Friday, March 02, 2007






Midnight Rain


Midnight Rain
Hand dyed cottons, fused, hand and machine quilted. 9x21"




Thunder woke me up at 3am, which was totally unexpected. Now it is snowing a sideways blizzard after raining all day yesterday. Ah, Winter. I am so glad I am tucked inside today.
I chose these colors as an antidote to all that weather. Put this with the River series, since it is has the raindrop puddles.
Dave and I were daydreaming about moving to our new house (which we haven't found and don't know where it will be) and I considered the question of how much of a studio will I actually need? As an experiment, I cleared off the kitchen counter, and brought up my stuff.

I am using a folded piece of batting and then covering it with a large piece of teflon sheeting which I got from Valerie Hearder in Canada. My iron on a stick is plugged in at the right and all my scissors and fabric are all at hand. I am limiting my color palette, so that helps keep down the clutter.



But the rest of my entire stash is in a box nearby, should I panic and have to add one more color.
I didn't.
I was able to make this new work, easily without taking over the whole kitchen. I guess this means I only need a small space in which to work. Storage is always an issue, but hopefully I can find some spot to keep my 'limited palette'.

10 comments:

  1. I would be happy to store your "limited palette" in my studio. I'm sure this addition to the river series is amazing, but I will have to just imagine it since blogger is sabataging you again (at least on my monitor).

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  2. Anonymous10:53 AM

    Sure you COULD work in the kitchen, but why would you?

    Why you'd want to leave that gorgeous studio of yours is beyond me. *S*

    I saw all the pics by going to the album. A couple of them popped up in the blog, but not all.

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  3. Anonymous12:03 PM

    Oh ohhhh, somehow this sounds like 'downsizing'!!! don't like the sound of it at all. Only 1 kitchen and no studio?!!! Be careful for what you wish for Ms Mel!

    Me, can't wait for my kids to move out so I can spread out thoughout the entire house and even then, that is not enough!!

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  4. I assume (although we all know what happens when we do that) that you will be looking for a single floor home... there must be some awesome mid-century ranches in your neck of the woods. One with two master bedrooms would really work well for you.

    I do think I would still want a little studio space as my own special place! :0)

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  5. We are definately in different spaces. After 15 yrs of no creative space, I am loving my studio, even if it is in my unfinished basement, and I could never get by with that little amount of fabric! I have en entire wall devoted to mine stash.

    But I have to say, I love what you did with your minimalistic selection. This one is very pleasing to my eye. Only a couple pics came up for me too.
    LB

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  6. Anonymous3:53 PM

    I love, Love, LOVE Midnight Rain! It is gorgeous and my favorite of all the ones you've made in the last few weeks. Thank you for sharing. Regarding studio space, I have found that the more you have, the more you fill it up with extraneous stuff that causes you to lose focus of what's important. This is just my perception of the situation. I went smaller and I think my work is better now than before. This is just my humble opinion. I'm not in your league but smaller was better for me.

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  7. My studio space is about 300 sq ft and I would die (dye?) for 1200. I have a large table for doing surface design and it pretty much hogs the center of the room. Storing stuff in the garage would just make it more difficult to access which means you might use it less. Good or bad...Just like 'anonymous' says - be careful what you wish for!

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  8. Anonymous12:02 PM

    I am not giving up my new large space any time soon. I think that having a dedicated space has made me more focused (sp?). I didn't like having to go hunt for my fabrics in closets - I always forgot what I had. I just returned from the desert, living in an extremely small studio apartment with Mr C. I brought work with me and it was much like working in your kitchen. I had to clear everything up for meals. It was ok for a couple of weeks, but I am so happy to be back in my studio.

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  9. Anonymous7:02 PM

    I am really enjoying your new work. Its still you, still lots of color, but just a smidge different with the new colors or shades of colors you're using.
    AND!!! SO exciting... I saw you and the other Chicago fusers on public television this morning on a Quilting Arts show -- EXCELLENT by the way. But it was surreal because I sat there, very impressed, thinking I know these people! and immediately following that with the thought "NO I don't...i just read their blogs."

    Congrats on a great show.

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  10. Think twice before giving up a dedicated studio space would be my advice. While US homes are generally more spacious than here in the UK, even with a large kitchen you would need to clear away *occasionally*. My small space is regularly invaded and cluttered by my DH and working in a mess is very difficult unless it's your own mess of course!Personally, I would grab the third bedroom in your new home and let guests sleep in the kitchen:}}

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Hello,
So nice of you to drop by. I love your comments, and if you would really like a reply, please email me at fibermania at g mail dot com