My New Studio

I have a quilt studio in my present home.  For a while, I operated out of my bedroom, but as the years went by and the fabric addiction grew, it quickly became apparent to Bill that I needed my own space.  Luckily (and thankfully?) about this time, my children decided to grow up and leave home.  Quite convenient timing, if I do say so myself. 

So I took one of their bedrooms and turned it into a quilting studio.  I have cubbies along the back wall that hold my stash, an overflowing bookcase full of quilting information and patterns, a center cutting island, thread cabinets, a closet to hang works in progress and a nice, sunny space for my sewing machine (a Janome 7700, affectionately known as "Big Red"). 

My mother-in-law passed away at the end of February.  She lived in a big, old, Southern style farmhouse that has a bay window and 3200 square feet...about 800 more square feet than we have now.  Through a series of events, Bill and I have ended up with the house.  For a while we simply walked around in it and wondered what in the world we were going to do with it.  Fix it up and sell it?  Sell it as is?  Offer it to another family member? 

But as of right now, I think we're going to move into it.  There's some work that needs to be done and it is underway.  By the end of this summer, my address should change and two empy-nesters will try to figure out what in the world to do with all that space.

The defining factor in this move?  Well, for me, there were two.  Once we discovered the original oak floors in the 1930's living room....

And refinished them...

But the deal-sealer was the room that is to become my studio.  Three times as big as my present one, it has space for a larger center cutting table, lots of outlets, a closet for fabric storage (out of the light, no fading), space for a design wall, and plenty of room to move around in...

Where Are All the Quilt Stores?

I am a small business owner.  In my "real life," my husband and I own a demolition and environmental company in High Point, North Carolina.  This means that not only can I tell you what is the best way to piece together a quilt block, but I also can tell you the asbestos regulations for the state of North Carolina.  Chapter and verse.

But as a small business owner, I am keenly aware the threat that "big box" businesses are to the small business owner.  Walmart (God bless them), Barnes and Noble, and Home Depot are the reasons that the neighborhood general store, book store, and hardware store went the way of the butcher shop.  Thankfully, as far as our business goes, we're small enough to be flexible, big enough to maintain a decent payroll roster, and too tiny to be a real threat to any of the big boys in our sandbox.  We're riding out the recession with hopes of selling the thing and retiring in the next couple of years.

I mention all that for this reason.  Last week I was able to take a business trip with Bill to Asheville, NC where we were estimating two jobs.  I Googled quilt shops in Asheville and found a couple I wanted to see.  And Bill was happy to comply as long as I let him fly fish for a couple of hours one afternoon.  So after we looked at the two projects in downtown Asheville, I programmed our GPS for the first quilt shop.  It wasn't too  far, but when we pulled up to the location, the shop was no where to be found.  Another shop (a fish market, of all things) now had the space and the current owner of said fishery told us that the business had shut down months ago. 

"Well, darn..." I thought as I programmed the address of quilt shop number two into the GPS.  Fifteen minutes later, we arrived only to find that the second quilt shop had also closed. 

I was fuming and Bill was chuckling at this run of bad quilting luck.  Then as we turned the corner from quilt shop two, we both discovered why both of the independent stores may have had to close.

Hancock's.

Now I'm a Hancock's shopper.  My bee meets at Hancock's.  I do buy quilt supplies at this store.  However, if I want quality fabric, quilting information, and just some time to hang out with fellow quilting addicts, Hancock's is not my choice.  I go to Dragonfly or Ye Olde Forest Quilt Shoppe.  However, in this case, I'm afraid it was a big boy entering the quilting sandbox that ran the two tiny kiddos out of the playground. 

Small, independent quilt shops are an endangered species, my fellow quilter.  Please, please, please support these wonderful women (and men) in their entrepreneurial endeavors.  If you don't, we may all end up shopping on the web...which is not necessarily a bad thing.  But these stores are a form of support, information, and education for all quilters.  The big stores such as Hancock's, AC Moore,  Hobby Lobby, and Michael's aren't.  The independent quilt shop fills a niche that no other store can.  Shop there.  Buy there.  Go to class there.  Spread the cash and the love.  Keep them open and running.

Mothers of the Bible Quilt

I mentioned in my March 27 blog that the quilting bee I belong to has started a new quilt for the year.  And since I'm "facilitating" this wonderful group of women, I'm in charge of directions...which normally isn't a challenge....except this time it is. See, the directions for this quilt are simply some line drawings with the instructions to "copy the drawing and 1/4 inch to each piece and sew together."  Which sounds simple...except it isn't. 

Some of the blocks go together easier if their paper pieced -- templates just don't work.  The pieces are too tiny to be accurate if you use templates.  And the paper piecing has to be carefully done for the same reason.  The pieces are too tiny.  The big adventure for me every month is to find out which method works the best (and easiest) for each block.  Some of the blocks I've been able to successfully convert to rotary cutting procedures, which makes me (and everyone else in my group) happy.  I'm afraid even the oldest members of this bee are now spoiled to rotary cutting. 

The upside is that a few of the blocks are all applique and the members of this group have quilted and pieced long enough that each one knows which applique method works best for them.  No instructions are needed for those blocks -- thank Heaven!

This quilt is really stretching my abilities as a teacher, facilitator, and writer.  I challenged -- something I really enjoy.  My quilt is jewel tones and will be set on point with black and turquoise sashing.  I've let my love of color run rampant with this one.

 Garden of Eden

 Sarah's Choice

 Wandering Foot

Welcome Hand

Double Cross

I'm working on Lover's Knot.  From this perspective, you can see just how small some of these pieces are.