Machine Quilting and House Hunting

Well, starting two projects yesterday wasn’t enough for me. I started a 3rd one today. I got a pattern called Seattle Streets from another group I’m on and I’m working on one. It’s really more a method of making a stained glass quilt than a pattern. So far I've used almost 10 FQs. Not as much as I had hoped, but I may be able to make 2 quilts rather than one from the fabrics I pulled to use for the quilt.

I spent some time this morning reading Harriet Hargraves Heirloom Machine Quilting book. Given my little attempt at machine quilting yesterday I decided it was time to seriously consider teaching myself how to machine quilt. I ordered some monofilament thread and the book Needles & Threads & Bobbins, Oh, My! From Connecting Threads. I can't wait for the thread to arrive so I can practice some more. I have quite a few quilt tops ready for finishing and I don't want to tie all of them.




Bruce and I went to an Open House today on a condo near here. One of the best features of the condo is tons and tons of storage space. Every nook has some type of storage. The first picture is the room that would be my quilting studio The closet in this room is on the right and is about 4 ft deep. It has wire shelving in the back plus hanging space in the front.

The second picture is the living room. Notice the built-ins under the stairs. There is also a closet that goes under the stairs too. There is a built in across from the stairs that holds at least a 42 inch TV with a shelf above it for other electronics. The dining room is off the living room and has a skylight. The kitchen is just beyond the dining room.

The master bedroom suite is on the 3rd floor. There is a 1.5 bath and a large walk-in closet too. There is also a storage space along one wall.

When we were reading the listing package I noticed that the first owner had bought the condo from a man we rented our first condo from 5 years ago. His business is buying older homes and converting them into condos. This is actually the 2nd property in the last few months we have looked at the he has done. We are thinking of calling him to see what he has under renovation right now and seeing if we can work with him on a new condo. We know his work is good. We know we could save money. So why not?

Finally a Day in My Quilt Studio

Today was the first day I've been able to really spend time in my quilt studio quilting since I finished it in May. I started at 8 AM this morning working on a tote bag. The pattern is from the Better Homes and Garden Quilts and More magazine. I shopped my stash for the fabric. I'm using sewing notion fabric for nearly all of the bag.

This is also the first project I have machine quilted. I didn't mark the fabric. I just did a free hand grid. The results are OK. Not spectacular. But not too bad for the first time. Once I had the pieces quilted I didn't know how to proceed - should I use the quilting needle to put the pieces together or use a regular needle. I posted the question to a couple of quilt groups I belong to and got some answers. So perhaps I'll finish the tote bag tomorrow.

I also started and completed a table runner top. This is from a kit (one of the very few I have). I purchased the kit while on vacation in Oregon last summer. The colors will go great in my dining room. Tomorrow I will find some backing fabric. I have batting so I should be able to work on the runner tomorrow too.

In all I spent close to 10 hours in my quilt studio today. It was a heavenly day. I've been home alone most of the day. Bruce had offered to pick up Geoffrey and Tasha upon their return from their honeymoon so he was gone all afternoon. There was a Boston Red Sox game on TV to keep my company. Geoffrey and Tasha stopped by for a few minutes and shared some of their honeymoon memories. I took their pictures off their camera for them. Tasha's favorite character is Winnie-the-Pooh and she was so excited to have her picture taken with him. And yes, she wore the Minnie Bridal ears all week. She was still wearing it when they came to visit this afternoon.

I can't believe how much I enjoy having my own quilt studio. Being able to create and work in my own space is absolutely delicious. I didn't get stressed because I didn't have to worry about cleaning up at the end of the day. I can leave my projects out if I want to or put them away if I want to. I experienced a big sense of freedom being in my own space. I can't imagine ever having to work in the dining room again. I even have a temporary design wall. The mattresses we borrowed from my MIL for my parents are still here. Bruce propped them up against the wall in my studio. Tonight I have my projects pinned up on them. Has anyone ever used an old mattress or piece of foam for a design wall? How did it work?

