Sewing Studio Tour by Katie Blakesley swimbikequilt.com

Last summer, my friend Ellie came over to take photos of my studio. I am happy to finally share them with you! I'm not sure why it took so long--perhaps because I sewed at a kitchen table, and then in my living room for so many years, I always feel a little guilty (and oh so grateful) that I have a room of my own, where I can shut the door and get to work. I am happy to give you a tour today!

One of my favorite features is this design wall--my husband and I made it using a tutorial by Katie Pederson of Sew Katie Did in 2013. I posted about it here, previously! One tip Katie gives is to use flannel sheets instead of flannel fabric--the sheets I bought from Garnet Hill are still going strong. This design wall was in my living room in Alexandria (my husband joked it was our ever changing art installation), my bedroom in Portland, and now my studio in Salt Lake City. I can't believe it made it through all of our moves!

How To Make A Design Wall: Updated 2021

I love this pegboard--I bought it at Home Depot and spray painted it this coral color. It is much easier to find my scissors [when I remember to put them away], and the ruler storage is maybe my favorite part. The bottom square ruler is 20.5'' x 20.5'' inches square, and I could never figure out how to store it before!

My custom table, built by my dad, also in 2013, is a favorite thing for sure. I posted a bit about it here--having my Janome dropped into the table makes sewing and quilting so much better.The table is from ikea, and Heather from @quiltstory just made her own, so be sure to check hers out!

5 Tips for Organizing Any Sewing Space by Katie Blakesley swimbikequilt.com — Sewing Studio Tour by Katie Blakesley swimbikequilt.com

The quilt on the design wall is the initial version of the Sugarhouse Quilt, the pattern is on sale through the end of the month at Pattern Drop.I get a lot of questions about the floor--it is marmoleum, and photographs differently in every kind of light. This is the true color, though.When we bought our house in 2015, this room flooded in between us purchasing the house, doing some renovations, and moving in. We were able to refinish floors and paint everything white (so many terrible color combos on these walls), but most of the renovations included replacing HVAC, plumbing, electrical work, etc. to bring our 1950's house up to code. Aren't those pretty pipes running the length of the room? I like to think it gives the room an industrial look. Ha! The up side? I got to pick whatever flooring I wanted. I really love it.

You can see my scrap storage to the left of the cutting table. I have a big wire basket from target (matches the one the quilts are stored in) and I just put all my scraps in there. When it gets full, I use them, sell them, or give them away. It is currently overflowing.

Another favorite part of the room--this Ikea table is counter height [it has adjustable legs]. I'm 5'9'', and cutting on a regular table isn't ideal. I love that it is tall enough to fit my rolling carts underneath, too (also Ikea--Raskog and Alex].

This little corner holds my Bernina, remnants of the flood (we had to pull out the built in desk, which apparently used to house a snake cage, lovely), and is my daughter's sewing area. She has stuff in every single drawer!

This is a happy corner--when we moved to Utah, we rearranged a bunch of our furniture, and I inherited all of the old black, Ikea cabinets. I didn't have any trouble filling them, obviously. The bins are sorted by color. I throw anything bigger than a scrap and smaller than a yard in there. I don't fold any of the fabric, I pull it all out and stuff it all back in on a regular basis, and it works really well for me. I am sure I am not alone when I say I have so many quilts in my house!

This wire basket, again from Target [it matches my scrap basket], is a great home for some of my favorite ones! I have 5 quilts from Vintage Quilt Revival rolled up in here, and 3 quilts which have hung at quilt con, including my Summer Sampler 2016. I submitted one this year and it didn't get in. You win some, you lose some, I guess.

Sign up for the Newsletter + get a free quilt pattern

This concludes the tour. It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, that I cleaned and tidied and organized for this shoot, and that it rarely looks like this. But I'm glad I have a little inspiration of how great it *can* look.Do you have any favorite storage tips? Or tips for putting things away as you are using them? Ha!Happy sewing--Katie

My Sewing Studio // A Tour

Swim Bike QUilt Newsletter

Powered by Squarespace