Knitting and Other Memories

I haven't done any real knitting in a long time. Occasionally I pick up the sweater, do a row or two, then put it down again. There has just been so much else going on ... thoughts and planning about the new house ... getting ready for the holiday ... work being crazy, which makes me exhausted in the evenings ... .

I was thinking about this a lot lately, and I know part of the problem is that there is just so much to do around here, that really needs done, that I've been having a hard time 'switching off' in the evenings, and just relaxing and doing some knitting. I always feel 'guilty', like there's something else I should be doing.

I'm hoping it won't be like that in the new house. Oh, I know - there will be tons of stuff to do, for a very long time. But it won't be like here, where it needs done and I've neglected it because there's no way to really do most of what I want to do. It'll be different. We have half a lifetime of projects already dreamed up, there's always going to be something to do, but since most of it won't be stuff we 'have to' do, but that we 'want to' do; and because I know there are ways to get it done, it's just going to take time, I don't think I'm going to be as angsty about it. There'd be no point ... as I said, there are years of projects in my head with this place - no sense in trying to rush it, it just ain't gonna happen.

The other difference will be that there, I want to do them, and will be able to do them, so on weekends I will actually look forward to these projects. It'll be the highlight of my weekend, working on my new home, it won't feel like 'chores' - and hopefully then my relaxing hobby time can be just that again.

I want to dream up plans for my hobby room, but I seem to be having a hard time coming up with anything - probably because it's been so long since I had an area like that, that looked like anything, that I can't seem to wrap my head around the possibilities. Since this is supposed to be a fiber arts blog, I thought I'd brainstorm a little bit about that here.

While the house is beautiful and I love it, the rooms are not the largest I've seen. Two of them are average, 12x12. The other two are slightly smaller. Those slightly smaller rooms are going to be the guest room and the kids' room, so I get one of the 12x12 rooms for my hobby room. At least it's nice and square. But it's not like endless space that I can just dream up anything I want, and fit it in there. I will still need to be streamlined on storage if I want it all to fit, and look nice, and be really efficient work-wise. (Believe me, I'm not complaining - and entire 12x12 room all to myself, for just my stuff, is a dream come true!).

I know I want a clear work table for starters - white. I'd been using a banquet type table upstairs recently, the kind with legs that fold up underneath, but it's got that fake dark-brown woodgrain top, and I don't like such dark colors. I considered covering it with something, but I don't think I'd be happy with that - a cloth cover of some sort would be inconvenient, because a nice smooth table-top is best for most things; and I'm not keen on covering it with contact paper, just because. So some type of white or light color, smooth work surface for starters.

Then I just have to start thinking about the types of things I need to store:

Art Stuff
colored pencils, drawing pencils, sketch books, paints

Sewing Notions
thread, bobbins, scissors, pin cushions, tape measure, needles, elastic, buttons, etc.

Other Sewing Stuff
material, interfacing; patterns

Knitting Stuff
yarn! and needles

Embroidery Stuff
needles; floss; material; hoops and frames

Weaving Stuff
cones of yarn bought just for this; looms; shuttles; cotton warp

Miscellaneous Crafty Stuff
ribbons and trims; hot glue gun; beads; various lacings; paper cutter; God alone knows what else is in some of those bins

Books
I suspect that's pretty self-explanatory

Well, that's good to start with. I have three categories of stuff. Large things (material collection; yarn collection; looms); small things (all the stuff that can fit in little bins or baskets); and books.

So I need a bookcase. I have several, so I ought to be able to find something workable for that.

Large things - I'd already considered organizing and even inventorying my material, so I know what I have and approximately how much, then storing it in plastic totes in the basement, to save space. Since material is something I'm not going to need all handy, all the time, and since there's so much, there's not much reason to take up so much of my room storing it. I could do the same with the large yarn tote.

The looms are a dilemma - I'd like them handy, especially the ones with any work in progress on them. I have my tapestry loom with my learning project on it half-done, and I very much want to get back to that. But they're mildly bulky (none of them are huge, the biggest probably being 18x18 or so, but they're all oddly shaped and difficult to just tuck away). I'm thinking that for inkle looms, a shelf higher up on the wall out of the way would be a good place to set those. The Handy Weaver that I got as a gift last year could live on a closet shelf. The tapestry loom ... I suppose I could hang it on the wall. Or, I could design a small cubby someplace which is narrow and big enough to slip in things that need to or can stand upright, but be out of the way - my tapestry loom, my large sketch book, my cutting mats. Sort of like one of those baking sheet organizers that holds them all neatly and upright in your cabinets, only larger, and closed in. Heck, for that matter - a stock narrow kitchen base cabinet might be just the thing for that type of stuff. I know you can (or used to be able to) buy simple unfinished stock base cabinets for as little as $35 at the local home center. As a bonus, it would have a drawer. I could finish it, find some type of top for it ... ...

... here's a really grand idea, but I don't know if I can afford it. A couple of these stock kitchen cabinets, maybe one a bank of drawers, spaced apart with actual nice kitchen countertop across them, on one wall, as my work area. Hmm ... that would be nice. It would also be permanent, I'd have to be sure where I wanted it. It might still work to just buy a couple cabinets, set them where I want them, and place a work surface (table top, nicely finished wood, something) across the top of them - then I could move it if I decided to redesign.

Redesigning probably isn't going to be much of an option, though, so I'd better get it right the first time. Because the last storage area - for all the small stuff - I have in mind to build in a section of cubbies, then store all that little stuff in nice little wicker baskets, or fabric covered boxes, or a combination of the two - something like that. But that cubby section would be permanently attached to a wall, so moving it around would probably be a pain. I might even build it on the wall, which would make it even more difficult to move.

There are a few other little perks I have to think about. I want a comfy chair in their for sitting, besides the wheeled desk chair that will be my 'work station' chair. Well, I'd like one anyway - I don't know if there's going to be room for all this.

This was a fun way to begin the morning, but I have to go get ready for work.