Some assembly required

The new Koala Sewing Cabinets that I ordered arrived yesterday.  They came almost 100% build but had some assembly required for the adjustable and optional shelves.  My sister-in-law Karin was hanging out in the studio when I was attaching the shelves and snapped this photo of me.  {My right arm is stretched under the shelf screwing it in place!}

This part was a bit easier to attach...

Here they are!  We each have a Quilt Pro Plus with the optional outback leaf.  In this photo one leaf is up with shelves and the other is down behind the unit.

My machine up & in action.  The custom insert hasn't arrived yet so my machine feels like it is just floating there!

Mom's machine safely stored in her cabinet.

So far I'm happy as can be & so is my mom.  The quality of the cabinets is top notch.  I stole a bit of time away to sew today and loved every minute of it!

© Blog post written by Julie Herman© Photos by Karin Herman & Julie Herman
 For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

Studio Update

Unfortunately I haven't had much time to spend in my studio since I got here.  Once my parents arrived we began to focus on common space areas like the dining room, living room, family room... etc.  Anyway... I finally took some time to get the studio in order.  I'm not done... but I made big progress.

Here she is!

I hung my Jaybird Quilts sign that I had made for market and love the way it looks.  I made one valance this morning and hung it up to make sure I liked it before making three.  I'm pretty happy with it and plan on making the other two later today. {hopefully!}

This is the left wall.  I used the three white bookcases from my studio back home and added the wood piece that used to be in my kitchen.  Currently I have many of my pre-cuts stored in it since they are yummy to look at.

This is the right wall.  At the moment it is a mess of books, notions and all kinds of things.  Mom & I will be sharing this space so we are sorting through our stuff before we rush to buy new storage.

The corner is also a mess... but it won't be for too long.
The really REALLY exciting studio news.... is that tomorrow we have a BIG delivery coming!!  After a lot of research, planning & thinking... I decided to order 2 Koala sewing cabinets!  Mom and I will each have beautiful new sewing tables to go in our new sewing space!  Once they arrive and we are all set up I'll take photos and share!

Not only did I not have much time to organize the studio in the last few weeks... but I hadn't sat at my machine to sew anything in over a month!! eek!!  So yesterday... just because I wanted to sew... I made myself a new bag from Robert Kaufman's new laminated fabrics.

Details

Fabric is Robert Kaufman's new laminates.  I used Ann Kelle's dot for the handles and Celebrate Seuss for the main part and I love it.

Pattern is a slightly modified version of the Pinafore Bag by Me & My Sister

Started on 12/25/11

Finished on 12/25/11

© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

Update...photos...& answers.

*I JUST moved to California.*

I'm finally in our new house and starting to unpack!

So my last post generated lots of questions.  I'll try to answer them & give you an update at the same time.

My bathroom... When I first got here I was taking baths for a few days till I got a pole to hang my new Mizzoni shower curtain.  I was not in line at Target the day of the release... I just happened to stumble upon it while looking for a shower curtain and said hey I like this!

Where?I moved to San Marcos... it's in North San Diego county.Quilt in a Day is down the street... not bad for my Local Quilt Shop!
I think you are never too old for a night light in the bathroom.Yellow is currently keeping me company :-)

House or Condo?House.I won't be living here alone.  My parents bought this house & I'll be living with them.  I came first and they will join me on Halloween.  They still have most of the furniture back in PA so many rooms... like our family room are still empty.

The living room also doesn't have much furniture yet... just a quilt rack!

I did bring my kitchen table & chairs with me.  The wood is a great match for our kitchen.

This house has a TON of windows... and while the views are great sometimes you want a bit of privacy.  My parents haven't decided what kind of window treatments they want yet... so I needed to come up with a temporary solution for the rooms I'm currently using...  
I found these cool window panels at Ikea.  They are 24" wide and 9ft long and can be cut to fit.  I was able to get 2-3 window covers from each one.  I folded down 1" and sewed a simple sleeve.  I added in a tension rod so that I haven't put any holes in the wall.  {I promised you I wouldn't Dad!}

Another benefit of me being here first is that I'm here to schedule all delivery/installations...Our new washer & dryer arrived last week.  They rock & actually make me enjoy laundry... we'll see how long that lasts.

Why Oliso?Oliso irons have feet...that work like a tripod to lift the iron off the ironing board.  You never have to tilt the iron up.  Watch the video on their site to learn more... seeing is believing!

I did make some progress in my studio.  I re-built my cutting table & unpacked my rulers.  None of them broke on the move!!! Woo Hoo!

