Studio build: before

Meet the new home of Tangible Daydreams! It doesn't look like much yet, I know. But look a all the possibilities! The previous owners of my new home are in the house proper for a few weeks more, but we have access to the out building now. It is an L shaped building, and you are looking at one wing of it here. The other wing will be Brian's recording studio eventually. That side has higher ceilings and no windows, which is good for recording. This side? Look at all that light!

The old ratty garage cabinets are all coming out. The plan is to put vinyl tile squares on the floor, insulation and dry wall on the walls and ceiling, and turn the lift up garage type door into a set of double french doors. There is a swamp cooler right now, but I want to put in proper air conditioning to better deal with the Arizona summers. I'll have a ceiling fan in the center of the room, and two solar tubes for even more natural light.

I can just about picture it all in my mind. I'm not sure exactly where various things are going to go inside the studio once we get the walls built yet. I spent today measuring out the positions of the doors and windows and such, and found that the walls are all different lengths. Not a true right angle corner anywhere, and the ceiling is slanted. This is going to take some Tetris skills to get everything working well. First step first.

Actually, the first step is going to be taking care of the roof, which has a few leaks. We've got the stuff for that already. Then the insides. In between packing up and moving my whole house over. We're staging boxes into the recording side, and setting up some wood working stuff into the fiber side to do the build with.

I'm getting excited, can you tell??

Ok, less time on line, more time packing boxes. Back to work!

Yarn dyeing, triloom weaving, and studio arranging

Well, I've got sausage and potatoes cooking upstairs, and yarn cooking downstairs. As long as I don't mix them, I should be ok! This is Platinum sock yarn from Wool2Dye4, that I'm dyeing with Jacquard acid dyes in my crock pot. The colors look all sorts of tasty, but I think I should eat this with my eyes, and stick to my potatoes for dinner, no?

So, dinner, watch the sunset...

....and then get back to weaving, I think. I just finished this grey and pink triloom shawl, and have another of the black and jewel tones on the loom now.

I did rearrange my studio a bit between that picture and this next one.

I'm only using one of my floor looms right now, so I folded the dobby loom against the wall and moved my triangle loom over to that corner. That means I can set up the antique sock knitting machine over where it used to be. So, I have 4 work stations currently: the floor loom, the triangle loom, the sock knitting machine, and the work bench where I have the dye station currently up. That ought to keep me busy!!

I want a bigger studio. I always want a bigger studio, no matter how much room I have. But I'm making better use of the space that I have, and that is a good thing.

Studio woes

My studio has an owie.

The clothes washer declined to stop filling the other night, while we were all out of the house. We got the surface stuff mopped out, and my fiber equipment is fine, but the laminate flooring in my studio was buckling. Workers came out yesterday to do some demolition to trace how far back the water went under the flooring, and set up fans and dehumidifiers to dry us out. (No mold!!) The equipment will run steady for 3-5 days, and then we'll look at our next step.

Also? I can tell you that the combination of 9 industrial fans and two dehumidifiers is quite loud.

My poor studio....

My new studio space

Last year, one of my sweeties moved out of our house. That left room for us to switch some things around, and I moved from my little bedroom sized studio into a living room sized studio. I was really grateful that the rest of the family was willing to let me take up this much space in the house! We lost a portion of our socializing space, though we still have a living room upstairs for sofas and such. But they thought that my art pursuits were important enough to make giving me room to expand a priority. I am well loved indeed.

So, here is what the room looked like while I was getting it set up. On the wall right near the arch way to the rest of the house, I have cubicle shelves for yarn and craft supply storage. I love having all my weaving yarn out where I can see it.

On the other side of the arch way, I put my computer desk and research books. I'm sitting right there typing this blog entry. To my left, I have room to have both of my looms set up and going at the same time! That means I can have one loom warping, and one loom weaving, with different projects in different stages of progress. In my old studio, it was definitely one project at a time. Which meant, that I had to weave off whatever yardage I was doing before I could start anything else. Which meant, that I had one repetitive motion going for long stretches of time. Which meant that I threw my shoulder out of whack with the repetitive motion, and knocked myself out of weaving for a year while I rehabilitated. Now? I plan on mixing up the motions by moving back and forth between different projects. Yay for more space that allows me to go easier on my body!!

Also, the wall behind me as I sit at the computer has yet another work station set up. This spot has my sewing machine, a work bench, and more item storage. It is a great spot for beading and sewing and silk painting and other hand projects. And I can have something out here at the same time that I've got the weaving projects going. Yes, I am loving this.

