Thursday, January 22, 2009

My Studio - On a shoestring budget

I know a lot of people have been posting pictures of their quilt studios.   My ideas may help those of you who don't have a lot of money to spend.  I have been lucky enough to take over my college son's bedroom.  Just a little bit of muscle changes my cutting table area back into a bed.  I have use the headboard and two saw horses to make my cutting table.  A 4ft by 7ft piece of marker board was glued to the same size piece of plywood.  This makes a great top to draw on or for working with paint.  For Christmas I had a mat-board custom cut to fit over this.  My tools are kept on the wall on scrap pieces of peg board.  I didn't even have to throw out my son's teddy bear collection or gymnastic medals

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My storage system has just been plastic stack drawers that I try to get when I can find them on sale.  I use them as the base for my pressing table.  The top is again plywood with cotton batting and muslin stretched  over it and stapled on the back.  I removed the closet doors and added boards for shelves and more storage bins.   An empty dresser and two night stands stacked serves as extra storage.

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My biggest challenge was for a sewing table.  I had a folding table just the right height  but I wanted my machine set down in like a "real" sewing table.  We went to Lowes to find some 1/2 inch wide smooth wood.  We couldn't find anything suitable, but it was suggested that we as in floor tiles because the boxes had smooth boards in the top for shipping that are thrown away.  We found two that were perfect size.   My husband traced my machine and cut a hole in both boards.  Then we glued them with wood glue.  A frame was made using 2 by 1 inch wood.  Finally a notch was cut in the frame so I could load the bobin without lifting my machine.  It may not be fancy but it sure works great.

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My design wall was made with white flannel over fiber board.

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The last wall of my studio is where my daughter's sewing machine is and of course a few more storage boxes.  You can see the corner of my pressing table on the left.


studio3

6 comments:

  1. Very clever use of materials! It so nice and neat too. Enjoy:)

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  2. Love it! I never would have thought of the flooring for the sewing machine table but what a great idea! I have a small folding sewing table but I may do this instead. Seems like a good surface for machine quilting. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. you are singing my song...i'm waiting on a man to give me some idea of how much it will be for him to build me a basic sewing table...if its out of my range which i'm counting that it will be...i'm going to take a page out of your book. And I may have found a free wood kitchen table to support my barely standing cutting/ironing table. If its sturdy I'm going to put risers underneath and that will be problem solved...my fabric storage which I thought at the time was gonna work will be my next thing to solve.

    thanks so much for sharing!

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  4. When designing a studio I would choose functional over expensive but doesn't fit your needs any day.
    You have done a wonderful job and your studio is functional and works for you.
    I too love those plastic drawer units and I also watch for the sales - why pay twice as much when you can wait and pay half?
    You can come up with some ingenious solutions that any one can afford.
    K

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  5. Just dropping by.Btw, you website have great content!

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  6. What a great space! I've been limited to the corner of my bedroom, but am moving in a week and will have a whole room for my studio. I like your clear storage boxes. Thanks for sharing.

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