some questions about how my quilts are hung.  That too will is something I will cover sometime in the next couple of weeks.

On the floor under the quilts is my new rug.  It is several Rope Rugs sewn together.  At one time I stated it would be fun to cover the entire studio floor with these colorful little cuties.  So why not start the process of stitching them together!  What  a fun little pop of color!  The tutorial for making them can be found by clicking here.

Inside the cabinet in front of the rugs is my older stash.  The fabric is stacked 2 deep on the left side. On the right is 3 drawers of fat quarters and half yards of newer fabrics.  The bottom is where most of my books are stored.  I rarely use books but I just can't seem to let them go.  For the most part they just take up space until I feel like looking at pretty quilt pictures.  On top of the cabinet is where I store Civil War Reproductions.  They too are rarely used so this seemed like a good place for them to be hidden away.  The cabinets are from the early days of working with darker fabrics. Everything in here was brown at one time.   Nothing like a good coat of paint to spruce the place up a bit.  The inside of the cabinets were not painted because I was afraid the paint might stick to my fabric.

To the right of the cabinet is my scrap stash in the white bins.  A few older fat quarters and lots of odd sized pieces.  I do not have control over my scraps.  They are thrown in the bins all willy nilly by color.  To get control of them would take weeks of cutting....UGG...no thank you!

Siting on top of the scrap storage bins are these two baskets.  Each one is covered with fabric due to being right by the window.  This west facing window gets tons of sun year around. The gingham on top is to protect the fabric in the baskets.

Both baskets have a different dresden project that are close to being completed.  My hopes is to finish both of them this year.  2 UFO's for one year is a reasonable goal, don't you think?  No, this isn't the only WIP's or UFO's but will talk about that some other time.  These are just the "Chosen Ones" for the yearly goal.  The chosen ones makes them sound so much more important, maybe that will help me get them finished....HAHAHAHAHA!....So funnny!

 My ironing station is an old dresser handed down to Mr. Podunk from his mom.  The hideous walnut stain was quickly made to disappear.  Inside is quilts needing to be quilted.  If they are in a plastic bag that means everything but the batting is in there to finish the quilt.  Backing and binding is pieced and ready to go, they are just waiting on me to get to them.  How many?  About 25 or 30.  Maybe I could bring them out for show and tell sometime soon. Anyone interested in seeing them?  The ironing surface is a piece of plywood covered with aluminum foil, then cotton batting and layers of scorched fabric that I was to lazy to remove.  The aluminum foil helps reflect heat and protect the wood from steam.  I also have a small ironing board for applique and to protect my cutting table when I need to set the iron out of the way.

The cutting table was also made by Mr. Podunk.  He used scrap wood from other projects to keep the costs low and because he knew I would be painting it white.  On top is two cutting mats.  One for cutting dark colored fabric and one for light colored fabrics.  The long pink tape measure is super glued to the table and is used when cutting long quilt borders.

But the best thing about my table is the built in light box.  This is so handy when doing applique.  The tempered glass was the most expense part of the table.   We had to order it from our local glass shop and it took about 2 weeks to get it tempered.  Tempered glass is safer than regular glass.  Mr. Podunk thought it was overkill but I didn't want to take a chance of dropping something heavy on it and it shattering.  An example of something heavy in a quilt studio would be pinking shears.  I use them often and they are quite beefy.

At the end of my table is the most used tools, small rulers, marking pens and pins.  It's the catchall spot with a few little cuties.

Sitting next to the catchall spot is my basket for the strings that will make the Rope rugs.  I also keep a couple of bundles of rope in there. This is a handy spot for the string basket.  When I'm squaring up fabric it just toss the slivers into the bin!

On top of the catch all is my Granny's sewing machine.  I love this old girl.  She weighs a ton and I had to climb on top of the cutting table to get her in place.  Once a year I take her out for a drive, giver her a little love and lube then back on the shelf she goes.  They just don't make them like that anymore.

Are you ready?  Do you hear the angels singing?  This is the GOOD fabric cabinet.  It too was once brown and has been painted.  Before we open the cabinet take a look at the quilt on the right, it is called Scrap Happy Baskets.  The block is a free pattern here on the blog.  It has been removed from the tutorials page for updating but it can still be found through searching my blog. 

