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Monday, November 03, 2014

Studio Day 1, Come Sew with Irene!

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Welcome to Studio Tour Week Day 1!

I’ve been writing blog posts ahead to post while I am out on a Caribbean Cruise with 5 other instructors and 96 quilters ---without internet access!

So while the cat’s away, you will be getting to view the studios of some terrific quilters who were brave enough to share their photos with me.

This is how we keep it real!

These photos are not going in magazines, or as advertisements for “House beautiful.”  This is how we really sew!

I’ve been happily spending time sewing HERE this past week before heading out to the cruise.  What a god send this has been for me.  Other wise I would have had to fly back to North Carolina last Monday after finishing in Mineola, and then fly back out to Houston on Saturday for the cruise.

I’d be cooking and cleaning and shopping and WORKING in the days in between, and here I’ve had a place to nap, to sew, to just BE and it has been a wonderful down time for me.  I really needed it.  I feel like I new person!  Like I will be my energized BEST for this fun cruise ahead!


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Irene loves vintage machines!

Irene and I are two peas in a pod.  Her love of quilting and of vintage machines is evident everywhere you turn!  Just the other evening we were laughing that there is a machine in nearly every room.  And she wasn’t kidding!

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Gorgeous Victoria Hand Crank!

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Collection of small toy machines!

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Treadle in the entry!

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Side table in the dining room?  It’s a machine!

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End table in my guest room?  It’s a machine!

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Sweet tan featherweight next to another hand crank!

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Everywhere you look!

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we set up to sew HERE!

There was room for me at the far left on the 301, Irene at her Elnaa, and her daughter on the folding table at the far right….Girls Night Out…SEWING!

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It’s been a busy, happy productive few days!

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Irene’s longarm takes up a spare bedroom!

I love the floor plan of her house and how she has made it so quilt-friendly!  She also made the pantograph holding racks hanging on the wall herself.  What a great “save space” idea!

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Rods slide in and out easily for quick access of paper patterns!

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Irene’s first quilt, treadle pieced and hand appliqued!

You’ve come a long way, baby!

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Ideas for quilt framing!

I love how she has used these wrought iron “flourishes” to frame the quilts on her walls…it adds such a nice touch!  She said these came from Hobby Lobby.

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And we can’t leave out..HUNTER!

I’ve loved spending time in your studio, Irene!  Thanks for being such a great friend and giving me a soft place to land!

Irene and her friend Susan are also on the cruise with me this week…so the party continues!


Click Here to like our Quiltville Friends Page on Facebook for more fun!

Click Here to join our sister group, Quiltville's Open Studio on Facebook, a place to Sew, Share & Grow!!

11 comments:

  1. Thanks for 'thinking ahead' and sharing all these lovely photos while you are away - I would have missed my daily fix from Quiltville - happy cruising :)

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  2. Oh boy, wouldn't I love a friend like Irene! Fantastic space she has. Hope you all enjoy your wonderful cruise. Was on the Navigator a couple of years ago for my 25th wedding anniversary cruise. She is beautiful.

    Linda

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  3. If Irene was smart, she would have sold tickets to "sew with Bonnie" while you were there! Could fit a few more quilters in that sewing room! Even just 2 or 3 tickets per night at say $20/person! Lol....I would have loved to be there!:)

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  4. Love the studio, love the cat and most of all LOVE that quilt on the wall with the black scroll work "frame" I might have to copy that brilliant idea! I am sure you guys are having a blast on your cruise!

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  5. I love, love, love visiting sewing rooms. I always get good ideas on how to organize mine. Thanks for planning ahead just for our enjoyment. Enjoy your cruise!

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  6. thank you so much for sharing! You and Irene seem to have the corner on the market for sewing machines! I only have 7. Hubby is using my feather weight. I have not used Grammie's treadle since I got it, but she did all her sewing on it.


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  7. WOWOWEEEEEEEEEE Bonnie! I wouldn't have any idea how to quilt in such a luxury studio! Such a treat to get a peek into someone's workplace.

    HAVE FUN!
    Smiles, JulieinTN

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  8. Thanks for thinking ahead and gifting us with these wonderful blogs while you are cruising. LOVE Irene's home. Everything is exquisite. My fingers are twitching wanting to touch everything I see especially Hunter!

    Hope, strike that, I know all of you Quilters are having a wonderful time...I can almost hear the giggling.

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  9. I just love all the ways irean is able to add her love for older machines threw out the living space. I'm in awe of all the different machines,so beautifuly displayed

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  10. I love that pantogram storage idea!... may have borrow that one!

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