~ Creating a Creative Space ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk ~

and Happy Tuesday to you!

the sun can't decide if it wants to visit or sleep in this morning, 

it keeps showing up in little slices on my sewing room floor in between icy-raindrops!

Speaking of sewing rooms ~

{nice segue, huh?}

I wanted to share with you my newly-cleaned & some-what rearranged sewing room…

but first ~

see this photo below?

see how large the safety pin is next to my thread skeins?

see the slice of my hand-dyed 30ct Ironstone Linen?

good!

everything in this photo will become something cool

~ that I think you will enjoy watching me create :)

so follow along in the next few days, won't you?

ok, moving on to my sewing room ~ 

lots of you have already seen in here on my blog,

some of you have seen it in person, and some of you I wished had not seen it in person 

on those frequent occasions when it was…um…less-than-tidy!

but, now that it is neat & organized,

I will share it again.

I love my sewing room.

it's here I dream & do….create & conquer.

it's in this bright & happy place that I visit with you each day via the internet ~

allowing me the opportunity to feel as though we are 

~ Good Neighbors ~

my stitching chair ~ complete with overstuffed pillow, throw to warm my shoulders
and stool to put my feet upon.

Having a room of one's own to retreat to is a blessing.

… having a place to create is a must {for me anyway}.

numerous tables help me create work-stations that I use for different parts of my creating...

the helm of my sewing room is my desk, of course…

surrounded by numerous bits of collected-things and practical what-nots.

{ok...mostly impractical, but needed for my inspiration daily!}

my desk and stuff

although not huge, but not small ~

my sewing room is a perfect size for me and what I do ~

I have mastered stuffing organizing things into smallih-spaces, nooks & crannies.

although I do sometimes forget what I put where…

one corner of my room holds baskets & bins
of  cotton fabrics, mohair, wool and velvet scraps...

the organizing thing is supposed to be easy ~ 

just put back whatever it is, wherever it came from, right?

sure……

not so easy when I'm in the throes of creating for a new update, release or show :)

but, at least having a space to create in is awesome.

industrial shelving holds bins of anything/everything I need & then some.
I like to hang fabric to soften the look a bit ~

I am a mixer of styles.

I decorate with & collect what my heart loves only.

so you will find 

contemporary alongside antique

primitive married to whimsical

drab complementing colorful...

and everything in-betwixt & between

antique ribbon display case holds new seam-binding next to a wire spinning rack that holds threads ~

wire baskets, wooden boxes, tins & woven baskets 

play a huge part in my organizing…

old lace in wire basket

I also use my shelves to keep my works-in-progress in cheque ~

since the fabric hiding the shelves is held on with old clothespins, why not use the clothespins to hold other things too?

a collection of red tin PA German sewing boxes & woven sewing baskets in graduating sizes hold buttons, thread, jewelry parts & other sundries handy.
{{There's that safety pin again that I mentioned earlier!}}

it's the little things in my room that make it what is is though ~

the tiny memories and thoughts that are in my collected treasures that keep me company while I work…

a small cabinet holds many things from antique sewing items to newly made miniature teddy bears!

scraps overflowing with inspiration are never put 'away'…

instead they stand at-the-ready…waiting for my creative muse to visit yet again ~

antique store display/spool holder sits on a Victorian wicker sewing stand near my treadle sewing machine

when I am finished with a project and have 'leftovers'

they are added to my scraps ...

~ nothing is ever wasted.

even thread snippets go outside to my feathered-friends to cozy up their nests!

wire dress-form, a dressmaking sign I painted, a Victorian child's lawn dress and paper ephemera decorate this corner…
behind the dress form on the shelf sits a doll from Christine Crocker & a spotted hare from Lori Ann Corelis

I am never lonely here!

tiny faces greet me at every turn :)

always ready to answer a question or make a suggestion….

my little Calico Magpie, and Owl & Red Squirrel tape measures are sitting
in the window next to my treadle machine ~

more of my 'friends' hang out on this shelf below~

a few rats & shrews from Stacey Mead co-habitate nicely
with my needle-punched & felted Owl
and Opossum

since I collect dress forms as well, 

I like to either leave them naked {oh my!}

or dress them in lots of bling….

beautiful necklaces made by Kathy Barrick, and a few of my very own ;)

even if you don't have a room of your own,

you can still create a space of your own to create in…

a large closet, a garage, basement or attic ~

even an outdoor shed or corner of your living room

can become your happy place.

a needed place.

a place to call your own.

I would LOVE to see where you create…

if you'd like to, you can post about your creative space on your blog 

& link it back to me here!

{{{{{I'll be back here tomorrow with more info about that big safety pin}}}}}

;)

Hoping you all have a beautiful day my friends!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~

 Lori