~ in the studio: messenger bag and crochet toys ~

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The first project to come out of my new studio 

is a messenger bag for me! 

I've been dissatisfied with having a purse that sits only on one shoulder, 

always feeling I need to keep a hand on it.

My friend Cookie mentioned how she felt a messenger bag simplified her life just a little,

so I decided I needed to give it a try, too! 

I haven't sewed in a while, 

and I'm so very, very pleased with how this purse turned out!

  

I used this tutorial from New Green Mama.

The print is IKEA GUNILLA in orange - it's decorator weight.

The body is the most special - a pair of so very soft wool dress slacks that belonged to my Grandaddy.

~ in the studio: getting there! ~

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Welcome to the studio!

Looks a little better than before, doesn't it?

The first day was less-than-glamorous.

Towering stacks of boxes that needed to be sorted and put in storage.

Children's clothing had to be moved and put in their new closet.

A bed and frame to be broken down and stuffed in the closet.

One old sewing machine from my uncle's mother finds her home!

A small stack of items still need sorting, but the hard part is done!

The 2nd story window gets great morning sunlight, 

and looks into the backyard.

That old vanity was in my childhood bedroom,

and reflects my new machine and pegboard.

More mess piles are revealed!

The full size bed just barely fit in the shallow closet.

When we have guests, we'll pull it out and set it up.

But in such a small room, where space is at a premium,

it doesn't make sense to leave it out,

unused for 99% of the time.

The little wall to the left of the closet, to the right of the door,

seems like the perfect place for yarn storage.....

My fabric is destined for those two temporary shelves.

They came out of the closet when the bed went in!

Hmmm, that vanity just doesn't seem to be very useful there.....

My newish machine, pegboard of notions and the man who helped make it possible. 

Looks like a pretty good start,

but there's more work to do!

I'm so grateful to have a space for creativity!

It's been a long time since I felt well enough to put my meager talents to good use.

But now that I'm better, I'm looking forward to making up for lost time.  

~carrie~

~ in the studio: a work-in-progress ~

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What?

This doesn't look like a studio to you???

Me either!

Our little home has 3 bedrooms.

A very large bedroom with bathroom for the adults.

A tiny blue room for the children.

And a larger yellow room that has been a work-in-progress for way too long.

Now, the children are moved out of their tiny blue room,

and into their fresh, beautiful new *PINK* room.

The full size bed had been shared by the little ones, 

and where you see tools and boxes, 

there was a twin bed for the eldest.

Just a few short days ago,

the tiny blue room looked like this,

with some of the children's clothes still left in the closet.

This is my *new* studio! 

Well, maybe it's just *my studio* since there was never an old one.

Unless you count this:

 A tiny cluttered sewing desk, in our bedroom, that doubles as my nightstand.

The pegboard with my threads that my awesome partner made for me the Winter before last.

My fabrics are stored in the drawers of this (below) dresser.

Hmmmmm, maybe instead of a studio,

I should have made it a laundry room?

Finding the fabric you're looking for in a deep drawer?
Frustrating and messy!

My other notions and such were in baskets in the closet.

(That loom that is slightly buried in the laundry mountain

will eventually reside in my studio.)

So, not really much of a studio so far!

But in the few short days there has been much rearranging, 

and organizing,

and shuffling,

so that today things in that little blue room look much different!

Please stay tuned for pictures of the transformation!

~carrie~