Reorganizing the Studio: Part 3

I am so excited to have done these changes to my studio! Thinks look so much more eye appealing now. When your studio is the first thing people see when entering your house, it's got to look decent. Maybe not magazine worthy, but tidy. Plus, I just can't work if things are all messy.

This table and its mess underneath just had to go. 
All the elements are in place, but I'm not entirely sure if things are in the right place. I'm sure the fabrics and all my little plastic drawer units need further organizing, but I'm not quite sure how I want the tables arranged. Good thing the two new ones are on casters and my machine's table has felt feet that are easy to slide across the floor.


There's my favorite handy man. The white shelf was $15 at a thrift store. It was a hideous pink with painted flowers. He mounted it to the wall for me along with my old peg rack and a new to me treasure-- my grandmother's sewing box, made by my grandfather. It's even got a few wooden spools of thread in it.


Above is the first arrangement of the new tables. My sewing table sticks somewhat awkwardly into the middle of the room, but is placed to take advantage of the natural light. Depending on whether I was working or not, and whether I was using my Janome or using the table for cutting/pressing, I'd slide the white table one way or another. The new tables are 4 inches narrower than the banquet table, but it's still a bit crowded.


I love these two new tables! They're made from a set of shelves I already had, but we broke them into two halves and put wooden tops on them. The shelves were adjusted for best use of my plastic drawer organizers. I also have a shelf just under the top that is a great place to set my laptop, papers, and such when I want to use the work surface for cutting or pressing.


Above are some of the shelves that were replaced by the new cubbie units. They've been tucked into the corner across from the end of the stairs. We don't open that door, but I use it for my calendar. (I take a cheap calendar apart, cut off the pictures, and tape all the pages so I can see the whole year at a time.) My lights, tripod, and a few other odd shaped things are stuck in this corner as well. I plan to keep my eyes peeled for a cabinet with a hutch or something similar to replace the plastic units one day.


Above, the tables have been positioned back to back for use when doing a bunch of ironing. I had to move my sewing table to make space for them and now that I've moved it (and have better lighting in the room) I think I will keep it this way.


I like it this way, above, but I'd move the computer on the other side, closer to my sewing machine so I can look into the dining room and not be so close to the front door. It's a very work friendly arrangement. But I also like the open area provided by the arrangement below.


With the casters on the new tables, I can move easily from one arrangement to the other. I can't quite decide which way I like best. Which do you like best? Tables back to back, or tables along the wall?


Here are my cubbie units. I love them! By Closetmaid, there are 2 9-cubbie units and then there are 2 shoe organizers on top. Hubby bolted them together for stability and attached them to the wall and stair banister for safety. I folded my fabric fairly neatly by wrapping it around my 5 inch wide cutting ruler and then folding it in half, selvedges to center fold of the fabric. Fit perfectly.


 I found some Command hooks with metal pegs and stuck them to the side of the cubbies closest to my machine. They're perfect for my rulers.


Now with my studio all tidy, I need to get some serious quilting done. I need to finish my ruler work sampler quilt (and post it to my Craftsy class projects area) and shoot some videos. But I head out early Tuesday morning for a week in San Antonio for Janome Institute. I'm going to this dealer event on behalf of my local Janome dealer. Then my Craftsy class should be ready for launch soon after my return. So serious quilting will have to wait a bit.

quilting and sewing space link party

So now it's your turn.

I'm setting up a link party with this post so you can share your quilty space. Whether you've got a jaw-dropping beautiful studio, just a functional space, maybe a nook in some other room or just a small bit of your space that makes you happy, share with us here. Make sure to visit one another and leave comments. As part of the link up, I do insist that you link back here so others can find the rest of the party. If you don't have a blog and want to share, email me one picture at amy(at)amysquiltingadventures(dot)com and I'll post it here.

Scroll on down for the Linky, here's pics of my non-blogging readers' studios:

Here's Paula's "she-cave"  She says: "My sewing and weaving space (my floor looms it's by the TV) is our finished basement.  It opens onto a three season porch where I often will "spill into" when the weather here just south of Boston cooperates.  My sewing room used to be part kid playroom and part office.  Now that my kids are grown and living their own busy lives, I have repurposed the space to a she cave and have moved my home office to what used to be one of our kid's bedrooms.  I am jealous of your fabulous natural light I could use a little more of that.  Here's a picture of my space....





19 comments:

  1. Beautiful job! Now for the fun part- sewing!

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    1. Yes, I definitely need to do more sewing! That quilt isn't going to finish itself. Thanks.