I also re-built my 3 storage bookcases and started to put my fabric back on them.  It's far from organized... but at least most of my fabric is out of bins!

I have a long way to go... but I'll keep you updated!

--
Other Q&A...
I could see a quilt with watermelon and log cabins there....is this your pattern?The watermelon quilt isn't my pattern... it was a pattern I got at a shop 5+ years ago.  I don't remember the designer... but if I figure it out I'll let you know.
Should you send me notions?Nope... but thanks for the offer.  I have a bad habit of buying new when I can't find what I need... so I have so many as is... I just need to unpack them!
I hope you can participate in the SD Modern Quilt Guild soon! I hope so too.   Camera?I'm a Canon.  Currently I shoot with a T2i & 40D.  Luckily my brother is a professional photographer so I can go to him for advice... and he also gives me lenses from time to time. {I have 4 now}


© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

Organization part 2

About 6 weeks ago I did a post on organization...
I went over how my studio currently was a mess in need of some new systems.

I still have more to do... but I've come a long way in 6 weeks.  I added a new large shelving unit to the center that is great for storing bins & boxes of fabric.  I also added doors to the bookcases to keep the fabric from being directly exposed to light. {ok so I added the doors on the right... the ones on the left are clearly still in the boxes}  The doors aren't 100% opaque so I might add fabric panels on the inside to block more light... but it's still better than what I had.  As you can see the windows in this room get a lot of sunlight.

I even went through and organized my scraps by color.  I've got a large bin of blue, red, and white and smaller bins of the other colors.  My OCDness doesn't like that they aren't all the same bins... but I found them throughout the house and was trying not to buy more bins.

My scraps didn't reveal much green... but my shelf of Kona Solids shows lots of green!  It also shows that I'm really lacking in the orange area...and considering that orange is my favorite color... what the heck? {Note to self...buy some orange fabrics & probably some more blue too.}

As usual Peter Walsh is my inspiration.
I love him & you should too.

 Have you done any organization lately?

Any suggestions for odd pieces of batting??... I have a giant pile of "remnant" batting that has grown out of control.
editI do sew my scraps of batting together to make larger pieces.  Usually I'll use this for table runners, pillows or quilts that I'm quilting myself.  When I send stuff to Angela I always send her one whole piece.  My issue is what to do with the giant pile of batting scraps right now until I have time to sew them together.


© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

Organization

Some people are born with a natural ability to keep things organized.
I am not one of these people.

Some people have no ability to organize or purge belongings and end up on hoarders.
I am not one of these people.

Some people have a strong desire for organization and like to have everything in it's place, but need to work at it every day. They have to make a conscious effort to set up systems and follow the systems.  They need to constantly evaluate the status of their desk, table, bedroom, closet and so on. When things begin to slip out of control they have to set time aside to put things back and put a new system in place.

I am one of these people.

Call me OCD but I like my systems.

If I told you that my Studio and every other place I take over from time to time was always neat I'd be lying.

Between being gone for 3+ weeks and more things coming in than out my studio, bedroom and a few other spaces... they are not how I usually have them... and by no means how I want them.

--


I gotta tell you that I love Peter Walsh.
He works to get to the root of the WHY instead of just the WHAT.

He was on Oprah yesterday and I wrote down a few things he said.


"Flat surfaces should be clear."
My floors often end up covered with quilts in progress. Especially during the basting phase. This is something that needs to happen but I'm going to work to keep the floor clear during non-basting times.

Pinwheels from Quilt Remix

"A place for everything, and everything in it's place"

Most of the time I'm good with this. Like my pre-cut leftovers all live in this organized bin in nice neat piles.

 "Make sure your stuff lives where it belongs"
Simple concept... a bit harder to execute sometimes. I often end up with a small pile on the floor like this because I have items that don't have a spot where they belong.

When my spaces get out of order it gets hard for me to work.
On the other hand it can be hard to be creative without making a mess.

Somehow I'm going to find a happy medium.



© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

New toy!

I'm busy playing with my new toy.
;-)

© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

studio photo shoot

so you probably have noticed my new layout by now.

