My Multi-Craftual Room

Multi-craftual seems to be a word I keep hearing recently, and it sure applies to me - I quilt, spin, weave, knit, crochet, dye, embroider, sew clothes, do stained glass, make jewelry, bead, paint... (you'll see I am a collector too, but I don't think that can be called a "craft"). I recently saw a video of someone's multi-craftual room and wanted to share mine. The rest of my home isn't like this, but this is my creative space.

We have lived in six different houses and this is the second time I have been lucky enough to have a room designed especially for me.

This is part of our basement. I wanted a room without a door, so I could 'spill out' if I needed more room.

I have a great old drafting table that is the perfect cutting table. My husband was given this table about 30 years ago. Above it are old kitchen tools, mainly from my maternal grandmother's home, as well as a sampler she made over a hundred years ago.

Across from the table is my spinning wheel, my paternal grandmother's sewing machine cabinet, a curio cabinet from my sister and a quilt ladder my Dad made for me. The clothes on the wall were from my Mom's family, except the little green sweater - that my Mom made when I was pregnant with my first child, both my children wore it home from the hospital, so I thought it deserved a spot on the wall. The basket on the sewing table was given to my grandmother when my Dad was born, full of fruit from her father-in-law, now I have old sewing notions in it.

One of my big splurges is my sewing machine cabinet - I absolutely love it and it has made quilting large quilts a breeze.

The back flips up and I add a folding table beside it.

It has a perfect spot for when I need to use the serger too.

The wall is full of small quilts I made over the years. The first one is the pale one, made with the large blocks that my maternal grandmother pieced. I find all the quilts an inspiration for colours, quilt styles and machine quilting ideas (only the first one is hand quilted). The little wooden shelf was made by my youngest son in wood shop when he was in middle school.

Around the corner is my weaving loom (an 8-shaft Schacht Mighty Wolf).

Next to the loom is a storage room. 

When we were deciding how to reconfigure the basement the one thing I wanted was a storage room, with a door, just for my craft supplies (the size was determined by basement necessities - like support posts and plumbing drains). It is so handy - it acts as a small workroom too. Along with the big sturdy shelves there is a small table, some bookshelves and some benches. The warping board for weaving is in there (in the photo it is the thing hanging in front of the bins above the bench). 

Next to that I have a few old print maker drawers that are perfect for threads and small things.

Off of the room there is the laundry room. It is a room with a sink for dyeing, and stained glass (also a place to start seeds for the garden and overwinter plants).

It also has a door - the only original door in the house - the door is handy to keep pets out when I am working with glass.

This room sure is my happy place!

It's nice when the pets come too.

All the best!♥︎

July Catch Up

For the past month we have been doing some yard work.

Before

We had a small deck on the back of the house, that with the table set up you couldn't walk around. We have been wanting to change it ever since we moved here, and this was the summer.

After

We added a brick patio and a smaller, maintenance free/composite deck (for the BBQ and the stairs from the house). We did the work ourselves, everyone had their jobs and it worked out so well.

With the gazebo, it is a much nicer place to sit, and lots of room.

the rest of the back yard

vegetable garden

front flower bed

we made this garden bigger this year,
 just to give the perennials room to grow

and the side

I have been doing some sewing. I will be showing the finished projects soon.

I ordered a sewing machine cabinet last month, and have been patiently waiting for its arrival. At the beginning of the week I gave my sewing area a good clean, and got it ready for the expected delivery date.

I finally had to break down and set up a make shift sewing table, as some how the cabinet got lost! Fingers crossed it will come next week.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

Sewing Room Clean Up

I am so pleased to have finished quilting the Double Wedding Ring quilt.

It came out better than I expected and I just have to finish hand sewing the binding to the back (I will show the finished results when it is all finished).

I machine quilted 3 quilts in the past two weeks and so today was the day to clean and put my sewing room back in order (I have a set up that involves an old countertop cut to fit my machine for quilting large quilts).
I waited for a sale of free shipping to buy batting, but didn't enjoy having quilt tops waiting for quilting and then quilting three at once (Hamels is having another free shipping week - until May 30th for Canadian and US orders, so I will order some batting in advance for some projects I have lined up).

