Fabric and thread, of course. Rulers and other tools, certainly.

But the real key? Storage space.

What do you do when a wall of floor-to-ceiling cabinets isn’t enough (especially when quilting isn’t the only hobby)? That 12′ frame for the longarm machine becomes a tempting void just waiting to be filled.

Did you know you can buy wire shelving in almost any size you like? The shelves — and the poles — can be purchased separately, and a wide variety of lengths and widths. So it’s easy to create something that will fit perfectly under the back of the frame. Thank you, shelving.com! (No affiliation.)

The studio is blessed with 3 walls of windows — lots of lovely light, but we sure don’t want that sunlight hitting the fabric all day. First thought was to hang a curtain of some sort from the edge of the longarm frame. But then a dual-purpose solution emerged. Inexpensive birch plywood and a set of small pot hooks, plus a set of magnetic eyebolts hanging from the frame edge, produced this:

Simple enough to remove them (lift the pot hooks) when I need to get to the fabric … and a bonus dual purpose — any cat-owning longarmers will know what this is for!

Next up: rulers and thread.