SEWING SPACES AND STUFF!

It's July and Pink Chalk Fabrics is hosting 

"Where I Sew" Month.

Click here to see some great sewing spaces!

I added a link there to Kwilty Pleasures sewing room or you can click here

Busy getting my 3QTR projects lined up for the 



and lemme tell ya..the stack is growing.
Full "eye candy" post coming soon

This week I'm meeting up, in Waynesville, OH 
for some kwilting crimes with Kathy Guenther.
This small town is full of surprises, botiques, antiques.  
We will have lunch at 
The Cobblestone Restaurant and "gift shop".

After lusting, fondling and buying fabric at 
The Fabric Shack!



My bloggy friend Michelle, over at Quilts From My Crayon Box 
set me up with another "sister"  as part of 

Make one item and add anything else, 

send to your swap sister by end of August!

And finally, I am bursting at the seams 
to tell you about something 
I'll be participating in this fall.
But for now...gotta keep my mouth shut!  
(and if you know me..that is a full time job)  

Have a great week and as always

Where I Sew...

Welcome to my sewing room!

My signature closing line is "KWILT ON"
How cool is this sign given to me for a retirement gift 
from a kwilting friend.

The first post I did on my "Cellar Dweller" sewing space is here 
After I retired this year, I have made some fun changes
I think you will enjoy.  

 Enter my sewing room - the sewing table is straight ahead.

A peg board with curtain hooks holds the next quilt 

ready for machine quilting on Ber-nee-nee

my wonderful Bernina Aurora 440!  

She has a stitch regulator and purrs like a kitten!

I bought my drop-leaf Quilter's Dream table at 

a local quilt store as a floor model mark down! 
 It also came with 3 drawer cabinet that slides under.

STORAGE TIP!!!  A great $1.00 yard sale find...

A white jewelery holder for small items hangs from

the peg board and holds small items for easy access.

tacky glue, glue stick, rotary blades, stitch witchery, 

labels, business cards, charms

I bought this antique wooden shelf last summer.

It has found a home beside my sewing machine and holds many of the items I need.  

Scissors on lanyards, a wrist pincushion, little baskets full of "stuff"

3 sets of 8' feet overhead lights lead the way to my STASH!
The ceiling is straw beach mats I bought for $1.00 each.

Can anyone say...FABRIC-HOLIC!  

My stash area is now encased with 5 bookcases
with 5 or more shelves just loaded to the max.

 OMG !!! Somebody STOP ME!

Atop the bookcases I have a few collections...
Love mason jars and fish bowls for storing my collections.
An old sewing machine drawer holds my antique
"needle book collection".

ROAD TRIP QUILTING TIP:   
The large gray bag is my "mobile quilting bag" 
It is packed for travel with cutting/pressing board, iron, pillow, 

thread catcher/pincushion, rulers, 
rotary cutters, and flannel design wall and duct tape!
Quilt retreat, sew-in, vacation?  
Let's GO!

An old office computer cart has many uses.

It's close by my sewing chair and the rollers allow me

easy access to roll it over closer as needed..

great for trimming or pressing blocks. 

The shelves hold my sewing machine accessory case, 

quilting pins and other small items.

 TIP:  I have put several layers of painters tape 

on the back of the rolling cart, so when it sits against 

the wall...the wood won't gouge or scratch my newly painted walls.  

I also did this on my cutting table.

When the rolling cart  is not being used for sewing tasks...

it is home for my laptop and/or iPad.

 Quick and easy access for email or patterns

or just surfing Pinterest, email and blogs.

A small bookcase holds quilting books 

and binders with patterns.  
I use the back of the tall bookcase (which holds stash) as a bulletin board.  
 My "vintage" sewing baskets store smaller items 

like charm packs, jelly rolls, etc.

A whiteboard keeps track of my "ToDos" and "Important Blogs and Dates" I may be participating in.  
I like lotsa flames in my fire!

My cutting table is stationed so I can access 3 sides
and bring up the dropped end as needed.  I have a kitchen 
trash can here to toss in my scraps for sorting another time.

TIP:  Store your quilting stencils UNDER the cutting mats.
 Love my wooden ruler holder (my BIL made me)

Things that make me smile are all around.

Remember ALF?  He belongs to my son's (who is now 35)
    Dizzy Diva was a gift from my BFF.
  Snowman quilt is red work-doing their "O H I O"
The wild applique quilter is a "song"challenge quilt.
My song was...
"Don't it Make your Brown Eyes Blue"

 Curtain rods hold tops to be quilted.  
The rack has "sandwiched" quilts ready for quilting.   

TIP*** "Turn off the iron" note is right by the door light switch 
to help me remember to do that when I leave.

My design wall and ironing board is at one end of the room.   
I use my big board in another area outside my room...

The design wall is made from fiber board sheets 

from a big box hardware store, covered in white flannel.

I should've made it BIGGER!  

An old treadle machine is the perfect media center aka life support system.   
Jen-nee my Janome stays in the rolling case with

everything I need for a road trip!

A bookcase in the corner holds hand embroidery stuff, 
dvds and My vintage sheet collection!

Who knew that vintage sheets would be so
popular.  I'm sure thru the years I've donated 
as many as I have recently bought at thrift stores!

