I want to say a word about where I sew and how it gets done, blah blah. I love seeing people's creative spaces-- it is inspiring and curious and sometimes crazy-making. Honestly, along with my excitement that people get to dedicate whole rooms to their craft I often get a little jealous. But that's life, right? And loads of people I know make things in their basement/shed/dorm room and I feel like that drive to make regardless of your space restrictions is really amazing and encouraging for those of us struggling to carve out space and time to sew or what-have-you.
This is technically the spare bedroom but we moved in here to sleep this last summer (because it's cooler) and then never moved back. Plus, it's a lot easier to keep our actual bedroom ready for guests. Our house is not so big. 700 square feet on top (3 bedrooms and a bath), 700 square feet on the main (living room and kitchen/den), and about 500 square feet of very scary unlivable storage/laundry basement (which includes its very own prison style potty smack dab in the middle. I know. Gross.).
What you're seeing is this:
- 1 desk filled with notions and patterns where the sewing machine lives
- 1 Bookshelf filled with fabric, mags, and books
- 1 metal rolling shelf stacked with other junk and a tv
- A corner of our bed
- The corner of the co-sleeper where baby boy sleeps
And Right Outside the Viewfinder:
- A dresser full of clothes
- My cutting mats jammed in behind the same dresser
- The ironing board leaning up in the corner
- The dirty laundry basket
And that's it. Really. There are bits of things like my mat cutter and other arty stuff/books stuck under beds and in other bookshelves around the house. I cut projects out on the floor and at the end of the day I try really hard to clean most of it up or at the very least, pile it all on the desk. Occasionally, I tack a large piece of flannel on the opposite wall to use for quilt piecing.
I would love to repaint this room and I need of new lighting. I see shelves over there in the corner above the tv and a new chair. And what I wouldn't do for a cutting table. That door behind the shelf? It leads to a weird slanted floor storage space that we haven't made work for us yet. There are ready-to-use picture frames underneath the desk by my presser foot and all my linen pieces are rolled and jammed in that little space between the shelf and the desk. I know that this would drive a lot of people nuts to have so much organized chaos in their lives-- let alone two feet from where they sleep. I've tried to do it differently, but given our space and my kids and our lives, I can't make it work any other way. I'm really thankful for this space and it keeps me motivated to get through and finish projects so I can get them the heck out of here.
I'm not proud of it though, but I'm not sure that matters...? Do with what you've got if you are at all compelled to DO. At the very least this a nice little Before shot in hopes of some day having a killer After one.