The Wedding Is Over . . .

I think I’m almost recovered from The Wedding! Friday night it rained so we ended up having 35 people over to our house for the rehearsal dinner! Wow! I never thought we could have so many people in our place, but we did and it was fun! We set up the bar in the hallway, used my sewing table as a serving table and let people roam. Then the young adults and Bruce sat up and played poker and talked until about 3 AM.

Yesterday morning I treated my mom and DS #3’s girlfriend to the salon and we had our hair done. Then it was back to the apt to get ready for the afternoon wedding. The wedding was beautiful and the rain held off until we got to the reception hall. We had lots of fun eating, drinking and dancing. Then it was back to our house to wait for the limo to take Geoffrey and Tasha to their hotel. They opened their presents and we all started to relax.

This morning they flew to Orlando and are now in their room at the Beach Club at Disney World. I have told them not to call me again unless it is an emergency! They are on their honeymoon!

My brothers and nephew left early this morning. Brandon, Ellen and their friend Zak came for breakfast and then headed back to New York. My parents are here until Tuesday and then they will go home to Minnesota. It's been a great weekend but I can't wait to get my quilting studio back! Next weekend I am going to treat myself to a new project - I'm going to work on my Seattle Streets/New Hampshire Summer quilt.

Borders and Backings and Wedding Plans . . . Oh My

Geoffrey and Tasha's wedding is only 7 days away and I am still taking care of the final plans. One of the items on my list is to temporarily convert my quilt studio into a guest room. That means making it ready to accept a queen size bed. UGH! So in order to make that happen I decided to spend some time finishing borders and piecing backings for my growing stack of tops.

Today I accomplished that. I finished the borders on a new wall hanging I started two weeks ago. I finished the borders and pieced the backing for Mom's Kitties and my SIL's baby quilt. I pieced backings for my Pink Finity and Contrary Quarters Gone Awry. I would share pictures, but my quilt holder, AKA my husband, is in Atlanta until Tuesday and my design wall isn't complete yet.

After all that work I decided I could treat myself to a new project (or at least work on the plan). Laurie Biethan generously shared her Seattle Street pattern on Stashbusters and I pulled 11 fabrics to make the quilt. Some of the fabrics needed to be washed and they are just now ready to be ironed. I don't know if I will get any strips cut tonight. But I might get some cutting done before family starts to arrive on Wednesday.



I think I am going to use the dark green fabric for the "leading" instead of the black that Laurie used. I think I am going to call the quilt "Summertime". Is it too early to name the quilt? I don't know. Usually the name will come to me while I'm working on the quilt; but this time the name came to me while I was looking at the fabric laid out for the picture.

Will The Game Ever End????

I am a baseball fan and have been watching the Red Sox/White Sox game today. The game started at 2 PM. It is now 8:15 PM and they are starting the 20th inning! That's over 6 hours of playing time. During that time we were able to watch the World Cup Soccer final on another TV. Cook and eat dinner and relax a little. It's almost my Sunday night bed time (it's a bummer having to get up for work on Monday) and the game is still on . . . well, now it's over. The White Sox won. Not my team. But, hey the Red Sox still won 2 of the 3 games over the White Sox.

I did get some quilting done today. I worked on an orange, green and purple wall hanging. I got all 4 rows put together and 2 of the rows sewn together. I also worked on my hand quilting project for awhile. I'm still not completely consistent with my stitches so I still pull out and redo several stitches along the way. That's fine with me. I'm using this project as a "learn the techinque" project.

So far I've learned the following tips for hand quilting:
1. I thread 6 needles at a time on my spool of thread. That way I spend less time between threads.
2. My cheap needle threader is my new best friend - it's the best 60 cents I've spent in a long time.
3. It's easier to pull out stitches using the needle eye (and it doesn't damage the material)
4. Thimble-Its are better than regular thimbles any day.
5. You should always have a bright light next to you when quilting.

