Are You Still Making Quilts?

 This is a question I'm frequently asked since we've moved. The short answer is yes... eventually. Probably when winter sets in. We've just had so many projects we've wanted and needed to tackle to make sure things were in place before winter set in and the weather is just too glorious to be spending time indoors. And even after dark, we'd rather sit out on the deck, visit, and listen to the mountains close out the day.

This house is 19 years old and the former owners put a lot of thought and love into the details. We had originally thought we'd find a piece of property and build, but we fell in love with this property and it came with a beautiful home. If we had built, I would have chosen 90% of this home to build.  The only thing I would change would be to add an outdoor kitchen and a quilting studio, but honestly, this house is more than we need or ever even imagined.

There are 2 nice sized guest rooms and an office so the only option is to use one of the guest rooms to sew in. Living way out here, folks often spend the night so I really need to keep 2 rooms for guests right now. There is an older home on the property and we are considering demolishing it and building a small guest cabin so then I would dedicate one of the rooms in our house for sewing. But that's a project for later.

In the meantime, I have a lovely space to sew and I am looking forward to setting things up in there. The room is 15 x 16.The closet's not very big, but all of my project boxes fit nicely on the shelves. Moving my fabric stash made me realize I have way too much though.

And there is room on the right side for fabric bolts and for hanging quilt tops

The quilt shop in Ruidoso (an hour away) is collecting quilts and quilting supplies for those affected by the recent fires and floods so I will comb through what I have and donate things there. The little local library in a small town 32 miles away, is supported by a thrift store and there are a lot of quilters in the area so I will also donate supplies there as well. I went in to get a library card and they were raffling off a quilt so I plan to donate another one after this raffle concludes. 

Currently, I have 5 quilts that are waiting for binding so that should get me through the winter. It rained one afternoon so I did take the time to trim 2 quilts

This cart was our island in our previous kitchen. I found it at Sam's years ago and I've always liked it. I was determined to keep it, but did not have a spot for it in this kitchen, but it makes the perfect cutting table with great storage!

I also repurposed this cabinet which a local woodworker made for me to use as a microwave cabinet in the old kitchen. I love it too, but once again, there was no space in our current kitchen. However, it makes a great addition to my sewing room!

Once I actually get in here and sew, I'll be moving things around, but for now the drawer behind the doors is the perfect space for fat quarters and the space below is pretty much empty except for my sewing box that holds thread.

I like that piece so much - I would love to have Bobby make another one and set the pair on either side of my sewing table, but sadly, he is no longer able to work.

DH was away for a few days tending to our cows so I dug out the quilt I started binding before the move and added a few stitches to it one evening. I've always been a slow binder and now I've gotten even slower because I spend more time watching the mountains than I do binding.

           

And I turned on my sewing machine the other day for the first time in 3 months and made a toddler pillowcase to add to a box I was sending to our granddaughter 

I'm still unpacking boxes and trying to find things, but I did put my sewing machine out on the deck one afternoon and sew binding to the front of a quilt. Best sewing room ever!