Reorganizing the Studio: Part 2

This weekend we are tackling part two of my studio reorganization. Part one was the addition of cubbie units to hold most of my fabric and replace a hodge podge of storage units. They've worked out great, but still need a little organizational tweaking.

My cutting table is a large folding banquet table that's been raised up with some pvc add-ons to the legs. Very functional and ugly. Also the folding parts of the legs makes it hard to use the space efficiently for storage.

We've decided to take the tall metal shelving unit apart and create two shorter shelving units out of it. These new units will sit side by side as a cutting table, ironing surface and computer work station for most of the time, but can be put together to create a larger work table. All the stuff on the shelving unit had to go somewhere of course. I also haven't finished clearing out the wire basket units.

The hope is that I can get things set up so I can create and quilt without creating a huge mess and also so I can use my computer, camera, extra lights for shooting videos, and still not be embarrassed to have someone come to the front door. Up to this point it was difficult to switch from one activity to another, whether it be ironing, cutting, sewing, using my computer, or taking photos or videos.

The shelving unit was taken apart and wheels added. This went amazingly well. My hubby was happy to find that the locking casters I bought at Walmart screwed right into the inside of the shelving unit's posts.

We have 2 of these tall units and we used the bottom halves of each to keep them the same height. The top halves were put together and are used in another room, for another purpose.

The top surface is one inch thick glued wood panels. Real wood, but smaller pieces glued together. We bought them at Lowe's for around $32.00 each. Once the hubby gets the supports finished, I'll be sanding, staining and sealing them. 

My kids start school on Monday and while I will miss them, I am looking forward to uninterrupted creative time. (I am seriously going to miss my little guy who heads off to Kindergarten.) I've got some great stuff in the works to share with you and I am so excited about my Craftsy class coming out near the end of the month. (No, I don't have an official date.) The class will allow me to interact with and answer questions from my students learning ruler work in much more detail than I can here on the blog.

It's such a blessing to have my own creative space in our small house. It's also pretty interesting to see how we've adapted the house to the different seasons of our life. We've changed the purpose of several rooms over the years. Adapting to life and moving forward. Have you found done the same as kids are added to the family, grow, leave the nest? Maybe you've moved houses or added/removed a home-based business? Tell me about it in the comments. (In fact, I think we can do a one-time linky party as part of my post when I show my room all done. No need for magazine-worthy spreads, but share your favorite space or organizational set up for your quilting. Get your space ready!)

Now, I should get back to the work of studio reorganization and also give my handy hubby a big hug. He's been working hard on this project. I can't wait for Part 3 of this series and show you the "after" pictures!

Quilting with Rulers: The Ruler Foot, Berninas, and the Needle Bar

While I'm not a Bernina girl, I know many of you are and are wondering about the rumored ruler foot by Bernina, for Bernina. I don't have any official word about it, but I hear that Bernina is not recommending the new ruler foot that is made for the new Bernina long arm for use on its domestic machines despite being able to use the domestic Bernina free motion quilting feet interchangeably on the long arm.

The reason may have to do with the height of the ruler foot and clearance for the needle bar and the needle clamp. I applaud Bernina for wanting to protect the machines of their customers.

However....

The height of the ruler foot---any ruler foot---is for the most part too high for proper clearance of the needle bar and needle clamp. I show this issue and talk about how to avoid this issue in one of my videos about ruler work. Check it out for a good explanation.

With the ruler foot up, the needle on my Janome can't go all the way to the down position.

Simply stated, don't lower the needle unless the presser foot lever is in the lowered position which drops the foot into the position for sewing.

Yes, if you lower the needle with the foot in the up position, the needle clamp will hit the top of the ruler foot. Yes, that can harm your machine.

Am I advocating the use of a dangerous technique? No. Should you try ruler work with a regular free motion quilting foot to avoid this issue? In my opinion, no. I think that's more likely to cause a problem by accidentally running the ruler over or under the foot and under the needle.

Bottom line, I think this issue is about as hazardous as having a straight stitch plate on a machine and then trying to stitch a zigzag and forgetting to change the stitch plate. If the ruler foot is on the machine, don't lower the needle (sew) with the foot in the up position.

It's been a pretty easy switch for me to stop dropping my needle down before lowering the foot when bringing the bobbin thread up. This is aided, I admit, by using the knee lift that raises and lowers my presser foot with my knee. Yes, I forgot a couple of times in the beginning and no, it didn't damage my machine. The clunk when it happened though was enough to teach me to lower the foot before lowering the needle.

