I once read that to be creative it helped if you had a place to work in that inspired you, a place that was surrounded with the things and colors you love. A couple years ago I had the opportunity to have a little studio built in my home. It didn't take me long to figure out exactly what I wanted in it and how I was going to fix up my little space. Before the walls were even up I had the whole room mapped out in my head. My main goal for my studio was to always have the feeling that I was walking into summer. Being a New Englander for the past 38 years, I was determined to have a place in the middle of our long cold winters to go and dream of being someplace warm.
First thing, I painted the walls a beautiful color of blue - a toss up between the sky on a beautiful sunny day or the ocean waters as they are in Maui. I'm lucky enough to have a son who decided to make his home in Maui - I miss him terribly but to be honest with you, it's a great place to have to go to visit. Ever time I go over I buy a beautiful sarong which depicts so many beautiful colors. I decided instead of having the sarongs tucked away in a drawer somewhere I would hang them so I could remember my days spent walking the beaches. Now that the walls were painted it was time to bring in my desk and a cabinet that I rescued from my husband's parents - stripped it and painted it to match the walls - white with blue trim. Next was to bring in all my vintage china that I have been collecting over the years... I know most people would scream at the thought but I collect them only to smash them up! Yikes! Yep... I break them up into little pieces to create mosaic frames, mirrors, birdhouses etc. 
Okay, now on to my ever growing fabric stash. My wonderful husband (Rob) installed a couple of stand up cabinets to hold some of my pretties and then I turned a couple of CD stands into shelves for my FQ's (fat quarters). I love walking into my room (especially when it is clean) and seeing all the colors.... what a way to brighten the day. When I need extra room to sew I set up an table and cut away. Can't say there's much room left for anyone else to come in and play but then... this is my hiding place and big enough for me.
Next, Rob installed a couple of kitchen cabinets and topped them off with a piece of butcher block and then hung a few shelves for more goodies - this I call my CQ corner - where I have some of my pretties for my main passion these past couple of years, crazy quilting. I sometimes wonder why and how I got so involved in this type of quilting. Could it be because of the name "Crazy" ??
