Everyone has a different favorite part of the Quilted Joy Clubhouse meetings, but my favorite part has always been the Looky Loo Studio Tours! I'm just a little bit nosey and I think it's so much fun to take a peek into another longarm quilter's sewing studio. I'm always amazed by everyone's ingenuity and clever ideas to make their spaces work and unique to them!

Let's take a look back at our Looky Loo Studio Tour with Julie McClannan of Quilting by Julie from October 2019. When Julie and her husband downsized to their current home Julie had one rule: her sewing room would not be downsizing! That's a rule I can get behind! :) Julie set up her APQS Millie on a 12 foot table with Quilt Path in her spacious walkout basement. She has lots of room to spread out her sewing, cutting, pressing, and quilting spaces - and even room for a treadmill too! See the full tour for yourself in the video below!

Isn't Julie's basement studio gorgeous? My current home sewing space doesn't have windows, so I'm very jealous of all the natural light Julie has. But really, my favorite part of Julie's Looky Loo Tour was seeing all the storage pieces her husband built for her. Having a supportive partner is so important. Throughout many of our Looky Loo tours, I've heard lots of stories of spouses who helped build storage or who take part in the quilting process too and it always makes my heart sing!

I wanted to get to know Julie a little bit more, so I asked her a few other questions before we recorded our tour.

Quilted Joy: How long have you been quilting?

Julie: I started quilting in my old basement laundry room about 25 years ago.

QJ: How long have you been longarm quilting?

J: I started longarming about 14 years ago.

QJ: How have you grown your skills?

J: In the beginning I did lots of charity quilts freehand and with paper pantographs. I finally moved to a computerized system 5 years ago but I still do some freehand and ruler work.

QJ: What is the most challenging part of quilting for you?

J: It is developing a vision for the entire quilt when I am doing custom quilting for myself or a customer.

QJ: What do you love about your quilting space?

J: I love having everything in one place and my studio is my favorite room in the house. I have a wooden sign there that says Welcome to My Happy Place.

QJ: What would you change about your space if you could?

J: I would enjoy having more storage space.

QJ: What advice would you give a new longarm quilter?

J: Be patient with yourself. It takes time to develop your skills and your confidence.

QJ: What quilt project are you currently working on?

J: Besides having a customer quilt on the frame, I usually have 3-4 projects at different stages. I am always planning a quilt, piecing something, and quilting or binding something.

QJ: What quilt project is on your bucket list?

J: Someday I want to make a quilt using silk.

QJ: How would you describe your quilting style?

J: I would call it traditional with a bit of whimsy.

QJ: What is your favorite batting and thread?

J: I use 80/20 batting most of the time and my two favorite threads are Superior and Glide.

QJ: What is your current favorite quilting gadget?

I have scissors hanging from a lanyard around my neck. I don’t know how I ever quilted without them.

Julie recommends:

1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
2. Amazing Grace hand and body lotion
3. My treadmill in my studio (When my computer is humming along on a quilt I can hop on and get a little exercise.)
4. My three dogs that I adore. Everyone needs a pet (or 3).

A big thank you again to Julie for letting us peek into her quilting studio! It's a gorgeous space and she's a very talented quilter. If you'd like to see more about Julie and her quilting, head on over to her Quilting by Julie website.