Tuesday, July 28, 2009

A Virtual Tour of Safety Pin Studio



Welcome to Safety Pin Studio. This is the name that I gave to my workspace because I've always liked safety pins and found them oddly comforting. It's a small, intimate space here in North Carolina (about ten feet square), but it serves well. I'll just start as one comes in the door and move around the room to give you a sense of the space.



When I first met my mother-in-law, she gave me my first decorative thimble. Over the years, she's added to the collection as have my mother, my husband, and my children. My mom and dad found the printer's drawer on one of their drives from Florida to Indiana on back roads. It's a punctuation drawer to be exact and it works wonderfully as a display unit.



This wonderful carving came from the Museum of Appalachia right outside Knoxville, Tennessee and was purchased on my return drive from a Nancy Crow class at Arrowmont School. It's signed "Butch 1991" and was carved by one of the remarkable, outsider artist Troy Webb's children.



Jim gave me this strange little cabinet one Christmas. He found it in one of our favorite antique shops in Crawfordsville. It's designed like an apothecary cabinet, but the drawers are very short--only about four inches wide.



The drawers were all constructed using scrap wood from cigar and cheese boxes which is a tramp art technique.



It makes a perfect place to store rubber stamps and display little hanging ornaments and mementos.



This lovely basket holds yarn.



This is one of my two metal, library bookcases holding mostly art books.



I made curtains for several of the windows in our house the first summer we were here. This is my favorite. I love the fabric. They are all lined because of the sunlight, but my studio also has a special shade that cuts the UV rays to protect the books and fabric from damage.




The barrister's bookcase belonged to my Grandmother Warner and houses my favorite literature books and mementos.



Here's my trusty old Bernina and one of the larger studies I did after taking Nancy's first Improvisational Piecing workshop.



The second bookcase has my quilting and embroidery books as well as some family history stuff and scrapbooks.



The first summer we lived down here, I refitted a number of the closets with shelves and hanging racks. Fabric, notions, tools, and finished quilts live in here. The sliding doors have got to go one of these days.



This was a gift from the children.



These are postcards and a poster from some of my shows.



My worktable is the centerpiece of the studio. Our good friend and master craftsman, Gordon Huffaker built it using a tabletop he'd acquired. It's just high enough for me and was the only thing that had to come apart to come in the house when we moved! I store fabric on the shelf underneath--not an ideal solution. I miss not having my fabric out so I can see it and having a design wall. Except for those two things, it's a great place to work.

I would love to see your studio or workspace. If you've done a tour on your blog, will you leave me a link in the comments?
Thank you.

19 comments:

Robin said...

You really made the most of your space and it is so neat.
Robin

Quilted Librarian said...

Thank you, Robin. I like a challenge.
Best regards,
Dana

Margaret Cooter said...

10 feet square, at last a studio I can relate to - mine is about that size. There are some pix of my favourite bits of it on my blog (http://margaret-cooter.blogspot.com) but the camera didn't want to linger in the messy bits!

Your Bernina looks like mine - mine is a Record, acquired 2nd hand and going strong.

And the library background resonates with me too!

Your studio looks like a lovely, comfortable place to be.

Daphne Greig said...

What a great space you have - and so many wonderful books!

I did a mini-tour of my studio on my blog a while back:
http://daphnegreig.blogspot.com/search/label/Studio

It evolves as I work on a range of projects - sometimes my tables are used for painting and stamping; sometimes for cutting fabric and supporting quilts as I machine quilt them. The main thing - it's a creative place and I'm lucky to have it!

Daphne Greig

Quilted Librarian said...

Thanks, Margaret. I covet your Victorian shop-fitting cabinet! It has the same kind of glass doors that swing up as my barrister's bookcase. And yes, it looks like we both have the librarian's penchant for collecting books. Thanks so much for your visit.

Daphne--thank you so much for the link to your studio tour. It's a lovely workspace and what an incredible vista you have!
Kind regards,
Dana

Kay Koeper Sorensen said...

I love seeing other people's studios. Yours is so much fun.
You can see photos of mine at:

http://quiltspluscolor.blogspot.com/search?q=Studio

Quilted Librarian said...

Thanks so much for the link, Kay. Your studio looks incredible.
Best regards,
Dana

Anonymous said...

Oh I love the library cabinets (drool, drool), great space.

Quilted Librarian said...

Thanks, Lynda!

lizquilts said...

what a beautiful studio. I don't have a blog but here are pictures of my sewing studio and dyeing studio. Some things have changed since these pictures. I too have a printers drawer now, it hold my quilt pins. I also have a new Janome 6600 so my sewing table is changed some.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Lizquilts1

Quilted Librarian said...

Oh, a dye space, too. How wonderful. Of course, I adore the cabinet that looks like an old fashioned card catalog! Thanks for the Flickr link and your visit, Liz.
Kind regards,
Dana

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Great studio tour Dana. I did post about mine here: http://maryonlakepulaski.blogspot.com/2009/07/sew-domestic-blog-tour.html#comments
but it isn't very interesting since my sewing space is also the guest room.

Quilted Librarian said...

Hi Mary,
You have been very creative with the use of your studio space and I think that's always interesting.
All the best,
Dana

Anonymous said...

Great space and great blog! Here is a link to my work space:

http://katyquilts.wordpress.com/category/sewing-room-pics/

Enjoy!
Katy

Quilted Librarian said...

Thanks, Katy,
You are on my blog roll, so I remember when you posted this last winter. You have a wonderful studio! Thanks for visiting.
All the best,
Dana

Wen said...

Nice Studio! Great to have a place to BE!

Quilted Librarian said...

That is so true, Wen. Even though it's small, at least it's dedicated space.
All the best,
Dana

Anonymous said...

What an inviting place. It looks like I place I would love to spend time in.

Quilted Librarian said...

Thanks, Kathie. I love your studio space, too--talk about a room with a view!
all the best,
Dana