We're thrilled to introduce you to Amy Latta, a creator who proves that it's never too late to dive into a new craft! Her passion for hand lettering led her on an unexpected journey back to sewing and quilting with help from the Missouri Star Quilt Company. But that's not all—Amy's craft room received an incredible transformation with the Sew Station. She shared her thoughts on organization and how the Sew Station has become the heart of her quilting projects. Get ready to be inspired by Amy's story of rediscovery and creative growth!
Can you tell us a bit of your creative journey and how you started creating?
I have loved creating for as long as I can remember. As a child, my mom and I made all kinds of crafts together, and she taught me how to do many creative things, including sew. Over the years, I continued to create, but my focus shifted to other art forms, like hand lettering.
In October of 2022, I was invited to partner with Missouri Star Quilt Company to help them introduce their hand lettering markers to quilters as a way to personalize their quilt labels and projects. I hadn’t really sewn in a long time, and was always totally intimidated by the idea of quilting, so I made them a deal; I would teach them to hand letter if they would teach me to quilt!
My basic sewing skills came back quickly, and much to my surprise, I absolutely fell in love with quilting (it’s easier than I thought!). I came home from Missouri determined to quilt all the things, and in a lovely full circle moment, I was able to teach both my mom and my son to quilt too. Now, we enjoy creating together often.
What were your creative setbacks before you got organized, and can you tell us about your space transformation?
Although I had a sewing machine, I didn’t have a dedicated spot in my craft studio for sewing. For a while, I put the machine on a countertop when I wanted to use it, but the height wasn’t ideal. The counter was too high, and I couldn’t get a comfortable angle for working. I also quickly realized that I needed to have a lot of things within arm’s reach while quilting, like a seam ripper, a pencil, quilt clips, extra thread, scissors, pins, and more.
All of those supplies started cluttering my counter, making it messy all the time. Also, since there weren’t designated places for any of these things, I was constantly misplacing them. Fabric storage became another issue, as I was acquiring charm packs (precut 5” squares) and fat quarters (¼ yard cuts of fabric) but didn’t have a good system for storing them. I knew that the Sew Station could be just what I needed; a space dedicated to my machine and sewing supplies.
How did the Sew Station help improve your crafting experience for you and solve the problems you faced with your old crafting space?
Once I got the Sew Station, everything changed, because now I have a designated area in my craft studio just for sewing and quilting. The side table is the perfect spot to cut fabric on my self-healing mat, and I love that I can raise my sewing machine when I want to use it, then lower it when I’m finished. The pull-out drawer is great for storing all the little notions I need as I work, as well as holding extra thread.
I use the totes on the other side to hold my small pre-cut fabric. It’s easy to see exactly what options I have and choose the best ones for a project. All of my sewing supplies are together and organized, instead of being spread all over the room, which makes a huge difference. The ease of raising and lowering the machine and having all my supplies at arm’s reach has made me want to sew even more often.
What sort of advice do you have for our readers on getting organized?
The first big step I took when I really wanted to get organized was going through all of my supplies and dividing them up into categories. For example, I figured out which ones I used for lettering, which ones were necessary for creating with the Cricut, which ones were for jewelry making, etc. I got rid of supplies that were old or not useful, and I also parted with half-finished projects I knew I would never complete. Once that was finished, I was able to divide up the supplies into drawers and totes based on size. For me, the Tool Cubby was a huge help in storing the many hand-lettering markers I have. It holds them horizontally, which is ideal for storing dual-tip pens.
Do you own other Create Room furniture? Could you tell us how each of these has helped you make space for pursuing and creating all the things that you love?
I do! My first piece of Create Room furniture was the DreamBox! It absolutely transformed my crafting space, and allowed me to get rid of multiple other pieces of furniture that weren’t really keeping me organized. In addition to holding tons of supplies, my DreamBox also became a great workspace and the perfect backdrop for videos. I film multiple craft segments every month for lifestyle shows around the country while sitting at my DreamBox table.
The next piece I got was the Create Room Cubby, which holds additional crafting supplies that didn’t have a home in the DreamBox. It helped me organize my wooden surfaces, like beads, wood slices, etc. as well as supplies for wood burning with the Scorch Marker. It also holds silkscreens and glazes for painting on bisque, and my overflow markers. Both pieces of furniture, as well as the Sew Station, have helped me to really designate a place for everything I use as a creator.
What are your tips and tricks on keeping your craft supplies continuously organized throughout the year?
The best advice I can give is to consistently put away your supplies after each project is completed. It sounds really obvious, but I don’t think I’m the only one who has a tendency not to do it! With the Sew Station, the Cubby, and the DreamBox, I have a designated place for every kind of supply, so if I discipline myself to clean up after each project, my studio stays wonderfully organized. I’ve also found that labeling my bins and drawers helps my family, so if they borrow and use my supplies, they know exactly where to return them.
Is there anything else you would like our audience to know about yourself?
I would love for you to visit amylattacreations.com to see more about how I’ve created my dream craft studio using Create Room furniture. While you’re there, you can also check out my latest creative ideas, projects, and books.