Real Studio Tour

Vicki Welsh is hosting a tour of real quilt studios (not fancy decorated and staged ones like you see in magazines) on her blog, Field Trips in Fiber. I meant to participate in all the posts but I just couldn't get myself organized. The final day was Friday and I'm just now getting around to taking photos and writing a post!

My quilt studio is actually the living room of my tiny, two bedroom cottage. When my daughter moved out last year, I moved my longarm from my friend's living room to my own. (I have some very generous friends!) I have a 24" Nolting on a 14' table. The table is long enough to store three rolls of batting underneath. The other side has storage for scraps of fabric and batting, large pieces of fabric for backing and quilting tools.

To the right is the doorway to the rest of the house and my sewing area. I use a sew-ez table with a small folding table at a right angle for my work area. I usually keep the ironing board to the left of the table. Before I bought the longarm I used to quilt with this setup, only I slipped another table behind the machine for a larger work area.

To the right of my sewing machine is the "wall-o-fabric". From left to right is my stash in the first section, which is about 32" wide and 7' tall. The next small section is UFO storage above and more fabric storage below. This fabric is mostly large pieces and stripes for binding. The next section is more UFOs above and finished quilts below.

To the right of that is quilting books and a mix of customer quilts, my own unfinished tops and unfinished donation tops. I hope to make a dent in this section over the holidays. To the right of this is the front door.

On the opposite side of the room is my work table (currently a storage table) and my cutting table. Underneath is storage and the dog bed, so my dogs can be in the room with me but not underfoot. That's Boo in the bed. Roxy is afraid of the camera so she went to sleep somewhere else.

This is my design wall, which I can roll around the room. It's two pieces of rigid foam insulation, covered with flannel, and sandwiched around an Ikea clothes rack, tied together with zip ties. I don't have a permanent place to store it so I just roll it out of my way. I like how I can roll it right next to my sewing machine for putting together a quilt top. I got the idea from someone's blog. It might have even been Vicki's but I can't find the original link.

 

So that's my studio. This is the first time I've had a dedicated sewing space. I wish it were a little bigger sometimes. On the other hand, I would just fill up the extra room with stuff! In case you're wondering, the second bedroom is now the living room.

Design Wall Monday

This is the first Monday of two weeks of vacation from work! I should clarify that I'm on vacation from my day job. I will be working on customer quilts during the next two weeks. Here's what's on the wall today, the last corner of my latest quilt.

This is a photo I took a couple of days ago. I should have this finished today. Then I have to decide about the borders. It's about 85" square right now and I need it to be closer to 100" but I don't want to just slap on giant borders. I also need to think of a name for it!

For more design walls, visit Judy's blog at Patchworktimes.com.

Design Wall Monday



I worked on this quilt more over the holiday. These pictures don't really do it justice. Then I started a tree skirt for my daughter.

 



See more design walls on Judy's blog.

Design Wall Monday

This is the first new project in quite a while. I'm making this quilt for a friend who lost her home in a fire last year. The pattern is based on an antique quilt shown in the February 2013 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting. The original quilt was done in yellow and white. When I look at the photos, I see overlapping squares. I never do anything the easy way so I'll be making each square with different fabric.

Visit Judy's blog for more desigh walls.

Design Wall Monday

I haven't posted in a while. July through September is the busiest time of the year at my day job so I haven't been doing much quilting. I did finish this one though. It's a gift for my mother-in-law's sister, who celebrates her 90th birthday this month. I finished the blocks and put them together at the Ranch Hand's quilt retreat two weeks ago. The pattern is called Patches and Pinwheels and is from Bonnie Hunter's website, www.quiltville.com. Here a link to it.

And a closeup, to show the wonderful striped binding fabric I found for it.

I used wool batting and quilted it with Superior Omni thread in a pattern called Verdant. I have fallen in love with wool batting! I don't know how it's processed but it doesn't felt or beard. It's also light and fluffy, much lighter then cotton, which is great for large quilts.

I had a lot of big things happen in my life this summer, some great, some not so great. I cut my finger pretty bad with a rotary cutter, entered a quilt in my local fair and won Best of Show (large quilts), was in a car accident, my daughter got engaged, my dogs got skunked, and I went to Oregon to take a class with Bonnie Hunter! I will post more details later but I'll say now that my finger healed and I wasn't seriously injured in the accident.

