My Sewing Room

I have been promising pictures of my new sewing room for some time and I think the time has come to deliver on that promise.  (Mostly because it's clean right now and I was finally able to get some good photos!)  We moved to Huntsville a year ago and the Mother-In-Law suite was to become my new studio.  It was definitely not a top priority so it took several months just to get around to unpacking some boxes. Then I found myself rearranging,  and reorganizing.  I finally have it the way I want it!

When you go out the side door of my Living Room and look across the enclosed Courtyard, you see the Sewing Room just across the way. 

As you enter the room, you can see that my sewing machine and cutting table are in the middle of the room and my design wall is behind that.  To the right of the design wall is a little nook with a kitchenette area and a good sized closet.  

Right now I have some threads and a few other things stored in the cabinets, but have not really figured out just how to use that space.

Continuing around the room to the left of the design wall you can see the door to the bathroom and then my wall of cabinets begins.  (That little rocker you see was my mother's sewing rocker.)

We're back around to the entry wall and the windows. That's where the treadmill is.

My TV is in front of the treadmill.  Can you see the antique ironing board on the wall to the right of the TV?  That belonged to Hubby's grandmother.  Very special.

My ironing station is next and then my computer desk.
(Can you see my niece wall?  I DO Love Them to the Moon and Back!)

The little area between the bathroom door and the beginning of the cabinets is where I have my bulletin board and a pegboard for storing my rulers.

Can you believe what a great space I have for being creative?  I am so grateful for it and I love everything about it.  I just need to make sure that I spend a lot more time in it!!

Wordless Wednesday

Retreat Report - Final Notes

Many of the quilters wore their quilty tattoos for the week and a few of them had their husbands wondering when they got home!  

I didn't get much sewing done during the week (I was pooped after the my marathon sewing day on my Black & White challenge.)  

Rose Mary and I had agreed ahead of time that we would work on the "Tropical Breeze" pattern using the same line of fabrics.  She started on hers the day I was sewing on my B&W, so I should have been fore-warned with all the muttering and complaining I heard coming from behind me.  I (fearlessly) started working on mine and ended up having this guy show up at my machine.  (That's what happens when someone notices that you have to "RIP IT!")  After watching for someone else to pass it along to, I ripped very discreetly after that!  

I did manage to get some of the center parts of the blocks made, but I eventually gave up, too, deciding to work on it at home instead.  Besides, I didn't want to miss anything that was going on!


It was wonderful to have two massage therapists lined up to help out with those tense muscles that come from sewing too long.

Of course, the years that Becky can't make it to retreat, her sister makes sure she is there in spirit, as well as in Barbie form, and SHE had to have a massage, too!

We had a lot of really great Show and Tell throughout the week.  Here are just a few...

I had such a sweet Secret Quilter who spoiled me with all these gifts.

I came home with 27 adorable pillowcases to donate to Children's Hospital in St. Louis.  This is a very generous group of quilters participating in all kinds of different charities, so I am grateful to them for helping me out with one of my favorites.

That pretty much sums up our week.  I hope you have enjoyed reading about it as much as I have enjoyed sharing it.  If you STILL haven't seen enough photos, or you want to see more of Show and Tell, you can see them on My Flickr page.

Retreat Report - Part Three

Our retreat theme this year was A Garden Party complete with a white picket fence and our very own Mother Nature.  

Throughout the week we were encouraged to attach flowers to the fence with notes which would be used in Saturday night's entertainment.  Some of the notes were encouraging......

......and some were, well, not so much!

(At first glance you may think this is genuine praise, but a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say!)

Beautiful hats were the order of the day at the Garden Party.  Rebecca's was complete with a garden hose.

Debbie, JoAnne and Robin's were true works of art.

Angela wore her Garden Party pearls.

And leave it to Julie.  Not everyone can pull off a chicken for a hat!

If you think the hats were creative wait until you see some of the dresses!  Cat......

  








Mary.....

and Rilla came appropriately dressed for a Garden Party.  

Marcia thought it was a Gardening Party and she came dressed appropriately, too!

Mother Nature read our notes from the fence and her Helper Bee provided commentary.  

 

We do have a lot of fun at retreat.  We laugh a lot, we play a lot, we sew a little. And we enjoy being able to spend time with really good friends.

Retreat Report - Part Two

Our Challenge for this year was to make a "Black and White and One Other Color" quilt.  Normally I put off this kind of thing for a long time, so I thought I was way ahead of the game when I started my project at a Nancy Odom workshop last November.  She taught her quilt "Stars are Gathering." 

If you know me at all, you know I did not do it in those colors!  I decided to add green and use it for my Challenge.  Actually it was more like Green and White with a little bit of Black Challenge!




I had all the components made and and organized waaaaay back in November, but I didn't get it out again until I got to the retreat on the first day.   I sewed like a fiend and finished the top (except for the last border) about 15 minutes before the reveal.  I could not have cut it any closer than that!

This was a popular challenge.  There were 23 entries!  I couldn't name a favorite (mainly because a lot the gals read my blog!) but Jan's was very cool.

Debra made some beautiful placemats and a table runner.

I really like the pattern Debbie used.

Faye's was Black and White with Red on one side......

.....and White and Black with Green on the other side!

Shirley made a back pack without a pattern!

And leave it to Eve to use orange!!

One afternoon we held all the challenge quilts over the balcony at the Retreat Center to take photos and it was quite a sight.

I don't want to give anyone quilt overload (like THAT'S possible!!) Next time I'll tell you about our Garden Party.