Studio Space.

Studio View from the hallway

Finally finished! Whew! I had so much crap crammed in the studio that simply had to get weeded out: stuff for the garbage, my personal crafting stuff that was being stored in the studio, etc. The closet was crammed with boxes and bags of stuff, stuff, stuff!

Since I never really got around to creating an official office space, I thought now is the time to do so.  So, after all those boxes left the closet, I made a desk top lined with felt on the bottom to place on my antique sewing machine table...added some shipping storage and a halogen light and WALA...an office!!!  No more kitchen table for me!

Office area in closet. 

Close-up of office area so you can see that gorgeous sewing machine table!

 Closer view of the "office".  I have been using it for several days now...what a difference!  Everything is right where I need it and although it looks a little cheesy, it really is more functional than my lap or a table!

There, you have seen the north wall where the magic happens and the east wall where the admin stuff happens.  Now.....the west wall:

The west wall keeps my bookshelf full of crafting books for inspiration and a couple antique and vintage sewing baskets full of supplies.  The bed?  Yea.  If you have been following my blog, you know that this is where I come to retire when the dog's gastrointestinal system is in an uproar.  I simply cannot sleep in my bedroom with him...I don't know how hubby can stand it!


The history of the room:
The room was originally designed as a 1930's 1940's guest room.  The south wall holds a bookshelf loaded with books and curios from that era (forgot to photograph it!).  When my business began, the spare bedroom sort of doubled as the studio, but I simply could not tear down all the hard work I put into the room, plus I still needed room for when family comes to visit!  The quilt is an antique dresden plate quilt top that my mother picked up at an antique shop in which I backed, bound and hand quilted.  The yellow pillows on the bed are modern pillows cases with antique crocheted filet lace from the turn of the century which I have stitched on (same antique shop).  The little throw pillow is left over uphulstry from the head board I created (in art deco style) with several antique doilies embroidered on the top.  The original spare room sported my antique sewing machine table  in the north west corner with the original head, belt and all.  It also featured a small curio cabinet chock full and spilling over curios of the time (including a 1939 Worlds Fair music box!) and with antique textiles.  I even had an art deco dresser (that I grew up using!) in which guests can use to hold their clothes while visiting as well as an antique rocker.  Those have been removed, needless to say, and the antique dresser currently houses my calico fabrics!

Thanks for visiting my studio!

Prohibition. my latest treasury

Finishing the Studio and a Giveaway!

The studio is finally done!  Whew!  I am taking photos tomorrow and will post them shortly thereafter.  What a lot of work that was!  Still waiting for it to get brighter here...the sun isn't up high enough in the sky yet.

In the mean time, stop by the Blogging Business Artisan's blog for a giveaway.  Lots of cool things to try for!  Gotta hurry before you forget, though, the giveaway ends February 21, 2012 at 11am central.

If you are a beader, be sure to stop by Copper Diem's blog for 3 pounds of beads.  Yes, I said 3 pounds!  Cool huh?  Hurry....contest ends Valentine's Day!

Geesh...all these giveaways...makes me want to have one, too!

Now, shoot off to those blogs and enter! 

Creative Spaces: UFO

The UFO Box

My studio is almost finished!  Finally!  One thing that did come of it is the UFO Box:  Un-Finished-Object Box.  I had this ugly 1970's plastic sewing box kicking around which I promptly stuffed UFO's into as I reorganized the studio last week.  Wanna take a peek at what is inside?

Log Cabin Quilted Pillow Top

Started in late 2009, it was being created to sit atop the seat of a gorgeous German Black Forest carved rocker left to me by my uncle who had just passed in November of that year.  Growing up, my grandmother had a rocker sitting next to her fireplace with a log cabin pillow thrown on it.  I did inherit her patterns when she passed in the 90's and ironically, this quilted top was made using her log cabin pillow pattern!  It is finished, it just needs to have a backing added and stuffed with a pillow.  Lazy.

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Knitted Pillow Top

Next up is a pillow top I knitted on straight needles using three coordinating chenille yarns spun together and employing a soft shaping technique.  This was made to sit under my hinder when my office was at the kitchen table.  Mission style kitchen chairs are not conducive to sitting for long periods of time!  The top and back is knitted, they just need to be sewn together and stuffed with a round pillow form.  Again...Lazy.

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Knitted Lace Section

Moving from pillows to bedspreads, I found a great pattern for piecework fabrics with appliqued knitted lace swatches designed by Erika Knight, one of my favorite knitting designers and one of the few who actually taught me how to knit, well, not directly, but through a book!  I wish, right?  Anyway, this is the only section I have completed.  Began in November 2011, so that's not too bad!

