Clearing the Deck

Or should I say decks, as in plural....in other words, multiple cluttered surfaces. As of late, I have been somewhat confined okay quite a bit confined to the house. My youngest daughter has been dealing with some health issues and is home from Montreal. Soooo....I thought I should make good use of my time. Let me share some of my progress with you.

 A little fat quarter storage....CD holders from Ikea do the trick. In all honesty, I still have two huge rubber maid containers full, that I need to refold, since using them to pack breakables etc. when we moved over a year ago.

 The design walls up and working.....lovely way to display quilts when not being used!!

 The Long Arm all cleared off.....time to start longarming again. Hmm....is that even a word??

 Lots of storage, for works in progress.....trust me, that is just the touch of the iceberg....there are many many more buckets of those. What can I say, it's part of my process.

 See....all clear.

 Extra, sitting down, ironing space.

 I believe in using every nook and cranny....for all those awkward things.

 Storage right up to the ceiling!!!!!

 SOOO.....DOES UNEARTHING THE ELLIPTICAL TRAINER MEAN I ACTUALLY HAVE TO USE IT?????

Me and my drill got a little carried away....like I said, I like to use every nook and cranny.

 Speaking of drills.....I even organized my tool area!!!

 Now that the cutting table has been cleared off....does that mean I have to start sewing???? 

Note my design wall....my little Paige has been at it again.

We moved over a year ago and I finally unpacked the last box, on Monday......doing the dance of joy!!!!!

Now I'm bracing myself for the Kitchen Reno.

Quilty Happiness is Finding a Spot for Your Ironing Board!!

It really doesn't take much to make us quilters happy does it. But SERIOUSLY.....finding a permanent spot for the ironing board is BIG!!!! I know, I know, I really need to get a life.

And just maybe, I might even make a new cover for it!! Gotta love that fabulous Marimekko fabric!!! 

This is actually a secondary Ironing Station, very important, as I have Quilty Friends that come and gab, drink coffee and quilt.....lately more emphasis on the gabbing and coffee. What can I say....it's just as therapeutic as quilting!!!

What you are seeing here is what I like to call the "Industrial Zone" of my studio. My condo has a lovely walk-out basement with a view of the river. But being a condo, part of the basement has no windows and of course a huge furnace etc....being Alberta!!! The walls are drywalled and painted and the concrete floors are painted as well. This is the part of the studio where the long arm lives, along with many, many meters of fabric. 

The space is approximately 700 square feet and is dived in two. It is my goal to utilize this space to the best of my ability. 

Every bit of wall space has to have a function.

 A Marimekko Bulletin Board is just a bit more Quilty Happiness.

Now, back to the "Public Zone" of my Studio.

More Quilty Happiness.....a huge, black design wall!!

And.....adjacent to that a smaller, white design wall.

Well, It's Been a Year!!

Shockingly enough, I woke up this morning, full of vim and vigor!!!  Who does that on New Year's Day??? Not me usually, but then there's a first for everything. Let's hope that's a good sign for the year to come.....

Another first......THE TREE WENT DOWN ON BOXING DAY. Yikes, that's never happened before. Well, my husband was in a mood to paint and one really needs to take advantage of that type of mood. That would be the reason to dismantle Christmas so early.....works for me!!!

You don't have to call me twice, when it's my studio being painted!!!!

Look at all that yummy trim!!!

The downside.....there is a downside???  Of course, that goes without saying. I had to take down all my design walls and revamp things somewhat. 

So with all that vim and vigor I redid my design walls. 

I decided on one really large, black one (there it is partially up) behind the couch....since everything slides like butter, on the new cork floors, it should be easy to push it forward a few feet when working on large quilts.

I have a smaller beige one beside the cutting table....that should do me. Sadly, one only has so much wall space.

So, what was my year like in Quilts......well, not really high in number.

Abigail's Quilt.

Shifting Impressions

Picking Up the Pieces

Besides quilting, I did get a few wonderful opportunities to share my personal quilting journey. 

Meeting so many wonderful quilters, during the workshops I taught, was definitely a highlight!!!

On a personal level....there was loss.

Today, was the first New Years Day, without calling my Mom (something, I did every New Years Day since leaving home at the age of twenty).

I wish you all the best, for the New Year.

Marianne

The Cork Floors are In!!!!

Renovating during the Christmas season....hmm!!! One probably needs to have their head examined but, MY CORK FLOORS FOR THE STUDIO ARE IN!!!!

We had trouble nailing down an installation date for the cork floors, for the studio and guest room downstairs but they are in and soooo worth it!!!

Below are a few quick before and after shots.  The lighting isn't great, but it will have to do for now

 So exciting seeing the carpet being removed!!!!

 There we are, we still need baseboards and a fresh coat of paint.....

 Check out my new sleek, modern computer desk.....and that chair, so comfortable and modern to boot (what more could one ask for???).

 My studio doubles as a family room....so it's the perfect spot for the tree.

One more shot of those fabulous floors!!!!

Why cork, some of you might ask. Well, cork is easy to care for and much easier on the back and feet, if you are standing for long periods of time. Also, no more ugly plastic mats under my rolling chairs (gotta love that).

The Cork has arrived/Studio Reno

After living in studio limbo for several weeks.....my new cork floors for the studio are here. The carpet is being ripped out as we speak. Anyone that has as much sewing paraphernalia as I have knows that  clearing everything out can be something of a nightmare!!!! Throw in Christmas and a houseguest.....well, I'm in a bit of a tizzy, to say the least!!! 

There it is......soooo exciting!!!!

Let's get that carpet out of there!!!!!

My husband installed a fancy electric fireplace and hung the TV......good times ahead!!!! 

I'll keep you posted!!!