Studio Reorganization Update

The latest addition to the studio reorganization is a trail of bittersweet over the window. Originally, I planned to use some long-stashed hand-painted fabrics for a valence, but friends convinced me that branches were absolutely required to go with my bird theme. My original plan had been to get a nice branch for a corner, but this brings it out front and center. 

Isn't that sun glowing first thing in the morning just amazing? I love that fall light. 

The fall season is only slowly creeping into Texas, with cooler temperatures and golden light urging me to plant mums in my front porch pots and pose pumpkins beneath. When I stopped at the florist today to look for branches, thinking they might have something that would work over the window, I briefly perused the curly willow, but then I swallowed hard and committed to the expensive bittersweet. I remembered looking at it last fall and thinking it too pricey, but this year I know life's short and I should enjoy it while I may. So my window has a festoon of luscious seedpods to accompany the curling branches. Precariously perched on a few nails hammered above the window, it needs a bit of wire to make it more secure. I love it!

The color perfectly coordinates with much of the artwork gracing the walls, like this stuffed crow from Kelli Nina Perkins and a page from my bird journal. At this time of the year, the orange and black give it a holiday feel, even though none of the decorations are specifically Halloween oriented. The rest of the year, the other colors seem to balance better.

As always, orange is the zing that makes every other color pop, like the pea green of this antique bird cage I picked up on e-bay.

I love the new additions I've been collecting, like this hand-painted jewelry box to hold my special pieces that I'm keeping for myself.  Rescue a thrift store recycled box of your own from Secret Garden on Etsy.

And I'm pleased to dig some favorite quilts out of oblivion and actually hang them on the wall to wink at every time I walk by. This is Soul Searching, which was juried into Craft National, Materials: Hard & Soft, and Craft Forms. I consider it the best wall quilt I ever made.

Read about the earlier stages of the studio reorganization here , here, here, here , and here . Peek into the glass studio here. The quilting studio is still chaos.

The timing on my studio redo is good in that Cloth Paper Scissors is having a Virtual Studios Tour. I added my link to the collection. Need some ideas for your own studio? Grab a cup of tea and settle in for a bit of inspiration.