Pace change, part two

Today I'll carry on with the studio photos so you can see some more of the evolution. The first set of pictures are from the re-do of the basement studio I had at our previous house (the one that was previously purple and green).....

L - I don't own an ironing board per se and the top of the cupboard on the left worked very well with an ironing pad on top.  

M - The redone dresser, along with two dolls.  The one on the left was one I received from a round robin, the other I made.

R - Same configuration as in the previous photo

Closeups of a couple of my organizational 'things'.  These have stayed with me throughout several different studio revamps over the years.

And....now for the current look of my studio space.  It's in the second bedroom of our apartment and must share the space with the computer as well as there being a pull-out couch for guests.  

L - This is more or less an overview of my room.  You can see the pullout couch, my computer station (which also serves as my ironing board) and my office chair.

M - The same cutting table as I had at the house along with the shelves above that still hold those oh so many jars of buttons!

R - The same cupboard with one of the two thread holders I had at the house - painted now.  The little shelf below my son made for me when he was in school.  

L - This area has changed somewhat since this photo was taken.  The filing cabinet remains the same but the area to the left has been overtaken by large Rubbermaid totes which hold my landscaping fabrics.

M & R - These show the organization inside my closet which has two sliding doors.  

And finally, the book shelf.  Hard to get a decent photo of it because I can't stand back far enough to get it all in.  Guess I could knock a hole in the wall but methinks the building management might frown on that.  

Today's quote..."In the rush to return back to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to"

and now, for a change of pace....

I really enjoyed reading the blog post that Ida of 'My Sister Made Me Do It' did where she showed some of the evolutionary process of her sewing studio and that got me thinking that maybe, just maybe, to alleviate all the sameness of the blog here at Chez Magpie, perhaps you might enjoy something similar.  Unfortunately (or maybe quite fortunately depending on your viewpoint!) I don't have pictures of my studio spaces previous to the last house we lived in but here goes...

I'll publish the photos in a small size so as not to overload your

computer.  Please feel free to click to see more details.

L. some of the collection of dolls I had at the time (all made by me) - the drawers held fabric.

M. - more fabric storage on the open shelves

R - this unit held a bunch of different 'stuff'.  Plastic shoeboxes are invaluable!

At that time my studio was in the basement of our house and for some reason I thought purple and green was the way to go.  Now I would NEVER do such a thing but at the time I thought I was quite clever!

L - ironing station and the necessary dehumidifier.  Drawers held assorted stuff
M - I had a plastic folding table I used for sewing on, with display space above

R - This sort of shows the middle of the room - the table was an old kitchen table that

Resident Chef raised up so it was the perfect height for a cutting table.

L - I had two thread holders on the wall, one of which I downsized when wemoved here and now I wish I had it!

M - more display area

R - this cabinet held my bead supplies and more storage in the bottom part (can'tremember what was in there now)

**************

In 2010 I revamped the entire thing because that paint color was too much, even for me!

I will just show you pictures of this part - it's in the same room so the layout was much the same...

I expect this is picture heavy for some of you, so I will stop here and show you a further update on Wednesday.

Today's quote...."It's okay to cry when there's too much on your mind.  The clouds rain when they get too heavy too"

The big (and final) REAL Studio Reveal!

The past two weeks I have been taking part in Vicki's 'Real Studio Tour' and today is the last week for the tour.  In week one we revealed our favourite non-sewing tools and in week two it was our favourite storage solutions.

This week, and one that is likely a hard one for a lot of us, it to post pictures of our studios...as they are.  Warts, mess, and all.  No cleaning up, no making pretty for the camera and the world at large.  Just the real deal. 

So, here goes...

Above is an overall view of my 'studio', which also serves as a spare bedroom
(with pull-out couch), computer room, and pretty much

anything that doesn't fit anywhere else in our apartment.

To the left of the door is our water cooler (kitchen is too small for it to have a home there).  You can see the sign on the wall that is reserving that space for a new bookcase, which has arrived since these pictures were taken and is waiting to be put together).

To the right of the non-existent bookcase, is my computer area.  It's difficult to tell in this picture, but the section that is covered in blue and white swings out and that's what I use for an ironing board.  That 'fabric' on top is a made-for-ironing pad and I also have a folded towel beneath it to absorb any excess heat.

This is my cutting table....a vintage kitchen table, which is up on blocks to make it high enough for me to stand and work comfortably.  Above the table is my inspiration board...a mirror in a past life.  Beneath the table is a cabinet which hold fabric, projects that are waiting their turn, and a container that holds all the rolls of things I use.  

We've turned the corner now, and beneath the window is where I do my sewing and hand stitching.  It's a very small table so tends to get very messy very quickly when I'm working on projects.  Beneath it (hard to see) is a plastic grocery box that currently is holding some of the white laces and supplies I'm using in my white cloth project.  You can see that piece on the table.

This is the next corner.  Another re-purposed cabinet.  This one holds a lot!!  On the top is one of those lazy-susan type things (normally used by scrapbookers) which holds my markers, small sewing tools, and whatever else seems to fit.  To the left of it is a little corner cabinet which also holds some little things - collectibles and more sewing supplies. (p.s. See the final picture for another view of this area and  further explanation of what's there).  The top section in the unit is all my watchmakers cases filled with beads.  More beads in the section below that, and behind the closed doors is fabric.  The jumble pile on the floor is all the white fabrics I am cutting up to use in my white embroidery work.

Here you can see the pull-out couch, along with the stack of books that are currently leaning against the wall waiting for the bookcase to be constructed.  In order to fit the new bookcase into the room, the water cooler has to be moved and will be going into the spot where you see the books now.  What was there?  Well...see those bit plastic totes in the front of the picture?  They were full (and I mean FULL!!) of denim scraps, which I have gotten rid of and the totes have been re-homed to a friend.  To the right (and out of the picture) is a four drawer filing cabinet tucked right in the corner.

