David and I are busy, as I am sure you all are at this time of year. We are trying to get ready for the holidays and also get some projects finished and others started for deadlines next year.

The Textures show has closed and we have our quilts back. The members will be reviewing the input from that at our last formal meeting of the year today. We have one more gathering for a Christmas party but that is just pure fun, no work. We will also be deciding on our challenge topic for next years show. Our "Wings N Things" topic for this year was very well received by the public. There was lots of positive feedback from everyone that attended the opening. I  have not seen the comments from our attendance book yet, but am looking forward to seeing those remarks.

David and I will be working on our "Black and White with a Twist" quilts that will be for next years Quilts on the Wall exhibit. David has his designed, mine is about half done but I have it well defined in my mind what I want to do. David has even started picking fabrics.

We are now back in the studio! This is a huge relief. I am so happy to be able to walk in there, pick up a project and actually start working on it right then. The new sewing machine cabinet is great. I love the fact that it has the power lift for the machines so we can raise and lower them as needed. We are currently waiting on our custom inserts so that everything will be flush to the surface while sewing.

I am now in the process or starting my savings plan for a new computer. I am in the market for a desktop (a little more bang for the buck) so if anyone has a PC brand that they love please let me know. I am going to try to get one in about 6 months.

David and I have been working on getting the studio put back together. Most of the items that we lugged out of the studio have returned to their home. We are in the process of reorganizing some of the supplies. Last weekend we even got to work on some new pieces of art.

 We purchased the Koala DualMate Plus IV for our new sewing cabinet. It is fabulous. We now have a nice "clean" looking area that gives both of us a great sewing surface. Sewing Machines Plus in San Marcos had a floor model that we were able to get for a price that made us happy. We purchased the white version of the cabinet. I had money I was saving for a new computer and dual monitors, but maybe next year. I will be posting pictures later when I take some that show it nicely.

My goal is to get everything cleaned and put away by the end of this weekend. Life will return to a semi normal state, except did I mention the microwave died yesterday? It is back to the teapot for us…

I am so happy to report that the studio is nearing completion. The painting is complete, most of the shelving is back on the walls (except for the one that came crashing down yesterday) but that is another story. Note to self: Use different bracket system for storing six large containers of thread.

The unfortunate thing is, now that the freshly painted room (except for the ceiling and I am not looking up until a cobweb hits me in the nose) the hodge-podge of furniture that we had for our sewing tables looks lame. I have been saving my pennies for an upgrade on the computer, but now I am thinking a new sewing cabinet system for our machines might be a better idea.

David and I sold two pieces out of the Acorn Gallery in Idyllwild and that money will in the future move out to stimulate that ol' economy when I get enough collected. We did stop and look at one system in person and I did some internet research and spied another that might work. One is a dual set up, both machines in one cabinet, and the other is separate cabinets for each machine. The dual cabinet would give the studio a very clean look and the other would allow some different positioning options.  The problem with that is there are not a lot of options in the studio because of the cabinets hanging on the wall, the window and design board positions. Both types would most likely end up in the same area.

The two we are considering are the Koala Dual Mate IV or the Kangaroo and Joey. (Are you spotting a theme here?) They both turn out to be about the same cost even though from different companies. We saw the Dual Mate in person and it seems very well constructed and is a USA company. I have not done all the research on the Kangaroo but it is also at a local shop.  David and I will check out the materials on the Kangaroo before the big decision.

Our studio is still under construction. I will be so glad when it is back together and life resumes a more normal function. It is funny that when there is disorganization around (i.e. piles of items that USED to be in the studio but are now in heaps in other rooms) how chaotic the rest of your life feels.

I am getting the walls painted, the new floor is in and the base boards are painted. I have a few touch up areas to do on the walls. I am waiting on David to recover from his very bad cold so that he can install the base boards and then I think we can start putting everything back in. We will be looking to see if the room will go back the way it was or if we will change things around a bit.

I do like the new floor (tiles as opposed to carpet) as cleaning and finding pins will be so much easier. The walls are bright and cheery (how could it not be when one of the colors is called "Goldfish") and did I mention each wall is a different color? I even got close enough to the window to clean it. The sun comes streaming through in the morning. Wonderful.