I'm still debating if using variegated thread while hand quilting a mini whole cloth is OK. In some places I like it, in some places I don't. I guess this debate will continue until I finish the project.

Mary wrote about Bloglines in one of her recent posts. I've been looking for a way to keep track of the blogs I read and I'm so glad she mentioned that site. I've entered all the blogs I read. Makes it so much easier to read the blogs. Thanks, Mary.
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Well, since the baseball is over and it's getting dark and Bruce is home from the golf course it's time for me to stop playing with fabric for the weekend and think about Monday morning at the office. It will be a long week this week. I have to train a new sales assistant, plus I have to start producing quaterly client reports. Whew! I get tired just thinking about it!

July 4th Update

I was able to finish the center motif on my mini whole cloth quilt this afternoon. For some reason I can't get the settings quite right on my camera so the picture is not the greatest. I took about 10 pictures and just couldn't get any of them what I wanted them to be. Anyway, I'm using yellow and blue variegated thread. I'm very pleased with how it is coming along. Now it's on to the borders.

Happy 4th of July

Happy July 4th Everyone! Our family is happy today because my Marine Colonel BIL is on his way home from Kabul, Afghanistan. He will be back in the US on Thursday. He has been gone since January and this is is his second tour over there. Hopefully he won't have to go back.

I am having a quiet day today. Bruce has left to visit a friend and I chose to stay home because I've been gone so much lately that a day alone sounds exquisite. Later I will walk to the butcher shop and pick up steak and the ingredients to make brownies for our dinner this evening.

I thought I'd share two pictures of a doll quilt I found while cleaning out my parent's home. My grandmother made this for me. It is a combination of hand quilting, applique and machine piecing. I'm saving it for my first granddaughter.





Last Saturday Tasha and I spent the day sewing while Geoffrey was having his bachelor party. She put together a quick baby quilt for my SIL who is having a baby girl in late August. I had the squares cut and Tasha put the design together. She is going to put one white border and one pink border on it. We bought some adorable pink fabric for the backing.



I started hand quilting the pre-printed mini whole cloth quilt I bought in May. I absolutely love hand quilting now that I have learned how to do it. I'm pleased with my progress so far on this project.



I hope everyone has a great day today wherever you are.

Finally Back Home

Here is a picture of my parents, my brothers and wives and Bruce and I taken at my niece's wedding while I was in Minnesota. From left to right: the youngest brother, Tom and his wife Linda; the oldest brother, Steve and his wife Ara (the parents of the bride); my mom and dad; the middle brother, Chuk and his wife Karlene and finally my husband Bruce and I.

I have returned home after my 2 weeks in Minnesota. My parents are moved into their new place and seem to be doing OK. I'm sure that moving from a 4-bedroom, split level ranch into 1,043 SF, 2-bedroom apartment is a drastic change. But I kept telling them to focus on the positives - no lawn work, no maintenance issues, heated covered parking, close to any shopping they could possibly want, etc.

Next big event is my son's wedding in 4 weeks. Tomorrow I will get to see him and get an update on how the plans are coming along and how many people have confirmed they are attending. I was thinking that we should do guest bags for the people coming from out-of-town for the wedding. Many of them have never been to New Hampshire so a little giftie would be a cool surprise to find in their hotel rooms.

To make this quilty, I took out the hand quilting I had started on my Ricky Tims Wall Hanging last summer. Since taking my hand quilting class I'm more confident that I could do a better job than I had been. I think I'm going to change the backing while I'm at it as well. Here is a picture of my class project from the hand quilting class. I absolutely fell in love with hand quilting. I don't know why I was ever afraid of doing it! Now I have the means to finish some of the UFOs I have laying around my studio instead of starting new ones and dream about finishing them with quilting and binding.

