Debbie Babin » studio

Settling In

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 06:02:47 +0000

I am now settling into my new home here in Washington. The house feels like a good “fit”.

Rear View

The home faces the Puget Sound with the beach 100 yards away

The view of the water and park.

My studio will be great once it is finished.

The room had carpet and that would not work for me. A new floor is being installed called Marmoleum. This product is “green” all natural material and layered onto a hard board and backed with cork. It snaps together. The builds Brian and Marie Peterson are working deligently to accomplish this task. They take great pride in their homes as is obvious when you see it. We are SO fortunate to have come across this home. Marie designed the pattern for the floor.

I gave her a simple quilt block design and this is what she came up with.

She chose six colors which unite all the colors in the house.

Next she is creating storage areas. This is challenging. We want to preserve the aesthetics of the architecture and at the same time produce efficient use of spaces. There are three knee wall spaces we are considering. Other ideas are to build a long worktable with storage underneath.

It is very exciting to have this opportunity to set up the room to be functional as well as beautiful.

How can I make a mess in this room? It is too pretty to work in.

There are windows on all four walls with views that change constantly with the weather. A nice size full bath. The room is the entire third floor.

Stay tuned for updates as the work continues.

Moving to the great North West

admin — Thu, 13 May 2010 12:18:05 +0000

A view of the back side of my new home in Washington State.

Wow! Packing up a studio is a new and challenging experience. How did I manage to accumulate SO much stuff? I am very excited to announce that our house has finally sold here in Maryland and we are bound for Washington State the end of May. Things are moving much faster than i anticipated. Is it better to have a shorter time and get it over with or more time to think about what to take vs toss?

What I have discovered about sorting my studio supplies is: THIS WAS NEEDED

It is good timing. After having this studio for the last 10 years I now know what I truly need and can zoom in on my goals.

What I have an excess of is: PLASTIC STORAGE BOXES

I am constantly sorting, moving boxes from room to room trying to be efficient. I over did it!

Cathartic, for sure.

My new studio will be on the third floor. The entire floor! Windows on all four sides. The challenge is: No walls

How will I store things and not block the windows (view)? So far I have thought of:

1. Making large tables and having storage underneath.

2. Counter height storage units.

I am open for suggestions, please leave comments with any ideas you have. I need help.

10-4-10 Solo

admin — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:17:26 +0000

Well, I experienced an abrupt end this week. The artists collaborative 10-4-10 that I set up dissolved.

Timing is everything

That is one of my favorite sayings…..and boy does it apply to this experience!

It was a great opportunity and concept and still is.

The link to the site is still active; however, this will take you to a single page where you will see my single piece.

So for now…..I have a solo act; and that is fitting.

1-4-1

Stay tuned, re organization may be on the horizon. Until then I plan to enjoy the freedom and will spend time relishing in it…where else? I my studio of course! Sounds good to me.

Second in my collection of 10″ pieces

Passion Tree 10" x 10"

View of my studio

admin — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 02:42:18 +0000

My studio has been selected by Morna Golletz to be featured in an article in the next issue of Professional Quilter. My studio is my hang out. I am in it everyday. There is so much I could say about it; certainly more than the article had space for.

Co-incidentally I was going through my images searching for something and came across some views of my studio when I first set it up. This was about eight years ago!

My studio is in the basement of my home. The basement was totally unfinished with pipes, wires, bare cider block walls and duct work randomly snaking around the ceiling.

My husband tackled the huge task all by himself except for the plumbing and tile work. He planned the layout and moved some of the duct work using some angles as if they were part of the planned architecture. He was very ingenious. Our home has beautiful tongue-in-groove wood on the ceiling of the family room and foyer. He decided to include this feature on the ceiling on the central area.

He did a fabulous job! It took months of arduous labor. Have you ever tried to hand dry wall on the ceiling by yourself? Well, he did just that.

The downside is there are no windows. So lighting was crucial.

The most charming feature is an antique stained glass window that he mounted in one wall. This sort of gives the illusion of a window and light. I took this picture this week for the article.

Next come the old images. What a difference from today. The main difference is it is how tidy it was! And look at all of those trash cans….empty ones too.

This area is the largest about 20′ x 20′. I use it mainly for storage and design walls now.

The lighting did not prove to be efficient enough so I use a second room for sewing and detail work.

Have you ever posed sitting at your sewing machine? It is obvious I am NOT doing serious work at this moment.

Now I am posing in front of a design wall. Wow! I haven’t seen the surface of that table so clear! The piece on the design wall on the lower right is Madame Butterfly in progress. This quilt went on to win first place in Art=Quilts=Art for Pictorial a few years back. It now belongs to my daughter. She claimed it even before it was finished.

You will have to read the article to see the other room. I wasn’t even using it at the time these images were taken.