My New Sewing Studio!!

My pattern cabinets that I painted blue. They hold so much stuff.




I love this corner!


Cutting table #1



Cutting table #2



My sewing tin collection.


I love these plastic drawers for all the sewing feet, tools and little things that we sewers need. They are all labeled and it is so easy to find things.



This is the foyer closet right outside the studio. I use this shoe holder to organize my scraps by color.


Ta Da! I'm finally unveiling my new studio. I need to make this post short because a good friend is coming to town to spend a few days sewing with me. I am so blessed to have such a nice room to work. I will be working on gifts for my girls and helping my friend make a tote back for her little dog.

The studio is what was the formal living room, which we would have never used. I am so lucky to have two full sized cutting tables. I really found I needed more cutting table space than sewing table space. I have a Grand Quilter that I use when I quilt, an embroidery machine and a serger. I also have about 10 computerized Brother machines that I use for my students. They are all alike and it makes teaching easier. I hope you enjoying seeing my favorite room in the house. I am off to sew.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Oh...and my knee is much better. Yay!

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

More Hand Quilting and a Busted Knee

Here is the matching quilt for my Rooster quilt. Normally, I would be happy that I have had time to hand quilt, however, the reason I could get this quilted is that my knee went out on me Monday afternoon. It is a reacurring injury and it came back at a terrible time. Monday I woke up early (I wake up early all the time now, because George has to go into his new job early)I cleaned the house from top to bottom, grocery shopped with the very "talkative" eight year old in tow, completed the paper work to join the local homeschool support group and made beef stew and cornbread...all by 3:00 in the afternoon. Silly me, reported my extremely productive day to my friends on Facebook. A friend of mine actually made a comment about my blue stretchy suit with the big red S on my chest. I was feeling kind of super womanish...til I was putting the stew on the table a dinner and all of the sudden, that excruciating pain shot through my knee and I knew I was done. I have been in bed every since. I tried to walk a little on Tuesday and it was the same painful experience. So, I have been following my hubby's instructions and have stayed in bed. This "bed sentence" is particularly difficult since I have a good friend traveling four hours to spend the weekend with me. I am going to help her re-learn how to sew. She was so helpful during our move and I wanted everything to be special for her. We really can't postpone the trip because she and her husband are missionaries in Astonia and she is only in Florida on furlough. I haven't even told her about my knee. I am just praying that it miraculously mends in time. They are coming tomorrow and I will be giving orders to my girls from bed today. I need some things from the store, so I may venture out and have them push me in a wheel chair. Doesn't that sound like an adventure?? I will let you know how it all turns out. In the mean time, please pray for quick healing of my knee.

Happy Sewing!
Susan

Some Easy Hand Quilting

As I have been unpacking and organizing my stash, I am really finding some goodies. I have lots of empty walls in our new house that need something on them. My stash is really going to help me out with that problem. I found this Rooster cheater panel and a matching Sunflower panel that will look perfect on my kitchen all. I decided to hand quilt them. Hand quilting is so relaxing. I love hand work. Since I didn't have to spend time piecing them, I am doing a little extra quilting. It has been sew fun.

I only have about 6 more boxes to unpack to have my studio put together. I can't wait to show you. It is just gorgeous.I have a girl friend coming to town this weekend and I am going to help her make a doggie bag...a bag to carry her tiny dog in. Lori, helped us pack for our move and I really want to spoil her when she comes. I am getting the studio all ready and we are going to sew to our heart's content. She is bringing her youngest son and I have alreay recruited my daughter's to keep him busy playing so his mom and I can sew. While she works on her doggie bag, I need to get busy with Christmas gifts. I will try to make all the girls and George a new pair of flanel pjs. I found lots of flannel in my stash. I just love being able to 'shop' from my own studio.




My mail is finally getting transerred from the old house and I received the newest issue of Quick Quilts today. I am so excited to have some eye candy to look at tonight.

Good night and Happy sewing!
Susan

My Christmas List is Growing!

This is the time of the year, we are telling our girls to make Christmas lists. Things are going to be tight and I am hoping that I can make them a lot of things from my stash. George and I have had a lot of expenses with moving and such, so we will be worrying about the kids and not ourselves. However, I am starting to wish there was a Santa. I really want a Accuquilt Go Cutter.

My next obsession is the Australian embroidery/quilting patterns that I see on so many quilting blogs.I especially like Homespun magazine. I love it.


There are certainly lots of great 'toys' for us sewing/quilting fans. My list is growing everyday. What's on your list?

Happy Sewing and Christmas planning, my friends!
Susan

What a Cool Day

I am almost finished unpacking and setting up my new studio. While going through my fabric, I have found lots of projects that I can't wait to start. I found two small cheater quilt panels, one with a Rooster and one with Sunflowers. They will fit perfectly on an empty wall in my kitchen. So, I decided to take a break and I began quilting the Rooster quilt. I also found some pre-printed cross stitch squares that I had gotten for my daughters to work on. I got Rachel, Rebecca and Hannah, my 12 year old twins and my eleven year old daughters started cross stitching their squares. It was really cool watching the three of them sit at the table and cross stitch. I also gave my 8 year old a new big box of fabric and it is now her private stash and she can use it whenever she wants. While the three girls were cross stitching and I was quilting, the eight year old was hand sewing Barbie clothes. In case you are counting, that is four daughters and I have five. Number five, the oldest daughter was in her room working on her novel. She is participating in a novel writing month 'thing'. I am very proud of all my girls.

A Sneak Peak of My New Studio

As I mentioned in an earlier post. We have moved into our new house, in our new town. We decided that I should set up my studio in the front formal dining room. It just made sense because we don't have furniture for that room and we didn't think the room would get used much as a living room. We had planned to use the back porch that was glassed in with all windows, until we found out that the 'glass' was actually 'plastic'. Now we will use that room as overflow entertaining space (that is when I unpack all the boxes that are out there).

I have been folding fabric all weekend. I decided to store my favorite fabric out where I can see it so that I will be inspired. Each piece of fabric on this particular shelf was purchased with a certain project in mind. I have loved seeing it all again. I can't wait to finish the room and get back to sewing. I was amazed at how much fabric I got on this shelf. I wish I knew how many yards it is. And of course, this is not all of it. My new husband is freaking out about it all, so I need to get to making it all into something as soon as possible. Well, enjoy the sneak peak. I will be back with more progress reports soon.

P.S. I did finish reading the "Quilter's Apprentice" and I loved it. I went to the library today and checked out "The Christmas Quilt". I am going to do my best to find time to read it.

Goodbye for now, my dear friends and Happy Sewing!!
Susan