Help This Old Quilt

My mom found this old quilt among her Irish mother's items. This is the grandmother who taught me to quilt. I'm not sure how old it is. It is hand pieced and muslin was used for the foundation. I want to gently clean it and finish it.

Any suggestions on how to proceed?



Left and rights sides of quilt.



Back of quilt.


Thanks for your help.

Getting Ready for Vacation and Wedding Activities Start

I'm busy getting ready for vacation. This Friday morning I leave to visit my parents for a little over 2 weeks. This will be an emotional trip for me. My parents are moving out of the house they have lived in for nearly 50 years. Lots of memories and stuff to work through while I am there. The last day Bruce and I are there is the day they have rented the moving van. They are only moving about a mile away into some senior apartments.

I got my sewing table this past weekend. We picked it up Saturday morning, but we had to work in the office so I didn't get to open it and put it together until dinner time. I've been able to sneak a few moments of using it and so far I like it. I've been sewing on a bistro height table since I started quilting and it's really different using a regular size table. I put it perpendicular to the windows so I can work on 3 sides of it and there will be room for Tasha when she wants to come over and quilt with me.



The wedding activities for Geoffrey and Tasha started this past weekend. Tasha had her bridal shower. It was a Victorian Tea Gathering. All of us dressed up in pretty dresses and hats and had a grand time. Here is a picture of Tasha, her sister and some of her cousins. Tasha is sitting. Her sister is the one with the black boa.



I have reserved a city park for the groom's rehearsal dinner. We are going to have a BBQ and chili picnic with a small fireworks display afterwards. I won the fireworks at a charity auction and we are excited to add this fun touch to the weekend. We have also made the final payment on the honeymoon for the couple. They want to go to Disney World so that is where we are sending them.

It's time to head for work. Only 3 more days until vacation! Yay!!

I'm Almost Moved In!

Welcome to a tour of my quilt studio. I spent a lot of time moving in today. I'm hoping by next weekend I will be all moved in and maybe even get some sewing time in before I go on vacation. Let's start with behind the door. I hung an over the door towel rack on the door and hung some tops along with their backs on the rack. These are my immediate projects to either finish or send to the long arm quilter.



Moving clockwise around the room from the door is an open 9 foot wall. I think this is where my design wall will be set up. It's the largest open wall in the room and I need to keep it somewhat free of furniture so you can enter the room easily.



The next wall is the window wall. The room gets a lot of light nearly year round. I will probably put my sewing table along this wall. For now, my quilt rack is holding court between the windows.



This wall is about 8 feet long. Along this wall I have put my cutting and pressing table. The plastic cart currently holds all of my FQs neatly folded, but not necessarily sorted by color. The basket has some scraps that still need to be cut and put into my scrap cabinet. I may switch the plastic bin and the scrap cabinet as this is the corner most visible when the door is open.



My scrap cabinet is in the corner. On top I am displaying pincushions from a swap I was in and sewing doll I purchased at a quilt shop last summer. The top 6 drawers hold scraps and squares up to 6.5 inches. The 2 bottom drawers hold fabric pieces larger than a FQ and smaller than 1.5 yards. I was thinking about re-painting the cabinet, but now that room is painted I think I will keep it white.



The closet has been converted to a UFO, fabric and miscellaneous supply storage. I put 2 bookcases in there to hold some books and storage boxes. The plastic bins and the baskets on the shelf hold UFOs. Next to the picnic basket behind the curtain is my small stack of larger pieces of fabric.



Rather than buy a curtain for the closet I decided to use one of my large pieces of fabric folder over a tension rod. Why buy more fabric when I have plenty of fabric, plus it's easy to change it if I want to use the fabric for a quilt.



Miss Emily has been moved from the window wall to the shortest wall in room. There is room to open her up when I get her fixed. Today I used her as a printer stand so I could caught up on some printing I needed to do.



I'm so happy to have my own studio. I can't wait to get all moved in! I'm sure Bruce can't wait either so we can have a dining room again!

