Studio Ideas – Towerhouse Quilts

Framed Quilted T-Shirt Art

Posted on September 16, 2017 by Lisa

This is a keeper! I cut up an old t-shirt from my business (Mocha Lisa) and quilted it with a thin batting. The cross-hatch design is kind of like a chain-link fence, don’t you think? Perfect to keep with the dog-themed shirt.

Then I found an old beat up picture frame at St. Vincent de Paul, spray painted it black, and cut the quilted piece to fit. Then I taped the back to hold the quilt in, put on a picture frame hanger, and WA LA….wall art.

I absolutely love this and am going to make more. Look out t-shirt drawer, here I come!

And maybe I should offer this up for my customers? Perhaps not the framing part, but I certainly could do the quilting part.

Life!, Studio Ideas

Studio Remodel

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Lisa

When you can no longer fit your fabric in the very huge fabric cabinet (made specially for my stash), it’s time to let go. I’ve been collecting fabrics for over 25 years and it’s official: I now have enough fabric! So it’s time to release some of it back out into the universe so it can be used instead of sitting in my stash.

studio purge 2016

I must admit, it was hard to get started, but once I got rolling, it was easy. All I had to do was think to myself, “will I EVER use this piece?” and after a tossing the first few pieces in the give-away bag, it got easier and easier. Part of this is because my colors and style choices have changed over the years, and part of it is because I was motivated to have my fabric FIT in my cabinet. I ended up with a very large bag of give-away fabric; not sure but I think it tops 30 pounds or more.

And now isn’t it beautiful?! And then….

I’ve been wanting to paint for quite some time, and so yesterday I took almost everything out of the studio (can you say purge?) and got out the blue tape, brush, paint and drop cloth and went to town. Because it was such a small area, it really didn’t take long. And because my husband saves EVERY paint he’s every used, we had just the right color for this spot…a sort of dark warm greenish gray. Nice! I love the half wall effect.

I’ve ordered a cabinet which should be arriving before Christmas, so the space stays empty until I put that together. So stay tuned for more exciting episodes of the studio remodel to come!
studio 2016 redo

Life!, Studio Ideas

Rope Basket

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Lisa

A tisket, a tasket, I made a rope basket! Actually the fact that I did ANYTHING this weekend is a really good step forward. Having gone back to working full-time in town in January, it has taken me quite a while to get my creative “mojo” back. I don’t have so much time these days for creative quilting pursuits, but I do have some. I feel like I’m finally getting my “sea legs” under me again.

A few weeks ago I painted my longarm studio (with the help of a very patient husband). In order to do that I took everything out (except the machine) and it didn’t get to go back in unless I really wanted it to. So I got rid of my makeshift desk (cobbled together metro shelving with a board as a desktop) and have really pared down. The walls are empty waiting for inspiration.

And now I’m working on my upstairs sewing studio (yeah, I know, I’m spoiled) cleaning and organizing. I’ve been organizing for the past year (and you wonder why I’m not done?) and each month things get a little better. I finish a project here and there. I struggle to not start anything new! I am now going through my things and figuring out which projects I will NEVER work on again and donate them. I put a small finished quilt in the St. Vinnie’s bag.

And soon the Blackberry Jam Festival Quilt Show will happen in July and I have to get something ready for that. Oh my. Maybe I can get one of my old projects finished. Cross your fingers and start your engines! May the force be with me. I’m going to need it. It’s already mid-June.

Happy quilting!

My Quilts, Studio Ideas

Scrappy is Good!

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Lisa

I do love to use up my scraps. And boy do I have a bunch. Big ones, little ones, odd shaped ones. After many years of quilting, I’ve managed to collect a few.

Yesterday, at my quilt group meeting, I was working on my very scrappy “lego” quilt. I saw this quilt on a blog years ago and I started in making it. It is based on an older quilt talked about by Quilting with the Past. And that is another thing I love; antique quilts. Even though I use a lot of bright and crazy fabrics in my quilts, I still get inspired by the old quilts of yesteryear.

To make my quilt I’m using 1 1/2″ wide strips, which is the smallest strip I cut in my studio (unless you consider I save the 1/2″ pieces to do rope baskets!). I also have 2″and 2 1/2″ strips cut….oh, and then there are the 2 1/2″ and the 4″ squares…..too much information?

I started this quilt over a year ago. It does take a bit of time to sew because of all the little pieces. But I’m in no hurry. This is the quilt I work on when I need a mental break from more detailed work. We’ll see how long it takes me to finish. I’m guessing it will be a couple more years in the making. But hey – it will have hundreds and hundreds of fabrics and be oh so wonderful!

And speaking of scrappy….I found this list of scrappy projects. I’m pretty sure I’m going to start with the scrappy bowl. Love that!

It’s raining here today….so it’s a perfect day for sewing! Happy quilting!