Getting Close

It is spring break here and I have been busy getting the studio ready. I have some before and after shots to share! We finally chose colors and I am really pleased with how it looks.

 Obviously, these are the before photos. It's a huge space with lots of white and pretty darn boring. It is one of four (yes, I said four) garages on my property and it stored cars, car parts, and riding lawnmowers for a very long time. Making it girly was no easy task. This is my sewing corner where I have my personal machines set up. Super ugly and not at all cheerful.

 This spot was a little better because there was some color here. It served as my cutting and ironing station. But not super functional simply because the space on the shelves was being utilized all wrong. Bicycle helmets and hot rod magazines DO NOT belong in a sewing studio :)

I knew I wanted a spot to sit and relax so I moved in a loveseat and a coffee maker. But still... not the best set-up. Behind that quilt hanging up is an awesome peg board that could be used for all kinds of things, but I hated the red so I covered it up.

Ready for the after?! So much better, I promise!

DRUMROLL PLEASE!

 Ta Da!!! I switched the cutting and ironing station with the loveseat and coffee area. It makes so much more sense. Now I am using the peg board to hang scissors, rulers, cutting mats. The shelves above the loveseat now hold craft magazines and books for folks to look at while they hang out and have a cup of coffee. 

I still have a bit of cleaning up and organizing to do, but I'm mostly finished. My favorite part of the room is, by far, my fabric shelves. I had my fabric spread out in different places around the room. Shoved in cabinets, crumpled up in baskets, folded in tupperware bins... Now it is all in one place and out where I can see what I have.

Now it is time for me to start sifting through all the ideas in my head and come up with a class schedule. That will be finalized and posted within the next week or so. Be watching for it!

And So It Begins

I am slowly moving things around to figure out an arrangement. The trouble I'm having is that this needs to be a functional classroom, but still has to be where I sew too. I won't have room inside my house for a sewing space until my kids start moving out, and I'm in no hurry for that. For now, I'm just trying to get a layout of the room in order. It's like a giant jigsaw puzzle...

 This insulation on the garage door needs to stay, but it's so ugly. I'm thinking of taking it down and wrapping it in some pretty fabric before I put it back up. Or even cover it in batting for a design wall of sorts.

 Once I have everything situated where I want it, then we will begin moving it all out. Then the cleaning and painting will begin. There are many things in this room that belong to my husband. So I'm waiting for him to make a space for his things somewhere for his things. I don't really think basketball trophies and car parts fit in with the theme I'm going for.

Choosing Colors!!!

It has been unseasonably warm here (I'm talking 30's and 40's, so certainly still pretty cold). It hasn't snowed here once this winter, and all our reservoirs are empty. This is very bad news for our crops, my veggies, and my grass.

But since it hasn't been super cold I'm expecting spring to come sooner than later - or spring-like weather anyway -  which means I will begin working on the studio earlier than expected. Last week my husband was sitting next to me watching television and he asked me "have you chosen colors for the studio yet?" Normally he doesn't care even a little bit about that kind of thing. So after the shock wore off, I realized that, no, I had not even thought about it yet!

This is where you come in. I need some help. I have so many ideas swimming through my head and I'm having a hard time committing. This space is huge, people. Once it's painted, I'm done. Whether I like it or not.

There is a site called Design Seeds. This lady has hundreds of color palettes to inspire! Here are a few of my favorites:

I'm not really sold on that one. But as you can tell from the first three, I definitely have a certain color scheme I am attracted to. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE some input from you! I'm thinking a lighter color (more neutral) on the walls, then something fun, bright, and cheerful for the shelving and pegboard. Take a peek at the Design Seeds site. I'd love to see what you like.

If you find something awesome, it would be great if you'd leave a link in the comments so I can check it out. I'd also love to hear which of the 4 I posted here is your favorite. Much thanks!

New Things Are Happening!

Hi everyone! This is just a quick little post today to let you know that new things are happening here. If you haven't already noticed, I'm revamping the blog, have a new name, and that means something bigger is going on...

Next month I plan to dust out the shop and get it painted. Once that is done, I will open it up and start some beginning sewing classes! I'm so excited to get going on this, but I need to wait for it to get just a bit warmer outside before starting this project.

I haven't figured out pricing details but that is next on my list of things to do. What I can tell you is that each class will have a different project and the class fee will include the pattern and materials needed to complete one project with that pattern. I will also offer some more advanced sewing classes, quilting classes, and kids sewing classes.

Please spread the word and let me know if you are interested in receiving a newsletter from me with more detailed info and first dibs on signing up. You can leave your email in a comment here, or you can email directly with your info at fourchicksfarm@gmail.com. Please remember, I have a somewhat limited amount of space. Because of that, each class will only be able to accommodate up to 6 people. If there is a high demand, I can always add a couple more classes to the schedule.

Some input from you would be great to help me get this started! What days/times of the week would work best for your schedule? Finding this out from everyone interested would be very helpful to me in figuring out the best times to hold classes.

Thank you! Please let me know if you have questions!