The Storage Dilemma

Where to put "stuff", it is always an issue!
I am always looking for better storage solutions & often DH is called in to assist with some sort of construction task. Recently I purchased supplies to make some shelving in my studio, & in the loft by my longarm machine a place to hang some of the quilts that are scattered around this house......


here.....

there....


and....


everywhere!

This is the system I will use to hang at least some of these quilts after I purchase appropriate rods tomorrow.
This sort of system is used by many stores for display & it is relatively cheap & easy to install
I don't have a picture of my work table before but here it is after DH installed the wall grid so I could get all my tools & other stuff up off my work space. It was also an opportunity to cull unused items & reduce the total mass!
I am very pleased with this you might almost say that I am excited about having a cleared area for cutting fabric & trimming quilts etc & although it might not seem like a big deal for me it is!



The flat surface is all clear & underneath behind the curtain is more storage!
Below is a quick pictorial tour of the rest of the studio, it is really quite a small room so everything has to serve multiple purposes like this bureau with the pressing pad I made to fit on top of it.


My wonderful Tracey Table, that is the best investment I have made in sewing efficiency & convenience.


I converted the closet with three inexpensive bookshelf units [Ikea & Lowes] it's a bit untidy at the moment I have been digging around in it! I cut up a clear vinyl shower curtain & hung it flush with the front of the shelves to keep out the dust.

Those are my UFO, PIGS & WHIMMS in the clear plastic boxes, they are decreasing in number as I have completed 14 UFO's so far in 2009! Only six more to go.


Then I made a pretty curtain to keep out the light & reduce fading.
Last is this open shelf stacked with mostly quilt books, magazines, patterns & some bric a brac!
It could use some tidying also!
Now lest you assume this is it, I haven't shown all the LA quilting supplies etc in the loft-or the machines, fabric, quilts & supplies that are at the CO. house! All that for another day.

Scrappy D9P Done!

It takes me a few days to get back into the different routine of the country versus the city - & vice versa, so I always feel a bit disorganized & inefficient till my brain re-orients myself. We came into AZ Wednesday evening so I missed VTT & here it is Sunday morning before I post.
I quilted the D9P with fast freehand peacock feathers then got it bound & labeled ready for the CO. baby boy when we go back.
I did reposition a couple of blocks to make it look more random-that's one reason it wasn't done sooner, frogging [ripit-ripit] two blocks then resewing wasted a couple of hours but I absolutely had to do it my eyes could not tolerate it in the original arrangement. Then I goofed around with the idea of a pieced scrappy border & couldn't make that work, more time wasted. For a "fast" scrap quilt it sure took up more time than I planned!
I am quite happy with it now I think it's a sweet baby quilt & quite neutral enough for a boy-he's currently using a much more feminine version that I made for his sister a few yrs. ago.


I made the simple little label on the new embroidery machine & I'm happy with it, the quality is certainly nicer than those made on my DSM.

I have another top- The Future's So Bright quilt on the LA ready to go, probably I will not get started on it till tomorrow because I have to get ready for church now & later this afternoon the whole family is coming for ribs etc which will take care of the rest of the day.
I already visited my nearest QS "Quiltz" a couple of times since we got here, I needed a red print for binding for one of the vintage eBay tops & backing for two other tops. I was fortunate to get the backings from the sale table at $3.99/yd plus a yard of a B&W. I'll take pics & post those maybe tomorrow.

Cathy's Sampler

The second of the quilts I got from Denver came off the LA tonight so they will both go in the mail tomorrow. I have a half dozen things to mail so it's time for the Post Office trek-it isn't far, only a mile away it's just a hassle when there's a long line & my boxes are too large for the self service machine.
I love the flying geese in this quilt, they add such great movement & I wanted to quilt something there that would be reflective of the graceful flight of the geese as you see them overhead.
I ended up quilting leaves as you would see them blowing in the wind, more or less following the line of the geese.

It's a very cute quilt & has a lot of work in all the different piecing & applique techniques. This sort of sampler quilt allows the quilter to utilize lots of freehand motifs to fill in the various blocks & follow some of the themes. You can see snowflakes in one of the snowman blocks for example.

The pumpkins are adorable aren't they?

And see the button collars on the kitties? Lots of detail on this quilt.
I posted 4 pics. because the quilt was too large to get in one photo though I guess I could have spread it out on the bed, didn't think of it.