On the wall next to the loom in the picture above, I had a white board. I took that down, and put up a display of my collection of weaving tools instead. I like how it turned out. The tools themselves are quite beautiful, and make a lovely art instillation.

And, if I need yet another work space, I can unfold my cutting table in front of the yarn cubicle. I've got it set up for silk painting in this picture, but I've used that space for taking product pictures, and for cutting out sewing patterns as well.

So, here is my new space, and part of the reason why I am back at creating new things again. I had totally outgrown my old space, and it was stifling me. This new space though? I stand in the middle of it and just look all around me. My supplies, tools, and books are organized, visible, and easy to get hold of. I have space to work on several items at a time. And you know what? It looks like a real artist's space.

Which kind of makes me feel like a real artist. Sometimes. Sometimes I still feel like just a housewife with a hobby, and I ought to get out and do something real. Don't we all feel like frauds sometimes? Like everyone else must be doing the real stuff, and we're just faking it? But in this beautiful space, sometimes I can get the sense that I can grow up to fit the possibilities here.

Diamond Twill weaving is a go!

It is always a bit nerve wracking to throw the first pick of a weaving project. In this case, I spent about 15 hours getting the loom all warped up. Now, did I make any threading mistakes? Is the tension even? Are the threads spread out at the proper spacing? Do the colors work together? Deep breath. On your marks....get set....

It worked!! And now, the reward for all that picky warping work. I get to crank the music, open the window, and dance on the loom. Here comes the fabric!

Dreaming of a move

My 'baby' boy turned 18 recently, and he graduates high school this year. Now, when my (now 20 year old) daughter first started school in kindergarten, we took a pact to try to remain in one place and one house while the kids were growing up and in their school years. We wanted to give them a time of stability and continuity as a foundation for going forward. So we found a lovely house in the Phoenix, AZ suburbs, and it has served us well.

But...my baby boy is graduating this year, and heads off to join his sister at college next fall. That means, should we choose, that we are no longer tied to this house. For the sake of jobs and local family, we'll still stay in the Phoenix area. But sometime between when we moved in here and now, the powers that be put a big mucking football stadium within walking distance --and earshot-- of our house. I'm starting to feel kind of closed in here, as what used to be farmers fields in the neighborhood are filled with arenas, outlet malls, and apartment complexes. It is almost time to move back out beyond the borders of the urban crowding.

So, I've started looking and house listings, and dreaming. And you know one of the things that excites me most about this possible opportunity? I just might be able to find a place where I can expand my studio!

I currently use what used to be our guest bedroom. It is jam packed with looms and sewing machines and bookshelves and storage totes and cutting tables and...and... And I just don't have enough room to work on more than one project at a time. If I have the loom unfolded for a weaving project, there isn't enough space to open up the cutting table to do silk painting. If I have the loom folded up and shoved over so I can get to the sewing machine, I'm blocked from getting in to the sock knitting machine. Etc. Wouldn't it be awesome to find a place where I can spread out, and really flex my creative muscles?

I looked at one house that had a separate apartment down in the basement. Hmmm...main room for the looms and such, a bedroom for storage, and a complete kitchen where I could do the silk painting and dyeing. Very intriguing!

Then I found another listing that had a whole separate 1 bedroom house tucked in behind the main house. Imagine the fun of taking over an entire house for playing with creativity! And if I was in a separate building, I could set aside the fact that I really 'ought' to be doing laundry, or dishes, or vacuuming, or... I'd be away, and at work. But still close enough to trot across the yard home when I needed to. Which means I could still be doing 1 am weaving projects. Love it.

So many possibilities...

After my son graduates. It will be next summer at the earliest, and then we'll see what we can find when.

But...it is a fun mental game. I don't take to change easily, so taking 8 months or so to mull the idea over in my brain means that when the time comes, I should be able to leave here.

So...what would be my ideal studio...?

Warping the next project, felt slippers, and de-stashing

Now that the kids are back in school and things are settling down during the days, I've started my next weaving project. If you remember, earlier this summer I wove a hand painted shawl/ruana. I liked the way that it turned out so well that I want to see if I can make them for sale. So I'm measuring out enough warp to make three of them. I plan on dyeing them all in the same color way, but using a different color weft on each one when I'm weaving them up. That way each ruana will be a one of a kind, but I can get more than one item off of the same loom set up. This warp will be just over 14 yards long. That is a lot of times around the warping mill! I'm about half way done with measuring out the white warp. I'll get to the color part either this weekend, or early next week. In the meantime, time to measure out more white strings. Around and around and around and.....

