Ann's other spot......Sewing room

My sewing room is finally in working order and look no clutter......not yet......and a whole closet full of safe spots.  Just because its unpacked doesn't mean I know where everything is.  I'm still looking for my sewing machine oil.  I packed it in a safe spot,  its in a little plastic bag somewhere safe because of course I would put an oily can of oil and a plastic bottle of oil in a plastic sealable bag before putting it in another tin or plastic box and then into a packing box with lots of paper but I haven't found it yet.  Its a little too tidy right now I feel like a guest, just give me an afternoon with the rotary cutter.  After all creativity is not a neat process.  --Ann--

Afterimage

 This quilt has been sitting for weeks as I pondered how to quilt it. I wanted to do circles to accentuate the curves in the piecing but I didn't have a half circle template the right size. My big pizza pan was the right measurement but  just too big to work around. Try centering a pan on the block then hold it and move the quilt and  pan under the needle. I thought I could make a template by tracing around a platter onto form core board but I knew my cut wouldn't be smooth so to clear my head I went for a walk after weeks of being lazy and it hit me like a big wet snowflake in the center of my forehead to use the templates that I used for cutting the block parts. The big triangle template with the concave and convex sides is perfect. I have to be careful not to let it get under the presser foot but it works and it is a nice size to move around the circle. And works for the inside circle too. The solutions I find to everyday problems when I go for a walk! The next problem was the template was too small to extend the circle into the border. I could only stitch 1/8 of the circle at a time and no blocks parts to guide me. I pulled out my old fashioned and most accurate easy to make and use compass. Then made a new one. This was how Grandma and Great Grandma marked their baptist fans for quilting. I used cover weight paper, I folded a 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch wide strip in half then put a pin hole at least 1/4 inch from the edge to put a pin through at the center of the circle then I punch a small hole a generous 1/4 inch from the outside of the circle for my chalk pencil then hold the pin end and swing a half circle with the chalk. Easy, accurate, cheap. Back to quilting I'm on circle 75 of 144. --Ann-- click to see design process

sewing room tour

A sewing room tour! What a wonderful idea! thank you to Ellison Lane for hosting the Studio Tour.

My sewing room looking south is my fabric stash behind door number 1 or door number 2? or door number 3? looking north at my design wall. The design wall is 2 sheets of foam insulation each 4 feet by 8 feet covered with flannel and nailed to the wall.

 Door number 3 because it is close to my cutting mat. The table is my old kitchen table with an 18 inch leaf in it. The step stool was my Grandma Selma's and I sit on it to cut strips and pieces.

 The stacks of fabric are mostly folded into fat quarter fourths and are 2 deep and 6 across. They are sorted by color and theme to a point. The upper left is hand dyes and batiks then background fabrics in small yardages then background fabrics in longer pieces. Some of the piles in the center are bits from current projects that I haven't refolded and sorted.

 

 I keep my rulers on nails behind the door. My old Elna and very best friend (of 36 years and no complaints) is sitting on a stack of magazines at the moment while I do machine quilting. I needed her small table to the left of my cutting table to support the quilt and hold the tray of tools. When I am in piecing mode and want to sew fast my elna sits in front of my sweet 16.

Thread and tools more books and magazines under the quilt.

I wheel my chair around to work here when it is not a catch all space. The little wooden drawers were made for my  Grandma Selma by her grandfather in Sweden. She got it from an aunt of hers when she went to Sweden in the 1950's.  The high chair with the basket on top was my Grandma Elsie's. The steps come out and make wonderful shelves. This is where I sketch, design and figure, write letters and scrapbook. It is good to have a  place to work and play with all my tools in easy reach. --Ann--

machine quilting

Its been a week of machine quilting so far over 45,000 stitches, I love the stitch counter on my machine and I'm only about halfway through. I'm using the acrylic rulers and templets for the first time. The half circle templets make swinging arcs so much easier and accurate. I used the straight edge for the straight lines around the dark circle of log cabin blocks. Rather than go around 8 times I went back and forth in each quadrant so I wouldn't have to maneuver the quilt so much but also so I wouldn't have pull lines. I tried using a ruler to keep my echo lines in the fan background equal distance but quickly learned I was much better at eyeballing it. I free motioned the loops in the fans. I'm very pleased with it so far and might even finish this weekend. Happy Quilting--Ann-- linking to FMQ Friday

Sewing room arranged Let's Play

 I managed to find a happy place for everyone in my sewing room. Sweet 16 is where Elna used to sit, I took the leaf out of the table to make a new spot for her. Now the Bernina drawers do double duty for both machines. It is easier to move chairs around than machines because my first thought was to put Elna in the Bernina table when I wanted to use her. I think this arrangement will work very nicely.

The new challenge in the sewing room is to keep this table for writing and sketching instead of a catch all. In the process of making room and tidying up I found all kinds dumb thing I unwittingly collect.......shopping bags especially if they have an interesting logo....I might use it for a project bag......small plastic containers, small glass jars and little cardboard boxes which are all very handy for little things in the sewing room, and postage stamps!?! why? because they are pretty and my mother did.
New Rules for the sewing room
1. I can't put anything new in the closets unless I get rid of something of equal size or greater. The key word there is new. Old stuff can go in and out.
2. Stop collecting bags, jars, boxes and small plastic containers unless it is really really unique or I know exactly what to put in it.
3. Buy fabric only for specific current projects or I absolutely can't live without it. I've never stopped breathing or had heart palpitations after leaving a fabric store with a small bag rather than a large bag.

I have been practicing with my Sweet 16. She sews so smooth and nice and all the space!!!!!! I have just been trying a variety of things on this quilt; echo quilting, grids, loops, arcs, and outlining and unfortunately the pastel thread does not show up on a pastel quilt. Let me sew, let me sew, let me sew and if it snows that's ok too.--Ann--

scissors

 Hubby dearest ventured into my sewing room on a weekend too windy or rainy for him to fish just to see what I was doing and commented on how many scissors I have. He always has to pick them up and snip snip just to get a rise out of me. I am very protective of my scissors.  He should be glad otherwise he would be buying me a new pair of really good scissors every 2 or 3 years, probably without his knowledge.  I have craft scissors in the jar and sewing scissors in the mug and at various work stations in my sewing room.
 The black handle scissors at 2:00 were my first very own sewing scissors that I got when I was 11 or 12 years old; they were a 4-H clothing project award. They served me well but are now relegated to the craft jar.  He wanted to take my spring loaded clippers at 11:00 for cutting the gills of the fish.  He said he would give them back after the fishing trip fortunately they are a little short for his purpose.
 I have project scissors for hand quilting, applique, needlepoint, and cross stitch, I'm sure there are some tucked away in long forgotten project bags.
Then there are craft and kitchen scissors, the scissors on the bottom will cut through bone.  Hubby dearest only saw a fraction of my scissors and that is probably best. I should look for a larger spring loaded scissors for Father's Day. For every scissors there is a purpose.
How many times did I type the word scissors?   Ann

Have you tried these

 Have you tried these clips from Clover?  They are perfect for clothesline coil baskets!  I can clip the new strip of fabric to the cord to get started wrapping and fold and clip the rest of the strip into a manageable length then clip the end.  They are my new best friend in my sewing room.

Using up scraps,  Ann