Sunday, February 14, 2010

My Sewing Nest

I wanted to repaint my sewing room before I posted any pictures, but this is for someone who asked about  seeing my space.  For a very brief time, when Erika and Noah lived here, I had given Noah this room, and I repainted the bottom portion of the walls blue for him because it was pink on the bottom and green on top.  I have to repaint the pink, and find a matching trim color to repaint the doorway trim around the closet where it has peeled.  So, imagine the bottom walls a very soft pink.  Come on in.
 
This room was Gennifer's when she was growing up.  To me, it is the best bedroom of the house  The french doors open up onto the patio and pool and orange grove beyond.  It is very pretty and peaceful looking out.
I removed the closet doors, and wallpapered in there, and had our friend Tommy G. the electrician put an electrical outlet inside for light.
  
That is my wedding dress on the wicker dress form.  I love having that in there for me to look at and enjoy every day.  It was such a beautiful dress.  I had it cleaned and boxed for 30 years, and last spring my daughter and I were giving her best friend a bridal shower, and I had the idea to take my dress out and display it along with the cake and all on the day of the shower.  It was in perfect condition, and I saw no reason to put it back inside the box and out of sight again, so I am now enjoying it every day.
I put a bookshelf in the closet  to house my "stash" but every quilter out there knows that my stash on that shelf is only a small portion of it.  I have more "stashed" everywhere in this room.  In bins under the cutting table, in the wicker trunk under the design wall, in the ottoman, in the drawers, on the closet shelves......everywhere!
  
Looking towards the corner where I do my machine sewing.  To the right on the sewing cabinet is my antique featherweight that belonged to my Aunt Connie.  It is an amazing work horse!!  I do all of my piecing on this machine, and take it to classes as well.  And the other bigger machine is an older model Viking, that has 8 different cams to insert for numerous stitches, and designs.  I love this machine, and only know a fraction of what it can do!



My cutting table purchased about 10 years ago from JoAnn's.  It is getting rickity, but still functions for me.


I have all my goodies within reach, and some favorite keepsakes up on the shelf at the back.
This is a corner that is just to the right of the cutting table, with my wing chair and the new foot stool I just found at Target.  I was going up and down the aisles like I always to when in Target, and saw this ONE cream colored foot stool that would be perfect for this space.  I didn't buy it at the time, and went  home and told Greg about it that night.  I told him it was the only one they had, and that if it is still there tomorrow I am getting it.  He said...I am putting my foot down....no foot stool, I forbid it, you don't need it, NO!!  So I went right down the next morning and bought it!!!  Luckily it was still there waiting for me to take it home!


That big pillow doesn't usually go in that chair, I don't know why it is there now.  And boy those walls look blue!  It isn't that dark in actuality.  But the soft pink looks so much better.  I will post a picture of the correct wall color next week.  The foot stool has a removable lid so you can store more "stash" in there too!  
The rolling cart is a spare I used to have in my kitchen.  It is so functional that I didn't want to get rid of it, and even though it makes my sewing room even more crowded, it provides the perfect height for another cutting table and/or work surface.  It has a huge deep drawer and two shelves to store what else....more stash.
  
The quilt on the wall between the chair and cart was a gift from my parents from the Amish Country.  It is all hand sewn by Amish women.  Very pretty!
My design wall is nothing more than a dressmakers board, that I covered in lightweight batt, and then flannel.  It is SO handy!!
The old shutter behind the wing chair I just love.  It is weathered, and worn, and I keep clothespins on it to clip my patterns to it.


On the design wall are several leftover Thimbleberries  Club projects  that are needing to be quilted.
On the back of the door is another space I put design wall up for projects in the making.


Looking towards the door from the back of the room.


And finally, the quilt top I just completed.  It was a fun pattern to do!  I thought I had taken a photo of this quilt top before you cut it all up. But you sew charms together alternating between charm pattern and background squares, in checkerboard fashion, 7 across and 9 rows down in order to get the size topper I am about to show.  Then, using a small square template, you line it up on the seams and cut out these wonderful shapes and again, sewing them row by row, in proper order, gives you this fantastic pinwheel design!  It was so fun to do!  I had always shied away from using templates, thinking them difficult to use. But this was not the case on this quilt.  


