At least one deadly sin (Part 1)

I am not sure whether this post is about envy or lust or gluttony but it is definitely about Studios. And probably sloth as well, as it has taken me until this week to file away several piles of quilting magazines and clippings I have accumulated. One of them was Studios magazine.

Now this edition of the magazine was discovered with great delight in London after I had refused to pay postage from the States even though I really, really ( oh believe me, really) wanted what is in effect a collection of glossy photos of other people's cupboards. I read it on a train. I gazed dreamily out of the window imagining. I arrived home and set it to one side.

Then I found it again. Now, Really I am lucky. I have lots of space to sew and store and even design. But it has its drawbacks. The storage is upstairs, the painting and dyeing is in the garage and the sewing is in the dining room. This latter has the great advantage that our very large dining table is just wonderful for supporting a bed quilt when machine quiting. The problem is that dining room tables come with dining room chairs. I have shoved ours out of the way under the window. But they still annoy me sitting there reproachfully reminding me that this is a dining room not a purpose build designed 'Studio' with those beautiful nooks and crannies and window seats with clever understorage.

So when I picked up the magazine again I went into overdrive. All those wonderful spaces to crave. I removed Dennis from in front of the TV and made him listen to my crazy ideas. Put the chairs in storage ( I.e pay for the privilege of driving 10 miles to get them every time we want to eat at the table). Put them in the loft (I.e scratch them - and probably each other - to bits, manoeuvring them up and down a ladder into a tiny hole in the roof). Put them on Freecycle and eat Japanese style. ( But the table is normal height). Make a room screen to hide them. (Cue Dennis trying to hold up a large, curling sheet of Pelmet Vilene so I can imagine what it would be like). Conclusion - makes the room even more cluttered.

Bah! I want ( imagine stamping of tiny feet) I want, I want a space where I can display some of my work and I want a place to loll with my notebook. I want to have the room more colourful less formal. I want more downstairs storage without being cluttered.

We have to move house. At this point Dennis looks frightened. Or - BANG!- Inspiration hits. I could make a quilt big enough to cover the chairs, scatter them with cushions and make them into a temporary window seat covered with my work. Boxes for storage for current projects can be hidden underneath. I can remove the windowsill items we had when it was just a dining room and put something more creatively inspiring there.....

This is the mock up. Not perfect yet but enough to make me smile in anticipation. So often it's the simple things.......... (I still want a studio though)

Part 2 of this tale comes tomorrow.