 We have turned the corner once again and now we come to my closet.  It has floor to ceiling sliding doors and here I've shown you just one side of it.  The lower plastic shelving units contain all my crazy quilt fabric stash...sorted loosely into colours.  The two areas above that hold all sorts of crafting goodies - all labeled so I can find things fairly easily.  I haven't shown you the other side of the closet, because it's just more of the same.  To the right you can glimpse the doorway back out into the hall.

And below is the second photo of the corner unit.  On the wall I have a thread spool holder that my husband made for me.  Below that is a little shelf that holds things like my scissors and some of my pincushions that have been given to me....all within easy reach when I'm sewing.  You can see the top of the cabinet better in this picture and can now see the plastic little drawer unit I use for storing small sewing 'bits' - things like dome fasteners, sewing machine needles and such. 

So, there you have it....

my studio....warts and all.

Hope you enjoyed seeing it!

Thanks Vicki, this has been such fun!!

Warning!

There's been no air-brushing,

no tidying,

and

no face lifting 

done in preparation 

for this post.

Consider yourself forewarned!

A number of posters throughout the blogging world seem to be doing some organization and overhauls of their studios and/or working spaces.  I thought perhaps it might be interesting to show my closet space in what I tongue-in-cheek call my 'studio' (which also serves as a second bedroom with a pull-out couch; the computer room; the only-place-where-the-water-cooler-would-fit; AND a bedroom for the cat).  

Please keep in mind that I haven't done any tidying 

prior to taking these pictures!

Lower right side

Upper right side

Upper left side

If you click to embiggen you can see more of the finer details (but perhaps you prefer not to!).  Anyhoo... the lower right side of the closet has two 5-drawer shelving units that pretty much hold my crazy quilting fabric stash, sorted and labelled as to colour.  The middle of that photo has another 5-drawer unit on the left side (more fabric storage) and the right side has more plastic units with smaller drawers that hold various crafting supplies.   The upper right side photo shows the plastic shoe boxes I use for further storage - all labelled.

The middle photo shows the upper left side - again, another plastic shelving unit.  My handy hubby added the shelf and above that I store various sized plastic containers that hold yet more supplies.  The 'lower left side' photo is conspicuously absent due to the fact that you really don't want to see the cat litter box!!

I don't know if there are any ideas here that might be useful to anyone, but for lack of anything better to mumble about today, I thought I'd share. 

Studio unveil - of sorts

I realized this morning that it's going to prove a bit difficult to get really good pictures of the new studio, simply because the room is small.  I do have a window (first time I've had a window in my studio in years...yay!!).  So, as promised, here are pictures.....

Starting to the left of the door....

There isn't enough room in our kitchen to house our water cooler, so it has found a home in my studio.  Handy when I want a drink!

The computer area.  You can also see the shelf that runs across pretty much the
entire wall - it holds my button jars and various other things.

My cutting table, which was a huge bonus - I never expected I
could manage to fit it into the space.  Happy about that!
My inspiration board above and a further view of the upper shelf.
That ends the first wall.

Now, turning the corner...

My sewing area, with a nice window above.
To the right you can see my thread storage, along with
a quilt rack that #2 son made me, which is
serving to hold some of my treasures from friends.

We've turned the corner again and here you can see the cabinet I use to store my
beads and also my cotton fabrics, along with some more 'stuff' on top.
This also shows the pull out couch which I share the room with.  It will
be nice for me to sit here and read through my crafting books.
Above I've hung the crazy quilt pieces which I did a few years ago
using the colour suggestions from SharonB.

Now we've reached another corner.  Below the lace tablecloth is one of my
sewing machines - which is doubling as a bedside table.  As you can see there are a few things
sitting on the floor that still need to find a permanent home.  The filing cabinet was given to me and is a huge organizational tool.  You can see my 195o's sewing machine on top of the cabinet and also

my two art dolls - Shudayra and Annelaw.

Now we're turning the final corner...

Here is one side of my floor to ceiling closet.  Here is where I have done some massive
shoehorning!!  Everything is labelled so I can hope (!!) to be able to find what I'm
searching for. 
You can't see in this picture, but below that is where the cat litter box will
reside.  I know, too much information!! 

And here is the other side of my closet.

Now you're back to the doorway again.

I've managed to organize (and stuff!!) a room that measures a mere 10 x 11.5 feet. 
I'm sure things will change as I start to use the space, but for now I'm pretty happy with it.

Hope you've enjoyed the tour.

If you click on the pictures, I think they will
embiggen for you.

Moved, and settled - I think!

I'm back - I hope!  The movers came to move the bigger things that we couldn't lift and of course - it poured rain.  In all the places we've lived - it has 'weathered' every single time we've moved.  We've grown to expect it! 

Anyway, most things are in place, the pictures are hung and it's looking like home.  I'm very happy to say that my studio (shared space with a pull out couch for guests and the computer) has come together far better than I expected.  I've managed to keep all the things that mean the most and there's actually room to walk in here (surprise, surprise!). 

I've been taking pictures as I moved my 'stuff' and have a few you might like to see (or not!).  In 2009 I put my studio on the internet tour of 'Where Women Create' and you can see the results on this post here.  By the end of 2010 I had grown tired of the purple and green and, knowing this move was upcoming, I redid my studio.  You can see pictures of that re-do in these two posts HERE and HERE

Partially moved.....

Looks sad, doesn't it?

Now, here is the 'during'
and what will be my new studio...
maybe???

Is there hope for any sort of organization and
storage of all this STUFF????

Stay tuned for my next post to see the 'after' photos!!