Progress

Kitty, my long arm, is all settled into her new home. Fitting better than I had planned with enough room for me to get around both ends and the back. An alcove instead of a closet was included on the far end to maximize my available floor space.
I have never been able to get the SLR to work on this machine. I took all the parts to Carol's to test them on her machine; they worked just fine. But when I installed them back on Kitty, nothing. I resigned to the fact that  I would have to quilt without an SLR. 

 After testing my stitches, I decided to give the SLR one more try. Maybe, just maybe, reassembling the frame and machine would set something right that had been out of sync. I held my breath as I flipped on the SLR and moved the carriage... it worked! I did a happy dance. After half an hour of adjusting the max/min speeds, I loaded "Granny's Hankie", a 2011 BOM from Denise Russart. Each day, I quilt for an hour, taking my time learning the rhythms of the SLR. 

I quilted this quilt before the basement renovation, then sewed the binding on last week. The pattern is Majestic Mountain and calls for a Jelly Roll, but I used strips from my 2-1/2" scrap strip bin. The quilting is a clam shell design using a template. This quilt will be going to survivors of Super Storm Sandy. 

Orca Bay is ready to be quilted. This photo shows it hanging sideways, as it is too long vertically. I found that if I worked on it just a few rows at a time, it didn't seem so overwhelming. Now, I need to make the backing.
My new quilting studio is so much fun. Thank you DH. You're the best! 
Til next time, 
Mary

The Basement Reveal

The builders, D&R, finished their work on my new basement quilting studio 2-1/2 weeks ago. This is the view as you enter. To the left, the longarm area and to the right is the TV viewing/ handwork/reading area. The bookcase benches are filled with quilting books for me to read/reference as I relax in my rocker.  DH's red chair is right there next to mine. My design wall is barely visible on the wall behind the chairs. 

Located where the hearth used to be is the new pressing station, a movable kitchen cart from Big Lots. It came with a stainless steel top, which we removed and replace with a 2'x 4' pressing board.  It's not as long as the one I made for the ironing board, but it provides storage and can be easily moved when needed.

Looking back from the TV area, you can see the cutting station to the right and the main sewing area to the left of the entry. The new ceiling is three inches higher than the old one and there are LED pot lights all through the studio providing much needed light. 

D&R re-installed the upper cabinets and built custom base ones(to match the uppers) with a beautiful  wood counter. They are 17" deep to accommodate my many plastic storage bins. The opening on the far left is due to the hot water baseboard. Not to be one to waste potential storage, I requested D&R to install a shelf above the baseboard. It is the perfect place for my portable vacuum. The pegboard is up on the wall, with some of my gadgets hanging there.

Now, for the view of the cutting area. My Accuquilt cabinet is tucked into the corner, ready to be used. A second pegboard hangs over it to hold my many rulers. Nana's table returns as the cutting table. I'd like to make a platform with wheels so it too would be movable. But for now, it stays in place with a rolling cart of drawers tucked underneath it. The new bathroom is behind the wall that holds my half finished "Orca Bay" quilt. The W/D is not hidden in a closet as that would have taken away more floor space. Besides, I am one of those rare individuals who doesn't mind doing laundry. 

This is the area which will, be the new home for "Kitty" my longarm. Although, not shown in this photo, she fits quite nicely in this space. Most of my yardage has been returned to the shelves on the bookcase. To the left foreground, is a metal rolling shelf that houses fat quarters, wool, batiks, etc. I found these stacking drawers(Wal-Mart) which fit perfectly on the shelves.

Finally, this is my bathroom! No more running up the stairs in a mad dash to beat Mother Nature. The ceiling is painted the same color as the walls. The pedestal sink adds a touch of elegance. Thanks Mike. The mirror is temporary as I haven't found the right one yet. But I am still looking.  

The floor in the studio is a solid vinyl 6"x 3' interlocking plank. It is waterproof and has a very realistic wood appearance. It took DH and I three days to install, but it definitely was worth it.

Til next time,

Mary