Fixing up to Bust out

The Coop and Saucer Playroom was first purposed to be my sewing room.  Over time an whole lot of other hobbies came to play and some have even stayed.  It had actually got to the point where sewing kinda got crammed into one corner and wet and wild began to rule the roost!   Having lots of various interests isn't necessarily a bad thing but it turns out that too many options and too much visual clutter cripples my creativity.  It took some time to figure out what was causing my mojo to race around in circles with not to many finished products to show for the flying feathers.  I think all those itches have been scratched and the best of the good has been identified and priorities have been set.

My Nina, my sewing, my fabric have been given the prime real estate!   They have centre stage.

Thanks to the Rooster for settling Nina nicely into her spot.  He does take care of his chicks.  LOL  The large and smooth sewing surface facilitates general sewing, piecing and most importantly machine quilting.  This arrangement means I am  ready for sewing  and quilting just about any time.  :)

I even sat down to try the stool and everything feels quite comfortable.  Who knew an elbow rest was a treat!  :O  The free hand system doesn't quite work but the little button is just as handy for raising the presser foot.

I also managed to get rid of a bit more of the non essentials which reduces the visual clutter and encourages my creativity.

The three sets of wall files have a place in the closet as soon as the Rooster figures out how to reinforce the old and brittle tongue & groove boards that comprise the walls.

Sew-    my UFO  Busting  is nil for January.  I seem to like working under a handicap!  :(   But I shall be making up the deficit as I  am feeling the urge to quilt in ways I just haven't during the past couple of years.  Woo hoo!   And finding a good sewing set up was definitely a very old unfinished project. 

Where oh where...

oh where, did January go-

My mojo hasn't gone anywhere but there were a whole bunch of procrastinating chores in front of it.

I'm working on my diet and I imagine some of the tired feeling is the withdrawal from those hyper/addictive foods.  I am liking the ginger tea with breakfast and the no computer during the morning.  Lunch is at the 'puter with good food and then COFFEE!  :)

Now the focus this year is fabric so I haven't posted too much mixed media art but...

My gal and I had a visitor for our regular day.  We take what we learn and then share it with the grand kiddies the following day.

 The background technique involved about 4-5 different steps so we just passed the papers to the student on our right after each step.  I got so excited I almost pitched the fabric focus.  I do think this would also work with fabric dyeing though!  ;^)                                           

Then we made little journals and a bookmark.   I felt like the art was well done.  Because I tend to be a technique junkie,  we decided to follow a bit of a plan and to keep with the wet stuff while the skills build and the interest is high.

So we are back to basics- the colour wheel and the first colour yellow.  Adding white and black.  We decided to keep it simple and didn't show the kiddies how the complimentary colour also adds nuances to the colour scheme.  We are learning lots!  :)

Again, not fabric related but I have my new camera.  I haven't even put the new lens on but I've been thumbing through the very thick manual.  eek!   I splurged on a camera case and in the spirit of me- my theme for the year, I have to figure out how to make it mine.   I wasn't feeling to try paint on it and then remembered I want to do handwork so...

I need to just do this so I signed up for a once a month camera challenge.  Tomorrow my gal and I have an art field trip and I shall have my bag packed - ready or not- and I shall click away!  :O  Then I'll have to figure out how to upload and all that. :(

If I want fabric/fibre to be the focus I had to make my main machine, Nina ready for anything and especially machine quilting.  I swear I should get a paying job reorganizing people spaces because...  you guessed it I changed the playroom around.  I had this set up before for Nina and it was great.  I didn't want to change the wet corner but I could restore the other corner.  It works.

 Mostly because I actually have consolidated (ie. thrown out) lots of stuff.  Everything fit but I have to either lift up or move those wall files.  Bonus is a less cluttered look; and if I can get the Rooster to fill in that open space with a lovely piece of melamine, it'll be perfect.  The quilts will be supported on the left and can spread out towards the wall when I move the books.  I stand to quilt and I don't feel cramped.  Here is hoping I can then get to the UFO busting that is sandwiched and due presently!

