Quilting Studio

Death of a Dream?

July 13, 2021 | 8 Comments

As many of you know, I’ve longed for a backyard writing shed for years. I’ve had a recurring dream since my 30’s of a peaceful, tranquil, creative space, all my own.

I visualized a little cottage-type shed, with white shiplap on the peaked ceilings and gauzy curtains blowing in the gentle breeze. My magical space had a built-in bookcase on the back wall, a comfy chair and-a-half tucked into one corner and my desk positioned in the center. Funny thing was that the little shed stood in the middle of the woods, in a beautiful, green-grassed meadow. Obviously, my dream embellished my backyard just a smidge!

I’ve coveted she-sheds of all shapes and sizes. I’ve coveted old sheds and new sheds. I even have a board for them all on Pinterest.

Some of my very favourites:

So, so, beautiful, right?

My dream writing space has always represented something tangible to me; a creative place where the words would flow naturally from my brain, to my hand, onto the page. They would flow so easily.

Now, in my 60’s, I still poke around online, looking for that perfect little she-shed. As luck would it, I found one! If it wasn’t perfect, it was near perfect.

Isn’t that cute? Someone was selling this little gem. I loved the tiny wooden porch, the outdoor lights and the scuffed-up door. I was pretty excited, and bonus: we wouldn’t even have to build it! It was already insulated, wired and ready to go. It was a good size – 8′ x 12′ and was located fairly close to our home. Movers were ready and available to move it to my backyard right away. Sounds perfect?

I thought about it for at least a week. I looked at the online photos of the shed every day, inside and outside. I went out into our backyard with my tape measure and paced out the size. Then, I did it again and again. Coming back into the house, I walked down the steps into my basement studio. Taking stock of everything I already had available to me. . . the light and space and comfort I had access to. . . I decided against purchasing this little, sweet, shed.

For days, it felt like “my dream was dead”. After all those years of thinking about my own little workspace, it was so hard to drop it. But, I realized this dream of mine had surfaced long ago, when our kids were young and space was at a premium in our home. I also realized there was no magical place where words would flow easily. Writing is not easy – it’s hard – no matter where you hang your hat.

In my home studio, I have space for my fabrics, my files and my desk. I have storage for scrapbooking supplies and finished photo books. It’s a warm and cozy space in the winter and cool and comfortable in the summer. I do have peace and quiet to write and quilt.

Things change. Life circumstances, mindsets and dreams all change.

My new dream is that I will become an (older!) published book author. Better late than never.

Kim

Backyard Retreats

January 17, 2018 | 80 Comments

Happy Wednesday everyone. It’s still winter here in Calgary, and we’ve got a long way to go until it’s over, until it’s spring.

But nevertheless, I can’t help myself…..thoughts of spring are still rolling through my mind. I came across this fabulous piece from Houzz, as I subscribe to their email. It’s a wonderful article about “backyard retreats” and I so wanted to share it with you. You can find it here.

I’m particularly fond of the last little retreat, #8 – the one that looks more like an English cottage than a backyard shed. Which one is your favourite? (Leave me a comment at the end of my blog about which backyard retreat is your favourite and you could win a beautiful fabric bundle, coordinated to Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2018 – Ultraviolet. More on this later.)

Who wouldn’t love one of these little “outbuildings” in their backyard? Here in Calgary, though, because of our climate, it would likely only be warm enough to work outside from May through October ish; and even then you’d NEED a baseboard heater of some kind. I often imagine – stitching and writing and sewing in that little gem for six months of the year! Wouldn’t that be lovely?

But, besides the weather, there’s one teensy tiny other issue. Our backyard is filled with critters like him:

And mice, that I never see. I know they are there because I feed the birds and mice love freefall birdseed.

Would all these critters want to move into my little backyard retreat with me? Would I have to share it with backyard vermin? Would I find mice nestling in my bundles of fabric? Ewwwww!

THAT would definitely send me screaming and scrambling back to the safe confines of our house, never to enter my lovely shed again. In my dreams, vermin do not exist!

So, take a minute to look at the Houzz.com piece and tell me which is your favourite backyard retreaet. You could very well win a lovely bundle of fabrics, photos of which I will share with you all soon.

Take good care of yourself. Talk again soon.

Kim

Bow Bench Retreat – A Jewel in the Middle of Alberta

July 21, 2017 | 2 Comments

For some of us, the creative juices begin to flow the minute we leave the City limits. There is something so wonderfully powerful about being surrounded by nature and all its splendour….wide open spaces, fields filled with seasonal crops and unparalleled beauty.

Last week, I took a trip to Carseland, a tiny hamlet south east of Calgary. Travelling on Stoney Trail, I headed south as far as I could, then turned east on highway 22x. But rather than taking the left turn into Carseland, I went right heading to the Bow Bench Retreat. I was meeting with Nancy Strath, the lovely, accomplished, entrepreneurial founder of the Retreat. Nancy smiles a lot…but then, she has a lot to smile about!

Outside the Retreat itself, stillness is the first thing that strikes you. Then, you notice how many birds are singing. Next, you open your eyes to the spectacular beauty of the surroundings. Overlooking the Bow River and Wyndham-Carseland Provincial Park, Nancy’s retreat is the visual definition of bliss.

Nancy began this place from scratch, on family land, taking over the barn-like structure and filling it with “all things quilting”. There are sewing tables and chairs, power outlets everywhere. There is a cozy little kitchen and metal bars in the rafters where her quilts are hung. She wanted the retreat to not only be her sanctuary, but a sanctuary for all quilters who venture out. She says, “This place was created out of love and joy”.

