Granny Loves To Entertain

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I often refer to it as my studio in the tree tops and this is the view as I sit at the machine and sew. Granny is right there keeping me company.


Granny loves to invite her girlfriends over to visit.

Studio Stairwell Variety

 It is easy to change the display of the quilts on my studio stairwell.

This is the first group of quilts I hung on my studio stairwell.

This is another group of quilts I have hung over the stairwell. 

The hanging system we created makes it easy to change the display.

Sunrooom Studio

I set up a small studio in the sunroom on the first floor so I can walk over and sew for 5 minutes or a short time.
I am working with leftovers from previous projects making small items. It's working and I have a few done and others in the process.

Antique Post Office Desks

These are the two post office desks I have in my studio. They are the perfect place to store and display my yarn,

This is the one I acquired very recently. It is a standing desk while the other one is a sitting desk. I am guessing since this one is smaller it came from a smaller community. I love them both.

It’s A Working Studio Again

I'm happy to be working on various projects in my studio again. I use the design wall to hang works in progress or fabrics so I can study them to get ideas and inspiration on how to use them.

Another corner of the studio. There are 5 current works in progress laid out on the bed. These are ones that I hope to work on soon. You can also see many older works in progress hanging on the racks at the foot of the bed.
My studio is a pleasant and inspiring place to work. I also have art hanging on the walls by others as well as by myself. I try to change out my work often with the help of my son Greg.
It’s a great feeling to have the studio reorganized and also to have purged so much I no longer need.
Now if I could only find some 48 hour days!!!!!!!

Wall Of Quilting Fabrics And Projects

I don’t know if you remember what this looked like before? I got rid of a lot of the fabrics that were here. I also added things that were elsewhere. I moved some things to the two side sections.
Yes, there are some empty spots. I will likely fill them with some things from the studio storeroom which will make those things more accessible….but not right now.
The biggest change is I now have like things together.
I also put things I don’t need to access often on the top shelves. The things I use most often are on the most accessible shelves.

This is what it looked like before I started purging and reorganizing.
When you compare the two pictures you can see a HUGE change.

Studio Purging And Reorganization Finished

For all intents and purposes it is done.
Does that mean I have everything in apple pie order?
Not by a long shot.

I still have things to get rid of and things that could be more organized. They will not impede my working in my studio now.

Yes, there are boxes of donations that need to be brought down and out. Also empty boxes and bins that I may store for the future.

Some projects that are visible on my radar so I know they should be tackled.

A tea cart full of projects to be finished which includes some small things for when I don’t feel like working on BIG projects.
Yet with all this said, to me it is a big improvement and makes me want to work and I AM working again.
If you expected to see a beautifully staged studio I hope you are not disappointed. This is a WORKING studio.
After over 3 months of work, IT’S ABOUT TIME!
What you haven’t seen yet is my fabric storage shelves and you’ll see them before too long.

The Real Deal

You may have seen photos here of my studio that makes you wonder how any one can keep their space so neat and organized.
I have a few new ones to share with you today.

My studio is a working studio.

Sometimes that means I need to purge and do more organization to make it more efficient.

That is the track I am currently on.

There photos were not staged or edited. These are actual current views of the studio.

More Studio Views….Looks Like I Was Either Looking For Something Or Organizing!

Since there is no rhyme nor reason how my photos are organized on my computer I have been sharing studio photos recently as I find some.

Another view of that corner that you have seen all organized recently!


Another view as I work on this area.  This was taken some time ago. Some of those you see are finished or sold and some are still works in progress. There are even some that are currently being worked on.


This is my small office area.


The post office desk with knitting yarns and my knitting machine.
Yes, this is a working studio or a work in progress. I have changed the configurations many times in the 24 years since it was built as my needs have changed.
I also have found it necessary to periodically go through my work and organize it to either make things easier to find, to get quilts out for my solo shows. to get quilts out to finish or get quilts out for buyers.
Of course I even find time to create as that is why I have this space.  That is my number one priority and takes precedence over everything else.

More Studio Photos-The Good, The Bad And The Ugly!

Today’s blog is about the Bad, Badder and Baddest!

A relatively recent photo when I was working on many things.


