What does your dream quilting space look like?

Posted on by quiltedl

“For the experienced quilt maker, having a dedicated space in your home to sew can foster creativity and provide uninterrupted concentration. While having a large space comes in handy, any small area in your home that can accommodate fabric storage, machinery, craft tables, and working space is all you need.

If you are looking to create a quilting room in your home, look no further. Redfin reached out to quilting experts from Vancouver, BC to Miami, FL, including myself, to get our best tips on creating the ultimate quilting room. Click here to see what we had to say.” 

Yes, Redfin really did reach out to me for a contribution to the article!

I was so surprised and flattered to be asked to contribute – especially when I saw the names of some of the other contributors. I guess I really am considered an industry professional now! [Still pinching myself.]

My current studio is located in our basement. I designed the space while we were still in the blueprint stage of building our current home. I love the large, open space in my main studio area and the amount of natural daylight that pours in. I teach privately out of my home studio and I also quilt most of my own quilts, so the space frequently serves multiple purposes at the same time.

Enter my 6-foot folding table and chairs from Costco. This gets set up for classes, sewing with friends, or even extra desk space when I am making project kits for students.

It also serves as an extension table when I need to baste a large quilt. I was desperate after a particularly painful “on-the-floor” quilt basting session. I needed to find a stand-up solution for my larger quilts. I could baste baby/lap quilts on my existing cutting table, but needed more surface area to handle larger quilts.

Here’s what I came up with to test drive my idea to raise up the folding table to match the height of my cutting table:

Testing suitability of folding table as additional work space

Not pretty and not sustainable, but enough to know I had a solution to increase my cutting table surface area whenever I needed it. Now, to figure the best way to provide the needed lift. Answer: bed risers from the local Ace Hardware store.

Bed risers turned out to be the perfect solution!

Needs change over time. Thanks to COVID-19, hubby has claimed the home office. The kitchen table and outdoor patio set work in a pinch, but it’s not a long-term solution. I’m working on reconfiguring my studio space to install a dedicated office area for me. 🙂