Transformation of my Wretched Studio Space

Kim says thank you for permission to throw out her own fabric scraps and thread trash, as I related in my previous post. You're welcome. Here is the dilemma. We throw away too much. Recycling is a noble act. At the same time, if we save everything, not throwing away because the item is perfectly good, we will be consumed by crap. I've gotten to know a number of annual and bi-annual rummage sales in my area and I give the "perfectly good" stuff to them. They'll make a couple of bucks and I am relieved of the item and the guilt of throwing it away. Some things are more tricky. I burn a lot of candles. What do I do with the stubs? I could save them in a bucket, melt them down and make more candles. I even have molds from my candle-making days. But seriously, when am I going to make candles? And, will they be any good? Maybe if I was unemployed this would make sense. Also, I read about a project where someone was making tote bags out of the material that encases a brick of coffee. I thought, now that is cool. I was saving the coffee brick wrappers for a while. One day my husband asked me why I was saving them. As I began to explain it to him, I realized how crazy it was. At least, for me. This is also part of the ADD thing I have going on. I have so little spare time, Should I spend it sewing together trash? Maybe I will someday, but not now. I try to remain focused. I try.

My studio is in our cellar. Our house is very old, and the cellar is made of stones. It is extremely damp and very cold this time of year. There is virtually no natural light, because my evergy-nazi husband has blocked the tiny windows with insulation. Most people I am sure would consider this intolerable, but this is my space and I make the best of it. There is an on-going project to finish our attic and make my studio up there. I expect this to take another year.

So, in my recent switch over to more mixed media than art quilts (Which is not a big leap, really) I began rummaging around the studio and then reorganizing. I had my sewing machine on an old kitchen table, and a storage "thing" on top of a desk where I was supposed to do other work. The space left on the desk was small and usually cluttered with  stuff. So, I decided to switch the sewing machine to the desk. I really like the new space I made for myself on the table. But the desk really is too small for the sewing machine, too. It's OK, because I see now that what I need for the future attic space is two tables, not a table and a desk..

Joe, my husband, has been actively working on the space lately. I go up there to help him when it is feasable, and we have discussions about what I need. He is going to replace the crappy windows up there and cut a skylight into the roof. We have talked about the placement of my different workstations, what kind of outlets and storage are possible. Of course, in an attic, the biggest challenge is the lack of straight walls. As a joke, I asked him if I could get a sink up there, but he said it was possible! Like a little stainless steel prison sink. Ijust want a water source. Joe is also going to install electric baseboard heat up there, and we were in Home Depot talking to someone about the gage of wire that was required. The man at the Depot asked how big the space was, and ha ha, we didn't know! I need to go up there and measure it. I want to sketch up a floor plan and make little furniture pieces and move them around. Maybe I will get to do that tomorrow, as we are expecting a wicked ice storm around here and maybe we will get another weather day off!

A Very Productive Weekend

I did a ton of art work this weekend. That means I spent way too much time in the basement, where my sewing area is. There is a project going on to make the attic my new work space, but it is all contingent on my husband, and whether or not he feels like working on this project. The summer is a complete loss, he only wants to ride his motorcycle(s) and his bicycle during the summer. He lives to be outside, and he is not wasting any summer day being inside. Unfortunately, he starts getting depressed during the fall, so that also stands in the way when the summer is over. But I digress.

The fact is, I work in the basement. It's dark and damp and here is a new twist, we have CAVE CRICKETS lately. I don't think they hurt you, but they are really scarey looking. The icing on this dreadful cake is that I am a terrible slob. My space generally just gets worse and worse, until I can't take it anymore and then I clean it up. It takes hours and it is hard to spend that much time down there, even doing fun things, much less cleaning a hellish mess.

Despite everything, art was made. I wonder what I would be like if I had a lovely, well-lit space? The really good news is that I got Kate to make a quilt. It is hard to get her going, and she does not seem to be able to get it together enough to self start a project like that. I began by inviting her to make something. I pointed her to her small stash of fabric. She has some novelty prints and a few otherr fabrics that she has picked out. She also has unlimited use of my fabric. She picked out a fairy themed fabric, and she was off and running. We chose some background fabric. I usually make suggestions like, "You will need a fabric for the background. " and let her pick, then I will say, "What else do you want to put here?" She decided she wanted mushrooms with her fairy. So we went through the process of picking fabric for those, then she drew mushrooms in her sketch book, and we copied them to the back of the Wonder under and she cut them out and ironed them on. Then she decided she wanted logs with moss. I did not think it was such a great idea, but she definitely wanted it. She also angled the logs in a way that I would not have done it, but I have to let her have her own way, because otherwise, I might as well make the thing. In the end, I think it turned out great. I will do the machine quilting, but I will get her to do some hand work. She has sold three little quilts in the past on our etsy site, but hasn't sold much lately. I have no pictures right now but I will see what I can do this week.

I noticed that I have a couple of new followers on this blog (which is a miracle, since I hadn't posted for 3 months) so, for those who don't know, my daughter Kate is developmentally disabled. She is a member of the ARC and a Special Olympic athlete. She is nearly 27 years old, has a job and travels to it on public transportation. She doesn't read or write very well, but has really taken to Facebook. In some ways it is like having a young teenager in the house forever.

Additions to My Fiber Art Collection

Here are the two fiber art pieces that have arrived so far.

The first one is called "And Moon" by Kim Hambric. I really like it, but the coolness of it was really not apparent until it was in  my hands. There is more drawing and stamping than I had realized. I am kind of regretting not getting a bigger piece from Kim. (The size is 4.5"x6.5")

The second one is called "Factory Sunset" The artist's name on Etsy is EmmaKlee. I had no communication with her at all. It just showed up. It's OK, just kind of weird. This one is 15" x 20.5"

Joe returned home from the motorcycle rally in one piece yesterday, which is nice. I showed him the attic, and we talked about what I would like to do. I want white walls. I can only imagine how much more appealing the whole space would be if it were bright. Joe wondered, did it have to be sheet rock? He did not think we could get it around the corner to go up the stairs. I am sure he is right. He said Luan might work because we might be able to bend it to get it around the corner. That suits me, as long as it is white in the end. There is an old, non-functional chiminey that ends before it gets to the roof. It stands against the one thing you might call a wall in the space. We talked about taking that out. One either side of this chiminey are two windows. One of them has a lame replacement window in it, the other is boarded up from the inside. I want to open it up again to let in more light. Joe says that's OK, and he would to replace both of those windows. I would also like some decent lighting. At present there is one bare bulb. He's OK with that.

He says he will start right away. Of course I will help as much as possible. We will start tonight by taking measurements. Then he wants to insulate. I wonder what all this will cost?