My grandsons turned it into a golf course!


Ken and Barbie are visiting!


One of the Baddest! Have to get this way to figure out how to reorganize and neaten.

That is enough for you to see in one post. I have some that are even BADDER but I’m not going to share them!

Studio View, Outside And Inside

I have shown photos of my studio before, but I don’t think I’ve shown one from outside.
The second floor in this photo is my studio.

This was an addition to our home almost 25 years ago.


I often refer to it as my studio in the tree tops and this is the view as I sit at the machine and sew. Granny is right there keeping me company.


Granny loves to invite her girlfriends over to visit.


This view shares my thread cabinet and the bed area where I store both finished quilts and works in progress.


Remember the second largest quilt I ever made,  Jubilation? I shared it with you recently? Here it is displayed on the bed.
You can also see In Living Color displayed on my quilting hoop.
Yes, this is my happy place and I spend many wonderful hours creating here.

Want To See My Dye Studio?

It’s not fancy but it works. This is the counter on the workshop wall in the garage.
Not shown is the wash tub on an adjacent wall, storage for various containers and mixing bottles, and more on shelves on a wall adjacent to that wall.
Open the door to the tiny utility room and the washer and dryer are right there.
It took me a while to figure this all out but it works well.
My motto: If you really want to do something you’ll find a place and figure out a way to do it.

Another Studio View

This is a view of the design wall area in my studio.
When I took this picture I had a variety of my quilts on the design wall. The 4 sections of the design wall open and there are 12 inch deep shelves to store my fabric and supplies behind it.
You can see many parts of the studio on this one photo.
You can see the track lighting that can wash the entire design wall with LED lighting,
The two sky lights are also visible.
The comfortable sitting area is partially visible.
On a chair at the left side you can see the crocheted afghan I made some 55 years ago with as many colors of wool yarn as I could collect.
The chair with all the circles is a puffy chair which I reupholstered and originally lived in the sunroom.
You can see one of the Scandinavian chairs I purchased on eBay from Belgium. That in itself is an amusing story.
Looking at the far right you see “In Living Color” which is being supported by my quilting hoop for display purposes.
It you look carefully at the same area you see the bed I store quilts on,
Yes, it definitely is a dream studio – something I waited and worked years for and I LOVE it as much today (or possible more) than when I first moved into it.
It is hard to believe I have had this space for almost 25 years now.
In that period of time things have been moved around and changed as my needs have changed.

My Studio And My Work–An On Going Process

I am always tweaking my lists, projects and studio organization.
At the present time my studio is full of works in progress waiting to be completed and an assortment of other fiber related things.

My cutting table has pieces of leftovers from projects that I will use to create new work. It also has many  things for various other uses.

There are several projects waiting for attention on my main sewing machine!

I went through a lot of boxes and bins and pulled out small projects to finish when I have short stretches of time to sew.

These are some of the quilts that are in line to be quilted soon along with other supplies, finished work in the background and other stuff.
Yes, this is what a working studio looks like when I am creating and trying to finish things. It is definitely NOT meant to be a gallery or show room at this time.

Studio Quilt Gallery

You are seeing about 21 feet of my 30 foot studio design wall.
The part you are not seeing is a work in progress. Most of the time the entire wall is being used to work out designs for my new pieces.
The 4 quilts on the left are from the Colors Of My Life series. There are 20 quilts in the series.
The 5 quilts on the right are all my Ice Dyed Tapestries. These pieces were all in my recent show and will be part of another upcoming show in 2018.
The quilt on the far right under the window is In Living Color.
It is always nice to be able to see a sampling of the work I have done all together in one place.
I hope you enjoy this gallery display.
Click on the photo to see a larger view.

Where Is That Quilt? Part 4

These are the final pictures of the quilts I have laid flat on the bed.

Layer 17

Layer 18

Layer 28

Layer 29

Layer 30
These photos are not meant to show the quilts in their best light…just the way I store them and a teaser as to what they look like.
The rest of the quilts are either stored under the bed on 2 trolleys we built to store them, stored elsewhere or are on display in my lower level gallery or throughout our home.
Yes, I have been rearranging and sorting quilts so they are more accessible.
I hope you have enjoyed this journey through some of my work. These pieces were done over a period of time. My work changes and grows, but I hope it stands the test of time.