Nancy is a certified Judy Niemeyer quilt instructor and loves to teach the foundation paper piecing style that Judy advocates. “It’s like putting together a giant puzzle, says Nancy, Or like painting by numbers. Although Judy’s patterns initially look daunting, they are detailed and organized, methodical and quite relaxing to work on,” she adds.

Quilters come to Bow Bench not only to stitch and learn from Nancy, but to also experience her gentle and kind manner. She’s like a quilt counsellor….who offers therapy sessions! Novice quilters are welcomed with open arms at Bow Bench and are free to use all of Nancy’s quilting supplies, such as scissors, rotary cutters and mats as a way to “try out quilting” before they purchase all the supplies for themselves.

Nancy will be teaching Judy’s newest technique, called Vintage Rose, at Bow Bench for one Saturday per month commencing in September. Since Nancy does not offer overnight accommodations at Bow Bench, she hosts the occasional workshop away from her Carseland location. Upcoming is a foundation paper piecing retreat at the Lazy M Lodge near Caroline, Alberta. Here, participants will be able to stay overnight, eat great food and sew to their hearts’ content for an entire week.

Nancy is amenable to renting out her facilities at Bow Bench Retreat to individuals and groups. You can contact her at 1-403-934-3491 or email bowbenchretreat@gmail.com.

I keep thinking I want to drive back to Carseland just for an opportunity to practise some yoga poses on Nancy’s deck! In the sunshine. Above the Bow River. Amazing!

Kim

My Renovated Quilting Studio – Paper Storage

August 12, 2015 | Leave a Comment

Good day everyone. Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday.

I wanted to share with you a few more photos from my new quilting workspace in our basement. My last post covered fabric storage and this post will deal with paper storage…like quilting magazines, photos, scrapbooking supplies and paper quilting patterns.

At the bottom of the basement stairs, is a closet that we mainly used for junk….old clothes that didn’t fit anymore, kids halloween costumes, winter coats – those sorts of things. The junk was removed and the clutter was dealt with. When the door of the closet was off for painting, it occurred to me that maybe the closet would be more useful without the door. So, the inside of the closet was painted (the same Benjamin Moore shade of bluegrass as the rest of the basement) and a new top shelf was made from MDF. The closet looked so much better. Now I had a brand new, clean space in which to hide paper in pretty little boxes! Yippee!

Teal is such a great colour and I wanted to use that accent colour in the basement as much as possible. A trip to Ikea gave me a good start. I picked up a Kallax unit (these used to be called Expedit) in teal that had eight cubbies.

Ikea white four-sided baskets for storage would also come in handy, as these little gems are geared to fit nicely in the cubbies of the Kallax unit.

The Kallax unit is surprisingly heavy! If you get one, you’ll need to roll it to your vehicle on a cart.

Once home, putting it together was a breeze.

As Ikea is very economical, so far so good in the $ department.

The Container Store was next on my list. Thrift just went out the window! It’s not that the items are particulary pricey, but when adding duty and shipping costs here to my home in Canada, it’s a little more than I would have ordinarily spent. I had to look at it as a splurge for sure. But Bigso Stockholm and Bigso Kate products were very appealing in pink and patterned teal and were just right for the project.

The assembled Kallax unit was placed inside the doorless closet, the cubbies were filled with appropriate storage containers holding various paper-type items and then labelled. Now, I have all my paper storage centralized and it’s wonderful. However, what’s not so wonderful is that lurking in all those containers are tons of photos and scrapbooking supplies and stuff that one day, will have to be addressed.

It’s been fun sharing all this with you.

Next Wedneday, my sewing machines and thread and cutting table.

Till later….

Kim

My Renovated Quilting Studio – Fabric Storage

August 4, 2015 | Leave a Comment

In January, we made a decision to renovate our basement. It was overdue for a much needed facelift and I was excited that my dreary, light-less and bland quilting space would be renewed. We thought we’d scrape the ceiling (of the existing popcorn finish), install new and much more lighting, paint and replace the carpeting. A fresh and new inspiring space in which to quilt and to write.

Work began and progressed along nicely. Soon I had a crisp and clean white ceiling with ten new glistening pot lights. Suddenly there was light! One of the walls was covered in beadboard, painted white and three new sconces were installed. So amazing. Blue grass from Benjamin Moore covered the other walls. Tiny basement windows were cased and it made them look just a little bit bigger and much, much better. We purchased some soft and silky excellent quality carpeting to cover the cold, concrete floor. Now, not only did my studio look great, it felt pristine and wonderful.

Time to move in the furniture – the best part, I think. Ten years ago or more, for very little money I purchased a black, two-door armoire as a china cabinet from HomeSense. Thinking the size and shape of the armoire would be perfect for fabric storage, I emptied it out of dishes and had it hauled down to the basement.

I measured the shelving inside the armoire and heading to HomeSense, found some large baskets, small baskets and some old style wooden crates that fit like a glove. Again, like everything at this store, the prices are very reasonable.

This allowed me to divide my fabrics into colours and batiks and designers and label each container as such. It is wonderful to be able to keep my stash all in one place now. There is 14 inches between the top of the armoire and the ceiling, so there’s plenty of room for more storage. The perfect place for extra-wide backing fabric:

and for medium sized glass jars containing quilting accessories like Riley Blake buttons and crocheted flowers.

Fabric storage settled and done, next it’s on to scrapbook storage and re-vamping a little-used closet.

Till later….

Kim