Moving to My New Work Area

We recently moved all of my quilting fabric, notions, and supplies into the sunroom which is about 12' x 17' with many windows for wonderful natural lighting.  My previous work area was my office upstairs which was shared with my computer desk in the room which was only about 8'x10'. 

With my new work area I have room for a large table which is about 8' long which my large cutting mat and table top ironing board sit (until Jim builds me my elevated cutting table, that will be so nice!), plus a 2nd table for my sewing machine and the 3rd small table for my work in progress items, such as fabric to be cut, Quilts For Kids quilts in various stages of completion, there are 2 Lucky Stars pattern quilts that are in progress, lap quilts, 3 binders of patterns, batting, and so on.


Lastly, I have my fabric cabinet, which houses all of my stash.  The top shelf is 2 layers deep of fabrics so it's hard to see what I actually have.  One of these days I'll get a 2nd cabinet so I can organize my fabric better. 

I love my new work space, it is so much easier to move from sewing to cutting to pressing, finding fabric, and organizing my projects. 

Since I've started working in my new area I've found that I waste less time, finish things more quickly, everything is much more efficient when you don't have to rearrange things often to make room to do a task.

Time to get sewing!   

~Karen

Sewing Machine - Bad News/Good News

The bad news... two days ago my sewing machine decided it had enough.  My Mom gave me the Brother sewing machine as gift and it has worked well for my needs for some time now.  It would not operate properly for me anymore so it was time to buy a new one.

My husband and I headed over to the Viking Sewing Center in Ann Arbor and starting looking at all the wonderful sewing machines there.  I wanted a sewing machine that would not only need my current skill level now, but would also have features that I would use in the future.

  The good news... I ended up choosing the Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 855.  What an amazing sewing machine that has 145 stitches and 4 fonts.  It was on sale and had all the features I was looking for.  Plus it had the larger throat which was the one thing I really wanted to have. 


So now it's time to get sewing! 

Happy sewing my quilting friends!!

Major Progress!

This picture shows a small section of the quilt top.  I have made alot of progress on this king size quilt.  I finished sewing the 144 - 7-1/2" blocks of quarter square triangles.  With all my blocks now sewn together, my next step will be to cut the 3 border fabrics and add those to the top.  Then off to get machine quilted.  Soon to be another project complete!!  (let's hope!)   

Quilts For Kids - Work in Progress

I have been working on these 3 quilt kits I requested from the Quilts For Kids organization. 

These quilts will go to children who have life threatening illnesses such as children receiving chemo treatments for cancer, etc.  I will be matching the number of quilt kits they sent me with 3 kids quilts of my own.  I have completed 2 of the kits they sent and I am working on the 3rd.  I have fabric cut out for the 4th and already have a vision of what I will make for the last 2. 


I am looking into starting a chapter here in Michigan.  I will write again when I have more information.

Wall Quilt Rack - I Love It!

My husband loves woodworking and a couple of months ago asked me what new project he should start. 

I asked him to build me a wall hanging quilt rack as his first big project and he just finished it.  Well, it's ALMOST finished he says.  He is hand carving a floral piece to place in the center arch on the top, and THEN it will be done. 

It is made it out of cherry hardwood and it's 4 feet wide by 4 feet tall.  The rails are slightly rounded on the edges so the quilts won't get creased and the rails slide out.  I now have have to gather my quilts from their various spots around the house and hang them all in one place.  Yea!!

His next project is building me a free standing quilt rack with 3 top cascading rails for our guest room but it will be nice that I can move it room to room if I want. 

This wall quilt rack is just perfect and I just love it!