I thought it was the word craft, but I looked up the word craft and found the following: 1: skill in planning, making, or executing:dexterity and 2 a: an occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill
I looked up the word crafter and found the following synonyms: artificer, artisan, craftsman, craftsperson, handicraftsman, handicrafter, handwork and tradesman.
So, now we know that the word craft is not the issue as craft = art! So the problem with craft room and it's effect on me is the word room. Room just doesn't sound as artsy as studio. This is just me and really it has no bearing on what I will or will not create (at least I hope not), but I do like the ring of it and so it shall be "the studio". Perhaps this comes from the magazine Studios that comes out four times a year from Cloth Paper Scissors, but whatever, it's now Bev Ann's Studio and it's all cleaned up!
I finally was able to move my new Bernina into it's place and am having fun playing with it. My goal is to do freehand quilting using my photos and original art to make wall hangings, table runners etc. Small items, no king size quilts for me. However, I'm not saying never, because I know what that can cause, so I'm just saying what my goal is! Ha Ha - learned that from the "never want to sew comment" and so hopefully, I've expressed this in a way I won't have to eat those words, too!
My first effort was to make square of fabric, batting and backing and just freehand stitch! Next was a plain piece of fabric that I drew a pencil shape of a flower on and then I began by practicing on a fun diecut dress from Sizzix.This die is new and I just think it's adorable, so I cut out one, adhered it to the base fabric with Misty Fuse. How did we ever get along without this! Anyway I digress, I made a sandwich and began to stitch around the design and then tried to echo the dress outline, moving on to freehand quilting the remainder of the block. As you can see, I have long way to go before my echoes are clear and evenly spaced, but a girl's got to start somewhere.
I had a class all day at It's A Stitch, my local Bernina dealer, and I learned a lot and had lots of fun and laughter. This machine is so different from any I've ever used and I have to learn to relax and let it do the work! And, so when I got home it was more practice. This time I started with a flower I had painted on fabric, just trying to outline the flower and do some thread painting, but I wasn't pleased with the thread I had chosen and so I moved on to another practice piece.
One of the women at the shop suggested that I pull out a fabric with a distinct pattern and practice outlining the design and so I did. I inherited my friend Emily's fabric so I have so much to choose from and I think I found a perfect piece. I have yards of it, so I will be able to practice for a long time! Emily and I were soul mates when it came to buying! If one yard was good, then 20 would be so much better! Ha Ha No that's really not funny, that's sadly the truth! But looks like I will have a chance to put her fabric to good use and I won't need to step into a fabric store for a long time.
Oh, my gosh, I forgot all about my "studio" here's a picture of before (with all the stuff out of my closest - forgot to take picture before I began the process) and after! For those of you who had recently been in my "room" you can see a huge improvement! For those of you who have never seen it, I'm sure you are saying, Oh my gosh, she has sooooo much stuff! You see the condition of the room is all in perspective and mine is that it's all cleaned up and a "studio".
Gotta go, my machine is calling to me!
Crafty hugs,
