Reorganized Studio

The last six weeks have been busy as, in addition to making the baby quilt I showed you in the last post, I have been working on reorganizing the studio. I resolved the question of fat quarter storage with paper covered boxes and Terry Atkinson's folding method shown on Sewing with Nancy. I'm quite pleased with the result. Thanks to all who offered suggestions.

Since that side of the room needed to be reorganized, a few changes also had to occur elsewhere. I cleared one of my worktables to use for working on dolls and other small projects . . .

 

 

I also added a rolling cart for doll-making supplies which meant I had to move the file cabinet and beading supplies next to the sewing table . . .

 



Obviously, there is still tweaking to be done, but the studio is much more work friendly. My supplies are all organized; I have a much better idea of what I have available; and I'm loving the expansion to the floor space, since it is a small room. I did end up keeping some bins, but they now hold WIPs (Works in Progress) and specialty fabrics (primarily recycled pieces).

One of the things that all this reorganization reminded me of was the post I wrote on Hopes vs. Goals last year. While there are still things I feel I haven't made enough progress on, I did complete or make progress on quite a few. That, in turn, made it clear that  making that kind of a list is a great help, not only in identifying what one wants to concentrate on in a given period, but also as a check in the future to identify how close one has come to one's hopes.

I find that I have also been inspired by the work of one of my friends. She has been working on building up a business over the last few years. She created the little box on the left of the bookcases.

You can find more of her work at Cross Stitch Treasures by CanvasFun. She has a wonderful eye for design and some interesting ideas. I hope you will check out her shop.

Until next time, I hope you will make progress on your hopes and that you enjoy peace and all good.

Snow and Winter Activities

Just like much of the northern section of the county, we were visited by the heavy snow the last couple of days. While we did not get the kind of accumulation that has been hitting the northeast this winter, our area did receive around half a foot of snow (somewhere between 5" and 8" according to the National Weather Service).

 

This is how the snow looked yesterday afternoon.

 

 

This is how it looked earlier this morning. While we had been well below the average snowfall for the season, this event brought our area up to within an inch or so of normal accumulation. It is extremely odd to have it so late and that fact broke a record set back in 1931 for the heaviest snowfall in March.

 

Of course, this is just the kind of weather that makes many of us (myself included) want to stay inside, enjoy the view, and do other things. I have finally gotten back to organizing the studio, again. This past month, I have been unable to work on that because I was working on this:

 

This baby quilt proves the adage about getting fabric when you see it. The bug fabric in the pinwheels was purchased at the first Chicago International Quilt Show. At the time, I had no idea how I would use it, but I did know I had to buy it. When my niece and her husband asked for "bright colors" for their first baby, I knew why.

The pattern is an adaptation of a Project Linus quilt from "Quiltmaker" magazine, called "Hopes & Dreams." I adjusted the size of the block to 7" and changed the direction in order to make the pinwheels. The quilt worked out to a 40" square.

I hope you enjoy.

Until next time, I wish you peace and all good.