Three great improvements to my space
 

First - the recessed are of desk for the machine - SOOO much more comfortable to sew at and better visibility!!!!

Second - the 6" legs on the ironing/cutting table - no more backbreaking cutting sessions!!!

Third, the design wall - a 5x6 wood frame with cross supports to keep it squared, with fuzzy flannel-like stuff from the home deco dept at Joanns. So much easier to keep the pieces organized!

All from my DH who managed to get it all done in a few days before Christmas!

Of course the room still has the piano and Aunt Grace's old desk and an easy chair because I can't find another place to put them, and the lighting isn't great, and not much storage, and the electrical needs upgrade so I don't blow a fuse when I plus in the space heater....but way better than when I started out quilting this time last year. HURRAH!

Nice space, you'll really be creating now!

Wonderful way to start the new year. You have talented DH to do this for you.

Love your ironing and cutting table. The quilt on the design wall is very pretty.

Lovely room... just a question .... do you always have it so organized? .... nice window view also...enjoy your new digs..Happy 2012

Judy in Phx

Doesn't it make a big difference when creating is more comfortable? What a great guy your husband is to fix this up for you like this. And as my sister is always saying, "baby steps."

Looks awesome! My machine is recessed now too, thanks to my birthday present. Sure makes a huge difference. Thanks for posting!

Love your design wall (pretty rug, too)

I love that table! I was just showing my husband and he said he could make me a table (his hobby is woodworking). He asked how your husband was able to recess the machine in so perfectly. Is there something he purchased that dropped down into the hole of the table for the machine to sit on? I own a Janome 6600. Any help you/your husband could offer would be so appreciated.

Thanks,

Suzanne in VT

great work space, give thanks always!

Very nice space. Your dh is a keeper for sure.

Very Nice.
J J

Great improvements. I always want to make my space better, too. Now you need a good lamp!!

Very nice room. Congratulations on the upgrades. It is easier to sew when things are the right size.

Looks great. Happy quilting.

Great ideas for how to deal with the piano, but it was my childhood piano and I want to keep it, and the problem is there's no place else in the house for it.
I'm just happy to have a room I can work in. If I ever have to use the desk as a desk, DH made a fill-in piece which covers the hole.
I stuff my batting in a closet and the mice haven't got it...yet!

Suzanne, that is a bigger machine than my little QDC but it should work. He cut a hole in the desk the size of the machine plus that plastic little table that came with the machine, leaving a little wiggle room on the right for the cords centered in the opening of the desk. Then he built a box 3" deep to fit in the hole plus 3/4" for the bottom which can come out and site on wood frame pieces which are attached to the sides of the box underneath. The sides of the box up on the top are screwed into the thickness of the desk. I am NOT the woodworker here but I will try to get him to explain it better that I can (when no football is on TV!!!) and I'll post it.

Very nice room s/b lots of great things come from there. Sue

Thanks for saying I look organized! That is only because I don't have much of a stash, the battings are stuck in a closet, I only work on one thing at a time, only have one sewing machine, and I stuff all my thread and scissors and neat little tools and stuff in the desk drawers. DH says he'll make me a hanging area on the side of the cutting table for my rulers, but right now they are in the piano bench to keep them flat. Except for my big JT strip cutter and a couple cutting boards which lean next to the desk right now (yes it will warp them. I cant hang them on the door because it is an antique. )
Any you cant see in the picture but a piece of the ceiling is coming down over the door from when my daughter's radiator leaked down into my room in a major way.

Thanks for the encouragement and Happy New Year!

But hey I am so happy to have a spot, I don't care!

I just watched Ricky Timms Christmas concert on Thequiltshow.com and when you mentioned the pianp in your sewing room, I thought you could play when you took breaks. He likes to and he is marvelous. I wish I could have mine in there. I would learn Cathy Miller's quilt songs....Those are fun. Thanks for sharing....

Love it! AND you are a Janome girl! So am I. My wonderful husband is constantly making upgrades in my sewing room for me. He got two lateral files and cubicle desk tops from where he works and set them up for a stable worktop for me - the only draw back is that the table is almost too high now, but I'm making it work. One of these days I hope to have a drop-in surface. He's put so much work into my sewing space that I can't complain - florescent lights, two great work tables, tv and blueray player so I can find YouTube videos, the list goes on and on! We're lucky girls, huh?

