Welcome to the Studio...

If you've been reading my newsletter, you'll already know that we've been building a home office/studio in our garden this autumn. It's something we've often dreamt of doing, but this year the perilous state of the greenhouse - which it's replaced - combined with my husband working from home (and possibly the fact I have piles of fabric in nearly every room of the house) meant that it was time to make our dream a reality.

before and after

We opted for a modular garden office by Crane - a posh shed, basically - with an airy vaulted ceiling, double doors onto the garden and windows on three walls, leaving the whole of the back wall available for storage. Once the site had been levelled and the base cast, the building arrived in prefabricated panels and went up in a matter of days. Filling in the service trenches and rejigging the landscaping has taken slightly longer... but we'll get there.

For the past decade I've been sewing on a desk in the corner of the spare bedroom, which meant some frantic tidying when we had guests. I migrated to the dining room table if I was making a larger quilt and cutting out happened on the kitchen island. There was a good deal of running up and down stairs!

my little corner of the spare room

But no more. Mark and I now have dedicated spaces to work, which is such a treat. And as there was a delightful dusting of snow a couple of days ago, I thought I'd share our 'commute':

the beautiful sculpture in our courtyard is by The Little Red Robin

And let me welcome you inside:

we're looking forward to throwing those doors open in the summer

I chose kitchen larder cabinets from The Dormy House to line the back wall, as the shelves were wide enough for bolts of fabric and the pan drawers underneath are able to cope with the weight of folded fabric.

the cabinets are painted the same colour as the wall so they don't dominate the room

I don't suppose you want a look inside...?

ta-da!

lots of storage for patterns, packaging... and props

I still have lots to decant from the house, so there's a high possibility of a destash in the shop this spring.

the room is flooded with light

Although I've been prepping block of the month parcels and packing orders in the studio I have yet to sew in here, which I plan to remedy the first week of January: I have a new pattern for Today's Quilter drafted and my fabric is waiting!

still a few things to put away

If you're wondering where my machine is, it's tucked away in the mobile cabinet under my cutting table.

peepo...

I've invested in a Horn sewing cabinet and adjustable chair. I know my lower back is going to thank me! To be honest, that chair isn't the prettiest, but I have plans to make slipcover with some linen grainsack fabric. And once I've had a proper chance to sew on it, I'll let you know what I think of the cabinet and share a few photos of how it all folds out, which is pretty impressive.

But for now, let's just enjoy the view...

Nicola xx