I was going to measure out my warp last weekend, but I had the opportunity to spend some time at a 'Fiber Fun' day with a couple dozen other fiber geeks. I had a couple of people who were interested in felt making, so I took the opportunity to demonstrate how to make felt slippers. In the picture here, you see one slipper almost completed. I just need to trim down the top. That other blob? That is a slipper part way through the felting process. The wool is just starting to hold together, but it needs a lot of shrinking and forming still. I snapped this shot because it always amazes me how magical felting is. How cool is it to go from a shapeless blob into a comfortable, practical 3D form? (You can see my tutorial on how to make slippers in this entry: http://tangibledaydreams.blogspot.com/2010/10/tutorial-making-felt-slippers.html .) I'll wear these around this house this coming winter, when my feet get cold. I could sew leather soles on them if I were going to wear them outside, but for indoor use I think they'll be fine as is.

I'm proud of myself, too. See those baskets full of weaving yarn? I took them to the Fiber Fun Day and gave them away. (Not the kitten though. He stayed.) (He thought all the yarn was his, too!) You can't really tell there is much missing by looking at my remaining yarn stash, mind you. But the night before the event I went through my shelves and picked out which yarn actually fits my current weaving style and project list. At my current rate of weaving, I have enough yarn still on the shelves to last me for several years. I figured it was only fair to let this other yarn head out to good homes where it will be used.

I also went through my old magazine stash, and gave away a bunch of old 'Spin-off' magazines. I hadn't looked at them in years. Their new owners are inspired and delighted, and there are now new projects in the making. And again, if I look at my shelves I can't even tell that they're gone. I also gave away a raw fleece from the stash in the shed. I've processed wool from start to finish, and find that when I spin I prefer to work from already cleaned and carded roving. And I have plenty of that! The garbage bag full of raw wool was snapped up by its new owner before I had even made it into the door of the event. Somebody is very happy, and I have more room. A win all around.

I still have more de-stashing and de-cluttering to do. I'd like to pare down my craft supplies to things that I'll actually use within the next few years. It makes it so much easier to actually put my hands on something that will inspire me if I don't have to weed through items that are just filler. There is a fine line between making sure you have what you need for when that midnight inspiration hits, and being able to find what you need when that midnight inspiration hits. I've spent years gathering a most impressive stash. Now I think I need to make it a more streamlined, working stash.

And now, just because it was pretty and I want to share, last night's sunset.

A Tour of my Studio

It is my habit after I've finished up a chunk of project to spend a day or so straightening my studio back out again. I am not the neatest person when I am creating (ok, I'm just not the neatest person, period), so every now and again I need to find the surfaces again. I have so much stuff crammed into my little room that I really need to put one project away before I can bring out another one. But, since this is probably as neat as it is ever going to be, I thought you might like a tour of the studio. Come on in!

Ok, you've walked through the door, and are standing in the center of the room looking back at it. Behind the door is tucked the ironing board, along with a broom, rolls of craft paper, driftwood sticks from Canada trips, a reed mat for rolling felt rugs, and walking staffs. The walking staffs are more for squishing scorpions than they are for walking. Scorpions may be a natural part of the ecosystem...but they don't belong on my walls. Turn a bit to your right...

This is my storage wall. My husband built this custom set of shelves. Fabric rolls on the left, tools on top, two shelves full of weaving yarn, pull out baskets for smaller items, and large bins down below for fabric and such. The white table pulls out, and folds out into my cutting/crafting table.


 Turn a bit more to the right...

And here is my computer wall.

Up to the left my shuttle collection is displayed on the wall. Fiber tools can be works of art in and of themselves. I like to look at them, and then pull them down off the wall to use them when needed. Functional art.

Here's my computer desk, where I spend entirely too many of my waking hours. And my fish tank, and my lunch. (That is home made egg lemon soup, from home made chicken stock. Yum!)

To the right is a second desk. My bead stash is tucked away in those bins in back. In front is my antique sock knitting machine, with the next set of sock yarn all wound on the bobbins there, ready to go.

Above my computer desk are shelves full of research books. I've run out of shelf space. Too many books? Nah! Not enough shelves!!






Turn to the right again, and this is my loom wall.

 Tucked behind the loom is my rack of sock yarn, waiting to be cranked into nice warm wool socks.

But my pride and joy is that loom. I got it at a garage sale for $20 (it is worth much more than that), and that find started this whole path I'm on. Above the loom is a window that looks out on my herb and flower garden, shaded from the AZ summer sun by my hand woven curtains.

One more turn around...

 ...and we're at my sewing and large item storage wall.