Oh Sweet LOVE of mine!  Sigh...This crazy ole gal loves happy fabric.   I hear angels sing every time I open these doors.  Really there's nothing more to say.  I'll just stand here and swoon for a bit.  Feel free to scroll whenever you're ready.

Above both windows is a shelf with dust collecting items.  This one stores my vintage irons.  After purchasing an iron a year for about 5 years in a row I gave up on new irons.  Each one of these were cost less than $10, they work and never let me down.  I highly recommend everyone have at least one for a back up if you just can't resist the bright new shiny hopping iron with bells and whistles.  The last new iron I bought would shut off after 20 minutes.  That was the most frustrating feature for a quilter. Then it would take another 10 minutes to heat up to what was supposed to be the hottest setting but compared to these old gals it was just luke warm.  Now I rarely  need for steam on most fabrics.  If I do need steam I have a spray bottle of water.

My design wall is fairly new.  It is nothing more than a framed piece of 80/20 batting.  We used spray baste to hold it to the wall.  As you can see it has loosened from the wall.  When I get around to replacing it I'll use flannel or the fabric they put on the roof of a car. The batting was used because I had it on hand and quilting it makes me sneeze.  Yes I'm allergic to cotton dust.  So much so I keep an air purifier going at all times.  The little applique project has been on the wall for months waiting for inspiration.  I'd like to design an entire quilt around this center block but it's taken a back seat to so many other projects.

She is just as sweet as can be and really does need to finished if nothing more than a wall hanging.

The other end of the studio is taken up by my Bailey Home Quilter 15.  She's the monster in the studio.  While she isn't pretty and she doesn't have bells and whistles, she allows me to to what I love with a price that also allowed me to keep my soul.   I've said this before, I don't like to quilt, I like to design quilts and make the tops.   To buy a machine that would require I quilt for other to pay her off is not an option.  It's all I can do to get mine quilted.  So this was the best option for me.  A basic machine and frame that would make the quilting process a little more tolerable.  When I win the lottery I'll hire someone to quilt them all!  Until then this works for me.  More of my quilts are hung behind the quilter.  The two cherry quilts both are free patterns on the blog.  The one on the left has a partial tutorial for the block only, its called Cherry Blossom Marmalade.  The cherry quilt on the right is called Cherry on Top, it can be found on the Tutorials tab at the top of this blog.  And here comes my shameless quilt shop plug......The heart quilt is called Sweet Sixteen and is for sale in my Etsy shop here.   It  and all other quilt pattern with hearts in the quilt design are 30% off until tomorrow midnight, Tuesday, January 22, 2019.  The sale is good for both shipped patterns and PDF.   Shipping overages are refunded if you buy more than one pattern.   

 Remember when I said this was on odd space.  Well here's the odd.  On the other side of the window opening is my kitchen.  I can reach through and turn on the kitchen sink.  ODD place for a window.  We think at one time this was a carport.  To come into the room you must come down 2 steps.  I'd like to paint the window and add a stain glass or shutters but Mr. Podunk isn't on board with the plan.....YET!

The bird wall hanging to the right of the window is not my design.  It was block 2 of a free BOM called My Tweets by Erin Russek.   The BOM is no longer free but can be purchased here.  The frame on the quilt is my design and not part of her pattern.

Well we've come to the end of the tour.  My Studio is just like my fabric stash, a little mishmash of this and that.  But it makes me happy and that's all that matters.  If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment.  I'll do my best to answer them.  

Now it's time to for the answer to yesterdays post.

"S" is for a cut up shirt.  "P" is for Pajama pants.  How many did you get right?  Being a fabric addict means no fabric is off limits.  Many of the items in my clothing closet were bought with the intentions of someday becoming a part of my stash.  I love it all from re-purposed to designer fabrics, if I can put a stitch in it, I'll quilt it.  Yes cheaper fabrics are cheaper for a reason.  Will they last as long?  Who knows and who cares.  I have several quilts that are over 20 yrs old made with cheap fabric.  They get used everyday and are still going strong.   If your stash makes YOU happy that is all that matters.

#quiltstudio #quiltroom #podunkpretties

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