studio finished!

Come on in ...

The addition of the design wall marks the completion of my studio!
I decided to take some photos while it was clean & uncluttered. My work station is an L shaped desk with my Pfaff Visions. I use the table top on the left as an ironing surface. The design wall is cork on plywood. The center wall hanging is my Trend-Tex Challenge for CQA. Abstract Challenge quilts on the right, ATC's on the left.

Lots of storage ... with Phoenix ... symbol of new beginnings. My Innova Quilting Machine by ABM. 18" of pure quilting pleasure! The back of the machine. Mirror reflection shows the frame. Mirrored doors hide large shelves for storage. Shiny & new ... now if I could just remember where I put everything! Gotta get to work ... pull some fabric for the next project ... catch up on the Abstract Challenges. The studio is just too neat!

Studio IV the Phoenix rises ...

I've saved the good news for the New Year! I'm looking forward to working in my studio. Life brings you some unexpected events that can be very challenging. I believe that you need to spend your energy rebuilding rather than wasting time in regret.

As you walk in the front door and look to your left, you see my 'Phoenix Rising'. The legend tells of unique bird that rises from the flames and brings new beginnings. He won viewers choice in a guild challenge.As you look anti-clockwise, you will see the big storage unit.My desk is an 'L' shape with lots of natural light. I have a large table padded for ironing. The wall behind the desk will be a design wall.And, turning again you will see my new frame (10 feet long set-up) with the Innova quilting/sewing machine. The Innova is made by ABM, an industrial sewing machine company. I have yet to start a practice piece. You can see the product here:
http://abminternational.com/innova-long-arm-quilting-machine.php
My 'Sunburst' is a wholecloth painted quilt with dense stitching. It has been in two juried shows. As well as the five windows that are south facing, there is a sliding door on the east wall. There is a 8' x 30" closet with mirrored doors and metal shelves holding my fabrics, etc.
My 'Cool Dude' ran second in the viewer's choice in a 'black, white and one colour challenge'. He was inspired by a greeting card. the tiger is raw and hairy. The vegetation is done with bobbin work and applique from the back. The butterfly is made with the challenge fabric.The little kitchen reminds me of an apartment kitchen. We are ready for tea!
The kitchen no longer has a stove top. I am purchasing a one burner induction unit that can be plugged into an ordinary outlet and can be moved to the picnic table for uses like boiling corn. We added a small fridge. The pass-through has been eliminated and is replaced by a window.The saddest loss was of our big ginger pussy-cat. My cousin made me a clock in his image. So ... Scampy will continue as studio 'snooperviser'. Debbie's work can be seen in about 50 major galleries across Canada and on line: http://www.madaboutglass.com/

Studio III ... putting it together!

September & October slipped away.

They put the windows & doors in, the gyprock guys & painters did their thing and we finally decided on the linoleum floor. The paint colour is a grey-green and the floor is the same colour, mixed with rusty brown. I wanted a neutral colour that wouldn't interfere with any quilt colours I'm working with.

This is what 100 boxes of 'stuff' looks like. We still have some more boxes that "aren't lost ... but we can't find them right now". The closet is capable of taking more than a few boxes. The shelves are 30" deep.

The storage unit is a 'build it yourself' IKEA unit and took several days to put together. We decided to keep the studio 'contemporary'. The theory is that with enough storage space, my studio will be tidy.Jasmine, otherwise known as 'jazzy' decided to inspect the new studio. She is 18 years old ... 105 in cat years. I chose solid white blinds to control the light from these south windows.

Where did I get all this stuff from? And, ... do I really need it?The storage unit is finally operational. Notice the 'daylight' florescent lights. There are no shadows in the room, it is like a bright overcast day.

Now, I need to spend more time to purchase all of the 'non-restorable' items. I can't believe the time this is taking! Everything electronic needed to be replaced, all of the plastic storage items, the filing cabinet and wooden items that were not sealed with varnish. That doesn't cover all the items that were spread around the studio, fabric that was stained with smoke, threads, fabric paints ... 260 pages listing all the boxes and the items that were NR ... many of which do not have sufficient descriptions for me to know what they are. Will I ever get to sew again?