The winter has been quite lovely and we have actually had rain so the snow has gone down.  Snow and cold is again forecast though.  But the young steer is apparently bored with the whole thing and has left his pasture mates, two sheep, and has gone to look for greener pastures to kick up his heels in!  :(   Where oh where will he wander to next? 

And that should give my dear followers some idea of where I have actually been!  :)

The whole darn work table!

Well, I didn't think it could be done but I found 'another' arrangement for the Coop and Saucer Playroom.  I had gotten a used Big Shot Pro and it fits better on the old office cupboard with a large piece of melamine on top to allow the tray to move and the handle to keep out of harms way.  It is heavy.  I am able to access all three sides of the large craft table now.  And I am going to do my darnedest to keep it clear of  'stuff'!

Mixed Media is all along the south wall.   I need to buy better/longer shelves but I don't want them too deep.  I'm learning to keep things within reach.  The far corner will be for stamping as I padded that top and I'll spread the stamps in those long drawers.  My old sit down sewing cabinet is at the fourth side, in front of the window.  It is a bit lower than the worktable but that is good as it  holds and corrals all the rulers and papers I use and they don't overflow all over. 

My sewing area is greatly reduced.  Hopefully it won't be too hard to re figure for the few large quilts I need to finish up.  I also lost my ironing station but I do have a new ironing board I can set up in the hallway.  The pegboard will hold sewing accessories as soon as I get time to get them up.  I need to organize some drawers but I think this will work okay.  I also have white feather ticking which was wide and really cheap so I'll make those design walls a bit bigger and smoother!  ;)

Creativity 101 went well today with the new set up!

And...

I couldn't resist letting you know what my dear grand daughter thinks of it all!    Her papa was getting his Canadian citizenship last week and she grew weary in waiting!  lol

Taking Time

I'm behind on my calendar  but I think having a work desk at the end of my craft table just for this journal will work out well and actually writing on the calendar for referencing will be most helpful!  lol

The peg board over the work counter will be wonderful.  I shall give it a light coat of paint and be on the lookout for the handy dandy peg board accessories. I've never really looked for them before.  Now I have options. ;^) Hopefully Canadian Tire carries them and I can use my Canuck Truck money to get them!

The reduced workspace is not a problem as I've discovered that no matter the square footage available I only manage to keep about 2 square feet actually clear!  :(

This is water colour crayons with salt sprinkled on the the wet surface.

I had to go for function over form and use the two old IKEA chests under the craft table as the shallow but large square drawers held so many odd shaped things.  The rolling shelving units they replace will go out to the workroom which is progressing well.  I still need to sort through a few miscellaneous piles of books and memorabilia.  I need a rainy day.

Now these were not actually necessary for my on-line workshop but I have always wanted to try Twinkling H2O's and a few Silks with a misting of Radiant Rain seemed nice additions.  I'm learning about what makes a useful stamp as well.  So I need now to set up a day for doing the lessons and take the time to make rainbows that lead to pots of gold.

The Coop and Saucer Playroom/Studio

My sewing space has had a place in probably every room of the house.

As the kids left the space became a room.

I realized it could even be in the biggest bedroom since the Rooster didn't care where  he slept as long as he had a window to survey his kingdom and give the wake up call to all under his wings!

So here is what the first 11' x 12' sewing space looked like.  The worst thing about this room is the west facing window.

I would soon bediscovering that ALL that bulletin board stimulation is not good for me.  I had no grand kiddies so I amused myself with a couple of dolls.  

I was in full sewing mode.  I had also just become somewhat computer savvy.

I'd never had a sewing cabinet but realized I needed to get my machine down flat for machine quilting.  These cabinets are not cheap because the lift is so expensive.  I didn't realize I'd never really use the lift. Nor did I know about standing to sew.  There are also a lot of corners to bump my hips on!