Design Wall Monday

I haven't posted in a few weeks as there has been nothing new on the wall. I have been working on finishing quilts to show at the local fair which starts Wednesday. Last week I decided to take this week off and work on finishing some projects and cleaning up my quilt studio. It's so messy and distracting I can't concentrate on anything!

The first thing I worked on was finishing the Funky Wrench quilt. I first blogged about it here. I counted up all my cut pieces and realised I could make one large quilt or three baby quilts. The fabric seems better suited for baby quilts so this is the third and last pictured.

I really like this pattern but I changed the construction to make the blocks by quarters so I would have more design options. Since these quilts are a combination of donated fabrics and my own, I will keep one and donate the other two.

For more design walls, see Judy's blog at patchworktimes.com.

Design Wall Monday

Actually, it's the design floor today. I spent all day Saturday and half of Sunday putting my Easy Street blocks together. Then I made a quick trip to the LQS for border fabric. I'm doing a small orange border then a larger blue-violet border. My daughter talked me into showing this at the county fair this summer so I have to get it done. For more design walls, check out Judy's blog, www.patchworktimes.com.

Design Wall Monday

So I'm a day late. Better late than never! I didn't get very far on Easy Street at the retreat and it was the only thing I worked on. I do have all the blocks made and I only have to lay it out and sew the rows together. I'm thinking of a narrow orange border and a wider purple border. I will have to buy fabric as I don't have any pieces in my stash that are big enough.

Design Wall Monday...

coming to you from the Ranch Hands Retreat! I almost forgot it was Monday. I'm making Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery, Easy Street. I got the centers of all the blocks done, a small pile of four patches and cut up the purple geese. Tomorrow I will work on the piecing the geese and adding the outside edges of the blocks. Then on to the setting triangles and if all goes well, I will have the blocks set together before we leave for home on Thursday. Hopefully I have enough purple yardage at home for the borders.

Judy's UFO Parade

This is a long post, so you've been warned. Tomorrow, Judy of Patchwork Times is hosting a UFO Parade. It's a simple idea, link to a post of all your UFO's. Hopefully this will help me get motivated to finish some!

Jacks on Six

Needs to be quilted and bound. This is a pattern from Bonnie Hunter's website.

2006 Quilted Angel BOM

All the blocks are finished. I got stuck on the pieced setting triangles. Maybe I should draw them out in EQ now that I have learned how to use it.

2009 BOM

The top is finished, all it needs is custom quilting. Until recently, I didn't feel like I had the skill to do it justice. Maybe this year...

 

2010 BOM Drunkard's Path Variations

 

This was a BOM I created for my friends to help us get over our fear of curves. We ran out of steam about half way through. I want to finish it because I hand dyed fabric especially for it.

 

Antique Postage Stamp 

 I'm not sure I should count this one. It's an on going project. The squares finish at 1". It takes me about an hour to sew a 8 x 8 section and another hour for picking colors and prepping fabric.

 

Bali Stars

This is fussy cut 6-pointed stars made with batik sarongs my mother bought me in Bali. Just needs to be quilted and bound.

 

Buffalo Ridge

 

Needs to have the quilting ripped out and redone. Tension problems.

 

Buffalo Jewels

I liked the colors of Buffalo Ridge so much I decided to do it again with a few changes. I was ready to slap on some borders when my daughter said it deserved something better. So pieced borders it is. I just need an idea.....

 

Carpenter's Square (Green Quilt #5)

Needs borders and quilting.

 

Circles

I started this in Houston in 2007. I took a class called "Cure Curve Phobia". I was so excited about the class I bought the fabric at lunch and started this. After taking a Thom Atkins beading class I decided this should have beads. Needs to be quilted first.

 

Funky Wrench

I loved this pattern and had to try it. It might be finished. Maybe I should make a baby quilt out of it.

 

Giraffe

I made this in a Nancy Brown applique class. It needs to be hand quilted. I need to find someone to teach me.

 

Gordian Knot

I have three of these, all slightly different. Two have had the outline quilting finished. One needs to be fixed. The bands don't line up and it's obvious. Then I need to plan the rest of the quilting.

