Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop 2018

Cheryl Sleboda of Muppin.com sent out an invitation a few weeks ago to participate in the Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop. One look around my very messy studio and I realized I not only WANTED to participate, I NEEDED to participate. So I told Cheryl that I was in.

How on earth did my studio get so messy? I am usually very tidy, believe it or not, but suddenly every surface was covered with unfinished/unquilted quilt tops, piles of fabric, spools of thread and general thread and fiber grunge. Where to start?

How about the area between my longarm and my storage shelving? Every time I try to quilt something I have to move the piles of stuff. And finding something in my finished quilt storage area (three shelves to the left of the green bookcase)? Nearly impossible.

Or maybe the longarm table itself? It seems to be serving as a dumping ground storage area.

And then, there is the cutting table. I know there is a cutting mat down there somewhere.

I decided to make these three areas my priority. The rest of the studio was only moderately messy. A few minutes spent picking up the clutter would suffice for it. But the area behind the longarm, the longarm table and the cutting table desperately needed to be sorted out!

I started behind the longarm. I had stashed all sorts of junk (wrapping paper, a stash or Christmas gifts (I like to start early), stamping supplies and fabric paint, a box of Dharma hot water fiber reactive dyes I had just received, some unfinished quilt tops (they need to be reworked or recycled), various sizes of stretched canvas and a box of fabrics I bought during my trip to Japan). That area is the perfect stash space -- you can't see it from the door of the room or while sitting at the sewing machine -- but it was a big problem if I actually wanted to quilt something.

A couple of hours of hard work and I had sorted through the junk stuff. I'd put things back on the storage shelves, found a place for the Christmas gifts and reorganized the quilt storage area. And -- best of all -- I can reach the bookcase!

The quilt storage area is once again accessible. Each large quilt is rolled on a pool noodle and stored in a muslin bag. Small quilts are stacked on the shelf below.

I turned to the longarm table top. That twelve feet was prime storage space. Fabrics, papers, clothing, tools....all of it had migrated onto that long, inviting surface. The only problem was, it did make quilting a bit difficult. I had to dump stuff on the floor if I wanted to actually quilt. But several hours of sorting and putting things away and I have a table again! Hooray!

The final area that needed attention was the cutting table. I've been piecing like a woman possessed, and scraps and pieced bits were covering the surface. To make a cut, I had to sweep all of it aside.  But, once again, it only took a couple of hours to find the surface again.

So a few hours of cleaning and I am back in business! Thank you, Cheryl, for "making" me clean up my studio! I love it so much when I have a clean and organized workspace.

So I'll leave you with a few general pictures of my space. First, my studio assistant Boomer, in his usual space:

And a shot from the entrance to the room looking towards my sewing machine/ironing table and design wall. Boomer's loveseat is on the left.

Boomer's regular view. I took this photo with my back to the loveseat, looking toward the sewing table and longarm.

My view from the sewing machine. You can see Boomer is hard at work.

The blog hop is going on for the next several weeks. Join us and see all of the amazing studio transformations!

April 23 – Lori Crawley Kennedy – http://theinboxjaunt.com/ 
April 24 – Jennifer Thomas – http://curlicuecreations.blogspot.com
April 25 – Robin Koehler – http://nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com
April 26 – Andi Barney- https://www.andibarney.com/
April 27 – Misty Cole – http://www.mistycole.com/blog
April 28 – Carolina Moore- http://alwaysexpectmoore.com/
April 29 – Heather Pregger – https://heatherquilts.blogspot.com/
April 30 – Linda Bratten – https://lindabcreative.blogspot.com/
May 1 – Lisa Reber – www.dippydye.blogspot.com/
May 2 – Teresa Coates – http://www.crinkledreams.com
May 3 – Lisa Chin – http://www.lisachinartist.com/
May 4 – Jamie Fingal – http://www.jamiefingaldesigns.com/
May 5 – Sam Hunter – http://www.huntersdesignstudio.com
May 6 – Jessee Maloney – http://www.artschooldropout.net/blog
May 7 – Randa Parrish – http://www.sewartsyfartsy.com/
May 8 – Sarah Vedeler- https://meaningoflifedesigns.com/
May 9 – Jessica Darling – https://jessicakdarling.com/
May 10 – Melody Crust – http://www.melodycrust.com/
May 11 – Debby Brown – http://higheredhands.blogspot.com
May 12 – Cheryl Sleboda – http://blog.muppin.com

I hope you are excited as I am to see everyone’s studio!