Nest Building

Our big old barn was used as a home when the builder was building the house. 

It has four rooms on the north side that are finished, complete with heat, air and bathroom.  The water is not hooked up but the heat and air are heavy duty.  My wireless internet connection reaches it so it is custom made for an office.  Of the four rooms, I have claimed two - the largest one as a longarm room and the adjacent one to the east for an office/quilt studio.  I have been thinking I might try my hand at some art quilts.  Moreover, I like the idea of claiming a quiet place that is MINE ALL MINE. 

I went out there early this morning to start rearranging and unpacking.  The first picture in today's post is what the office looked like when I first walked in (looking west).  The following is another picture of the office (looking east).  Note the sunny window. 

The girls stayed with me most of the morning but we took a lunch break at about 1:30.  I left them in the house after that and the afternoon included Evelyn screaming at the barn for hours.  She also snitched some cherry popovers off the counter.  She eats when she is stressed.  And she has been a sneak from way back.

The following is a picture of what will end up being my longarm room:

Here is a picture looking from the longarm room down the way to Evelyn at the front door of the barn (towards the west):

What a mess!  It was a little overwhelming but I was also excited to finally get out there and get to work on it. 

I started with the office and took a few pictures.   I had a second sheet of insulation like I used for my design wall.  I didn't cover it with felt and plan to just use the clips you see on the top or pin art quilts on it:

The countertop was already there so I put my smaller cutting mat on top for quick cutting.  The height is perfect.   The holder behind it is not yet full but I expect I will put extra scissors, tape measure, etc. in there: 

I dragged in my old supply closet from the workshop part of the barn (on the south side) and it fit perfectly:

My little Bernina is on the desk to the right and I plan to put clear thread in her for art quilts.  If I decide to go back to work (and I am considering it), I may not leave her on the desk top but she'll be handy and closeby.

The machine to the left is one of the brothers that a friend just gave me.    The second brother is up on top of the supply closet.  I brought out oil and my tools to clean all three but didn't have time to get to it, today.   This was a LONG day!

I dragged in a long dresser and set out my stuff, including a buttercream candle.  I love buttercream.  Husband is not a candle person so I try to respect that.  Heaven knows, when I am around people who have bathed in perfume, it bothers me and I don't think the man should have to have a similiar bad experience in his own home where he can't get away from it.  But in my office, there will be scented candles, baby!!

In the previous photo, the door to the right of the round glass table goes to a small bathroom but the water is not hooked up.  We don't know where the connection is but eventually we will take the time to find it.   Here is a photo looking towards the east - the open door on the right leads to a room my husband has claimed. 

See the little flashlights underneath the glass tabletop?:

The table can double as a lightbox with a large work space for art quilts.

 

I absolutely love being surrounded by the colors of my stash.  The desk is four feet deep so there is room to put a lot of my stash on top:

The fabric soothes me. 

I also put a few of my great grandmother's oriental rugs around.  I have some different ones and may change to them.  I went with the brown because the existing carpet is brown but may decide to get more color in there. 

Note the window is now dark:

It looks TONS better!  I will hang some pictures and some of my quilty stuff on the wall, eventually.  I ran out of steam, today:

Here is Jezebel, my Samoyed webkin:

I set an ott light on the desk for good light but the flourescent already gives a lot of light.

Another shot of Jezebel with a jelly roll:

I started working on the longarm room but by that time is was well past dark and Husband came to put a stop to it - thank goodness.  My feet are killing me and I'm beat.  I will try to remember to take some picture's tomorrow.  Chances are I won't get the longarm up until this weekend but that is one of my goals for Husband's day off.  It won't take long - less than thirty minutes.  I am a little worried that it was damaged during the move but once I get the head up on the table at eye level, I will be able to decide if she is okay or needs to go in the shop.

A VERY productive day!

Switching to quilting - Here is "Sinfully Easy," in progress:

Closer up:

I laid it on the guestroom bed just to put it somewhere.  I still need to put a wide sash around the perimeter to finish up the design and then a border. 

Evelyn, my quilting buddy:

Well, I've been off work for about three months, now, and really felt the need to take a break from guardian ad litem work.  But as of today, I sort of felt a stirring that I might want to take it up again, but only part time.  Husband says to do what makes me happy, bless him.  I am going to think long and hard about it before I do anything.  Fortunately, he is not pressing, bless the man. 

I am off to have a glass of wine and start to wind down.  I would feel much better if you would do the same.  One shouldn't drink alone. 

Happy Quilting,

Penny, Evelyn and Pearl