Keeping It Real: My Sewing Space

I do have to say that I am pretty lucky to have a room of my own to create and play. I house lots of fabrics, art supplies and other creative toys. I am constantly changing things around to suit my needs.

Here's a clockwise view:

A portion of my fabric stash and books.

More fabric, art supplies and other toys.

My craft table: where the magic happens.

My design wall. So happy to have one!

Sewing machine, Accuquilt and
other supplies.

I also have stuff tucked under the table and in another closet in the house. I plan to sort through it all this year and purge what I know will never be used. Since my resolution was to not buy any fabric, I hope to use up a lot of my stash and make room for new things in 2016.

I have plans to change a few things around in the next few weeks that will allow me to display more art work so stay tuned. I can't wait to post pictures when it's done.


Since my last blog, I made more bags including this one for my brother-in-law:

Tuxedo print boxed bag

Mustaches inside the bag!

 And I missed posting last week as I was busy celebrating my birthday!

Delicious Red Velvet Cupcake

My love splurged on lots of fabric for me. So much nerdy goodness with
Cotton+Steel and Tula Pink as a cherry on top!
How lucky can I be?

My friend Debbe had her fiance make this awesome ruler storage
for my craft desk. I saw hers and remarked that I would love one.
I was able to get two and they are almost filled.
Can you really have too many rulers?

My friend Leandra made this Tula Pink clock.
It brightens my design wall perfectly.

I also had great weekends before and after my birthday with my sister and friends that made me feel so special. I love my life and all those who are in it.

I feel ready to tackle a new year!

My Quilty Resolutions

I often wonder where does the time go? I feel like life has been moving at warp speed and I can barely keep up. (Not to mention ending 2014 and starting 2015 with a cold!)

Good things are on the horizon and I feel that despite how busy it may feel, it all leads to a productive year ahead.

I did make some quilt-related resolutions for the new year and hope you'll keep me accountable. (I'll do the same for you if you want me to do so.)

1. I will blog once per week. (I found Shruti on Instagram and love her ideas that led me to her blog. Her post 52 Post to Blog Every Week did all the hard work for me. I won't worry about topics and will follow along with her. I will even try to post on her linky party. Hope you will, too)

2. I will complete more of my UFOs before starting a new project. This will be hard since I tend to have 5 things going on my table at the same time, all the time. (I even read 4-5 books at a time so know I am a little crazy that way.) I have so many projects to keep me busy that I really should stop looking for new things anyway.

3. I will make and publish at least one pattern by year's end. I make so many things and would love to share them in case someone else would like to make one, too.

4.  I will start selling pieces that are specifically made for market. Maker Faire Orlando really inspired me last year and I've already started planning ahead for this year. Plus, I've had an Etsy shop that's been barren since I joined many years ago. I plan to wipe the dust off of that shelf and list a few things. (Some funding for my fabric addiction could be a good way to make this habit work in the long run.)

5. I will keep some projects for myself. Almost everything I've made including my very first quilt has been a gift to someone special. It was easy to forget that I am special, too. I've started making a few things for myself finally and that feels great. I would like to have a small collection that I can share in person instead of a photograph when people ask me what I like to quilt.

6. I will REALLY try hard this year not to buy more fabric. I said it last year and it didn't hold past February. *Exclusion will be made for purchases needed to complete UFOs and for a few of the new collections I know ship early this year. (C+S and Tula Pink are killing me with their beauties!) I also have guild field trips in Feb and Nov so those purchases don't count either, right?

7. I will start getting rid of more fabric in my stash that I know I won't use. I can give some to my guildmates and may try selling some online if I feel they may be an item someone is interested in buying. I've been holding on to some "one day I will make something fun with it" fabrics that are about 10 years old now. It's time to purge and make room for serious buying in 2016. (Hahahaha!)

8. I will design and start creating quilts that I will put in a juried show starting 2016. I hoped to have some done for this year but don't want to put something out if it's not ready. If the stars align and a project gets completed early, then I will not hesitate to put something out there for judging this year.

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Here are some photos of things, including Christmas presents, since my last post:

An AMAZING class with Victoria Findlay Wolfe in early December led to some creative quilting all month long.

Here's what I made after her class:

Tiny 1.5 in squares

Mini Heart Quilt

I love the quilting on this one!

Paper piecing!

Swirly Twirly Dresden Pattern

Mini Trajectory Pattern

Bags and pouches for everyone!

Found a use for this mini DC Comics panel

So happy to cut up my rainbow unicorns and use this bag.
It has my mini hexagons that I'm working to complete
when traveling or (im)patiently waiting places.

For my bestie who loves Hitchcock as much as I do!

Fabric and Technology Play

Played with my friend's Brother Scan N Cut machine to start making these profile pieces. I have about 3 more to finish up to complete this mini collection.

I like that I have positive and negatives of each image and
I can make various sizes once I like the final scan.

Using my shot cotton scraps, I made this improv piece.

More pouches!

Front panels with diamond quilting design

Back panels of diamond pouches

For my momma!

I made a few more things but somehow did not get photos before they were whisked away for the holidays. I'll have to scan my other camera to see if I snapped any photos there and post them later.

 I will check in with you about this list over the next few months so stay tuned for my progress along the way. My goal is to post on Sat or Sun each week!

Did you make any quilt related resolutions?