condensed, sadly (but nicely streamlined)

the big project around the house this weekend was moving my sewing room downstairs along with all the assorted sewing/crafty crap i have collected over the years. this meant the downstairs closet had to get cleaned out, which was good because it was just storage for a bunch of stuff that did not need to be stored in the house. um, luggage? my upstairs closet also had to get cleaned out which was good because there was a lot of stuff that i just had not dealt with since we moved in six months ago. including stuff that just got thrown into boxes that really ought to have been thrown in the trash but just seemed vitally important at the time. and a bunch of brian's stuff that mysteriously migrated from the museum, how did that happen?

this is what i ended up with, sharing space with the guest room, which really feels a lot better now that the huge dark bookcase is out of there (the books went upstairs onto the ledge in our bedroom) and the futon looks like a real bed:


small notions in the top two drawers which previously housed random scrapbooking crap that now has a new home. isn't it nice to clean stuff out? the bottom drawer is scrapbooking paper, and the boxes behind are my sewing box (random stuff like the cams for the elna, extra knife blades for the serger, the buttonholer that i haven't figured out how to use yet) and two boxes of scrapbooking stuff. on the shelf is the cd box i repurposed years ago to hold my working patterns (those currently in rotation), a box of zippers and a box of elastic/velcro/bias tape, tailor's ham and seam roll, and the "reference" books and magazines i've collected over the years pertaining to my various hobbies obsessions. the small corkboard is a must for keeping pattern instructions handy while sewing a new project.

the shelf i repurposed from our old entertainment center that was in the original sewing room. i was going to hang both shelves but at the moment i like the spare-ness of just one, and (i think) i have enough space with just the one. hopefully it will also force me to keep things neat and tidy. this room also gets great light during the day but like all our bedrooms the overhead lights are crappy and dull at night. hence the torch lamp with the reading light which was previously down here and stayed, because i tend to like to sew at night when it is quiet. the ironing board will come down here also in the next day or so but i think i am going to have to get another over-the-door board for our bedroom/clothes ironing. we'll see how all the tromping up and down the stairs works out or if i can be counted on to pull the ironing out of the clean clothes basket before it goes upstairs.

still not sure if i am going to bring the knitting basket down or leave it upstairs in our room and i still have to re-hang the pictures i took down while we were moving stuff around. even with bare walls the room just feels good. even though it is smaller than my previous beloved space i am somewhat excited to get to work on a project in there. i think it is because the drawers under the table will make it so much easier to sew and scrapbook, because the little stuffs are not hidden in my sewing box or in the closet but usefully, easily within reach. the biggest thing i lost is large space to cut out patterns, but really, i can do that on the island in the kitchen or on my table if i move the machines.

in other news, rather coveting this cd from fiction family. nickel creek plus switchfoot equals beautiful. i wonder if i have enough change saved for a new cd?