 

Grandmother's Flower Garden

Just needs a few more flowers and quilting.

 

Hand-dyed Log Cabin

I dyed the fabric in a class. The log cabin is one of Judy Martin's, with stars in the corner. After starting I realised that my 1/4" foot was actually making wider seams. So the stars don't match. I need to decide how to fix it.

 

Jan Sassaman Quilt

I made this in a workshop with Jane Sassaman. Do I want to finish it? I don't know. I'm going to think about it.

 

Kaffe's Arrowhead

I made a baby quilt with Anita Grossman Solomon's pattern "Anita's Arrowhead". I loved her instructions so much I started this. It's early Kaffe Fassett prints and shot cottons. The top is finished, just needs quilting. I want to get this quilted in time for the local quilt show in June.

 

Kaffe's Waffles

I made this with the leftover fabric from the above quilt. Needs quilting.

 

Keryn's Stars

I started this to use up 2 1/2" scraps.

 

Limelight

This is a pattern from one of Pat Speth's books. Some of the blocks are made.

 

Making Ends Meet II, civil war style

The top is finished just needs quilting. I actually had the back pinned on my longarm when I discovered that is was smaller than the top. Ugh!

 

Making Ends Meet I

This is on the longarm right now!

 

Millwheel (green quilt #7)

I have a lot of blocks made, just needs to be put together.

 

Minny Muu

A cute pattern I saw on the Happy Zombie blog. It's the same polka dot fabric as Funky Wrench.

 

Petaluma Quilt Guild Challenge 2011

Needs to be quilted and I think beading, too.

 

Scrappy Irish Chain II

The photo is not the actuall quilt but another I made with same pattern. I made this to practise feathered wreath quilting for another, larger quilt in the same pattern. Some of the quilting is finished. Then I took it off the logarm to work on something else.

 

Scrappy Irish Chain III

This is the quilt I need to practise feathered wreaths for. Then I discovered I made it too big. I need to remove two rows of blocks before quilting.

 

Star of Istanbul

This is a long-term project, my next show quilt hopefully. My goal is to have it finished by January 2015 for the SF quilt guild show.

 

Tiny Hexagons

These are 1/2". It's about the size of a candle mat. I am thinking of tying is since it's so small.

 

Twist and Twirl

Just needs the binding!

 

So that's all the personal projects I need to finish. This doesn't include the charity quilts (23) or customer quilts (5).

 







Design Wall Monday

I forgot today was Monday! This year we took Friday and Monday off for the president's birthdays instead of two Mondays. I've been working on the Minny Muu blocks today.

I finished several small quilts lately but haven't had the right conditions to photograph them. I'll post them as soon as I can get good pictures. There are more design walls over at Judy's blog.

Design Wall Monday/Day of Service

Here's a little quilt I made over the weekend from the leftovers of another quilt. I used up the extra units and pieces I had cut and only had to make 4 additional blocks. I still have yardage left but I'm going to give it away. I have made two 30's quilts and I just don't care for the style. So it's time to move on.

This afternoon, Tamara and I are having a day of service. Pictured are the kits we have been cutting, laid out on the longarm table. There are 14, plus 9 more that need cutting. We are making the quick strippie quilt from Mary Johnson's website. Each one only takes about an hour so we should be able to make a big dent.

Design Wall Monday

I was very busy this weekend! Here's what I made Saturday morning. I wanted to make a sample of this pattern from Happy Zombie, which can be found here. The block in the lower left corner is a test block from a pattern called Minny Muu, which can be found here and is also designed by Happy Zombie. I love the funky wrench! I am currently in love with positive/negative patterns. Minny Muu is also nice and I'll be making more of those. And I pulled fabric for Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street. I don't like mysteries so I wait until the reveal and then decide if I want to make it.

Over the winter break from school/work, I quilted 14 quilts, shown below. The four on the right are my own and the other 10 will be donated to the VOM children's home. Yesterday I trimmed them and started making the binding.

And here's some of the binding! I made the striped binding at the bottom from several scraps of fabric, none of which were large enough to bind a quilt. But put them all together and I had enough to finish four or five lap quilts. I won't have to make binding again for a while! Seven quilts are finished and four more have the binding sewn on, they just need to be turned and sewn down.