For the past four years my quilt studio has occupied the spare bedroom in our home. It has housed our small online quilt shop and provided a workspace to create. It also doubled as a home office and was often times a perfect description of controlled chaos. It was filled to the brim with my own fabric stash and projects along with all our of retail fabric inventory. I loved having these two desks together to create a large area to support quilting on my Juki Tl-2010Q. This room and its cheerful aqua walls - my favorite color - helped nurse my quilty dreams into reality. Here's a random pic I snapped one day before tackling some organization and cleaning the cutting mat that usually lives on the tables:
With the arrival of the Gammill Statler Ascend longarm quilting machine last fall and the plan to launch Woven Key Quilt Company, we had to make a plan for more room. My husband, Jacob, and I both work fulltime in the healthcare field, so finding an outside location for the quilting studio was not an option as it would pull me away from home for more time than we were willing to sacrifice. Since the longarm machine required a clearance of fifteen feet, the only two places we could have it reside in the home were:
1) The family living room - shared space with the adjacent family dining room and the secondary entertaining location when we host friends and family; also open access to our two sons *think sticky toddler fingers and smelly teenaged boy* and family pets.
2) The primary bedroom - the bedroom Jacob and I shared with an attached bathroom. We loved how we had been able to decorate the space and it was truly a retreat for each of us. It was tucked away at the end of the home and had a door which limited access.
So, really, there was only ever one choice. First, the bedroom was painted a lovely shade of aqua. Then, with the help of our family and church home group, we were able to switch the contents of both bedrooms in less than an hour. The best return on spaghetti dinner I've ever experienced! Here is a pic of the space (still lots to organize and rehome in the corners) cleared and ready for the Gammill team to arrive and install the longarm. Eek!
About 8 hours later, the Gammill techs were gone for the day and Jacob and I were left in disbelief. You can lay out a measuring tape all day long, but the space the machine required was something I had to see in real life to appreciate.
To be able to access behind the machine and gain entry to the bathroom doorway in the left corner of the room, my beloved 6x6 Kallax cube system that stored my personal fabric stash had to be moved. A quick trip to Home Depot and Target later, and we had acquired the necessities to outfit the space to make it functional to start.
Above is a photo of Jacob poking around with the computer setting up the wireless printer for our shipping labels and such while I fold fat quarters from my stash. I remember there was so much to do, but we were excited and proud! Notice the plastic still on the machine - the Gammill technicians would return the following day for a four-hour hands-on lesson before leaving it in my hands.
I've practiced the last six months to learn the ins and outs of my new machine and make sure I was up to the task of caring for and helping finish your quilt tops - talk about pressure! I've also taken steps to determine how to best operate the business sides of things along with a rebranding. Jess Zeigler of the Longarm League and the dynamic duo Liesl Webber and Christin Clever of Savvy Business Babes were instrumental in helping me lay down a clear, purposeful direction.
It was time to bid farewell to Magnolia Cotton Design and welcome Woven Key Quilt Company. I wanted a name that displayed quilts to be at the core of what we were about. And I jumped at the opportunity to include an homage to two of the most important and influential people in my life - my maternal grandparents, Penny and Clyde. Penny means "weaver or woven"; and Clyde means "key". So many of my core values I have inherited from these two beautiful souls - kindness, integrity, work ethic, creativity, a love for God and others, devotion to family, and the joy that comes from bringing something to life with your hands.
I am beyond excited - and nervous - for what this next step will bring! I will continue to offer custom quilt commissions for friends who haven't caught the quilting bug. And now we are expanding to be able to offer longarm quilting services for other quilters. The last remaining component of the business - the fabric shop - is still in development. We have not added much new inventory while we work to figure out what's next, but I envision an offering of some precuts and wide backs are likely what our offerings will morph to become.
With the addition of the newer fabric shops Savannah Fabric Company and Savannah Sews to the established Sew Much More, this is not a tremendous loss for local fabric lovers. And this transition will provide me a better balance of time, upfront cost, and precious space. I have to make room for the onslaught of incoming quilt tops now that we've got the longarm :)
I'm so excited to share this next adventure with you! Without further delay - welcome to Woven Key Quilt Company!
