As it is Now or Upstairs/Downstairs

There is stuff everywhere despite how much we have moved out.  My upstairs attic studio had been shared with my assistant ever since Mary Anna arrived two years ago (yes two!), thereby pushing Pierrette up the stairs to work with me.  The downstairs was divided into a nursery and online shop fulfillment studio (read 300 bolts of fabric) from which my other assistant cut and shipped. I had just been getting used to a personal workspace again, when it was time to stop getting used to that.  And now I am getting used to that again.  (Do I need to start at the beginning?  There will be a review before the test.)

UPSTAIRS: So the upstairs suffered a tornado of a move out- rifling through with no time to spare to get Craft South open on schedule.  There was a luxury to throwing everything around in whatever ridiculous manner I cared to, knowing that I was going to be the only one putting it all back together again.  Thinking of it now, I was so very uncareful and thoughtless about tossing here and there.  And now the first reentry into that space since we opened the shop (dreadful as the air conditioning is on the fritz up there) has been to assemble all of my Summer Rummage Sale items.  There is loads that I have been anxious to send to a happy home (still some available after listing this morning!)  but I have only been able to work up there for 30 or 45 minutes at a time-bc of the heat- rummaging and photographing the goods.  Sweat.

It feels so large and cavernous despite the mess now.  I am rethinking completely how I want the room to be put back together.  I had always rather liked Pierrette's view of the neighborhood hills, and wonder if I might move a desk over there.  Or maybe my drafting table.  You can hear the neighbor's chickens better from there.  Or perhaps a second sewing machine set-up that is always ready for machine quilting and larger projects, while keeping small project sewing at the current sewing spot.  I haven't had a couch up there ever since I began sharing the room and wondering if I have room now for maybe just a wingback.  My priorities right now are to get the air conditioning fixed then send my sister a plane ticket so we can sit on the floor and talk about how it should be, get about half done then abandon it for cooking and movies.  Goals.

DOWNSTAIRS: This has been the biggest change.  It went from being a giant fabric cutting table and shipping supplies and bolt after bolt after bolt of fabric to being almost completely empty.  So empty that I had to mock up a "studio" last month when my Janome crew came to shoot new class videos.  Which was actually sorta fun. My hopes for this space are that it get reclaimed by everyone, not really me.  We, like I am sure many of you, do SO much of our everything at the dining room table.  Homework.  Art.  Food.  Visiting. Nonsense.  So that started me thinking maybe we can have a whole room for all that instead.  And I am working on it.  A 6 foot table has been procured.  One hide has been snatched up to keep feet on something soft and warm while homeworking.  A smallish waiting room style, midcentury sofa in electric blue vinyl has also been invited to help us out.  The family painting we did together last summer has been hung where it was always meant to be.  A favorite art print appropriately landed right next to it.

AS IT IS NOW:  The table needs chairs.  Some of which I have but they need to be covered.  Until my air conditioning is fixed upstairs, my computer, myself, and -today- loads of rummage sale items and other works in progress are in here too.  While I am looking forward to reawakening my dream studio upstairs, for now I am happy to be closer to everyone down here, saving them the walk up to me, and slightly going mad from the chaos that summer can be.  Though this week we have whittled all the way down to the 2 youngest with the 4 older at camp.  So I can hear Mary Anna's nap breathing through the wall and Roman's crayons across paper right now and that is all.  Well, and my keyboard.

more soon.  hope your holiday weekend was a good one. xxooAM