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  2. Sew much better! And since you asked....I like the look of the cutting tables near the wall, but love to be able to walk around a cutting table so I don't have to move fabric.

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    1. Thanks Tammy! I think I just might do both depending what I need more.

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  3. Hi Amy, I just wanted to pop in and tell you thank you for all your wonderful tutorials and instructions. You have given me a lot of confidence and ideas about free motion quilting. I too have a fantastic handyman who will do whatever I ask for my sewing space.

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    1. Thank you so much! I love helping people with their quilting and encouraging their creativity. We are lucky ladies to have handy (and cooperative) husbands.

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  4. Your studio looks great, Amy! I wish you had included a photo of your studio as seen from the front door or as seen from another room. I have a couple of ideas that might help that transition for you and let you "put work away" when you're entertaining or whatever, but I would need to see how your studio space connects to the rest of your home. (Disclaimer -- I'm an interior designer when I'm not busy quilting!)

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    1. Rebecca Grace,

      Thanks! I appreciate the offer but I bet there’s not much to be done with my small room other than disciplining myself to keep work surfaces tidy. Actually the new cubbies shot was taken from two feet outside the front door, and the shots of the tables and my sewing machine were taken from 3 feet inside the dining room! I have Pinterest-fueled dreams of putting cabinets into the spaces between stair treads, but right now that’s not going to happen.

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  5. What a great space, Amy! It's been fun seeing the progress. I like the open look of the first photo, and I am a big fan of the table placed perpendicular to the window for the natural light. But I have old eyes which need more and more light every birthday! I would place some fabric, or covered foam board over the side ends to further hide the important but not so pretty "stuff" we need. Or chalkboards? Bulletin boards? Like Rebecca above, I was wondering about the traffic flow and placement of other rooms, but I am not an interior designer except as a hobby. Thanks for sharing with us!

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    1. Nancy, you are so right. I think some fabric curtains for the ends of the tables are in my future, at least for the one facing the dining room right by the front door, and around 3 sides of my machine table. The nice thing is that it's easy to slide that table or roll the new shelves/work surfaces and use them wherever I need to.

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  6. I think the tables by the wall look nicer, but back to back is more user friendly and practical. It looks fab, either way.

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    1. Somehow I suspect I may be putting the casters to work and switching back and forth from those arrangements. As you say one works better and one looks better. Thanks!

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  7. Thank you for sharing your reorganization project. I have a very small sewing room. The smallest bedroom in our house. I think I have re-arranged it 3 times in the past year. I like to have my computer by the window since I spend a lot of time on it. We are on 20 acres and I love looking out the window at the garden and the hill with all the trees. I am fairly new to quilting but have been making jewelry for about 15 yrs now. I have an Art Walk coming up in town in October so my time is spent getting some jewelry made for that. Once that is done I can focus again on some quilting projects.

    I like your tables next to the wall. It looks so more spacious that way but you have to make it the way it works for you. Also, thanks for sharing all your videos on FMQ. I've learned quite a bit since I started quilting. I appreciate all the help you have given.

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    1. We call it musical rooms here at our house- a similar game to musical chairs as I switch things around, move people's bedrooms from room to room as life in our cottage dictates. Being able to look out a window is a definite bonus. That's one thing I miss about having my sewing room in the back of the house where I could look out on the back yard.

      I'm glad you've found my site and videos helpful! Thanks for saying so.

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  8. I enjoyed looking at the sewing rooms and reading how you and others progressed to these fabulous spaces. My sewing room was recently given a new coat of paint and a couple of new handy tables. I also was inspired to reorganize and freshen up my room with the addition of my beloved Bernina 750. It is the center piece of my room like a Queen surrounded by her kingdom. I use my sewing room everyday. I find that if I straighten and organize things on a regular basis I can find all those items that I know I had once but now am not sure where they are. I spend a lot less time looking for something....and actually sewing. Amazing how that works. So thanks for sharing these ideas and photos. I tried to post a photo of my room but I only have an email address and there seemed to be a requirement for a link to a blog.

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    1. Teresa,

      A link party is essential just for bloggers, but you can use the email at the end of my post and send me an email with one picture of your studio and I'll share it here for you.

      I'm looking forward to getting a new coat of paint on my studio walls soon! The discipline to put things away in their "place for everything and everything in its place" is a discipline I had to learn and am trying to teach my creative daughter. I tell her that she can't make full use of her creativity if she has to struggle to find her supplies. She is totally creative and totally messy!

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  9. LOL, I'm still barely at the what a mess space. But it's fun to see how others have carved out a place for our quilting hobby.

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  10. Love your new space. Motivation to maybe clean mine up.

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