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Crazy Quilt Panel for Laptop Bag

Moving on to accessories, I began a crazy quilted top as a panel for a laptop bag for my very first laptop.  Are you ready?  2006.  Sad.  I am actually not quite finished with it...I still have some embroidery I want to do on it yet.  It has all my favorite things...art, the ocean, bonsai, pansy's, traditional Victorian embroidery, Christianity, and even a tribute to WWII.  Go figure, right?  This will probably never get finished as I keep thinking of things to add to it :)

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Quilted Panel for Bible Cover

Now, this one is embarrassing!  2008!  Wow!  I mean early in the year, too!  It is finished, it just needs to be constructed into the bible case.  I was using a mini tote-bag style purse pattern and was going to use it to slip my bible in and out, not have it actually zip open.  Besides, I can't read and write with it in a zippered open bible case.  I know, quirky.  Now, where did I put that confounded pattern?

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Embroidered Make Up Bean Bags

Since Mr. Mike is always mad at me for something or another, I made these little bags which I was to sew together and stuff with pellets and batting so that I could toss them at him when he is mad at me to break his bad mood.  Hmmmm....didn't get past the embroidery.  I wonder if its because I was afraid I would throw them so hard they would actually hurt!  Ha!  No, I was just worried having little blue with hideous orange lettering bags thrown at him would only serve to make matters worse!  Epic fail!

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Migraine Bags

 Migraine bags were supposed to be my answer to ugly cold packs on my eyes and the back of my neck, and also serving as an answer to "What's wrong with you?"  Less painful than actually saying, "I have a migraine, dummy!  Why else would I have ice on my head {insert expletive here}!!"  

Migraine Bag

I don't need them anymore as I finally got around to getting them treated (chiropractic care and a sinus regiment), so there they sit....in the UFO box since 2009.  Poor babies.  

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Finally, we have a cute little watermelon fabric postcard.  I actually made this when I faced a rash of babysitting stints for my stepdaughter in 2008 (when everyone didn't call my business "work", they called it "hobby".  Now when I go in my office/studio, I announce "Okay, I'm going to hobby now.  You know where to find me."  Ha!  No excuse why it has been sitting around in this state since 2008.  Guess I just don't have anyone to mail it to.  Maybe I will finish it and mail it to a winner in a contest!!!  Heck, if you stuck around this long, you deserve to have a say!

What do you think?

The Stories...

Next week I will share pictures of the new studio.  I have spent pretty much most of January building and office and streamlining the studio.  More on that next week.

In the mean time, the stories I promised in my last post (trying to keep this brief)!

In my previous work life, I was a financial counselor, and one of the best in the company I worked for.  I had one of the highest success rates in the company!  However, management was something to be desired.  Short story, I quit, they begged me to stay, I continued to quit and legalized my business full-time.  I found Etsy.com the last week of December 2007...just the perfect venue!  In coming up with a business name, I had no idea where to start.  I grabbed the dictionary and beginning at "A" started reading the words.  I came across "Alterity", and my shop was born. 

I hit a little problem, though.  People couldn't pronounce it, let alone remember it.  So I waited very patiently...like 3 years patient....for Etsy to allow us to change our names.  I knew just the name I was going to change it to:  Timeless Buttons.  Perfect!  I checked, the name was available, then built a website complete with domain.  Everything was going along smoothly until the day came to make the change.  Someone already took it.  I was so mad!  So I used the first name I could think of:  Glamour Buttons. 

I hated it.  All the months my shop was in it's name transition I hated it!  Then I thought: Wouldn't it be cool if I could sign all my jewelry 'love, yesterday'.  Sure enough, Love Yesterday is a vintage shop in England.  Thankfully, it's variant was available.  So, I converted my shop to Love, Yesterdays, I opened another shop on Etsy as LoveYesterdays where I plan to keep button gifts in the coming year, then purchased the domain name, and Love, Yesterdays was finally morphed!

Much better than Alterity, huh?  Now you know why I changed the name :)   And it only took me a little over 4 years to get it right!

Love, Yesterdays

New Banner

Okay...the changes are moving along!  My brand has changed to "Love, Yesterdays".  I have been planning on going from DBA to LLC this year and I suppose this is the direction I will go in.  What started out as Alterity Art, turned into Alterity and morphed into Glamour Buttons has finally (I think!) ended up as Love, Yesterdays.  I am actually in love with the name, maybe later I will regale you with the stories behind the last few names :)

Now, off to the studio....yes, even that is getting an overhaul!

PS:  In case you are wondering what happened with the lace knit scarf project over the holidays:
It was frustratingly frogged as the fiber I was using just wasn't quite working out.  I have since purchased a nice creamy wool blend and restarted the scarf.  I'm only on day 1 of the 24 days, but I figure if I get two days knitted in a month, it should be done by next Christmas :)

Reinvention 2012

I  have big plans this year.  Plans of reinvention.  I am  not sure where these plans are going to take me, but they will either make or break me!  Will it be my product line?  My business name?  Who knows, although I do have several things in the works that will be unveiled in the near future.  Stay tuned!