Studio Tour

Most of you know that we have moved from Charleston, SC to Hendersonville, NC. I am VERY glad to be here but, amongst other things, I left behind a WONDERFUL studio. My husband had it configured especially for me and my quilting when we remodelled the house we bought from his mother.

The house we are currently living in is less than ideal for many reasons (and this may not be our final stop) and I would put my studio into that category also. However, it works and, truthfully, is better than many I've seen. So I'm not complaining--I'm just trying to make it work as well as possible and I thought I'd share a few pictures so those of you who have seen my old studio can kind of have an image of where I am now (and those of you who've never seen my studio can also have a look!).

In my Charleston studio, I had a wonderful work table comprised of 10 cabinets and a custom top. The first thing we came to terms with when we were trying to move was that we were just going to have to throw away the top as it wasn't going to hold up to the move. And the other thing we realized was that not all of the cabinets were going to fit into the new space. Only six will work--but I'm really enjoying them and being able to put away things. Smokey made a "temporary" plywood top (we all know how "temporary" often becomes "permanent"!) and it is working great. And you can see some of my fabric in the background.

And here is some more of my fabric and shelving. We got these shelves at Lowe's several years ago and would liked to have gotten more but they seemed to have discontinued the white version. They have been really sturdy and have held up to a couple of moves.

And here on the right is my computer station. I am sort of "camping out" for now and will bring my "real" desk up after our house sells. It's kind of a thrill to use the printer as the little table it's sitting on shakes, rattles and rolls when it starts to print!

And, finally, here are two shots of my sewing area. I have another sewing cabinet that will be brought up in one of our many trailor load trips. I'm in the middle of quilting the quilt that I pieced at out TTT retreat this year and the shot on the right shows my "puddling" method. I like to quilt with a lot of flat space around the machine so that it doesn't pull on the stitching as I'm quilting.

And for those of you who may have sharp eyes and have noticed the machine I'm using, yes, I DO have the new Bernina--and am loving it. I was able to get it because we just settled my mother-in-law's estate and I think of it as my present from her. She gave me my very first sewing machine the first year Smokey and I were married and I know that she would be glad that I used some of her bequest to get this. She was always so proud of my quilting and made quite a point of letting the ladies at the retirement home see pictures of my work. I'm naming the machine "Miss Susie" because that's what her husband called her.

One final picture: This is my working drawing of my next project. I'm beginning to pick out the fabric and am just about ready to get going on it. I know you can't tell a lot from this picture but, hopefully, you'll see something a little more "colorful" in the near future.