My Studio is Painted

Early morning found the room ready to be painted. It was very easy to say goodbye to the white walls. Here are two before pictures of the room.




What a difference now! Bruce and I spent a total of 5 hours painting the room. The color is "Manila". Think manila file folder with just a touch of yellow. I love the final look of the walls. The closet picture shows the color much better.





I started moving in tonight, but still have more to do. Come back tomorrow for more pictures!

The Painting Begins and Frustration Sets In

I didn’t get much painting done in my studio today. I finished 1 of 2 window trimmings. DH did some priming. We had a birthday party for our 4 year old nephew. Then it was home for a nap. I spent time folding my large pieces of fabric (I’ve already finished refolding and organizing my FQs).

I started to become frustrated with the amount of fabric and UFOs I kept uncovering. I was becoming paralyzed trying to figure out where I am going to put everything I keep finding. After about 45 minutes of trying to solve my dilemma on my own I finally asked DH for some help. We talked about buying another piece of storage furniture without reaching a conclusion. I decided to start working through my Ziploc bags of UFOs, thinking I could convince myself to get rid of some of them.

The first bag I picked was the first quilt I started working on when I started quilting 18 months ago. It was half put together and not done very well. I sorted out the pieces that were still usable and put them in my scrap cart. There was some large pieces of fabric that I folded and put away. I threw away the started quilt. I know there is no way I would have ever finished it and it was pretty bad. But I did feel a small weight lifted and I worked through a few more UFO bags. I didn’t throw any other projects away, but it feels good just to reorganize a few UFOs. I still have some bags left, but will finish working through the rest of the UFO bags sometime this weekend.

While eating dinner I realized I had forgotten about the space on the closet shelf to store projects. What a relief! Now I needed to find a storage box or two that could go on the closet shelf. So I spent some time surfing the internet looking at storage boxes. Then I had an AHA moment. I have two fabric lined picnic baskets that will hold my UFOs, are much better looking than more plastic bins and will fit nicely on the closet shelf. One of them was already holding fabric. The other one currently holds some crochet projects that are going to get passed on to someone else.

Tomorrow will be spent painting all day. Then I start putting the studio together. I am still waiting for my work table to arrive. It should come this week. Then I will need to stain my two tables, but that probably won't be done until August. I also need to decide on curtains for the windows and finish a roww robin that I am going to use for a closet "door" since there is no door on the closet now.

Graduation Day - May 20, 2006

No quilting done this weekend. I've been traveling from Dover, NH to Poughkeepsie NY and back!



That's my youngest son Brandon. He graduated from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY yesterday. It's hard to believe my baby is now ready to enter the working world - if he can find a job. His degree is in Political Science and he wants to find working on a political campaign. Hopefully it won't take him long to find one.

He is dating a wonderful young woman, Ellen. She also graduated from college last week. Her degree is in French and she is in dancer. I don't know much about her, but I do think she is good match for Brandon.



Of course, what's a graduation without a picture with your mom?



My boys are becoming great young men and I'm so proud of them. In this picture you see Tasha, my FDIL, Geoffrey, son #2, Brandon, son #3 and his girlfriend Ellen. What an terrific group of young adults. All of them are ready to take on the world!



The party is over for now. This coming week will be spent making final preparations for next weekend - finishing my quilt studio!

Thoughts on Labels & Quilt Journals

Labels – I’ve only finished two quilts in my 18 months of quilting (that WAAAAAY bad, I know) and I didn’t put a label on either of them. For the quilt I made for a friend of mine I did write out a special card for the mom and she has put the card along with a picture of the quilt in her baby’s journal. The other quilt I finished was my All Stars Quilt for DH. Know real reason why I didn’t put a label on it, I just never did. I will put labels on the quilts I make, once I start finishing more of them.