Carichar - new quilter
 

:confused:Love the space really nice, question to you and others who want to give me some advise. I have everything set up however, what does everyone put their scraps into? I've tried a jar, not big enough; I've tried a box, gets filled to easy.
Help!! Any suggestions?

Lucky girl! You must be beside yourself with giddiness for all the 'improvements' to your studio. Congrats.

Would you share a bit more on the design wall. I love that it is framed in. DH is at the ready to build one for me, but I'm the holdup. Not exactly sure what I want but if you don't mind, yours looks fabulous and I'd love t 'copy-cat' your idea.

Oh, and love the door handle! (Sorry, I'm notice things like that.)

d

Quilters are always organizing and re-organizing to make our sewing space more accomadating.
Our sewing spaces are so personal to us we always want them to be a special space. :)

Love the are and improvements. I have a couple suggestions. 1st get a couple surge protectors and put the sewing machine and the iron on them. 2nd look for the ott lights at Joannes on sale get on for the sewing table. Can you donate the extra furniture in the room to open it up for you. I use an Ikea 25 cube bookcase for storage. Just a few thoughts. Enjoy your new space. Luann

How nice. And that's a great desk!

Beautiful room.. Lucky you.

We sure are, and it is one of those things I'm thankful for whenever I go into that room! Sounds like your DH has done everything electronic you could ask for and great lighting. What do you put in the lateral files, fabric? or pattern books and stuff?

I'm on the lookout for one of those Ott lights when Joanne does the big sale - it's next on the list!
thanks for the suggestions - it's a whole new year coming up to improve
Sue

I just drop them in a paper bag from the supermarket kept under the cutting table and throw them out. there, I've confessed! Anything big enough to use again I pile up and then store in a bag by project.
Love to her what other people are doing!

Lovely!

The only place my DH is handy is in the kitchen with the 5-burner gas range he bought himself and the smoker. I'm not complaining about his cooking but I do like to say that when God was handing out talent my DH got in the 'brilliant line' twice and was so busy 'thinking', he forgot to get in the 'mechanically inclined line' at all! LOL

That half of the house is 1803 but feels older - I love the old latches too!

Here is how we did the wall. I went through a lot of thought and read about different ideas on the board, and gouldn't make up my mind how big...finally it came down to...I had bought a 6 foot length of 54" wide home deco white flannely fabric at Joannes' for it. Rich was ready to just 'get it done'. So he got four 1x2 wood strips cut to just a couple inches smaller all round than the fabric. The made little one-foot pieces angled in to stabilize each corner, and he put in a center piece of 1x2 going from top to bottom. (that was the part he knew how to do) Then we laid the fabric on the floor, and staple-gunned it just like you would a canvas for a painting. (that's the part I knew how to do) Pull it even, staple top center, bottom center then each side center, then keep moving outward toward the edges, pulling the fabric tight vertically and horizontally so it doesn't get wrinkles. He put two blocks on the wall at a distance apart so I could slide it back and forth if I need to move it, and it is small enough I can take it down.

what a team - it was our 30-year anniversary this past weekend and I have to say he is dearer to me than ever. And he never gets nudgy when I go off to the quilting lab. (My son nicknamed it the lab as he says it is where I experiment LOL - he also sometimes hears shrieks of insane laughter when I sew something backwards AGAIN, or delight when the blocks come out right)

Beautiful! Wishing I had more working room. Enjoy your space!

[QUOTE=SueSew;4834976]
Here is how we did the wall.
what a team
QUOTE]

Sue,
Thanks tons for the info on the design wall. Just maybe, if I give the 'green light', hubby can cross something of his to-do list. Of course, I'll only find something else to fill up that spot. Can't have him 'getting caught up', can I? :-)

My dh has dub my studio 'the inner sanctum'. We're 34 years and counting.

Looks great and Very organized!

Suzanne my husband built me a 3 piece sewing table and recessed my Elna Baby. He put a "floor" in the recessed area that is open in the front(against me) to accommodate the knee lift bar and the opposite side for cords in the power strip. I can't figure out how to post a pic off my iPhone which is what I'm using right now. Sorry!

Suzanne, you understand Suesew won't be able to ask him until after the Superbowl in late January - oh, unless he's also a basketball fan - that carries right through Spring training for baseball. There is a short time between the worlds series and Football I think. I know I see my DH sometime in August every year. (Funny - but kinda true) He loves his sports.

Lucky you, doesn't it feel good to get a little organized. Like your design wall idea.