Crackpot Quilters’ Blog

Yes, Crackpots, at last my New Quilting Studio, courtesy of Melvin and Father Christmas, is ready for show and tell.

First we need to see the Before photos in order that you may fully appreciate the improvements.

In this photo, note how the machine sits up on the desk, too  high for comfortable stitching and easy  viewing of the  work area.

Here we see a larger view of the work area showing the ironing board. Note the location of the wardrobe.

A view  from still farther back showing most of the available space.

One more view, showing the space where the New Sewing Table will go.

And now for the transformation……Ta Dah!!!

Note the comfy chair, the sewing machine at a much more comfortable height, and the large space available for cutting fabric, laying out  fabric for piecing, and for supporting fabric for large projects, like quilting a certain wall quilt. Also note the presence of Pug.

Another view. Note that the freezer is still available as a work surface and that it is now much more conveniently located relative to the machine. Also note the abundant lighting available from a variety of angles.

A long view. Note the new locations of the bed and the wardrobe, providing greater privacy  for those availing themselves of the guest room option. Also, the top of the wardrobe now makes a great cat place with easy access from the stairs. If Pug ever  figures it out.

And finally…

the really long view. Note the large  open space that will be of interest to younger non-Crackpots who wish to avail themselves of the ball-playing and American Revolution reenactment features of the space. And to Pug.

Right now, I’m making a quilt for my friends’ son. Like many crackpot projects, I bought the fabric without a pattern in mind, and by the time I got partway through sewing pieces together, I found that the plan needed some editing. The fabric I’d intended to use for the inner border just wouldn’t work.

On to Plan B – get some solid brown fabric. Of course, the brown I need is not regular brown, it’s Weird Reddish Brown. I visited three fabric stores, and found plenty of brown, but none of the weird reddish variety.

But I’m a Crackpot Quilter. I can handle mid-project redirection. The next weekend I went back to a fabric store looking for dark olive green. No luck. Maybe blueish? Nope.

By then I was running out of plans (having rejected A, B, C, and D), and was thinking about sending a plea for fabric assistance out to my fellow Crackpots. There was only one place left to look: my stash. Like all the Crackpots, I have a fabric stash. the size of which I’m unwilling to reveal. Most of it is intended for future projects that are currently in the “conceptual” phase of creation. (And many of those projects have been in the conceptual phase for many years, but let’s not talk about that).

Down in the third drawer I found some solid fat quarters I’d purchased at the quilt show in Chicago a few years ago. I was going to make a wall hanging my living room. Lo and behold, the brown fat quarter was Weird Reddish Brown (which wouldn’t match my couch anyway). Project saved!

Now I just need to decide where to cut the outer border fabric – the stripes are a bit wavy, and I always find dealing with the “artistic” stripes when trying to make a straight border that looks good a challenge.

Here’s what I have so far (click to biggify):