Then I got a better idea.  I was trying to reduce visual stimulation.  I now had two machines on the go. 

I was trying to get more efficient and reduce clutter so I tried cutting on the counter and confined the computer to a small desk.  I don't know where the heck I put the cutting table in this makeover but I needed it back.  The ol' sore back, ya know! .

So I put that folding cutting table at the end of the sewing cabinet and stored the spare machine which I used for my student on it.  It was handy for the odd thing and then I discovered that I really liked standing. I was using it for all my piecing of quilt blocks.  I was also beginning to discover mixed media art.

Then I got a bigger heavier sewing machine, my Nina.  We got some good deals at an auction. A wee trim on the legs and Nina had a solid base.  The old sewing cabinet became the computer desk.

One more modification to the old IKEA media cabinet and I figured this was as good as it gets.

But things are pretty cramped.  My poor hips! There are only 2 plugs in this room. I have extension cords threaded around and through and taped on the floor. And really, I must admit that having the computer in the room is a great distraction so...

 Here I go again!

I'm trying to do it properly.  So I hung hooks for aprons and work shirts on the main door which will mostly stay open.  The old office cabinet will hold stuff for Creativity 101 and I'm thinking to paint it aqua.  The closet door got the bulletin board hung.The closet also has the darn ironing board that never seems to fit anywhere!  It also has my old school cupboard for my whites, beiges, browns and blacks as well as some books.  Under the low knee wall is the cupboard that has the canvas cubes holding scraps which are easy to haul out to the light.

The ironing station.  This was another piece we got at that great auction.  It holds large stencils and large sheets of  paper.  I wanted a shelf for the supplies and I thought if I can run a sewing machine and slice accurately with a rotary cutter I should be able to run the Rooster's chop saw.  Heart pounding, I finally got it going and ... easy peasey.  In fact I went out again and cut a back board for the desk that butts up to the cutting table.  whoo hoo!

But I think I will leave the table that will go behind Nina to the Rooster. lol  I am sew excited about this corner and can't wait to get back to more quilting.

I want to make new white curtains for the storage shelves.  It will be a design area. By putting the computer in the hallway I will loose my design wall so I must rethink that and the best I can come up with is two big hooks in the ceiling in front of the mixed media counter that I can suspend my big wooden dowel and flannelet sheet  from. I'll roll it up in between projects.   I figure when I'm doing a big quilt I won't be doing too much at that counter.  It should also save me all those steps from sewing machine to out in the hall and back again!

I want the Rooster to make another box for the top of the last unit.  I'm also thinking that possibly a peg board on the wall might keep me entertained if I get the urge to rearrange anything any time soon.  :(

Interestingly,  I noticed that I have come full circle.  This is pretty similar to how I originally had the room.  I must learn to trust my instincts a little more.

So I'm thrilled but not quite done. I have to edit the books, shuffle the contents of the drawers around a bit and find creative places for the leftovers that are stacked in the hallway!  That could possibly the workroom out in the barn.  I know one thing.  It isn't coming back in to clutter up the Coop and Saucer Playroom/Studio.

Any chicks wanna join me for a cuppa?  We can sit around and soak up all the ambiance!  VBSIGH

Half way there

Neither excruciating heat, nor thunderstorm, nor company can keep us from our appointed task!  lol
Sore muscles?  Well, we do have to sleep sometime.    The grand kiddies arrived in time to help throw down the last of the sand before the thunderstorm hit.  Then one tripped up the new step that completes the walk through the flowerbed.  I'm very happy with things so far.  

