More Studio Changes

Over the last few months there has been a lot of little changes in my quilting studio.  The first change was adding a table in front of my window.  We brought over one of my mom's sewing machines so that she could come and sew with me once a week.  It is a little crowded there, but so worth it!

The next change was replacing my sewing cabinet with a slightly larger one from my mom.  It barely fits on that wall with all the other furniture.  I have to pull out the cutting table if I want to close the top of the cabinet, but I love it.  

About the same time I got the new cabinet my 24 year old PFAFF 7570 died.  I kind of feel like I have lost an old friend.  It developed an electrical short that would speed up the machine randomly.  A new pedal didn't help.  It didn't feel safe to use it any more.  So I pulled out my back up machine.  It is a Bernina 440.  It was also once my mother's.  I bought it when she decided to upgrade to the Bernina 570.  While I miss the built in walking foot from my PFAFF, I am loving sewing with this machine now.  

The next change was removing the rainbow baby gate blocking off the play area.  Miss Kitty is much happier being able to play closer to me.  A happier daughter leads to extra sewing time for me.  She is also old enough to understand not to get into the sewing stuff.  It feels a lot more open without the gate.  

Then my sister asked me if I wanted the Frozen play castle.  After thinking about it for a couple weeks, I decided that it would be a nice addition to the play area.  

This frozen castle was once in my mother's basement.  Then she gave it to one of my sisters.  Once her daughter got to old for it, it was given to another one of my sisters.  Now that her daughter is too old for it my girls get to enjoy it.  

After sewing with my mom for a few weeks she decided to get rid of some of her older projects and some fabric.  She realized that she wouldn't be able to get to them and wanted to work on projects she would enjoy and finish.  This is what I brought home with me.  

I went through it all.  I separated some things to finish for my mom.  I put some things in a pile to donate.  And I piled everything else up nicely.  (My mom is so good to me.)

Then my sweet husband got me a new Kallax and some Drona cubes from Ikea.  Everything is stored neatly in there to avoid a cluttered studio.  

I love having such a versatile sewing space.  

XX,

Jasmine

From 2021 to 2022

 

I ended the year 2021 with a higher number of UFO's and WIP's than normal for me.  It was a crazy and busy year.  I guess that sometimes it was more fun for me to cut out a quilt and start a new one than to sit and piece what was already started. I'm okay with that.  (Especially because I have since finished all of them.)  I am just grateful I had quilting to keep me going even if I wasn't blogging.  

I cut out and pieced the blocks for this yellow ombre nine-patch in March 2021.

I cut out and laid out the blocks for my April bed quilt in April 2021.  

I cut out the pieces for these two rectangle quilts in August 2021.

I started piecing these improv log cabin blocks in December 2021.

And I started this jewel box quilt on commission before Christmas 2021.  (My first finish of 2022.)

I ended the year 2021 with one work in progress and five UFO's. It really isn't bad, but it is more scattered than I usually like to feel.  

I also ended the year 2021 with 13 personal quilts, 5 pillows, 4 friend and family quilts, 2 baby blankets, 2 drawstring bags, and 1 mini quilt all finished.  

I can already tell you that 2022 has been an even bigger year of finishes with more than double the number of personal quilts completed.  I still have a lot to blog about.  Thank you for taking the time to read my posts.  

XX,

Jasmine

Wanda's Peacock Quilt

My husband's aunt passed away in April 2021, and I wanted to make a quilt for his cousin Wanda.  Wanda's daughter told me that she loved peacocks.  I did some research and found out that peacocks come in more colors than I realized.  I based my fabric pull off of that research.    (I added the pink because it is her favorite color.)

All of the fabrics came from my stash and scraps.  Each fabric was cut into 4" by 10" rectangles for one of my favorite simple quilt patterns.  

By the way, Kitty was getting too big for the playpen and I changed up the play area of my studio. 

I pieced the quilt into columns and then a whole quilt top.  

Then I quilted it on the longarm.  

Loops in rows give such great texture.

I decided to add one heart to the quilting like I did on my niece's quilt.

It is bound in one of the teal fabrics from the quilt that matches the backing.

Here is the quilt right before we gifted it to her.  

I am so grateful for cousin Wanda.  She is loving and wonderful.  She even adopted our dog Oreo when we could no longer take care of him.  (He got way too jealous of Kitty.)  I hope this quilt brings her some comfort and helps her remember how loved she is.

XX,

Jasmine

Studio Changes

There was a period of time during 2020 that my husband's work-from-home-office was in part of my sewing room.  It was becoming harder for me to find time to quilt.  It turned out that even 20 feet apart the people he spoke with on the phone could hear my little sewing machine.  They said it sounded like a car running.  So after a time we moved his office to the guest room in the basement.  

I took over that corner for a play area for Bunny and moved the Tiara by my sewing machine.

The table in the corner made a great quilt fort.

The playpen moves around the room, but can hang out in front of the design wall/quilt display.  

My mom's AccuQuilt found a semi-permanant space in my cutting table.  I help her cut out most of her quilts so that works well for both of us.  

The rainbow tower by the window is my rainbow scrap storage.  It moves around the room as I need.

We have started calling the studio the Girls' Playroom. We all love to play in here.  

 It is also a great place to make a bed and rest.  

I'm so grateful I can keep quilting with the girls' company (and not disturb my husband when he is working from home).  

XX,

Jasmine

Organizing My Studio

My studio is one of the many things that has undergone some changes this year.  The picture above is what it looked like at the beginning of 2020.  The following are pictures taken at the same time moving around the room.

We got a pop up camper from Ikea for Miss Bunny to play in.  It is light enough that it moves around the room when I need to use the design wall. 

My sewing cabinet had moved closer to the window a couple years ago. 

Moving the sewing cabinet there opened up some more space in front of the Bernina Q24.

The Baby Lock Tiara and my laptop were near the door. 

The closet contained both scrapbooking and quilting items, and it was sometimes hard to walk to the end of it. 

After playing with scraps I decided to do some more organizing.  The following are changes made this year.  This is what it now looks like from the entrance.

Another Kallax unit replaced the old brown cubes which were damaged in our move. It now holds my quilting stash (the top four cubes) and my baby flannel stash (the bottom four cubes).

Here is what it looks like with the camper in front. 

I got some bins for a cleaner look at my cutting table.  My magazines, quilting books, tools, threads, and batting scraps are in my cutting table. 

My scraps are all in the Kallax unit which is closer to the window.  That is a Brabantia ironing board my husband surprised me with for Christmas a year ago.  It is the size C (49 x 18 inches).  It is very steady and I love it. 

Not much has changed over here by the Bernina.

The biggest change is over here.  My laptop space became a home office space for my husband.  He has been able to work from home frequently during quarantine times.  There is also a play pen for when Miss Kitty comes to the studio/office. 

Another change is that my closet is now mostly my scrapbooking stuff.  The walkway is also more open after organizing things. 

I like that my cardstock (which I accessed the most) is now more accessible.  It used to be on the bottom shelf of the shelves in the back of the closet.  

There is a hidden corner in the closet between the shelves and the Expedit unit.  I roll up my seasonal wall hangings and store them there.  It works very well.  There is probably about 20 quilts in the small corner. 

There wasn't a lot of big changes since the beginning of the year, but it feels nicer with even less clutter.

Thanks again for stopping by my freshly organized studio.  Click here to see how my studio has changed over time. 

XX,
Jasmine