Friday, October 23, 2020

The Back Story

Welcome!  I'm so glad you stopped in! 

I'm Irene and my quilting journey started in 1991.  My husband was in the Air Force and we were assigned to Dover AFB in Delaware. One visit to the Rose Valley Quilt shop, an Amish owned business just outside of Dover, started a love affair with fabric and design.

 I have amassed an impressive amount of quilt paraphernalia over the course of 26 years of Air Force life, and moved it from place to place.  Each time we moved, I would take apart my sewing space that I had cobbled together using secondhand tables and shelves and make it all fit in the next home we would live in.   When we finally retired from the Air Force, I thought we had settled in to our "forever" home and that I could settle into a permanent quilting space.  Little did I know that life and my husband's new job would send us to Kentucky!

After living in a couple of temporary homes in the Louisville area, we got the feel of the different neighborhoods and found our new (to us) home.


It's a pretty house and we are very happy with the area!

A new home means a new quilting space and now that we know we are here for the long haul, I'm in the process of building my perfect quilting space on two fronts!  The first is my at-home studio and the entire basement has been dedicated to my quilting passion!!  The second is my new Longarm Quilting Shop where I will offer longarm quilting services, longarm machine rentals and some quilt shop quality fabrics and notions (but more about that later!)

The basement of our new home consists of a bedroom, media room, family room, bathroom, kitchenette and sitting area with a fireplace.  I have BIG plans for each space and I have started with the bedroom.  Gammill Bea, my Longarm with a 14' table will have this room.



This photo is one that was on the real estate website when we were searching for the perfect house. I never remember to take those 'before' picture!


 Testing paint colors is a critical step when picking paint color.  

The walls were a periwinkle blue which was a bit much for my taste.  I chose the soft yellow and painted the entire room with the help of one of my best friends, Sherry!  


We left this little space unpainted as I had big plans for this wall!



Built-In Cabinets!  
This cabinet was in the family room on the only wall big enough for a design wall. It needed to be moved and this room was big enough to hold it and Gammill Bea!


COREtec flooring! 

 I originally picked this Northwoods Oak but it was out of stock and I was unwilling wait so we went with an in-stock color that was just a bit darker.



It's coming together! Did you notice the change in paint color?  I painted another room with a color called "Quail Egg" and I loved it.  I kept telling myself that the yellow was fine but in the end I HAD to change it!  Also, see the little black discs on the floor?  Floor plugs!!  No cords winding across the floor to trip over. I love the way this room looks!




We've moved Gammill Bea so many times we could put it together in our sleep.  But this time, Gammill Bea is getting a little bonus! Gammill Bea is now equipped with Statler Stitcher! I've owned Gammill Bea and have been longarm quilting since 2004, but I have some learning to do when it comes to the Statler.  It's an exciting new experience!  I still need to get all my supplies and tchotchkes put in their place.  Its going to be fun filling up the shelves of that wonderful built-in!   Next up is the Media Room.  Hope you'll stop by to see the transformation!



Irene