From the Woodshop, Studio

In the Studio

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

It seems like it’s been a bit of a while since I posted.

To get myself through December (see Postscript section of the post Pillow for a Kitty) I’ve been spending a lot of time in my sewing studio working on various projects. I will share these projects over the next several posts.

Some of the projects have to do with preparing to re-open my tierneycreates Etsy shop after taking a hiatus for 4 (?) years (it appears I last sold something in my shop in 2016).

I’ll talk more about my decision to re-open my shop and the offerings I am working in some future post, but my studio currently shows evidence of my progress to eventually stock my shop.

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My sewing studio has really been an oasis and making things has made me feel centered and peaceful. My partner John has been supporting my studio time and progressing with his new hobby woodworking by sprucing up my studio with some new handmade furniture.

New Bookcase

He made a bookcase for my studio (his first bookcase). The first image is of the bookcase being built in his studio in the basement:

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New Floating Shelf

He also built a floating shelf across the wall of windows in my studio to add extra storage:

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(By the way, my studio is a mess because I’ve been busy making things and not always tidying up between projects…)

In addition to making many things over the past several weeks, I’ve also added in some additional organizational touches to include re-organized my fabric scraps into baskets in my sewing studio’s closet and getting additional wine crates to organize fat quarters.

Re-organizing Fabric Scraps

Here is what I did with the fabric scraps:

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It looks messy but it is a much better way for me to access my fabric scraps which are organized by color groups:

  • Black, white and gray
  • Cream and yellow
  • Orange and brown
  • Red and purple
  • Green, blue, and all the blue-greens

I have batik scraps in their own separate bucket and I have speciality fabric scraps in their own basket.

The plastic bags are scraps for special projects.

While organizing my scraps I purged a lot of small pieces. I decided to finally let go of the small/tiny pieces as well as any scraps that “did not bring me joy”.

Fat Quarter Wrangling

I’ve collected a lot of fat quarters over the years and it feels like I am always searching for the best way to store them. A couple months ago I came up with the idea to organize them in wine crates that I got from local liquor stores. Some stores will give you 1 or 2 for free while others charge $5 a wine crate.

Using an old bookshelf (that I’ve had for like 20 years), I organized the fat quarters by color groups into crates, which I keep next to my cutting table:

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A week ago I added one more crate – the prettiest crate I’ve picked up to date and it was given to me for free by a local liquor store. It even came with a lid:

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I keep my beloved collection of Asian and Japanese woven fat quarters as well as a couple other special fat quarter fabric sets (like my Marcia Derse fat quarter collection, see post Fabric Fangirl Frenzy for the story of when I met Marcia and went a little “fabric designer fan girl” on her… ) on the top of the bookshelf with the wine crates:

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I love the sign I found at a thrift shop: “Happiness is homemade”. It feels like a lot of my recent happiness (or at least breaks from grief) is tied to working on handmade items!

As I mentioned earlier in the post, my next group of posts will be what I’ve been working on in my studio over the past couple of weeks.

Postscript

In case you are wandering what Mike the Miniature Schnauzer has been up to – he is back riding the aisles of home improvement stories and his continues to provide emotional support to his male human working on woodworking projects!

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He actually loves going to home improvement stores and does not like John to leave the house without him!

Published by tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Quilter, crafter, obsessive tea drinker and lover of all furry creatures (especially dogs and cats) - join me on my tierneycreates blog as I share stories from "A Crafter's Life".

40 thoughts on “In the Studio”

  1. Good luck with the re-opening of your ETSY shop! A lot has changed on ETSY since 2016, I’ve been there 11 years but have been on vacation most of this year 🙂 I had hubby build a couple of tables for my sewing area – I love your floating shelf so I think I’ll add that to my “honey do list”. What are the dimensions of your cabinet? I still need him to make an ironing station and I want storage also!
    Looking forward to your post regarding your shop! My shop is Baby Gifts By Karla.
    Happy Sunday!

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    1. I will go check out your Etsy shop! I really like the floating shelf and I think you would like it it’s such a great storage option! I think being on vacation most of this year sounds fun 😀

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  4. Your studio looks so warm and inviting, begging one to stop and be creative. Mike looks like he takes his job as a home improvement shopper very seriously and is willing to share his opinion when asked. I recently discovered Joanne Fabrics and Hobby Lobby are pet friendly so Adi has been accompanying me on my trips to purchase items for my latest projects.

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    1. Thanks Beth I am really enjoying it and some days I just want to stay in there all day! Oh I didn’t realize that those craft shops were pet friendly! That’s awesome that you can bring your furry friend for shopping trips! 🐶

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  5. Tierney, it’s so good to see the organizing going on in your studio, and, of course, having essential shelving available is a blessing. Congratulations to John on his handiwork! We’ve lost so much control of our lives and situations this year that this kind of sorting and reordering is especially inspirational to the rest of us. I just love all the pictures of that precious pup riding around in the basket!

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    1. Great to hear from you Martha and I am feeling pretty lucky with the all the new additions to my studio. I’m glad that my studio is one of John’s woodworking learning grounds! Mike does love his basket and going to home-improvement stores! 😀

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  7. Oh, I am green with envy….fancy having someone who can make storage to order! And then build that lovely floating shelf. Sigh. I am planning to have a clear out of my studio over Summer, which may mean that I get one drawer sorted. 😉
    I am glad you have been able to retreat into your won space while you retreat into your own heart. I hope it has been able to bring some comfort.

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    1. Thanks so much and I so appreciate your thoughtful comments and I am feeling pretty lucky that I have someone who is sort of obsessed with improving my studio!😀😀😀

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  8. Wow – congrats on reopening your Etsy shop!

    I find time spent in my craft studio very therapeutic, too, and I’ve even taken up cross stitching again, something I haven’t done in years. I just get lost to the outside world when I’m crafting and who cares if we leave a mess behind – we’ll get it all cleaned up eventually.

    I can’t wait to see what you offer in your shop. Keep us posted as to when you start listing items. Best of luck.

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  9. Good to see you posting! Glad your December is going OK for you and you are having fun creating 🙂 Your studio is looking just wonderful – what a great workspace! Also nice to see John is doing well in his creative pursuits and Mike is having fun helping him out 🙂

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  12. Delightful post, Tierney. I am happy to hear that your Etsy shop is re-opening its doors. Good luck and I’ll look forward to that! And your workspace is looking very cozy with the new shelving additions. The book case is beautiful (truly impressed), and the added ceiling shelves are so cute. Bravo. I like those wine crates — so rustic and each one is unique. Your eclectic and bright space is so uplifting! 🙂

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    1. Thank you and I am having fun making things to fill the shop with. I also am working on a redesign of my logo for my store front. I am excited how my studio is coming along and appreciate it’s shelves and handmade!

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  14. Hi Mike!! What a good boy! I just love seeing your creating spaces. I love using wine or tea boxes to store things. I just got a small tin with tea in it. When the tea is gone, I’ll put my knitting notions in it! Can I just say, I am thrilled to pieces that you are reopening up your shop???

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    1. Mike says thank you! I only recently discovered how handy wine boxes are (and that they are not too difficult to get a hold of, without having to drink a bunch of wine, ha!). Thanks for your support on me opening my shop – I am having fun working on stuff to fill it before opening day 🙂

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