Hello Dolly!

Here she is again, my little oversee-er cat, Dolly. She likes to plump herself own on this pile of quilts at my studio doorway. I thought it's been a while since one of the cats has visited this blog and about time one of them put in another appearance...

Ann

Quiltopia!Design Studio is so much better now...

I'm so happy with this reorganisation! This is the inside of my cupboard all nicely stacked with fabrics, quilts, threads and I even got to keep my 2 original plastic fabric crates. (Actually, I couldn't face going through the twelve year old fabrics all selected by the beginner quilter, me, in a former lifetime when my eyes had just been opened to the wonderful variety of patchwork fabrics and novelty prints out there!) I found the Bugs in Bottles Blocks from that time featured in a former post amongst all this stuff. I also cleared out some fabric I no longer want and put it in a box to take to PNG when I go up to do some classes later this year.

I really like this photo with one of my works in progress (nearly finished now) up on the design wall.
Then below is a shot of the chaos just after the shelves were put in . Disconcerting to say the least, but I did get through it all and it was worth it. I can highly recommend a studio/sewing room clear out and reorganisation.
Now it's back to work for me. I have been updating my website with new products, classes and more news about the Fiji Retreat...

Studio: Before and After

I had this old tray mobile that I stored all my African fabrics in and had my threads and the odd fat quarter on the top. Dolly the cat really liked sleeping and leaving all her fur on there so I had to cover it with the Timorese Ikat you can see draped over the top.

Now the tray mobile has gone and it looks much better there. Dolly now sleeps and oversees the sewing on the mini ironing board attached to my work table!

This part of my studio was probably the worst with my desk piled high with all my folders and business documents . A big roll of wadding fitted in OK but it's better over in the space created near my work table.
Below, that area is now my favourite part. I painted the little vintage desk shabby chic white, as well as some cinder blocks I found under the house left over from building. Then I put one of the bookshelves I'd used on the other side of the room on top. Most of my books fit and all my photo disks and office bits and pieces live in the brick recesses.
You can see my cabinet of vintage teddy bears over to the right... not sure what to do with those as I love most of them but the cabinet really takes up a lot of space.

Quiltopia!design Studio Reorganisation

Above: Before, the inside of my fabric cupboard and the wall space.

Well, here it is again. The studio is finished undergoing its reorganisation. A guy came in a van and measured up my cupboard and wall space. He drew up a plan accounting for my shelf height specifications, then he went back downstairs to the van and figured out the quote. He came back up and showed me and I agreed on the spot, after doing extensive research over the last year, into all sorts of flat packs and DIY options. Then another guy came back a couple of days later with all the shelving pre- cut and ready to go. He installed all the shelves that morning... and then i was left with the huge mess and emptying out all the plastic crates I've been storing stuff in for over 10 years. It took a few days, and I found a few forgotten treasures but here are the Before and After shots. I had to put them in a few posts as I haven't fine-tuned the image posting part of blogging yet. Still working on that...

Below: After the shelves were installed and my fabrics etc unpacked in them. How much space is there?

The wall now has heaps of room to stack my African fabrics, Fat Quarters, and bolts of stock. You can see the quaint little applique quilt hanging from Zimbabwe. These all ave a secret pocket you have to find with the story of the quilt written in English by the maker.
I might show that in a future post...

Changes in Quiltopia!Design Studio

We moved into our new house on 14th February, Valentines' Day, 2009। It's a small house, but I designed it so that the studio was the biggest room.
I decided not to get the builders to put shelving in cupboards and on the walls because I thought it would be best to get custom shelves and things built...and anyway, I could make do with the assortment of odd bookshelves and units we'd accumulated over the years... some of them even rejected at the garage sales...
Sound familiar?

Well, tomorrow's the day! I've contracted a mobile shelving company to come and fit the place out with floor to ceiling shelving at customised intervals.
So I took these photos to compare the difference. You can see how cluttered it is, and yet how much wasted space exists too.
Keep posted to see the difference and maybe get some ideas for your own creative space.