On top this bookcase...some special items!

My "Swee-tee" Singer Featherweight;

Quilting Angel made from my first wedding dress

AND 

A small quilt made by my Mom,
Cora Clayton, at age 91.
Mom had Alzheimer's and but she did remember
 how to hand piece.  I named the tiny quilt...

"Last Stitches" my most cherished Kwilty Pleasure! 

So there you have it...I wish you could come sew with me!

Today begins a fun linky party over at Pink Chalk Fabrics.
Lots of folks showing their sewing spaces.  
click here to find the fun!
 

KWILT ON!

A retirement gift for my new office!

Thanks Stacey!   

Stayed tuned for a post about my new Kwilty Pleasures office 

aka Sewing Room.

Meet My Machines!!!

Happy National Quilting Day!!!  
 I will be celebrating today with 3 very good friends.
My sewing machines. 



Of this you can be sure...

A good sewing machine can be the best friend you will ever have.  She won't gossip, bitch, or cause you drama. She not a flirt trying to get attention.  She doesn't know everything and if she did, she would never say so.  She never has PMS and understands when you do! You can curse, sing, cry, laugh, or never say a word and know she will never repeat what she hears. She can be temperamental,  skip stitches, knot bobbins and break needles. Show her a little TLC and she will bring you hours of enjoyment!  

So Meet My Machines!   

Berninee...my Bernina, Aurora 440 

She is my second Bernina and I wish I had held on to the first one.
I was lucky to buy Berninee when she was only a year old,  from a friend, at half the cost of a new one.  Love her to "pieces".  She comes with lots of feet, stitches and of course, Bernina Stitch Regulator (BSR)

The BSR is why I had to have her...and believe me it is worth every penny.  I use it for my FMQ..keeps the stitches so nice and even.  Another favorite thing is knee bar that "lifts" the presser foot making easy work of applique & moving around fabric.     

Jennee, my Janome  

I found Jennee in Paducah, KY at the 
2009 AQS 25th Anniversary Quilt Show



She is a mid-size machine with lots of bells and whistles that her big sisters have... FMQ, walking foot and an extension table.  Unlike me, Jennee watches her diet and weights only 11 lbs. 

She rests in a rolling case and is ready to be "mobile" anytime I hit the road.  
Classes, retreats and yep, even vacations.   

Dixie, my Singer Featherweight 221

The latest arrival, but oldest friend was born in 1942
She belonged to someones Grandma and the daughters/granddaughters did now sew. LUCKY ME!
  I couldn't wait to meet her and when I sat her in my sewing room, she was as happy as me.  Check out the beautiful filigree face plate...what a smile! 

I only had to replace the cord for her foot pedal.
Sweetie is my lean, mean piecing machine. The blue painters tape marks my 1/4' seam.  Sweetie is like history at my fingertips! I wonder what sewn, maybe some feed sacks moved across her throat and who were the lucky recipients?  I know if "Grandma" is looking down she is smiling cause, 
Sweetie has found a home that cherishes her!

I also have 2 antique treadle machines that I don't use. One serves as a night stand in the guest room and the other holds my life support system (TV and DVR) in my sewing room.  




Tomorrow, March 17th begins a different March Madness
 "Meet my Machine" Blog Hop



Erin  @ Sew At Home Mummy and Stacey @the Tilted Quilt have coordinated this fun hop AND  there is a "linky party" at The Tilted Quilt, where others, like me, will share our machine madness!    

What kinda machine is your best friend?  

Sunday Snippet - Feathers From Heaven

No I'm not quilting feathers...but I am playing with 

my just acquired 1939 Singer Featherweight.

As fate would have it, this baby fell from heaven and 

landed in my sewing room.  

  I had to replace the foot pedal cord but other 

than that, so far, she purrs like a kitten. 

My sewing machines are like family.  
I do spend more time with them than any of my siblings.   
So I name them.  

My Bernina is Berneenie and my Janome is Jazzy.  

What shall I name this Kwilty Pleasure?   

Cellar Dweller Sewing Room

Is your sewing area a  room, part of a room, 
a table in the kitchen or maybe it's your entire basement or loft? 
 No matter...it is where you wrap your creativity 
around fabulous fabrics and the magic happens.  

My sewing space is part of my basement...
therefore I am a cellar dweller!  

Stash-abilities

Cutting up couldn't be more fun...

A Peg Coat Rack works out as a great place to hang my totes

 and miscellaneous stuff for easy access!

No wasted space above the BIG BOARD ironing area.

Tucked in the corner below my QUILT DIVA 

wall hanging is an old wooden quilt rack.

I use it to store packaged battings under it

and projects to complete on top of it!

Nothing sews like a Bernina...NOTHING! 
(not being paid for this advertisement)

A bookcase in another corner of the room.
Embellishments on every shelf! 
Beads, yarns, embroidery....
A coat rack holds some purses I make to sell.

And my life-support system...the TV.  
Love watching (or perhaps listening) to quilting DVDs 
as I work on my projects.  
Or I stream NetFlix movies!

Design wall delight! 
Fiberboard  covered in flannel and screwed to the wall.

So my cellar dweller Kwilty Pleasures 
are just waiting to unfold!!!

Where you do quilt?