Quilt Turning On The Studio Bed

There has been a lot of interest recently about how people store their finished quilts.
I am sharing how mine are stored on the bed in the studio. This has been a perfect way to store them.

As I put the quilts back on the bed in the studio this past summer I photographed them on the bed as I added each quilt. I did this so it would make it easier to find any particular quilt.
This shows the bed before I started layering on the quilts. You can see the trolleys under the bed with the small quilts. On the left in my antique treadle sewing machine, another story, another time.

This is a sampler quilt I started in the late 1970's. At that time there was a very limited selection of quilt fabrics available to us. There are only 5 different (3 different print patterns) fabrics in this quilt. It was done quilt as you go. The borders are cut and ready to add but this in not high on my priority list to finish, even though it won't take a lot of time.

This is a 1920's quilt. I became the custodian of this quilt top that my great Aunt Alma had pieced. I had it quilted by an anonymous Amish quilter. All it needs is a binding. I just need to find the correct fabric to bind it.

I also became custodian of this quilt top pieced by my paternal grandmother Matilda Gruenwald Koeper. She was the sister to my great Aunt Alma.
If you have seen Julie Silber's lecture "The Grandmother Connection" you have seen this quilt top. If you haven't seen Julie's lecture, book it for your guild or conference. It is probably my favorite quilt lecture of all time, not just because I am one of the featured quilters. You will love it. I found a quilter who's work I felt was the quality I wanted to do the quilting on this. She started the quilting, but had to stop when her wrists gave out. I am still searching for someone who can complete the quilting with the same quality of work.
Please stay tuned as there will be several more posts to complete the layering of the quilts on the bed.
If you look at both of these quilts it looks like the sisters shopped together or traded some fabrics. The bed that holds the quilts is an odd size antique East Lake Bed. It's close to 3/4 size but I had to have a special mattress made for it.
Over 45 years ago when we lived in Ohio I passed up a chance to buy one of these along with 4 crazy quilts for 25 cents at a country auction. I still kick myself about that.
I paid a whole $10 for this 30 years ago! We had it stripped and we refinished it.

I made this quilt in a class I taught "Quick Kid's Quillts". It turned out to be so much more than a simple kid's quilt.

This Amish Shadows quilt is one of several I have made.

Another Amish Shadows with blocks made at the same time. I didvided them into two groups. This was made from the group that contain yellows and golds in the blocks. The blocks in the previous one contained blues and roses.

This quilt also originated in the "Quick Kids Quilt Class". I call it Amish Pathways.
It uses a very unique color palette, even more unique when I created it.
Some of the quilts I have made are too large for the trolleys under the bed and yet not nearly bed size. This is a replication of an Amish Trip Around The World quilt.

Five Forever is the quilt I made for the Quilters' Express Trip to Japan competition.
It won first prize and was exhibited at the Yokohama Quilt Festival.

This Origami Bow Tie Quilt was so much fun to make.

Cubic Jubilee was made from hand dyed fabric gradations. It was a challenge to make, but turned out to be very successful.
Amish bricks is a replication of an Amish quilt. If you look closely you will see there are many variations of each color. It also has the appearance of a scrap quilt with so many different solid colors. There is color progression and contrast in this quilt. It is hand quilted.

This quilt was designed for a Mystery quilt weekend I offered. It is my adaptation of an antique quilt I saw somewhere. It is long and narrow like a hired man's quilt.

This started as an antique quilt top I purchased. I fell in love with it when I saw it. A friend who did some of the best hand quilting I have ever seen quilted it for me.

This is one of my early bed quilts. I had someone quilt it with a long arm machine.

This is actually a very large wall quilt I made for my husband's office. Since he retired it is either on this bed or hanging over the stairwell. It is a combination of commercial fabrics combined with the shaded hand dyed gray fabric. I dyed the fabric myself. I had hoped to use these photos to keep track of what layer a particular quilt was on to make it easier to find it. This worked for a while, but as many of them have been acquired by quilt collectors this no longer works to find them.
I do often change the order of them and maybe next time I need a new series of quilt turning photos.