Free P.O.T.S.

 

You just never know what's going to be on the Free Table at the Bay Area Modern Quilting meetings and Sew Days. This time it was this kind of large, two sided opening thread organizer box. I think this will be a much better solution to corralling all the embroidery threads I've accumulated instead of digging around in a bag for the right one. It won't be one that I carry around with me for a project on the go. And, Yes it's yet another P.O.T.S. (Plastic Organizer ThingieS) but one that I'll hopefully actually use. If not I'll put it back out on the Free Table.

I like the idea of the two-sided doors too. I'll have to fill it up and show how it looks.  It seems like it will hold a lot of different size/shapes of spools which is a good feature. 

Also seen above another of my favorite batting Hobbs 80/20 fusible that I just bought to replace the last one I used earlier this year for both my SAT 25 piece, Our Mistake and Sky Structure, made for the Sister Artists auction.

Far Flung LQS

I've been out and about the last couple of days, and here's my modest haul of new goodies. 

From Bay Quilts, five pieces of Carolyn Friedlander prints and a spool of red Spagetti (yes it's misspelled on purpose, sigh) 12wt cotton hand-sewing threads. I now have a good collection of the very distinctive Friedlander prints and am looking for a quilt project to utilize them. I like a lot of her patterns, but I think I want to design my own. Bay Quilts is such a great store, they display their fabrics in collections, so it's easy to find if you're looking for something specific from a certain designer's collection. 

And one pack of beautiful Rifle Paper file folders from The Container Store. I hadn't been in one of those stores in ages, so I could have bought a million zillion things there, but I was admittedly overwhelmed by the choices. Of the many many things I was drawn to, I either don't need, already have working versions of, or would need to measure to make sure they fit a certain space. But it was super fun to see all the new-fangled solutions to storage. In QuiltMavs we had arrived at the realization that at the beginning of every new year a whole lot of us would go out and buy a new group of POTs (Plastic Organizer Thingies). I always thought that'd be a very fun name for a business that sold thad kind of stuff.

And just to memorialize it, a vintage card I gave to friend Jaye for her birthday. I'm pretty sure I bought this in the 80's or 90's and just thought she needed it this year. The image is from photographer Nick Koudis (on Instagram) and printed by the card company Palm Press. They're still in business since 1980, and they're on Instagram too, cool!

 

State of My Studio

I've been working on organizing lately, combining sorting, keeping/tossing, using, redistributing. General stuff shuffling. I think of it as shuffling my creative deck to get myself going on a creative track again. A good way to mark time until I feel well enough to actually dive in and make something.

This first picture shows the room I'm still using as a studio (it is meant to be the media room/guest room, once the downstairs remodel is finished!). Right now I've got a recliner and a rattan couch/ottoman in addition to my studio stuff. The room is large enough to have this comfy furniture, and I find I actually use it. I like to be able to get out of the chair by my sewing machine/table and flop on the couch to sort magazine images, or bead (great light by the big window). It is also nice to have this room when other family members join me while I'm working in here. Homework can be done, books can be read in the recliner, etc.
The only thing I'm missing having is a design wall, but I don't want to muck up my newly painted walls with tack holes. Maybe I'll have to make one of those flannel covered homosote boards to use. hmmmmm.


This is a view over to the closet while sitting on the rattan couch which is under the window. You can see the recliner on the right. The closet doesn't have the trim or a door yet. But it is filled to bursting with my boxes of fabric and supplies.
The larger tubs have batting, upholstery fabric and larger items, including all the decorative stuff I like to have hanging up in my studio. It is weird to be in a room with all my stuff, but to not have anything up on the walls but one calendar. I feel like if I start hanging things up, then I'll never be moving into the "real" studio room downstairs. But it has been awhile now!

This is how the recovering Zelda the Wonder Dog looks with her cone on (still). She still has some wounds healing, but no more stitches at least. I have to make sure to scratch her head since she can't do it herself (poor ol' girl)

Here is the wall o' stuff and ironing board across from the rattan couch. This is actually really organized now . I know it looks higgeldy/piggeldy, but compared to "before" it really is (at least to me!).

This concludes the studio tour...Back to work now!