Over the weekend I decided to play like I'm young again. I moved 12 cement blocks from the garage to my second-story sewing room. Although to my amazement I seem to be no worse off for the effort, suffice it to say that I took a looong Sunday afternoon nap! I got this penchant for moving furniture and other heavy stuff from my mother, who still does it -- it's our version of both exercise and weight-bearing exercise with the added bonus that the house usually looks better for the effort.
The reason for this expenditure of muscle and perspiration was that I require much of my sewing room because I am unable to restrict myself to just one hobby. When I ask women if they have any hobbies, some reply, "I read." Oh. Well, what else? "That's all." I'm sorry. I just can't imagine that. I enjoy reading, too, but I'm one of those people who says, "So many hobbies, so little time!"
Anyway, Beloved refuses to hire a contractor to knock out walls and closets to make a gigant-o hobby room for me, so I have to be resourceful. When we got our new carpeting earlier this year, I proclaimed to Beloved, "I am done with bricks and boards. From now on, it's real furniture." Well, that didn't last long. Even if we had all the money in the world for more furniture, I'm not sure I'd ever find what works for my specific needs..... except for the ol' college-era boards and bricks! So I construct my own, and often Beloved knows nothing about it until I'm done! (but he's never surprised any more) This time he did have to haul out his ladder to retrieve the white melamine-covered boards from the garage rafters. I married a smart man. He's learned to hold onto my building materials because sooner or later I'll want to use them for something.
In this case, I needed more countertop-height surface area AND some storage space. You see the final result in the picture above. No it's not fancy nancy, but this is a work room (that's what I tell my friends when giving them a tour of our house), so everything is pretty much functional.
Many times I've referred to my treasured lap top computer (an Apple Mac), as one of the single best gifts my husband ever gave to me (right after my 3 dear kids, of course, and a couple of Cocker Spaniels). Although I've had my very own computers over the years, this one is my fav because I can carry it all over the house and still get a wireless Internet connection. Today as I type this blog post, it is right where you see it in the picture above. I've just completed several handmade greeting cards on this same table, and now I am preparing to write blog posts about them. This table is where I make cards, and cut out fabric for sewing projects. Yes, I am using a quilt for a bulletin board.
This is where I do my beading. Those within my gift-giving circle of family and friends know that I make a 'bracelet of the year' every Christmas. Every year in January I decide what color scheme and/or style of beads to use for that year's Christmas gifts. Then in the coming months I buy those beads when I see them and start working on the bracelets. I make about a dozen or so (I've lost count).
This colorful corner is home to my Singer sewing machines. The thread racks are a tribute to my mother. Some years ago she came to visit and I was showing her around. At the time I kept all of my spools in a chest of drawers, rather rudely arranged due to the frequent opening and closing of the drawer. When I showed it to her, she shook her head vigorously from side to side and said something like, "Brrrr!" Not long after that I began buying up thread racks and hanging them on the wall. I love to look at their colors, and no, the sun never falls on them, although they are susceptible to dust.
Well, that's it for now. I need to close out and write blog posts for the future. Thanks for stopping by!
