Sunday, July 1, 2012

Studio Tour! Moving in ~~!

Finally the day has arrived.  I moved in to my new quilting studio.  It still needs a serious case of decorating - I vision quilts on the walls _ but for now, I'm in.
Here's a few pics.
 Here's the new work surface, with the Janome Horizon set in flush with the desk surface.  For the first time I have a machine at the ideal working height for me :)  happy dance!! The acrylic extension table that came with the machine made a great insert to fill in the 'hole.'  It's only white because I have it covered with a teflon microwave oven liner - it makes it really slick for FMQ.
 This end of the room is long enough to house my Inspira 10' frame.  I use my Horizon on this frame             hi mom!    (Oops, walked away from my computer when ds in room)
Here's the view from the end of the frame end of the room.  What you can't see is the space beside the bookcase where I can hang a design wall.

For anyone planning to build a 'studio', here's my itemized breakdown.
The white storage cubes are from Michaels. I already had them.  They're sold as scrapbooking/craft storage and are on sale on a regular basis, or you can use their 40% off coupons.  I love the modular format as I can make them work around my style.  The book case, I already had found it at a yard sale a couple of years ago for $8 or so.  The chairs are from auctions.  They were around $5 each.
The desk surface is a 4'x8' sheet of 5/8" MDF from Home Depot.  It retails for about $35 but this was in the bargain bin at 50% off because one surface had 'skid' marks, and one of the edges had a ding in it from the straps that they use to bind a stack of wood.  Since I was having it cut to 36"x78" and the other side was pristine, I grabbed it!!  The Depot has a cutting service, so the dashing fellow cut it to size for me for free.  Now I also have the cut off pieces for "extra" stuff.
I mounted the desk on the wall using large L brackets.  Make sure you use a good stud finder because these have to be mounted securely to the wall.   Then the desk surface is screwed to the other side of the brackets.
I used 2 ballisters (the posts of a stair railing) for support legs along the front edge.  One is beside the white cubes, the other is beside the maple table.  This table I've had since I was 17.  I bought it at an auction.  It was covered in heavy grey paint and had the marbled grey arborite with the metal edge on it - circa 1950's.  I had it restored about 20 years ago and it's a beautiful, solid maple table - gate legged,with a double drop leaf.  When it's closed it's only about 12" wide.  It has come to college with me and served as a desk, and has moved with me at least 7 times.
There is another wheeled cart that is part of the Michaels storage system that I use for a cutting table.  I will fit right between the book case and the desk.  That way, I can move it around to my left side when I need to support a large quilt for tabletop quilting.  I'm just waiting for a a strong lad to help me bring it downstairs, since it weighs a ton.
The recessed area for the sewing machine is made from a piece of the extra MDF.  I used small L brackets bolted together to make a Z shape and hung the base from that.  They're relatively cheap at Home Depot and a few bolts and screws finished that job.
I've kept the cut out piece and plan to put some "legs" on it so I can place it back in, if I need to use the whole desk surface.
Separating the room off in the basement was a bit pricier project.  Studs, drywall, sound/fire insulation, mud, paint, etc.  I'm lucky I had a friend who was able to help with that.  I did pay an electrician to move the outlets and light fixture boxes and switches to where I needed them.
Finally, I purchased a 2'x4' sheet of pegboard and mounted it on the wall above the storage cubes.  Yes, that is a hammer hanging there.  You never know when you need a hammer!!   The pegboard also gives me a place to (finally) hang my rulers so I can find them :)
There are a few more odds and ends that still have to come down from upstairs, but for the most part, it, and I, am raring to go.