Studio Tour, 2010!! (Part 2)

Earlier this month, I gave you a tour of my proposed studio space . . . the place was a wreck!!  Well, slow but sure, I've been working on the room:  moving boxes into the closet (mostly); and, setting up my worktable, sewing table, and ironing table (finally!!).  Here's what the room looks like from the stairs coming up from the 2nd floor:

Now, here's standing at the top of the stairs (my latest quilt top, "Winter Blues," is on my worktable):

Turning to the left you see my sewing area.  I've placed two long tables at a 90 degree angle; the table to the left is good for holding the quilt I'm feeding through the sewing machine.

To the left of the sewing area is my ironing table.  I made this table from a 3 ft. by 6 ft. sheet of plywood, covered with batting and that silverish ironing board cover material, stapled down.  The ironing table is supported by a pair of sawhorses at  waist height.  Of course, you can't see any of this because of the quilts stacked on top of it, LOL!!  These quilts are for an upcoming exhibit at a local gallery.  I want the quilts to lay as flat as possible (to ease out "folding wrinkles").

Here are a couple of shots of what's on my worktable.  I love this worktable because it's large (4 ft. by 8 ft.) and stands about 36 in. tall (waist height).  I can comfortable stand and work at the table without bending over (which can be murder on the back!!).

Here's a closer view of my pinning, marking, and stitching on this quilt.  Because I used foundation piecing, I only back the quilt with a layer of flannel.  I pin the top to the back with safety pins at the four corners and at the center of each square.  I am quilting a grid at a 45-degree angle, dividing the squares into thirds.  To mark the quilting lines, I lay my acrylic ruler where I want the line, then run the dull, back edge of a regular table knife along the ruler several times.  This leaves a depression on the fabric and a shiny line (kinda like a suit that's been pressed one too many times).  I pin across the line the distance of the width of my palm.  Then, I stitch.  The stitching lines never come close to the safety pins, which I'll remove once the entire quilt is done.

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