Many of you might remember what my studio looked like before the major overhaul and rearranging that has finally been completed. My sewing desk overlooked the big, bright window where I could watch the world go by, the bookshelf and my design wall were on the right side, my cutting table and the dresser where I store my stash were on the left.
To my back was the doorway, the closet and my ironing board. Of course I wasn't at all thrilled with the flat white builder's paint still on the walls. Blech! This was probably going to be the last room to get painted in this house since I wasn't looking forward to having to empty it to get it painted so purchasing my long arm machine turned out to be the perfect motivation to get it done now.
This room isn't huge, only 11' x 12.5', but it was big enough for my new toy.
Tuesday morning I emptied the entire room, wrestled the bookshelf and the dresser into the closet and completed the painting. I'm thrilled with how it turned out. It is exactly how I pictured it in my head. It is a pale, pale buttery Yellow (Behr's Vanilla Custard) and though it is most definitely Yellow, when the sun streams in the room in the afternoon, it looks more like Cream. I wanted to keep the color very light and bright and this certainly accomplished that goal.
Then Thursday afternoon once I picked up the kidlets from school, I brought up all the frame pieces from the basement and set to work putting it all together. Luckily for me, the previous owner marked all the pieces so it was much easier for me, along with the manual, to figure out what went where.
It only took a few hours and with a break for dinner in between, this is how I left things that night. Leveling the frame and then pushing her back along the walls was the only thing left to do. The former owner put casters on it so when I want to do pantographs from the back, it will be easy to roll it out to do that.
This is how my studio looks now. It is tighter in there but it works. I may not have as much floor space to spread things out but since I have a huge great room floor to use when needed, it isn't that big of a deal.
I love that there is so much space under the frame to store all the bins...the one the former owner gave me filled with all sorts of goodies, the basket with quilts waiting to be quilted, my scrap bins, the tub with the parts for Sunshine's 100 Good Wishes quilt and the ladybug hamper that has the bigger leftover pieces of batting in it. The ironing board will just fit to the left of the frame, back in front of the closet doors, just as before. I was even able to get my mom's old Singer table back where it was before to the left of the closet doors. Now I can put the fabrics for the current projects there for quick access.
My design wall isn't quite as convenient but that is a small sacrifice to make in my book. I originally thought that when I wanted to quilt, I'd have to put down one side of my cutting table to be able to walk on that side of the frame, but now that everything is in there, I don't have to do that. There is plenty of space between for me to stand. I'll only have to put the one side down if I want to pull the frame out for doing pantos.
This is how the closet looks now. I took all the things out that I don't need in there, like my Ukrainian Easter Egg making supplies and the photo albums and pictures that seriously need my attention, and I still have plenty of space to cram in more stuff if I need to. Though I can't open the right door all the way, I can still get in there, move around and get what I need just fine.
Here is a close up of my new gal. No I haven't chosen a name for her yet. Nothing that I've come up with or that has been suggested so far sounds just right but rest assured, the perfect name for her will come to me. I just can't have a machine that doesn't have a name!
Next up will be loading some practice fabric and testing out my 1st stitches. I can't wait!
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9 Comments:
Exciting. Can't wait to see how the machine goes.
Looks like a great set up and congratulations - it is so exciting and just think of all the quilts you're going to get finished now! Nothing will stop ya! ;)
You give me hope. My sewing room is the same size and I was fretting getting the frame to fit in there with everything else. Can't wait to see you stitching on the new baby:)
looks great Michele! yay! get to work now......can't wait to see you quilt :-)
Looks awesome! I can't wait until I can get a long arm, but that is still a ways off for me. By then you'll have all sorts of tricks and tips to share with me! :D Have fun with your new toy!
Whohoo! Happy dance happy dance!
Love that color choice! Bright (but not too), Cheery but not invasive! You definitely have maximized your space! I am so excited for you!! Eyes on you, girl.................
Love the walls! She looks amazing and the room looks great!!
I think you have created a wonderful space! Your machines will be humming before you know it and we can't wait to see your quilted creations made by you!
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