& my post about my studio

and you may have wondered how i took such great photos with me in them all... i'm just that good.

yeah right!!

some people guessed it was my brother...

but the photographer behind all the great shots of my studio is jared polin

jared it an accomplished photographer

{who uses nikon..}

& in an active photo tip blogger

who i met at a black eyed peas concert

back in 2004

while he usually shoots bands, weddings & people in a studio

he likes to capture people in their environment.

so this is me.

in my environment.

no moving anything around {i did clean a bit}

no added lighting

no telling me where to go... or to stop moving...

there are lots more...

but i was working on a quilt i can't show yet

so i have to be careful which photos i can show you for now.

so i'll leave you with my favorite one.

hair a mess...

talking non-stop.

cause that... is me!

i promise i'll show more when i can...

oh and if you haven't already

go visit jared's site or blog or flickr

my studio

i've gotten e-mails from time to time asking about where i sew

& what my studio looks like.

but since the blog layout update.. i've gotten lots!

so hopefully this post will serve to answer your many questions...

{i'll try & update it to answer all new questions as well}

{updated 2.9 @ 11:20pm}

{updated 2.12 @ 1:30pm}

wide shot of the room

here is the floorplan

the room is about 12' x 17'

view from door upon entering

my mid-arm on a 10ft frame - with storage underneath

view of desk area

i change the quilt hanging above the drawers often

close up of bookcase that is to the left of my cutting table

here i keep magazines.. books & patterns.

here is a shot from the corner of the room

another shot from the corner.

this one shows my cutting space.

features of my studio

{which by the way didn't happen overnight... this has been a 2 year evolution that continues to grow & change}

lots of storage

1. six bins underneath quilt frame

2. two large drawers next to desk

3. two bookcases

4. large closet

design walls

1. 48" x 30" hung on side wall made from flannel stretched over plywood

2. collapsible 72" x 72" design wall by cheryl ann {can be seen here put up in front of the closet doors}

cutting space

1. 36" x 60" cutting table - this is an old dining room table raised up on bed risers to be the perfect height for cutting.

2. assorted smaller cutting mats for working in other areas & taking to classes

pressing surfaces

1. 18" x 24" June Tailor Cushioned Quilter's Square'n Blocker

2. traditional ironing board stored in closet for easy access when needed for larger work

sewing space

1. machine with frequent used tools in reach

2. 40" x 18" table allows for pressing surface to be directly next to my machine

tools & tool storage

1. see this post for details

2. since then i added cups from ikea as seen in this post

{update on tools coming soon}

bulk supplies

1. those two dots in the floorplan between the cutting table & bookcase are two bolts of batting. one is warm & natural and the other is warm & white

2. bolts of interfacing & cotton basics are stored in the closet

lighting

{i'll be honest.. i wish i had better overhead lighting.. but since the room didn't have it... it is meant to be a bedroom... this is how i've managed}

1. ottlite floor lamp

2. ottlite desk lamp on my cutting table

3. standard floor lamp

4. desk lamp on my desk

5. limited overhead light from ceiling fan

6. three bright windows which are great during the day

i hope that answers your questions.

do you have more?

leave a comment & i'll update the post as often as i can

Q&A

Sandy said...

For someone who has such an organized and attractive studio, why haven't you given that same detail to MY studio (loft) you did borrow my Fresia in 2002 and it seems you have had custody of her ever since. Hum, A Mother's love:)

lucky for you it looks like i'll be snowed in with you for the next few days

Purple Quilter Queen said...

Thanks for the tour of your studio Julie! I take it your brother took the pics? Good job! Jenn

nope. jared took them... more on that later

Dresden Quilter said...

Where do you get your batting from, and how high from the floor do you have your sewing table? PS. Thanks for the look.

i have to check my sewing table height & i get the batting at joanns when they have 50% off coupons

passingdowncrazy said...

Is it always that neat? Mine is almost always trashed!!!

It would be very easy to put up an expensive track light. They have the ones where the center fits where the existing light is. That way you could direct the light anywhere you need it.

What a wonderful spot to create!

no it is not always this neat

& i've thought about the lighting...

Anonymous said...

Hi Julie! Thanks for letting us peek into your studio ~ It's a great room!! I'd love to have a mid-arm too. Any recomendations? What do you love about your machines? What would you change?

Thanks, Pam

Mom on the Move! said...

thanks for sharing - can you tell me more about your machines? I am thinking of upgrading or maybe getting a second and would like to know what you use.

i have two machines

husqevarna viking freesia 415

husqevarna mega quilter

& i love them

Heather said...

WoW Julie.... your studio looks super fun!!! Can I come over and play... LOL..

XO, Heather

sure... just call first ;-)

Ann said...

Love your studio and the shots of it. Question - tv, music or nothing playing when you are in there working???

music... i don't have a tv in my studio right now!