My parents and grandparents were over for a family dinner last weekend (my Mom’s birthday). After dinner everyone gathered in my studio to have a peek at some of the projects I’ve been working on. It had been a while since they had been in my studio, and, since we only moved in to our home 5 months ago it had changed greatly since their last inspection! After checking out all of the customising I have done, my dad said it was high time for a studio photo shoot to share my space with you on the blog. So here it is!
My studio space is really the reason we decided to buy the house (Matt and I joke when we say this but it is at least partially true). It is a nicely converted garage with gabled ceilings, two huge windows and LOADS of lighting options.
When we first moved in, Matt’s mom and dad devoted a weekend of their time to paint the studio with us. Matt’s mom was still painting the trim when Matt, his Dad, and I enthusiastically moved everything in to the room. I was eager to start using my space!
Since then I’ve slowly puttered away at adding functional details to the room…my latest small additions are three hooks on the wall for my scissors:
I set up my sewing machines in front of the window so that I have the best natural light (and a view of the kids playing on the cul de sac) while I sew.
My most used work area is my big oak desk. It is a beat up old provincial government desk that Matt and I purchased when we lived in Victoria and have lugged along with every move since! It’s a bit of a beast but I really love having such a huge work surface (it is usually covered with all sorts of paperwork).
My seat cushion features a lovely little bit of embroidery that I made using one of my friend Sarah’s gorgeous bug themed embroidery patterns. She just released a bunch of Christmas themed embroidery patterns that would make gorgeous ornaments and a great project to work on while sitting by the fire. She also has a vintage sewing machine pattern – I definitely need to add that one to my studio decor.
All of the smaller items that I stock in the shop are sorted on large barn-wood shelves throughout the studio.
The barn wood is salvaged from an old horse stall that we pulled down while house sitting last year. The building was no longer structurally sound but, once dried out, some of the wood was in decent shape.
It’s pretty tough to find such wide, long and beautiful solid wood boards these days! I feel lucky to have these. They are very practical for me (I like open storage) and they are full of character.
I’ve affixed my most used bobbins to the underside of one of the shelves using a couple of magnetic strips. They are directly above my thread rack so it is easy to keep track of matching colors.
My yarn is stored in three massive baskets that I sewed using the canvas, strapping and screen prints that we include in our Carry-All Bag Making Kit.
I used this great tutorial to create these…but increased the dimensions by A LOT to make massive versions.
I found a male dress form (pinnable!) at a second hand consignment shop a few months ago and was over the moon about it as I have been longing for one ever since I left behind the great mannequins available at design school.
The mannequin didn’t have a stand…but…I mentioned my desire for a stand to my parents while they were admiring the studio and, low and behold, I now have one! Just two days ago, my Dad dropped by with one that he made for me!
He re-purposed the disk brake from an old vehicle, painted it with left over spray paint from another old vehicle, lathe turned a beautiful wooden base out of a scrap of wood, used a stainless pole and mount from the sailboat that he recently refitted to sail to Hawaii, and rigged up a system to fit it to the mannequin’s empty attachment point! My dad is the best sort of Renaissance man :D.
I would be remiss to give you a studio tour without showing you my studio companion and his favourite place to hang out!
Luki may look serene here but in reality he is quivering with excitement while neighbourhood cat-watching.
Needless to say, my timid little cat, Jasmine, does not share office hours with Luki. Even though she can easily boss him around, she generally likes to avoid him and prefers to come to work in the evening and night (she blooms at night, just like the Jasmine flower). She likes to help me sew by sitting on my fabric (classic).
She loves the corner of the studio I’ve devoted to her – it is complete with a great viewpoint, a selection of feathers, and a stash of homegrown catnip.
I hope you found this peek into the Thread Theory studio interesting! Time for me to get back to work!
And, just to remind any of you who missed yesterday’s post – all PDF patterns are 50% off in our shop until Monday! Check out the largest sale of the year >
