Studios Tour 2020

I’ve not given a tour of my studios for awhile, so I thought I’d take you on a tour of my creative spaces today, and a peek at what I’ve been working on for my next tutorial.

Let’s start in the dye studio, aka garage, where most of my wet work goes on. This is the very back of the garage where the previous owners had set up a stained glass studio. When we first moved in, we used this as a storage area. That changed when I got into dyeing. Back in 2015 I showed a before and after shot.  I painted the cabinets and set it up as my dye studio. Since then I’ve moved stuff around, moved out a table I wasn’t using, and recently moved surplus supplies to shelving in the garage space. When you are walking out of the house, here is what you see.

The cabinets hold a lot of my supplies. That table on the right covered with that printed vinyl table cloth is a special table. Here it is without the covering. This is an old table that lived in my grandma’s kitchen. It has a enamel top, and I remember many a time watching her make candy and cookies on it. When I moved to an unfurnished apartment in the 70s, mom gave it to me to use as my kitchen table. It’s not been used as a kitchen table since that year-long stint, but has been with me the whole time. It usually served in the laundry area of houses I lived in. It now plays an important role in my dye studio. I keep it covered all of the time, until I need that surface to  fold or scrunch my wet soda ash soaked fabric. It’s great how the fabric just slides over it. Since it’s covered, it’s always ready for me. On the right side next to the table are my dyeing supplies.

Moving left around the room, we come to more supplies. I have finally gotten everything pretty much labeled. It sure makes things easier to find and also good to have a place to put them away.

Next to that I have this old table that has served me well over the years, and now in this studio. So I basically have three tables, but if I ever need another one or two, I have them stored in the garage.

Now let’s go inside to the main studio, aka a second bedroom. This is a nice room, with lots of light from the large windows. On the downside, I have very little wall space. When you walk in, here is what you see. Until a couple months ago, I had a regular cutting table. I found that it really took up too much room, and really served more as just a place for me to pile stuff on. I brought these two tables from the garage, added risers, and designated one for ironing, and one for cutting. So far it’s worked out pretty good.

Moving to the right is my computer area. Hanging in front of me is my very first piece of ice dyeing, Mayo’s Garden. It is what started me back in 2011 on that journey. The piece to the left is one from my artist friend Dawn Murtaugh. The shelving on the left of the desk includes the printer, paper, pens, watercolors, and other supplies. To the right, inside the glass cabinet I store a variety of fabrics I don’t use a lot including commercial, laces, silks, and upholstery fabrics. Susie, the mannequin, is decked out in my ice dyed apron and purse. I bought her at the local thrift store for $5 for a friend. When Teresa moved she decided she didn’t have room for her, so she gave her back to me! Susie has done a lot of modeling of my artwork over the years. Now she’s been helping me with displaying some of my etsy store items.

Moving back to the left, past the tables, is my main storage area for my dyed and printed fabrics. I have them arranged by color as best I can since many have more than one color.

Moving again to the left is my sewing area. Since moving the machines to this area a couple months ago, I have been so happy. Often when I’m working on projects, especially the little zip bags and the cards, I need a zigzag stitch. My Juki is just a straight stitch machine, so it’s nice to be able to just turn, and I’m facing the Elna. Also, it’s nice to have all the light from the window.

The bookcase keeps all of my books and magazines, and some small finished projects. The Singer in this area I bought before COVID took off, and I haven’t used it like I was hoping I would. However, my Elna has been acting up so when I take her in for service, I’m sure I’ll put the Singer to good use. She’s a great machine, but I’ve just not taken enough time to get to know her.

The curtain to the closet which hides my scrap bins, purse supplies and other stuff, doubles as a design wall. The recliner is for watching TV when I’m tired of creating.

That’s the tour. Thanks for coming in and checking it out.

One thing I’ve been working on is these cards. I’ve made cards using scraps before, but never liked them. These I love. The only problem is that they are like potato chips, you get started and you can’t quit. I’ll be posting a tutorial later on this week, including the game changer in these cards verses others I’ve made before. I’ve started working on the tutorial and then I have to make more of them!!

Meanwhile, I’m trying to get a few more zip bags done to put in my etsy shop. Starting today through December 2, everything in the shop is 15% off for CYBERSALE 2020!! Check my store out at https://www.etsy.com/shop/LyndaHeinesDesigns. I’ll be adding more as the week goes on.

Have a great week!