A Space of My Own

     It took me a long time to find a place to sew.  The reason is because we have a full house.  A full house means never-ending laundry and no room for me and my hobby.

     For a time, I tried setting up at the kitchen table.  But, you know how messy things can get when you're in the middle of piecing a quilt.  That only ended up with a kitchen in chaos and a lot of frustration at supper time.

     I also tried setting up a folding table here and there throughout the house.  But, like most families, we're busy and I don't always get to finish what I start.  And when there are small children about, leaving things unattended can end up in disaster -- for them and for the project.  Crafty messes also add to an already chaotic environment and I don't like leaving big eye sores in the main areas of the house.

     At one point, I tried sharing my son's room.  He got half and I got the other half.  He was a little fella, maybe around 10 years old, and would not keep his room clean.  I warned him repeatedly that if he didn't put his things away and keep the room picked up, I'd take half of it for my sewing studio.  He thought I was joking.  But then, one day, he came home from school to find that I'd cleaned the room myself.  I brought in the ironing board and a cutting table and set them up beside his desk, which is where I put my sewing machine.  It was. . .

     I had that space for a few years and it turned out to be a nice thing for both of us.  I would sew late into the night and he would crawl into bed and read to me or we'd talk for a while before he fell asleep.  He eventually began to feel weird about it, though, when he would have friends over and they'd ask why his mother's stuff was all over his room.

     From the beginning, the agreement was that he had to keep his half of the room clean for two full weeks and then I would move out.  That's right, his half, for two weeks.  That's how lazy he was.  But he finally started to keep it tidy and now he's practically a minimalist.  While his room can get messy, he actually enjoys putting things back in order.  His room is often the tidiest in the whole house.  I don't know how that happened.  But, when it happened, it left my sewing machine homeless.

     Again, I tried to find a place to set up, but I was always in the way of something or someone until I discovered a little-used corner in our house.  It is actually a hallway with an exit door.  We never used that door and the hallway was a dumping ground for everything we didn't know what to do with.  Most of the time, it was piled with bags and boxes of stuff that we hadn't yet hauled off to the donation center.  I found that the area was just wide enough for a small table and an ironing board.  And the best part?  It was mine to claim!  I cleaned it up and turned it into my sewing studio.

     I found that table sitting on the side of the road.  The legs were ugly and rusty, but it was sturdy.  I took it home, sanded and painted the legs to match the trim around the top.  I don't really care for the bright yellow, but it's a perfect fit for this space.

    While it can get crowded when I'm working on a project, it doesn't feel small.  The window let's in plenty of natural light and makes things feel bright and happy.  Someday I'll have more room, but in the meantime, I'm happy to have this small, simple space to call my own.