Since I understand that Bernina's feet are sometimes coded with a chip, maybe they can make a ruler foot that won't allow the needle to lower when the foot is raised. I know many Janomes will beep at you if you try to sew with the foot up.

But it is a common thing for free motion quilters to drop the needle down to bring up the bobbin thread with the foot up. So this could be a problem.

The talented Terri Lucas mentions the ruler foot for Bernina machines and this issue on her blog post here, along with some insight on why Bernina is waiting before releasing a foot they recommend for their domestic machines. I've had a few other quilters tell me they've heard the same thing. I've also had one Bernina user tell me she has used the #96 foot (the ruler foot for the Bernina long arm) and it worked like a charm.

Ruler work on a domestic machine is still an out of the box technique. Only you can decide if you are comfortable with stretching your quilting skill set in this way. For me, the design possibilities are certainly worth it. I know that it's a great, new, technique and I've met so many quilters that are enjoying the heck out of it.

So if you are a Bernina user, you may want to wait for them to create a ruler foot that solves this issue. Or you may decide to use the Janome foot with a shank adapter on your Bernina. Or you may decide to buy a foot from Westalee/Sew Steady or even Parrs Reel Ruler. I hear from many quilters who have done both successfully.

For the record, I haven't heard from anyone who was complaining of hitting their needle clamp/needle bar on the ruler foot.

Again, when using any ruler foot, lower the foot before lowering the needle.

Now, I'd like to say a very heartfelt thank you to those of you who have left a comment about my upcoming Craftsy class on ruler work. You are so encouraging and some of you might be as excited to take the class as I am to teach it. Thank you again.

My Big Quilty Secret

I've mentioned before that I've been working on developing a class to teach how to use rulers with a stationary machine, whether a domestic sewing machine or a sit down long arm. The class is all ready to go and I'll be offering it locally on a small scale.

Sadly, the summer has been busier than I had planned and I am slowly working on the sampler quilt that will showcase many of the designs in this class. I can't be too disappointed that it's not done as I've been making up some fun time with my kids after finishing up my big project of the summer.

My big secret project? Well, it had me boarding a plane for the first time in 18 years, so this could happen:

If you've taken advantage of the fabulous learning platform that is Craftsy, this scene is familiar to you. That's right, I'm releasing a ruler work class on Craftsy and it should be available towards the end of this month!

Squeeeeeeee! You can't imagine how hard it has been to not announce it here as soon as it was a certainty! Especially as so many readers had commented that they wished I would do a class with Craftsy.

The exact release date isn't established yet, but my filming is all done. Craftsy is doing their post production work making sure you get a high-quality class. (Kindly put, among other things, they're cutting out all the bits where I got flustered and messed up!)

I'm looking forward to telling you more about the experience and the class. In the meantime, I've got some great posts lined up and I'll be showing more of my ruler work sampler. I'm hoping to post pictures of it when finished on the "projects" forum of my class alongside pics that I hope my students will post also.

Reorganizing the Studio

I've been doing some organizing and tidying up of my studio. My so-called studio is a tiny room by the front door. If I were pretentious, I'd call it the parlour since it hardly qualifies as the living room. It's 12x12, but it also includes the staircase, front door, large opening into the dining room and the necessary open area to make it from one are to the other. High traffic!

Neatly folded fabric makes me happy!

I do a fair job at keeping things picked up and put away, but since the storage pieces I use are all mismatched and not attractive, I decided it was time to buy a little something to dress up part of the room and make things a little more orderly and not cluttered.

This looks so much better than what was there before! I'm going to replace the big lamp with a little one I have.

I bought two each of two styles of Closetmaid stackable units at Lowe's and they are perfect for the space and my budget. They're not the best quality, but I think they'll do the job. They are the first thing you see when walking in the front door, so I'm glad to have something more visually appealing. I still have a ton of fabric to re-fold to fit and other things to fill them up. The stairs are behind the new cubbies.

Here's the in-progress shot. Now to work so I can show you the after!

But like every organizing project, things always look worse for a time, while getting things moved around! The wire basket set and plastic drawer units in the rear left hand side of this photo are getting emptied and will find different uses somewhere else. The tall metal shelving unit has been partially emptied and hubby is going to break it into two shorter sets of shelves and make me a cutting table that breaks into two halves. It will replace the folding table and odd assortment of storage under it. I can't wait to get that done and show you.

We sat and talked a while and figured out what I needed and how it could best fit into the space without breaking the bank. (Oddly, he wasn't too wild about my idea of adding a room onto the house.) I'm hoping it will allow me to do more actual projects instead of being stymied by the visual clutter and the sometimes mental clutter that my work seems to produce.

I hope to have the "After" shot for you in a few days!