Quilt Journal – I have an 9 X 12 journal that I’ve converted to a quilt journal. When I start a new project, or thinking about a new project, I start a page for the quilt. At the top of the page I put the name of the project and the date I started the project. I include who or why the quilt is being made. The rest of the page is filled with my notes about the project – what blocks I used, calculations for making the blocks, doodles and diagrams of the project and even some comments about my progress. For example I took an afternoon planning the Ohio Star Blocks for last summer’s Challenge only to decide to use a different design and that comment appears on both pages for my blocks.

I only use this book when I don’t have a printed pattern I’m following. When I sew one of Dorothy’s mystery quilts I make notes all over the margins of the pattern instead of in the journal. I keep all of those patterns in a 3 ring binder.

I’ve also started using Excel to do some design work and haven’t transferred any of that work onto paper yet to put into a binder.

As for pictures all of them are still in my I-Photo program on my computer. I haven’t printed any of them out yet.

I’m also in the process of creating a database for recording UFOs. While I like the ability to “play” with my UFOs on the computer I’m trying to decide if I should print out the form I’ve created and make my own journal or just take the time to write them all in my journal.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

We've been having rain for several days here in New England. Between yesterday and today we have gotten about 5 - 7 inches of rain. Several low lying areas are flooded and the rain continues to fall! Mother's Day has been good to me. Bruce gave me a gorgeous card and tickets to see the Beach Boys on Cape Cod this summer. Geoffrey is here for a little while, but won't stay long. Roads are starting to flood around here and I told him he should get home.

I've spent some time in my studio this morning organizing my fabric and UFOs today. I've refolded most of the FQs and those pieces smaller than an FQ have been cut into scraps. I've also washed all the border and backing fabrics I've bought recently. Once I get my sewing table I'll be able to finish borders and sandwiching and, maybe, I'll even do some machine quilting. I still have a long way to go to get the studio in shape, but every little piece helps.

Yesterday two friends and I braved the rain and went on a Shop Hop. Because of the rain we were only able to get to 7 of the 9 shops. That's OK with me, I still managed to make a significant dent in my wallet while finding fabrics to finish quilts and enhancing my stash some. My goal on the Shop Hop was to find some purples and greens for a log cabin wall hanging I want to make for Geoffrey and Tasha. I need to find 6 shades of each color. I was able to find some of each color.



I was also on the lookout for backing fabric for Tasha's quilt and was lucky enough to find it. I also bumped into the fabric I want for the backing on my Pink Finity Quilt. Two significant purchases, but I'll be able to finish a quilt and Tasha will be able to get hers done.



Everything else I bought was fun stuff. We stopped at the New England Museum because they were having a sale and were between two of the shops. I picked out 3 FQs just because I like them.



This collection of Fusion FQs was hanging from a hook on the ceiling and caught my eye while I getting the pink backing cut and I couldn't resist. My stash was low on reds and pinks so these are nice addition.



I've been thinking about getting a Grace lap hoop and according to their web site one of the shops on the shop hop was supposed to carry it. Unfortunately she didn't have a hoop in stock, but I did find this pre-printed mini wholecloth quilt and thought it would be a great way to practice hand quilting. The picture is tough to see, but it's tulips. The owner chose the thread for me. It's a variegated blue and yellow. I'm anxious to get started on this project. It will be a good one to bring to Minnesota on vacation next month. I also found the cute LOVE panel in the same store.




My last purchase of the day was a total compulsive purchase. Although we had been collecting mystery quilt clues all day and Mavie and Veronica had been looking at the quilt kits at every shop I hadn't paid one bit attention to the directions or the kit. At the last store the kits caught my eye and couldn't resist. The assortment of colors and fabrics were incredible. I probably won't make the quilt but I did get 18 FQs, and 5 cuts of fabric ranging from 1/2 yard to 2 3/8 yard. Susan, the owner of the store, even let me borrow a Janome Stitch in the Ditch foot to try it out. Isn't she cool?



I think I'm done with fabric shopping for a while. My family social calendar is booked every weekend from now until the end of July so quilting time will be limited. Oh well, that's what happens when sons grow up and move on to new adventures in their lives.

