My DH and I just bought a townhouse in IL (and I mean "just"). We will be moving in Nov and I will be setting up my studio in one half of the finished basement. Do any of you have any MUST HAVES that I should consider when I set up my space? I already have a Koala cabinet which I love, but what about storage space and countertop space.....any other ideas? I was considering purchasing some kitchen cabinets and putting a piece of formica on top to use as a cutting table. I would appreciate any input.

Thanks

Patricia in AL (soon IL...near my grandchildren...YAY)

Thank you. I love how much space I have and how organized I can be. We built our house in 2000 and I planned out my space very carefully. However, at that time I never dreamed I would want to hook up my computer to my sewing machine, or I might have laid it out differently. The other thing is that my space is in the daylight basement. That is hard when friends come over and everyone has to haul their stuff downstairs. (This weekend I'm having a quilting retreat here.) And I wish it was next to the kitchen, so I could start dinner and sew at the same time. So if I ever build another house, I will do it a little differently. But overall the space works pretty well.

Sherry,

What a beautiful quilting space you have..... I am soooooo jealous1

WOW Montana--my quilting studio will never be that clean. ritzy

OH SHERRY!! :shock: What a dream!!

I so enjoyed reading about everyone's sewing spaces and looking at pictures, that I decided to take pictures of mine. I just finished organizing the storage closet, adding shelves, etc., so this is the cleanest my sewing room has been in a long time. I posted pictures on my profile.

Mary,
That's a basement? How cool! If I had that, I'd never come up for air.

WOW MARY!! I love YOUR space!! Thanks for the pictures!! I love to see other quilter's ideas!!

We've been in our home for almost 11 years, and about 8 years ago, my DH built a wonderful sewing and crafts room for me in the basement. It is very light and bright, and my machine faces a window to the backyard. I've just cleaned it and taken some pictures. They're posted on my profile page, along with a few organizational ideas.

Ann, do you have room for one of the collapsible SewEzi tables? I use one in our RV and it was the best thing I ever did to make sewing in here easier!

The Wandering Quilter's Life in a Box!

snowplow3840 wrote:

life changes ---- we have a new motorhome. It is wonderful, everything I love exept that I lost my built in table that I ahve used for my sewiing table. I have a new chair. I need to sit at a little angle to be able to sew with the most of the space to reach the foot pedal.but it works two bad things though ! the desk is in the bedroom so I have to shut down for the day before dh wants to go to bed so then I have to remember where I put the project and at what stage am I at. well maybe I will learn the discipline to work on one thing at a time ---- good luck brain doesn't work that way. any way I am learning and I am still quilting ---- you cant keep a good woman down
Best wishes to all of you who are working on your spaces and think of me in 26 inches between the bed and the counter and remember that where there is a will there is a way and I HAVE THE WILL
Ann in Mpls where tonight it is cool and we are all still reeling from the bridge collapse.

What great inspiration all these photos had. I stole several ideas and just finished my new "quilt room" (aka my dining room). Most items were either re-used furniture from around the house or from the IKEA scratch and dent section. My only splurge was my new Horn table - the acrylic piece for around the machine hasn't arrived yet, but I'm really enjoying having my machine sit at table level instead of being elevated. Happy quilting everyone!! Jan

Oh, yeah, and I like seeing pics of all those quilt inspectors, too!

Wow, Pat, you have a lot of antique machines! I'm going to show your pics to my husband, to show him how easy he has it. I only have 10 machines, all but one (a 1968 Bernina 730) antique.

I love seeing everyone's studio! It's inspired me to go home and take pics of my space. I'll try to post them this weekend.

Anne in Vancouver, Canada