Monday, April 13, 2015

A tour of the new sewing studio!

Now that most of the boxes are unpacked and most everything around the house has found a home, I've spent some time really getting my sewing studio set up. It was up and running to finish up deadlines as soon as we moved in, but it was chaos. Piles of boxes, stuff all over the place, and nothing in its rightful place. I know lots of quilters thrive on creative messes but I'm the polar opposite. Maybe I'm in the minority among creative types, but when everything around me is chaotic, it's really hard for me to be creative. Getting everything all sorted and organized feels like a weight off me. I actually even went into the studio this weekend and did a little sewing, just for fun, using a couple of layer cakes of Cotton + Steel and some super simple patchwork. It felt fantastic!! Without any further ado, here's a quick tour of my new sewing studio!


In this move, I decided to retire my dad's old desk, which was my first sewing table when I started sewing, and in more recent years has been my cutting table. It's in sad condition after all these years, but I did keep it and move it into the office for my son to use as a desk space. I picked up a new wooden table top from Ikea and had a handyman build some legs to match my sewing table, so now I have a nice, giant workspace. It's great for cutting, and even better when I'm quilting. One thing I love about my new space is the ceiling height. I've got so much more room for hanging minis now! I seem to have a fairly large collection of them and am working on hanging many of them throughout the house, but I selected some favorites to hang in my sewing room.


I also got a new LED light kit from Amazon to add some additional light to my Juki, which is fantastic and was super easy. I definitely recommend it - and it will fit any sewing machine, too!


I also converted to a stand up design wall rather than the hanging kind that I previously had. This one is a good bit taller than my old one, and it was such a breeze to make - all you need is leftover packing tape, some batting and insulation boards. Easy peasy!


Another new addition is my pegboard, which is something I've always wanted in my sewing room! I painted it myself, albeit somewhat unevenly, but I love the color. It's also so nice to have a good place to store my rulers and cutters and things.


Going through my fabrics as I shelved them, I found a good number of things that I'll be destashing soon, so stay tuned for info on that. I'll likely do it through Instagram, but perhaps I'll post some items to my Pattern Shop as well for destashing.


The closet is quite possibly one of the best parts about the room. It goes under the stairs, so it's quite large, and actually fits all the things I want to fit in my closet, from my scraps to my patterns to my rolls of batting, and has room for more, so yay for that! It's also a great place to hide for hide and seek :)


And that's the studio in a nutshell - hope you enjoyed the quick tour! Happy sewing to you and happy Monday :)

18 comments:

  1. beautiful space! Congratulations!

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  2. Your new studio space looks AMAZING!!! Enjoy!

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  3. Very nice! You'll have SO much fun here!

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  4. It's beautiful! And I ordered that light kit within a minute of reading this post!!! I also want to do a peg board.

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  5. I love your quilting studio! How did you hang your wall quilts? It looks like there are small clips at the top. I am about to re-paint my sewing area, and want to hang wall quilts but I haven't figured out the best way. I'm not sure that I want a sleeve on the back of all the small quilts. Also, did you use a 4'x8' insulation board for your design wall? I like everything you did!

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  6. Hello Elizabeth! Your new studio is just beautiful! A fabulous working space! Enjoy creating there! :) x

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  7. Love your new studio! I will be moving this year too and I appreciate the inspiration and great ideas.

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  8. Nice job on the new studio! I love all your mini's! I often wondered what I would do with mine, should I ever make one... I could definitely see hanging some in my creative space. I'm swapping my daughter's room and my office/craft room within the next few months as she just really needs the space more than I do. (We have >1,000 sq ft.) While I will be downsizing, I plan to do a few things (like make my own pegboard!) to utilize vertical space to maximize storage. I'm also going to be getting rid of or putting items in totes that I just don't use any longer. (I used to be an avid stamper/card maker, but since I discovered quilting, I've lost interest.) Thanks for sharing your space to inspire us! :)

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  9. This looks great Elizabeth. It is such a good feeling to get everything into place.

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  10. Wow Elizabeth, this looks very inviting. I, like you, need my space to be organized. I feel my creative energy drain when there are piles around. And invariably, when there are and I need a tool, it isn't where I usually keep it and then I get distracted trying to find it. I am much more creative when my space is tidy and things are put away until I need to get them to use them. So your pictures make my heart sing! LOL

    I have a decent sized space but not enough wall space so my design wall is small. I will eventually need to address that but, for now, I'm working with a smaller one. I really envy your closet as having a place to keep things, out of sight AND easy to access is great.

    One question, I am looking at the LED lights and would appreciate knowing were you attached yours exactly, how far down on the left, towards the needle? So often, even when using the LED lights, there will still be shadows near the needle due to the threader, etc. Your picture show a large, unobstructed area so know where you attached them would be helpful.

    Thank you for sharing!
    Michelle
    in Seattle

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  11. Wow what a beautiful studio, enjoy it!

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  12. Inspiring. Im trying to sort out my studio currently because its been filled with stuff! Its getting there!

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  13. Ah sewing room envy! Looks like a great place to work. Mine has been chaotic for so long! Enjoy!

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  14. Wow, it is beautifully tidy and such a friendly nice space!

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  15. Your new space is wonderful, especially the new table. Does the Juki have a top drop-in bobbin, or do you have to lift the machine out of its next to change it? Thanks, Sandra

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    1. Hi there! The Juki has a side-loading bobbin, but it's quite a large space to load it in through, so I don't have any trouble loading the bobbin without moving the machine an inch. I only move the machine to take it with me to sewing events. Thanks for asking!

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  16. What a lovely new studio! We are getting ready to do a re-do on mine, and I gleaned some great ideas from you. Thanks for the interesting and fun post!

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Thank you for leaving a comment for me! I appreciate each and every one of them and try to respond when time allows. Your comments totally brighten my day :)


Welcome! I'm Elizabeth, mom to a mood teen boy and a chatty six-year-old girl and I sew for my sanity. Let's get to quilting, shall we?
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