I cleaned my sewing machine and wanted to pass on a wonderful tip I recently read about on the internet (sorry can't remember where) - they suggested using a pipe cleaner for the hard to reach areas of the sewing machine. It works wonderfully and got into all kinds of spots I have never been able to clean.

Some one recently asked to see some close up pictures of my sewing area (click on the pictures to make them bigger), so here goes -

I have lots of old kitchen things on the wall. The collection started with a few things that we found in the first house we bought and then people started giving me things. Most of them come from my aunt (from my grandmother's house - my mother remembers using the cake tins on the left, the rolling pin was also my grandmother's). The printers drawers on the right hold thread (my degree hangs under them  - it was either here or the laundry room!). I am lucky to have a big, old (heavy) drafting table as my cutting table.

This sampler (about 10" x 15") was made by my grandmother (Gracia Bergeron 1893-1976) when she was young, in boarding school (St Grégoire, Quebec), around 1910.

Incredibly tiny quilting stitches, buttonholes,

mending stitches,

and patching along with the embroidery.

This picture is of my grandmother on the left when she was a teenager, along with her sister and their mother (also about 1910).

The clothes on the wall are also from my grandmother.

The christening gown and cape are on the right.

The gown is so tiny. I don't know how old it is, but my grandmother's first child was born in 1918. The silk ribbon is all fractured on the gown.

My aunt gave me this mohair coat and hat to make teddy bears, but I couldn't cut it up.

This picture shows my grandmother holding one of my aunts wearing the coat and hat, about 1929, along with my grandfather and some of my mother's oldest siblings, plus a cousin. My mother is the youngest of 11 (9 survived to adulthood), her father died a few months before she was born.

Tomorrow I am volunteering at a quilt show - always very enjoyable!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

New Shelves

My youngest son made this little shelf in school a few years and I finally got around to staining, varnishing, and hanging it up! It sure is a cute place to display sewing things and old bottles (my brother and I dug them up in the yard of a home we lived in when we were young, in England).

I had thought about de-cluttering my sewing area but instead I added some thing (the clothes on the wall are from my mother's family).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

Different Kind of Construction

We have been busy cleaning the past two days.

Before

 This was part of our basement yesterday morning,

After

and this is how it looks this evening.
We got rid of the old shelves and desk and built in some cupboards. I got rid of some of my children's toys that they no longer need,but at least I made room for my quilting supplies. Now my fabric is readily accessible.

My sewing area is the opposite end of this room (now it is looking a bit crowded and cluttered, but I like all the old things, maybe I'll de-clutter one day).

My husband recently built this office space around the corner in the basement. I wish I had a before picture - it was a mess of old desk, old shelves and filing cabinet, plus an open ceiling that we never understood why the original owners had left it like that. Now it looks complete, and it is a much better use of space.

Back to sewing tomorrow!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!❤

PS Don't forget to enter my giveaway - odds are pretty good so far!

New Shelves and New Look

Not much sewing these past few days. My husband made me a book shelf to replace a "not so nice" cupboard in my sewing area. It was my job to stain and finish it - all done - 

Yesterday I spent some time clearing out things in my sewing area (still have to go through bins of fabric in the storage room - but that is for another day and a whole other messy story!). 

I even found a spot for my Quilt Along quilt on top of the shelves (it's too big for any of our beds).

I am really pleased with the new shelves, they have given my area a whole new look. 

We had the wood in the garage for a few years now, so it was good to use it up, although now that I know what DH can build I have a few other projects I would like him to make!

On the table in the photo above is my Dresden Plate quilt - I pinned all the layers together yesterday, I plan on starting the quilting at tomorrow night's Friday Night Sew In.

The grey partridges where at bird feeder this morning. They are all so round. Lots of fun to watch, especially when they start running (I can't help but think of "The Partridge Family" intro from the 70's).

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!♥