Renovation - Day Two

I woke up early this morning and took advantage of the time. I vacuumed the studio twice from corner to corner, and that included emptying the canister between rounds. Then I proceeded to put my plan in place. First into the room was the bookcases. I need to keep the cable modem and Airport working. I will use it to store some quilt books when the room is complete. The boxes on the third shelf currently hold my thread supply and tons and tons of hand needles that I didn't realize I had so many packages hiding in my notions box. Bruce got a portable DVD player for Christmas and hadn't taken it out of the box yet. He suggested I put it on top of the bookcase so I could pop in a DVD or CD when I am quilting.



Miss Emily was the next item to come into the room. She looks lovely in her spot. Now I need to call the sewing machine repair man to see if he makes house calls so I can use her properly.



I had purchased this cabinet when I was in my painting and drawing phase to hold my art tools. When I was done with that Bruce started using it as a tall night stand. I mentioned to him that I would like to have it back for storing fabric. He said that was a good idea. I am going to use it to store scraps. First drawer is for scraps smaller then 2.5 inches. 2nd drawer - 2.5 inch scraps. 3rd drawer - 3 and 3.5 inch scraps. 4th drawer - 4 and 4.5 inch scraps. You get the idea for the 5th and 6th drawers. I haven't decided if the 2 large drawers will hold current projects or fat quarters. In case you're wondering I painted this cabinet myself and it has the words: imagine, believe, hope, dream and wish stenciled on it.



We went to Home Depot today to find a piece of wood for making a Big Board sewing board for the top of my cutting/pressing table. We were able to find a 24 X 38 inch piece. We couldn't find any styrofoam board for a design wall. All they had was 1.5 inch pink insulation, so we didn't get that. Then we went to the furniture store to pick up my cutting table. When Bruce saw it, he asked me why I just don't make the top of the table the way I want it for ironing. Since the table is unfinished I wouldn't have to finish it and then worry about the Big Board scratching it. So the plywood will go back to Home Depot later this week. I need to get the batting and flannel so I can finish the table. But for now, it is ready for cutting.



Since Geoffrey didn't pick up his clothes that are still hanging in the closet I didn't get a chance to start working on putting away my UFOs and stash. That will probably happen bit by bit over the next week or so. I did start sorting through some of them today, but didn't make much progress.

Let The Renovation Begin!

Geoffrey has officially moved out and into his first apartment. That means I will now have a quilt studio. I think my copy of Lois Hallock's book, "Creating Your Perfect Quilting Space", is getting a little worn out.

Last night, while Geoffrey was helping Tasha pack up her stuff, I took a picture of his room. It looks like a typical teenager's room even though he is now 23.



Today they were able to move all of Tasha's stuff and get 98% of Geoffrey's stuff. The room is almost ready for me. Here is what I am planning. Along this wall will be a small table to hold the Router and Airport for the computers. Also a small futon will eventually find it's way here. Miss Emily, my 1918 Singer Treadle Sewing Machine, will go between the windows.



I have ordered a 36" X 60" table to use as a sewing table. It is going along this wall. When Tasha comes over to sew I will turn the table perpendicular to the wall so we can both work on it.



I am going to convert the closet to my Stash/UFO storage. Since there is no door I am going to make a curtain to cover the opening. Along this wall will be the cutting/pressing station. I have purchased a bistro height table that is 30" X 48" and matches the sewing table. The wall behind the cutting table will be my design wall.



We will be painting the room over the Memorial Day Weekend. We moved into the condo 3 years ago and still haven't painted the pre-primed walls in this room. We have the paint and I think it is a light yellow color.

It's early evening and I'm tired. Bruce is out with a friend who is visiting from out of town and I'm home alone. I'm going to watch some of the Red Sox game, take a warm shower and go to bed. Stay tuned for my progress on creating my quilting studio!