That fierce prairie wind played havoc with the string that was the guide for the walks edge.  It also took 3 shingles off the newly repaired barn. :(   But only one branch off the tree.  :)

The Rooster is a rough or at best framer type carpenter who has cabinet maker tendencies.  oye!  I'd have just slapped something up the edge of the bookcases to hold back fabric but he spent the morning disassembling the old IKEA media cabinet, which had past its prime, and making it into two nice boxes to hold my fabric.  They are lovely, but really, 1/16th of an inch and the galloping horse test.  Good enough already!  lol  I need to buy 2 more of those wonderful rolling plastic shelving units and figure my options for my work counter wall.  We cut the counter to fit but I'm not unhappy because the longer surface still only yielded the minimum 2 square feet of work space that remained uncluttered.  sheesh

The Rooster is thinking saw horse legs with a nice melamine top for behind Nina.  I gained space because I can have storage space on my right as well as a larger flat surface to the left and behind.  I'm thrilled with this area.

I'd like the computer to move to the hallway and my idea for threading an extension cord over, around, and through is meeting with a frown so an electrician may be on the to-do list which means I can also have a designated plug for the iron.  The two main work areas will work well. I need to decide if I want a sit down area at the end of the worktable or not.  Surprisingly the room feels less cramped that before.  This probably because my walkways are wider.

These are carefully posed pictures to eliminate the stacks of stuff that need to be pruned and set in place. :O

My Creativity 101 student is with me again today so we are back into the barn for another round of cleaning.

Some things are on the short half of done and some are on the longer half with lots to go. Goodness, it is already almost lunch time.  The day is almost done, tomorrow has a full list, What's on the Work table Wednesday needs thinking about, the week is half gone and nothing is yet done.  ;^)  That's what my Dad used to say.  But I think I'll have my second cup of coffee before I lace up my running shoes!

A beginning and an end

I bought a sketchbook with 70 white pages.  On reading the fine print I see it is for pen and pencil.  I don't care.  I luv the clean white 2 page spread and splashed, smeared and scraped.  I also duct taped the spine which split.  ???  I don't care.  It is already messy and the duct tape is cool!

My supplies for my workshop with Joanne Sharpe arrived and the box was huge.  :)

It was mostly the paper stuffing around things.  lol  I am no comparison shopper nor am I very experienced in buying art supplies.  (see above sketchbook )  So I just copied recommendations off the supply list and pressed send.  I did see the gesso was on sale and I had already bought some for much more so I thought since I was in for a penny, I might as well be in for a pound.  I think that saying has British roots!

I am ready to begin!

But  they won't ship animal bristle brushes across the border so when I did an errand in the city I used 2 coupons at Michaels.  That has to end!  oye!

I am so very excited about my set up for doing some mixed media journaling every day.  I like it.  There is no end in sight and they are so easy to begin and end in a short amount of time.  No plan. Just fun.

While MQing the veranda quilt I realized how much I like doing it but my set up is not great.  I need an L shaped work space.  I spent a goodly amount of time tossing and turning over ideas the other night and I'd have leaped up to go get a tape measure except for the fact that I knew the Rooster would have thumped me good.  He was assuming the heat was making me restless.  HA!

Last time I did the room I figured it was as good as it gets.  So I really needed that 'what if...'  to happen.  It has so I have forewarned the Rooster I need some help tonight. I only have Friday night because he'll have me back and focused on the walk and fence for Saturday.  Friday's are date nights, right!  I shall remind him of the times I helped stack square hay bales when we were first dating!    But I almost killed myself hefting that 6 foot counter last time and we need to take down that cupboard that we shortened and brought back from storage from the last time I reorganized. The good news is that each time I part with more stuff I feel I can't live without. Meanwhile, the Rooster'll be sitting on the stool pulling daisy petals while I think!  I love her, I love her not, I  LOVE  her!  (I shall arrange for an odd arrangement of petals)

He is sceptical I can do it but while I'm not so hot on a tape measure, I do think I have a viable plan with some built in fiddle room. ;^)

So I hope to end the changes for my playroom/studio with this super creative plan. (again)

I am beginning a whole new exciting season of creativity.