Juicy Quilting Studio reveal!!

posted in: home, Juicy Quilting, Quilting, vintage, Winnie | 23

I am so very excited to share my finished studio with you. There will be the usual tweaks, but most importantly my Handi Quilter Avante, Winnie, is installed, as is my sewing room and all my fabric. I have loved planning the space and what works best for workflow, making it fresh and functional, but being sure I add a healthy dose of ME!

So, without further ado…..

 

Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting

 

Here is Winnie’s room, with not a lot of room for anything or anyone else! She’s one big Mumma!

One of my favourite features of this fit-out has been making my enormous design wall!

 

Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting
I was just going to do the usual thing and put a row of tacks across the top of the batting to hold it in place, however I saw a suggestion, I think on Facebook, where someone put a dowel across the top and bottom of her design wall fabric/batting and then hung it on hooks. More secure and neat for my mind. I used narrow metal curtain rods with shallow hooks – 4 of them in total spaced across the length of the rail. For scale, the rail is 250cm long, so the batting is about 230cm wide, and about 250cm tall. I used a cotton queen sized batting that I bought cheap, but didn’t really love the quality of. Waste not want not!

The sewing room may seem crowded, but with clever storage and furniture arrangement I have made it so functional it’s a dream to work in!

 

Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting

 

Yes, basically all the furniture is from Ikea. My huge cutting work bench is a kitchen island. I had to have it outwards into the room because I love being able to cut fabric from three sides. The pressing desk is 2 Ikea Expedit units with 15cm high legs from the kitchen department screwed into the bottom of them. It will have a full size 78cm square pressing board top when I can get a handy hubby to cut some plywood for me.

A small computer desk where I do most of my photo editing and blogging, and Ruby, the Janome 7700, is reigning supreme on the red desk in front of the  window.

 

Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting

 

I’m in love with the fun details we were able to add in to the room – vintage button tins and tray from my parents, little Miss Mischief (I wonder who she could be?) and a couple of owls and other meaningful things. The miniature canvas will have some of my favourite Tula fabric stapled around it (when I work out which one I want to use!)

 

Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting

Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting

 

All of the wooden crate/shelves around the room came out of the drawer units we had to demolish to make way for the new studio! Some of them have pretty fun details, as you can see. I love my vintage canisters, even if they are mostly missing their letters now. My Mother gave them to me soon after I was married – can you believe I was going to throw them out a couple of moves ago? Thank goodness common sense reigned!

 

Quilting Studio Renovation - Cassandra Madge Juicy Quilting

 

You can see in this shot all of my paint chip samples taped up on the interior shed door (far right), ready for final selection and painting. My chalkboard door in-between the two rooms is still a work in progress, but I hope it won’t be for much longer.

Some more practical touches around the room include having hooks on the edges of the cutting table for all my most used rulers, also my rotary cutter and a pair of fabric scissors. Because the top overhangs the sides by an inch or so, they are rarely knocked or in the way, but keep my tools handy all the time.

I also have a little rubbish bin on every desk – absolutely vital for scraps and trimmed loose threads – they will just hang around on your quilt or clothes forever if you don’t deal with them!

For reference this smaller sewing studio is roughly 3m by 2.8m, or 9.8 by 9.2 feet for all my American friends. I’m stoked with how much I have fitted in to this space, and how well it all works together.

Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement. Every time we walk into the studio we are amazed by the transformation that has been wrought, turning a dungeon into a quilter’s paradise. If you would like to book a time to come and see me, talk quilting, or just have a coffee, please feel free!

 

So it gives me great delight to declare the Juicy Quilting studio open!! I have already had several quilts booked in, with more on the way. If you have something that you want me to quilt – I’m offering Edge 2 Edge or pantograph work at the moment, then you need to get in touch with me as soon as possible so we can work out the details!

 

So, what’s your favourite part of the room? Are you envious of my Winnie, or maybe my crates? Or is it my queen size design wall? Shout it out in the comments, I’d love to hear!

 

 Happy Crafting - Cassie.

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23 Responses

  1. Janine

    Looks fantastic Cassie, you must be so proud of how well it’s all turned out, Congratulations!! I can’t wait to see how my Audrey quilt turns out

  2. Alison W

    Congratulations Cassie, how wonderful that you’ve been able to bring your quilting dreams to life.

    • Cassandra

      Thanks so much Alison! It is still pretty surprising how fast it came together, and how close to my initial vision it has turned out. I couldn’t have done it without all my fabulous support team though 🙂

  3. Ali

    Congrats on such a lovely organised space! I’m really happy that you could get it completed…and who knows…I might have quilt for you one day! Looking forward to seeing irl xx

  4. Lindy

    Love love love the whole studio. It must be worth all that hard work you all put into it. The sense of satisfaction from a job well done is great. Enjoy every moment of being your creative space. PS I envy every part of your studio.

    • Cassandra

      Thanks Lindy. It’s especially satisfying that we did much of the work ourselves. To have planned it from dream to reality is amazing, I am really over the moon with the finished result!

  5. Jess

    I should have snuck one of those draws home in my suitcase, it looks awesome on the wall! Well done, it looks amazing!

    • Cassandra

      You would have been welcome to one, but I don’t know where you would have stashed it!! Thank you so much, I can’t wait for you to visit again 🙂

  6. Melissa (minniecat)

    Thanks for the tour!! Your quilting space is awesome! So fresh and bright, makes me want to get in there and sew with you!! I love those vintage drawers, great idea!!

    • Cassandra

      Thanks so much Melissa! I have to admit, those drawers were a bit of a crazy idea to the menfolk, but I am glad that everyone else has appreciated their awesome potential. Hoping that I can get a couple more up, sadly more of them are damaged than usable.

    • Cassandra

      Thank you so much Cindy! I wish all my friends could come and sew in it with me. Although maybe one at a time, as it’s a bit squeezy lol….

  7. Fiona

    Absolutely LOVE IT!!!!! Congratulations Cassie, I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing this journey with you and have loved today’s virtual tour. Wish I could be there to pop the champagne with you!!! Big squeezy hugs, Fi xoxo

  8. Raquel

    Looks fabulous, Cassie! It has been so fun watching the transformation of this space. So bright and cheerful, the perfect spot to create. Can’t wait to see all the wonderful quilting you will be able to do now that you’ve gotten set up.

  9. agnes

    Your sewing space is a dream! I love the high cutting table and built-in storage!

    • Cassandra

      Thanks Agnes! I think that it’s so important to protect your back, I notice the difference straight away if I have to cut out on a lower table now. I have seen people raise existing tables with bed raisers etc, which is worth looking at if you can’t get a bench height desk.

  10. Leanne

    love your studio Cassandra – its just awesome – I’m sure you’ll have heaps of fun in there and quilt up a storm !!

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