 My sewing machine is tucked in the corner there.

 Up above are shelves and shelves of old friends. This is my science fiction and fantasy collection. They probably belong elsewhere in the house, so I could make room for more research books and storage for finished product. But...they're mine.

This is my large item tangle of storage. In that pile there is a dobby loom, a warping mill, a standing inkle loom, a serger, a clock reel, a spinning wheel, a heater, and bags and bags of fiber to be spun. There is usually an easel tucked behind there too, but I pulled it out for my next project already.


And of course, smack dab in the middle of the floor, on top of my hand made felt rug, there is always an animal or four keeping me company.

Thanks for stopping by!

The right tool for the job

This is so slick!

Several weeks ago, if you recall, I spent some time hand dyeing a batch of wool sock yarn. Today I had a break in making Christmas presents, and took the opportunity to ball up the yarn. I find it much easier to work from a center pull ball of yarn, rather than from a skein.

Now, traditionally this would mean having someone stick their hands out and hold the yarn for me, while I methodically wound the yarn into a nice neat ball shape. But I have a love for fiber gadgets, and had just the right tools for the job! On the left is an umbrella swift. It expands to hold the circle of yarn, and spins freely around. On the right in the picture is a Boye automatic ball winder that I picked up from Joanne fabric and craft store a month or so ago.

I ran the yarn from the swift to the ball winder, turned it on, and started turning the swift by hand. After the first several turns around however, the combination got up enough momentum that I could go hands off, and just sit back and watch. All I had to do was deal with the very occasional tangle in the skein, and then slow the ball winder down and turn it off when the end of the yarn finally got around.

My kids walked in on me when I had it all working correctly. They thought it was cheating, and teased me about how hard my work was. Ah, the joys of a well equipped studio! I love my gadgets.

A Tour of my Studio

Welcome to the lair of the Fiber Breathing Dragon.

My family giggles at me for how much stuff I shoe horn into my studio. And truly, I do need to do some de-stashing. I'll work on that some tomorrow, at Fabric War. Fabric War is a local SCA event, where everyone brings the stuff that has been sitting unloved in their stash. And then we all trade, and everyone somehow goes home with more stuff than they brought. Anything left over at the end of the day gets put in a big pile, and we have a free for all. Anything left after that gets donated to a local charity.

So, my job this afternoon is to go through my stash, both here in the studio and out in the shed where the gourds and extra boxes of fabric and fleece are stored. Let me give you a bit of a tour of my studio, so you can see where I work, and how much de-cluttering work I ought to be doing.

This is the south wall of my studio, and the one straight ahead of you when you walk into the room. It holds my computer desk, where I am right now. Above the desk is my reference library. To the right is my beading station, which is currently covered with a basket project, and various gourd, dyeing, spinning, and beading supplies that I need to find room for. There are a couple of tapestry and table looms squirreled away under the desks.

This is the west wall of my studio. The sun is streaming through my hand woven curtains onto my floor loom. The loom folds up and takes up less space when I'm not using it. The window leads out to my front herb and flower garden. To the right, you can see my sewing corner.


Here is the north wall and another shot of the sewing corner. That wall of books is my own personal pleasure reading library. I've been collecting mostly science fiction and fantasy since high school. I'm at the point now that if a new book comes in, I need to cull some space on the shelves. I've been using BookCrossing as a fun way to do that. Over on the bottom right, you can see my storage for big items. There is another floor loom tucked in there, an easel, a horizontal warping mill, my weasel, various baskets, an inkle loom tossed on top, and my drawings from art class are tucked down behind there.

And finally, the east wall is my storage closet. My husband put the shelves in for me. To the left is room for bolts of fabric to stand up. The top shelf holds large items, like the kumihimo stand, the drum carder, the bobbin lace pillow, etc. The next shelf down is for long flat items, like the umbrella swift and the loom reeds. I've currently got bags of finished yarn shoved in there too, waiting for them to sell on Etsy. The next two shelves hold my weaving yarn, loosely organized by color. You can just see the next shelf down, behind the roll out cutting table. That has pull out bins for small items like paint. The bottom two shelves hold big plastic bins. Inside the bins are my fiber and fabric stashes. Above on the wall is part of my collection of old weaving implements. I love to collect old textile tools, and put them back to use.

To the left of this picture is the door, with the ironing board, the drying racks, and the scorpion killing staffs tucked behind it. (Yes, scorpion squishing. I don't know that I'll ever get used to the desert Southwest.)

So there you have it. Now you've seen the organized chaos that is my studio. I've really got to do something about this--I'm starting to run out of floor space!