Sewin Studio : Soul Quilts for Mind, Body and Home
it’s now october and a while since i posted ,so this is to say hi and a reminder for myself , that my blog is here!
I have finally managed to get a shape to my studio space, a workable space at least and the light has changed now with the season. And there hasn’t been much folding ………….
Previously on hanging from the clothes rail, these fabric lengths look neater folded and take up less space! I am also able to see exactly what palette is available to me and how much!
These are large pieces of fabric, destined for large pieces of work.
My accumulation of fabric started in the 70’s, yes in the 70’s! and came from dressmaking off cuts and selected clothes that I had liked. I remember thinking that i needed a good supply of colours to be able to make quilts. I think I may have enough now……
the accumulation of stuff , I think, is very much tied in to procrastination…… is not about delaying starting something, rather, it is about delaying letting go.
Take one box……
focus……..
choose your system…rectangular pieces are folded, irregular and smaller ones are rolled, hand sized cloths are put into small box, a swatch box .
and it’s done!
very satisfying.
the visual motivation for this tidy up came from an image in this months Living.etc magazine, page 84. I am working towards something along these lines, and looking forward to seeing my studio space looking and feeling good. It feels good just to sort out these three boxes. More to come.
Whilst browsing to see what has been achieved elsewhere, in the studio tidy up department, I came across this from True Up which if you follow the links is fascinating and helpful. the supplies of knitting yarn made a big impression, with which i can identify in relation to my cloth ‘resources’, (my new way of describing the clutter! ) It brings into question the need that feeds the accumulation of stuff. I think it is about comfort and familiarity.I spent time sorting and folding and separating cloth pieces, into size order making a general stock take, i suppose . many of the pieces, if not all, i came across, came into my hands with memories- it was a pleasurable process, much to my surprise and now i look forward to continuing.
This is the left hand wall of my studio, piled high with boxes, bags and rails of cloth.Oh and a couple of
lovely baskets which will definitely be staying.
The window faces south east and benefits from morning light. On the table is a small sample of strip piecing and to the left my blue cotton print summer dress. Once the lining is secured beside the zip, it will be good to wear.
Behind the sewing table is my inspiration wall, to the right are storage shelves.
All along the right hand wall is shelving.In the foreground to the left is mum’s horn sewing cabinet that I inherited. I am planning to make it my own by painting it and swopping the handles for a contemporary style. It will come home so that I have at least some sewing equipment here, and it can all be kept in one place.
The left hand side of the studio space will be for cloth ,the centre space by the window for cutting/sewing and the right hand wall will be used to store equipment and materials. The next wall is going to be the design wall, this faces north west/north and since i have realigned the furniture, feels right, even though presently it is not ready. Although I did paint it .
And some free advertising for a local shop and you can see the hinterberg stretch frame waiting to be unpacked. I think I have found some-one (in the UK)who can supply the right sized conduit poles….it has taken a while…we will return to this later.
Posting this is useful. They say clutter uses up energy and I have to agree. Now I have gone ‘public’ with the studio images,I have to do something about it!! I am visualising the end result and looking forward to seeing and feeling the improvements, and to creating some meaningful work.
avoiding the studio…….no progress……the cloth mountain is high…….
is this familiar to you too?
Today I will be promoting my sewin workshops at clapham park festival. It promises to be a glorious day and i am looking forward to meeting people and spreading the word.. sewin will take place at Brixton Skill Share in Granville Arcade in Brixton market on Thursdays and for openers it will be machine sewing basics, gaining confidence and knowledge of the machine. All classes centre around using recycled fabrics and the cloth we have to hand. It will be interesting to see the variety of samples made and how people meet the technical challenges. My job is to help, support and encourage would be sewers at the beginning of their sewing journey!
I’ve been busy organising fliers,business cards and running a thursday evening drop in, that I have not made time to continue de cluttering the studio.
This is still on the agenda, especially as my creative work can only be re started when the fabric stash is easily available! presently it is in bags and boxes.
I read these interesting posts, slow cloth on facebook and at spirit cloth, regarding cloth clutter and organising/displaying fabric. As i progress with my thinking (and action!) on this I will post images, the great before (the mountain of cloth) and the fantastic after (everything transformed into art)!!!! Watch this space…. the new blog title
Whenever I decide to de-clutter, reorganise and refine my space, at home or in the studio, it seems to attract more stuff into my life!!! Does this happen to you?
I feel an impulse to be ruthless and get rid of the items I haven’t used for a long while, eg skein winder, umbrella swift and rayon yarns(which are still with me, by the way). now I think that equipment may be useful in the future, and it is the materials that need to be used up and ‘processed’ or passed on to other people who can use them.
I am involved in transition town brixton which is about recycling, re using materials and managing resources so as to have Zero Waste ,to put to good use space available to Grow Food, and measures that can be taken to Conserve Energy and Heat , which after last winter and the financial crisis, people are more conscious of their rising fuel bills and ready to adopt. The ethos is that everything gets put to good use, to become as self sufficient as possible. i suppose the old adage ‘waste not,want not’ is key here.
This is my own realisation that i want to adopt these principles in my own home and studio management , so have a productive and Zero Waste studio !
So Watch this space and see how I get on.(and wish me luck!)
have spent time today painting the design wall of my studio to tarten it up. The wall has suffered from sticking up my cloth samples with masking tape, and then paint came off with the tape! The wall looks so much better now.
maggiewinnall.wordpress.com