My Studio
This weekend I organized my studio and then added an additional 16 feet of design wall to my studio. The 30 ft x 20 ft studio is in my basement and now has a total of 48 feet of design wall, which is either white flannel or black felt over 1″ thick white styrofoam insulation sheets.
I use this room for design and construction work only. I have a separate dye studio in another part of the basement and all my business and paperwork is upstairs in my office. Even though this is the basement I get natural light from the 4 garden level windows.
This is the view of the studio from the stairs. There is a lot of open floor space in front of what is shown as I baste my quilts by pinning them to the floor so need to have a large clear area as some of my quilts are up to 8ft x 8ft.
This is the east wall, which is at the bottom of the stairs (so behind everything in the previous picture). This wall has 24 feet of design wall and is currently covered with completed quilt tops awaiting quilting.
Moving counter clockwise around the room this is the first section of the north wall. These 2 design walls are new. I wasted no time starting a new piece on the design wall on the left. The blue quilts on the right are pieces I started a few years ago awaiting completion.
The table in the middle is for design work, which I do very little on paper so mostly the table collects junk. In the future I would love to replace this table with another sewing table with a second sewing machine, so I could piece with one machine and quilt with the other.
Still part of the north wall, this is where I spend most of time, in front of my sewing machine, a Pfaff 1475 that I bought in 1993. I have a custom built 8′x4′ table that is wonderful for quilting my large work. I keep my ironing table adjacent to my sewing machine so I can work quickly.
Moving counter clockwise again, this design wall on the west wall is the one I use most often for designing a new quilt. I like working on a black surface. As you can see Structures #47 is still in progress. The dresser to the right and the drawers beneath my sewing table hold my rather large and very neglected collection of commercial fabric.
My cutting table is on the first section of the south wall. The shelves under the cutting table hold my old projects, my beads, scraps and misc stuff.
The last of the new design wall space on the second part of the south wall. The piece on the top is a piece I handdyed/painted years ago that I would like to hand quilt someday. The piece on the bottom is a new idea I’m playing with. The green blocks are a design my son is working on and the sewing machine in this picture is my ancient singer that he uses.
You can also see my storage bins for my hand dyed fabric. My very small book collection is also on a shelf under my cutting table.
Posted by Lisa in: Making Abstract Contemporary Textile Art
Gerrie said,
July 25, 2005 @ 10:56 pm
Lisa, your studio and your work that is on display is wonderful. Now get busy quilting so we can see the finsihed products!!
Jo said,
July 26, 2005 @ 6:21 am
Wow! What a fabulous space and SO organized. I think it’s just great.
Karoda said,
July 26, 2005 @ 6:21 am
What a great space you have to work in. Will you show us your dye space?
Scrapmaker said,
July 26, 2005 @ 8:14 am
Thoughtfully organized and functional with good light. Great to see so much design wall space with your inspiring work on the walls. Styrofoam insulation sheets? Is this the same as foam core? Jen
Lisa Call said,
July 26, 2005 @ 10:08 am
Gerrie - I have a solo show coming up in february (in Boulder) and I’ll need quite a bit of work for an invitation show in Richmond, VA in January. So I’m with you - I need to get this stuff quilted so I have work to show!
Karoda - I’m planning on doing some dyeing in the next week or two. When I’ve got stuff going I’ll take some pictures of the dye studio and get them on my blog. It isn’t nearly as interesting as it is just a sink and a table in the unfinished part of my basement.
Jen - Yes - they are huge 4ftx8ft sheets of styrofoam insulation. They aren’t foam core boards - they are just the styrofoam only, very light weight. I get them from home depot. I hear you can’t get them in all parts of the country. The ones I use are 1″ thick and they have a thin layer of blue plastic on one side and a layer of plastic with writing on the other. I pull off the blue plastic layer so it is white - then cover it with flannel.
When I put the first one up years ago I was told they wouldn’t hold up to much use but it has been 10 years and they are still in great shape.
PaMdora said,
July 26, 2005 @ 10:50 am
Thanks for the studio tour - you have an awesome work space and you’ve organized it so nicely. I like my space to be neat and clean also, so I can find what I’m looking for and get right to work.
Why do you do so many quilt tops and wait to quilt them later? I usually do a top and quilt it right away, but do you feel like you get more done this way?
Elle said,
July 26, 2005 @ 2:45 pm
What a great studio space!!
Claire said,
July 27, 2005 @ 2:17 am
Holy moly!! That is one lovely work space. I like how neat it is. I need to stay organised like that :-)
Renmeleon said,
January 10, 2006 @ 12:19 am
Completely in awe. Beautiful, beatiful work adn such a dreamy place to call a studio. I think it’s wonderful your son gets involved! If you ever do a show in Florida PLEASE drop me a note as I would love to see your stuff in person.
Thank you for the incredible tour! :::applause:::
Ria :)
Gina Halladay said,
February 10, 2006 @ 9:16 pm
Lisa
I blogged about your studio. I love it. We signed the lease on some studio space yesterday. If only….it looked like yours. Happy Quilting.
Gina
http://www.QuiltersBuzz.com
Kelly said,
February 13, 2006 @ 8:59 am
How are you flannel/styrofoam boards attached to the wall?
Lisa Call said,
February 16, 2006 @ 9:45 pm
I use 2″ finishing nails to screw them into the wall - through the flannel and styrofoam and into the wall. Look at the the larger image of the 3rd image down. You can see black dots in the corner of the design walls. Those are the screws holding it in place.
Cynthia said,
September 22, 2006 @ 10:05 am
Oh My! I’m so jealous of your studio space! It looks amazing. I live in the city in the Wash Park area in a small house…my studio is about 13′ x 9′ with one small basement window. I have talked about converting the garage, but that would be a huge undertaking.
I love the photographs of your work in progress. They’re beautiful and inspiring!
Lisa Call said,
September 25, 2006 @ 8:35 pm
Thanks Cynthia. I definitely find that having a good studio helps me stay motivated, efficient and focused.
Lorri said,
December 27, 2006 @ 4:27 am
Thank you for sharing your space and wow, it is like a dream come true!! I bet it is inspiring just to stand in such in your studio, no wonder your son likes hanging out in there. Quilter’s Nirvana!!
Lorrie said,
January 14, 2007 @ 1:35 pm
Thanks for the tour! New Year’s resolution……………..organize my quilt/scrapbooking studio in our new home. Thanks for the inspiration, as well. What height is your cutting area? How can I figure out the right height for myself?