Amanda Murphy’s Dream Studio

Hello,

July is the final month of the Dream Studio Sweepstakes so I thought I’d give you a little tour of my studio and some of my favorite things in it.

First I must begin by confessing it was only recently I even had a studio.  For the first dozen or so years I had a business, I didn’t have a dedicated space and I was literally spread throughout the house.  That wasn’t optimal for any of us, but I bring it up because I want you to know that you absolutely CAN bring creativity into your life, even if you don’t have the “right” space.    Don’t wait!  There will never be a perfect time and BERNINAs exist to help us be creative!  That being said the equipment I was using to film, on top of the machines and supplies, was really getting to be an issue, and so I was really on the lookout for a better space.

My studio is in the third floor of our house.  It is a good size – about 14′ x 20′.  I also have a small office that houses my computer, shipping supplies, and my Q16 in a Horn lift table where I do my live Facebook broadcasts from, but the studio you see below is where I spread out and do the majority of sewing and quilting.

My studio, as you come up the stairs

My studio, taken from the sewing cabinet and looking back toward the stairs.

The Studio BERNINA created for me in the 3D software is actually much like my real studio, but the virtual one is prettier because there are a lot more decorations.  In real-life, I am highly distractible and I usually prefer the walls to be a blank canvas because, as I design new things I don’t always want to be influenced by my past work.

I do all of my piecing on my  BERNINA 790 Plus 125th Anniversary Edition, which sits in a Horn 8080 Sewing Cabinet.  I have a plastic insert that perfectly fits the machine, but the opening for the insert is huge, so I won’t need to get another cabinet for future machines no matter their size.  Aurifil threads are kept in the thread storage area under the table to my right.  My cutting rulers and tools like machine brushes, seam rippers, and tweezers are kept in a little storage alcove to my left.  The drawers hold my machine supplies and there is an insert that can sit over the top drawer, giving me extra table space on top.  I LOVE that extra space that sits to my left at the front of the machine and use it all the time.

My 8080 Horn Sewing Cabinet with my BERNINA 790QE 125th Anniversary Edition recessed into the table.

How I like to organize my sewing cabinet.

To the left of my sewing cabinet is my Laurastar Smart-U, which creates dry micro-fine steam perfect for piecing.  You can find my favorite things about the Smart-U in this video.

The Laurastar Smart-U, my favorite ironing system.

If you turn around from the ironing board you’d run straight into my BERNINA Q24 Q-Series.  I LOVE this machine.  It is amazing because I literally forget there is a machine between my hands and the fabric.  I have a couple of small carts that I got from IKEA that I use to keep machine tools and rulers close by.

The Q24 – my favorite of all my machines.  (I purchased the keyboard tray from Hoover’s BERNINA.)

I also keep Laurastar Lift tucked into the corner behind my longarm. I use this to steam fabric while mounted on the frame and also to block quilts prior to binding if needed.

The Laurastar Lift

To the right of the machine is a small supply closet and next to it, near the stairwell, is the Horn 7600 Ultimate Storage Center.  To be honest, I didn’t know something like this existed until this year.  I use this as a cutting center, but it also holds almost all of my other supplies, like longarm thread cones, scissors and other cutting tools, extra BERNINA products like stitch regulators, machine feet, and works in progress.  It just holds so much STUFF and I am a person with a LOT of stuff!  I have a cutting surface for the top of the table. The back of the table can fold down, but I keep it up because then you can put in a shelf that can hold extra fabric.  I also like the fact that the doors can cover all of my mess, but they also accordion-fold into the sides of the unit if you are in the middle of sewing and want access to everything.

My Horn 7600 Ultimate Storage Center

My cutting area on top of the Horn 7600 Ultimate Storage Center.

Details of the 7600 Horn Ultimate Storage Center.

So that is the grand tour!  I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into my sewing room.  BERNINA and I would love to see yours so don’t forget to enter this last month of the BERNINA Sweepstakes!

Amanda