Wednesday 6 June 2012

Settling In

My studio in the house is finally officially finished. Or as finished as is possible anyway. I have learned that you can't ever call a room finished. Its a more organic process. The room is painted and clean, with a good amount of storage and basic furniture that does it's job. The curtain (my first curtain!) is up and most of my craft supplies have settled in. I'm still waiting for the rest of my toys to find a nook to colonise, but some Blythe dolls are already here. I'd ideally like to keep this room just for me and my crafts, so I'm trying to be careful in curating which of my collections will be living in here. 

I have been working in the new room for about one week. I stitched my curtains in here. Lots more room for sewing than the bedroom and the light is much better. I've also been sitting on the floor, hand quieting my sister's quilt. The table has been in three different positions this week. I originally planned to have it along the wall opposite the Expedits. But then it seemed much more sensible to put it in the window. The third position involves the table facing the window, but in the centre of the room, so I have room to use the floor in front of the window for my photos. I'll probably leave it in this position for now. The current table is still my granny's old kitchen table. It's on it's last legs so I hope to get a sturdier wooden dining table style table in future. And I'm now thinking that having wheels on said table wouldn't be a bad idea.

The curtains. Last year I made a quilt top using almost the entire collection of Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks voile, along with a few Liberty tana lawn squares. I was a beautiful piece of rainbow fabric, but too small for a bed quilt. I was beginning to worry about making too many small quilts. I love this fabric collection so much that I wanted to enjoy it everyday. I wondered if it would be possible to make it work as a curtain, something I'd never tried before and had a bit of a fear of. It always looked like a very technical and precise procedure when my mum would make curtains. So I made mine up as I went along. My patchwork piece measured about 70" square, plenty big enough for the studio window. I made some hanging tabs, I sandwiched them in securely between the top and the lining (an Ikea cotton sheet) and top stitched the top seam. Then I tacked around the remaining three sides and folded and stitched a double hem. I'm really happy with how they turned out and would love to make more patchwork curtains in future :)




I'm waiting for the light to be it's brightest outside so I can get a better shot of the 'stained glass' effect. I keep missing it :( Still to be done... more drawstring bags to hang on my newly painted peg rail, somewhere to keep my threads, and a latch for the door.

6 comments:

  1. i had this table in my flat in finland Jane, and I found it super useful!
    http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/20104718/
    i think it would make a great sewing table and if you found it too low you could always put casters/wheels under its legs to get more height out of it. I love how you can expand it to use for cutting larger yardages on, and then collapse it down...I had such a small space for living that for me the drawers for storage were key and being able to expand or shrink it as needed...Its been lovely to read of your home transformation!

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    2. That table looks great actually. I'd just been looking at traditional dining tables, but the expandability would be super useful. Drawers for threads and cutting equipment definitely a bonus too. I'm so happy to finally have this room finished. Hopefully we can get motivated to finish another room soon. The kitchen just needs tiles and paint, and the bedroom is structurally ok for now and could be decorated. We'll eventually be insulating and re-plastering the walls in there too.

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    3. i wouldnt recommend the Ikea table. the legs are not stable enough for sewing and cutting. i like the idea but would recommend a sturdy table with a cabinet of drawers with wheels under. :)
      I love the curtains. I'm pondering making some i yellow and gray hues for my living room :)

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  2. I love this room Jane, and the curtain you have made is stunning. :)

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  3. The curtain is beautiful! I am getting ready to cut into my stack of LF voiles for a patchwork quilt. :)

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