Can you spot my mistake?  On my very first cut I flipped the template and cut in the wrong direction.  I went ahead and sewed the whole row, thinking if it was too obvious I would add some applique.  But once I got borders on it didn't bother me so much.
Here is a close up.


Mine is made with Cotton Blossoms by Moda, and I used a Thimbleberries  ecru background fabric.  The sawtooth border is a dark brown and mossy green I found to match the Cotton Blossoms from JoAnn's.  And the outer border is also a Thimbleberries, Cottage Gardens.


I need to get batt and back for  it, and either send it out or machine quilt it myself.  This was a fun table top quilt to make!!! 

16 comments:

Katie said...

what a great working space! I love that you bought the foot stool, Regardless ;)
I took a quilt class last year, it's certainly fun, but very time consuming....This post has inspired me to get back to work on J's

Kristi said...

Wow, that's a great space Kris, love what you've done with the closet!

I just read the post underneath too, I love that you had a Grandparents day with Hannah and wish you had brought your camera!! So cute!

Debbie said...

I loved this tour Kris...When my kids were young (especially Mel) I sewed something everyday. It was somewhat of an obsession, haha..I LONGED for an empty bedroom to organize and arrange my gear. But too many kids kept me from it. And now that I finally had a bedroom I could spare, I decided I don't sew enough anymore and made it into my grandkid room instead. You and another blog I read this week may have inspired me though. I think I am going to do a little sewing. Of what yet I am not sure, haha...but I feel a trip to Joanne's this week coming on. Your quilt is beautiful btw. I have always wanted to learn. But then I would need a small machine to take to class like you have. I only have my huge, very heavy Bernina. I do love my machine, but soo heavy. Anyway, thanks for tour, this was fun. = )

Linda - Behind My Red Door said...

What a great space to do your creative work. I love the wedding dress being there for inspiration - very sweet!!

Tawny said...

I am soooo jealous!!! I wish I had a space, really anything where I didn't have to clean up so we could eat dinner :( I could learn so much from you...do a sewing class :)
Beautiful quilt, I couldn't see the mistake till you pointed it out!

Kaylen said...

You have a closet full of cool fabric just like my mom!!! You could probably open a fabric store between the two of you! Beautiful quilts!! Quilts are just something that are timeless and so special to the recipient. What a neat post!

Kelly said...

you really have a great room for all your sewin/quilting needs! And a TON of fabric! i love what you did to the closet, and I LOVE how you have your wedding dress displayed.

want to know what derek said to me yesterday? he foundmy weddin gdress hangin in my closet, opened up the garmet bag and said, wow mom, this is small. was this when you were a kid?"

Lauri said...

What a great sewing room. I did the same thing with my closet and it sure opens everything up not having doors--you can get to things so much easier. I love your cutting table. That must be my next purchase. I'm getting too old to be cutting out on the floor.

Genn said...

Oh, my old room. That room has had quite the transformation. I wish I had a craft room. Can I turn Drew's room into MY craft room?

Your quilt looks good. No one notices the little mistakes except for you.

I need to learn to sew one day SOON!

Red Geranium Cottage said...

Love your room Kris. And the latest quilt. Very cute. Those are fun to make arent they? I've made almost two of them. My friend Nancy taught it at my store and then we did one at my house just before I moved.
Glad to see your sewing.

Red Geranium Cottage said...

Love your room Kris. And the latest quilt. Very cute. Those are fun to make arent they? I've made almost two of them. My friend Nancy taught it at my store and then we did one at my house just before I moved.
Glad to see your sewing.

Erika Mulvenna said...

Wow, what a fabulous space!

Erika Mulvenna said...

Thanks for the visit Kris! I should start posting pictures of my various sewing machines, and I'd love to see what kinds of machines you have collected,too! Yes, Kathryn is such a pretty and classic name - our daughter is named after her great grandmother. We call her "Kate" for short. Thanks again for stopping by!

Maryrose said...

Cute, I have always loved your sewing room and I love it even more now that you are sewing more. I think you do too.
:)

Pam said...

You are so talented! I love your sewing nook and your wedding dress is stunning.

Unknown said...

Your sewing rooms looks so feminine. I love the way you have your wedding dress displayed. It is gorgeous.
How long have you been quilting:?
I just started and feel as though I'm already addicted.