After 18 months of renting the house we currently live in, we have decided to jump back into home ownership, and are now under contract on a new home. I’m simultaneously thrilled and horrified. I have just under two months to pack up my life and move it three miles away.
Five years ago my husband and I decided it was time for a change. He switched jobs, which involved a cross country move. I had been spoiled – 10 years in the same house, with a large dedicated sewing room. I was a bad, bad quilting hoarder. I got rid of a ton of stuff, and still had several tons to move to the next house. Most of it lived in the garage, in a pile of disorganized boxes and bins, while my sewing machine and I had a small table in the living room. I was able to finish off at least 4 old WIPS that year, which were happily shipped off to live with other families.
We moved again a year later, and I was able to have a sewing room again. I managed to get most of my stuff kind of organized over 3 years, and then it was time to move again. That brings us to this house, which has been good for the past year. It is a rental, though, and isn’t ideal for our family. I knew it wasn’t a permanent home, which is why my shelving units are generic and modular. I believe they will fit nicely in the new sewing room. My biggest challenge is going to be the closet full of boxes and bins I currently have. They need to be opened and sorted. There is no closet in the new room, so I will either have to be truly organized, or find another place to hide things.
In the new house I get to have a downstairs sewing room, right off of the living room. I’m very excited. I have a floor plan, so I can drive myself bonkers with furniture layout and planning. It has french doors, which my husband has requested I cover up with something quilty. Challenge accepted – I will be doing a series of mini quilts to hang in the french door window panes. Maybe post card quilts, so I can make new ones and send the old ones off to make friends smile.
I’ve also decided to learn how to design and publish quilt patterns. I have so many ideas, and I would love to share them. Also, the idea of turning my hobby into a business is so appealing. I’ve been reading through Meadow Mist Designs’ Pattern Writing Blog series. It is fascinating. I can see that the biggest hurdle for me in this process is going to be sitting down and focusing on each individual project. My tendency to jump from one thing to another just isn’t going to work if I want to produce patterns that provide value to my customers.
If those two things aren’t enough, what started as a little voice in my head whispering about Piet Mondrian has turning into a nagging whine that drags me to the library and makes me spend a whole Saturday looking at art books. Mondrian’s artwork started out with traditional landscape and portrait pieces, and evolved into a study of straight lines and a very limited color palette. I never considered myself to be a fan of modern, abstract art, but my tastes are definitely changing. I can’t tell if it is a true appreciation for the form, or just a new way for me to be inspired in my quilting. Straight lines are certainly easier to work with.
These are some of my favorites. I particularly love the tree on the lower left. I have a thing for trees – I see a grey, black and white tree quilt hanging in my bedroom in the near future.
Just because I love him, here is my main daytime distraction, helping me blog.
