A place to create - welcome to my studio!

Goodness me I hadn't realised how long it has been since my last post. This year has been flying past at breakneck speed and I have been hanging on :)

So what have I been up to? Well I have continued doing shows for Create and Craft where I get to share knowledge and tips with a huge number of people at a time. It is great fun and it is amazing how many people I meet out and about who have started stitching after watching the shows.

I have also been working on magazine projects this month - with 10 Christmas projects just completed for Prima Makes magazine, projects for Create and Craft club magazine currently filling up my work table and 20 projects for the next Linen and Lace magazine sitting on my design wall. Crikey! I feel tired just talking about it.

I often get asked how I can make so many projects and still get some sleep? Well the answer is that I have a fully optimised work space. It is a room where I can go and work, but once I have finished I can shut the door and get on with other jobs. Being able to leave jobs half way through without having to put it away saves time and effort - two savings which make a big difference over time.

So here are some pictures of my sewing haven! It is a double bedroom with en suite which is hidden away on the top floor of our house which makes it very toasty this time of year.

The long kitchen work surface hides storage behind curtains. The shelves are filled with boxes keeping oodles of sewing loveliness in check. I use a planner table for my sewing machine and main cutting mat, with another mat on the work surface for easy photography. The laptop is constantly on as I try to keep on top of the paperwork :)

I spend a lot of time in this room - and therefore the TV and the kettle (hiding behind the laptop) are also vital pieces of equipment. The quilts on the back set of shelves are samples for shows (the rest are out of site in the hallway) and the fabrics in the boxes below are fabrics from suppliers for samples and demonstrating. I keep these separate from my own stash to avoid temptation :)

So here is the real stash....

Should I be worried??? My lovely Paul helped with the thread storage and it reduces the danger of buying duplicates because all the colours are visible. Once I sorted out my threads I found I had about 20 different spools of white thread - this way I can make sure I use them before I go and buy another one.

Here is my design wall pinned to the wall behind my door. It lets me display my quilt designs as I work on them. It helps me choose quilt layouts and play with colour placement, as well as see the whole design come together in front of me.

So there you are - this is where I spend much of my days, though it doesn't always look this tidy!