Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

 I have a floor!  There are still some details to finish up before I move in, but I couldn't resist plopping down in the middle of my new floor and stitching up the binding on my latest quilt.  

 I also couldn't resist hanging some curtains last week.

 How fitting that the pattern that I used for the quilt was Yellow Brick Road, because I feel like I have arrived in OZ! 

Some threads on my studio floor...Now it's official!

Let there be light & a giveaway winner!

 The electrician came by today and we have power!!  

 I agonized over which white to paint and am very happy with how it looks so far.

The flooring will be delivered tomorrow and installed "soon".  After that I can start MOVING IN...

I'm feeling pretty lucky right now, and so should Annik because she had the lucky # 2 comment on my quilt market posts.  I was hoping to post more often about market, but got distracted by trying to decide between  swan wing white and moon rise white...

Surprise, Surprise!

I just returned from the whirlwind that is Quilt Market.  WOW!  is all I can say right now, but once my brain stops spinning, I will start a series of posts with the highlights.

 I was especially surprised and excited to receive a charm pack of the much anticipated and yet to be released new collection from Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics.  They call it Bella for a reason.  It is beautiful and it can be yours, because I am giving it away.  Just leave a comment on any of my posts labeled "quilt market" in the next two weeks for your chance to win.  I will pick a random winner on June 4th.

I got another big surprise when I arrived home from Kansas City last night.  STAIRS!!  No more climbing up a ladder to visit my soon-to-be dream studio.  The guys from Minneapolis Garage came by on Saturday...Yes Saturday! to work on my palace (some call it a garage).  Drywall is going up today and things are really taking shape.  Electricity, painting and shelving for fabric storage are just around the corner!

One Quilt Done, One Garage To Go...

Just put the finishing touches on this little voile quilt.   Voile is a very soft, lightweight cotton fabric that I LOVE to use on summer quilts.  I have heard the word voile pronounced a few different ways and am not sure which is correct.  According to Wiktionary it rhymes with fall.  A much prettier version than the "rhymes with foil" one.

The Garage Studio is beginning to look a lot like a garage.  I am so impressed with the work these guys are doing.  So far so good...

Studio Progress!

 

Our unsuspecting sad little garage, with it's drooping roof and crumbling floor had no idea what was coming.

It looks even sadder as a pile of rubble.

A mere 24 hours later it was gone and the foundation was being poured.

One week later, after spending too much time watching concrete dry, this new pile showed up on the front lawn.  Nothing better than the smell of fresh lumber and the sounds of saws and hammers.

My new best friend...

I have been spending some quality time with the Ikea catalog lately. Nearly the entire budget for my new studio space is going to build the garage. There isn't much left for furnishings. I have always been one to "live" in a new space and get a feel for it before doing too much in the way of furnishings and renovations. I have a pinterest board where I have been collecting ideas that range from practical to grand. But for the most part, I plan to use what I have now to start out with. There is one wonderful exception...
...an island! On paper, it looks like I can fit two of these beauties back to back in the center of my new space. The concept of that much space boggles me, but even if I can only get one in there, it is an ISLAND! A paradise, an oasis....
Okay, I guess there are two exceptions. I picked up one of these pretty floral trays. Perfect for transporting my lunch from the kitchen to the studio. I "heart" Ikea! Now, off to sit by the window and wait for the bulldozer to arrive.

What's not to love?

I love my sewing room! I love that I even have a sewing room! But I am busting at the seams and I am so excited that I will be getting a new sewing room soon. I might even venture to call it a studio.

One of the challenges of working from home has been working from home! I am at work when I am at home. I am at home when I am at work. A little separation (and a lot more space!) is in order. Not too much separation though. I don't want to lose the conveniences that working from home brings. Enter...the garage plan!

I have long dreamed of a sewing studio above the garage. We currently have a small, old and underutilized garage. And the bull-dozer comes next week...