Studio III ... back to bare walls

After the trucks left with my life's collections, this is what is remained.The next step was to remove the gyprock from the walls and ceiling. The rug came up and new plywood went down. I found out why I couldn't get am radio - every electrical system for the house ran though these walls. The studio had been the original garage.Then came a painter who sprayed white paint that neutralizes the smoke smell. There had been no structural damage.The electrician followed. I was asked to organize where I wanted the telephone, plugs, and TV. I couldn't visualize a new studio.My old studio may have been cluttered and messy ... but, it worked for me.
This was a life lesson in 'letting go'. I needed to think about what I wanted and start anew.During all of this I was organizing the 'Canadian Expressions' show which ran concurrently with the APNQ in Seattle. The trip did help me to get a perspective on the situation and to start planning the new studio. I purchased a supply of Superior threads. I still didn't have a sewing machine. First things first!

Studio II ... the unthinkable ...

July 6, 2008 we were going to bed and heard a crackling.

When we went outside smoke was pouring out of the pass-through from the little summer kitchen off my quilting studio. Our hard wired smoke alarm didn't function ... it turned out that it hadn't been connected to the main panel. However, it did cancel our phone line. We used our cell phones to call 911. A torch of flame was coming out of a small hole. I shoved a hose in and heard steam as the water hit the fire and a short time after the crackling stopped and the fire dept. arrived.
I told them there was a cat inside - I could tell that there was little hope. I told one of them that it was my quilting studio. He said, "Don't worry, my mom is a quilter ... I'll get the quilts out. And ... they did!The nightmare of the night really had happened. The fire chief said it was 1200 degrees on the ceiling and then he asked how much water I had put on the fire. I drew a blank. And then, I remembered the hose. He said that the steam and lack of oxygen had put the fire out.

The little kitchen off my studio looked like this when I opened the door in the morning. This is the back of the door. The culprit was a old stove that started the fire and a nearby butter dish that fuelled the fire.The plastic on the microwave melted and the bread turned to charcoal.The upper half of the room was torched. Amazingly, the lower shelf was not even smoked. The reason we were using this little kitchen was that the kitchen in the house was torn apart. All our kitchen essentials were on shelves in the studio.Two paintings inside the front door looked damaged beyond recovery. The top one is a watercolour I painted from the shore of Saltspring Island and the bottom one is painted by my grandmother on the shore of Lake Superior.The firemen had shot water along the one wall before they realized there was no actual fire in the room. It is unbelievable how smoke can penetrate. The air pressure builds in a contained area. We had just put new windows in a few weeks earlier. The firemen said without the double windows, the old single panes would have blown out ... allowing air to feed the fire. This is a plastic cover for the double tube florescent lights, melted into a blob.I was numb ... it was unreal. An army of people came and loaded up everything from needles to sewing machines ~120 boxes and a pile of NR (non-restorables).The restoration people assured me that they would build me a new studio and make everything better!

We were left with a picnic table, refrigerator, toaster, coffee pot and a microwave. Thank god no-one was injured. Thank goodness the main house was untouched. The rest is just 'stuff'.

Studio I ... in the beginning

Come in and visit my studio ... as it was before July 6, 2008. It is a great space - large and well lit with a courtyard garden outside the door.Scampy lived in the studio and 'snoopervised' my work.As most studios are, it was a collection of furniture gleaned from other parts of the house. You can see the entrance to the little kitchen on the right. It was a wonderful place to think and create, with all my supplies and equipment at hand.My design wall has a 'quilt at stage one'. My photos of blue herons are displayed and the process has begun.In the background you can see a vertical design wall with a sheet. I begin with a drawing on the sheet, add a foundation layer and fill in parts of the design - checking with the underlying design to make sure I'm on track. I now have a Juki on a B Line frame making the quilting of large pieces much easier. The 'Eagle Sanctuary' quilt is being worked on.

Stay tuned for the remaining parts of this story ....