The Strauser family is moving again. We have relocated all over the country many times. Since leaving home for college I have lived in Washington DC, (where I met my husband to-be), Virginia, California, Florida, Texas and New Jersey.
We usually relocate for employment purposes. This time it is to shorten my husband’s commute. Right now, he rides the train for 90 minutes, capped off by a 10 minute walk to his office, each way. He’s been doing it for a couple of years, but the NJ transit system seems to be deteriorating. Also, this year I started commuting into the city for work, too. I don’t go every day, but I definitely have a lot more sympathy for my husband now. 15 hours on the train each week is too much.
The new house is only a 45 minute train ride from New York City. He will have almost halved his commute, so I will get to spend a lot more time with him.
If you follow me on Instagram, you have seen photos of hand stitching and sketching I do on the train. I go out of my way to emphasize the positive. I don’t share photos of people’s backsides in my face, or try to describe the sounds and smells of so many angry commuters packed into a rattling train car. It isn’t pretty.
Enough bitching. Here are some photos of my current studio, which I am slowly packing up.
This is my room, if you are standing in the doorway.
This is looking further into the room. A significant amount of stuff has been shoved into bins and boxes, to be dealt with later. As the house is now on the market, I only have those items I think I will need over the next month in the room.
My realtor did a really cool virtual tour of my house. You can get a better look around my studio, and the rest of my house. It never looks this good – we are actually having some angst over leaving now. I’m considering burning all of the junk I hid in the garage for the photo shoot.
The new house comes with a fully finished basement. Squeal! Part of the deal I negotiated with my husband is that I get the full basement for my studio. I don’t like the basement idea from a lighting perspective, but that can be fixed with an electrician. This one has nice high ceilings, and is much more appealing than I had expected a basement to be. He likes the idea that my mess will be behind a door and down a flight of stairs. Hopefully all of the thread scraps will wipe off my feet on the carpeted stairs.
For fun, I will be sharing progress photos and planning of my new studio set up. I’ve now done it several times, so I have an idea of my goal. Part of the plan for the new house is that my mother is coming to live with us. She is also a quilter, and the studio needs to have work spaces for both of us.
Now, I’m off to order a large scale pad of graph paper. Or perhaps Jeremy will drag me into the 21st century and make me do furniture layouts on an app. The horrors.
I can imagine shortening the commute will be worth it. Looking forward to seeing your new space!
Me, too!
I hope your home sells quickly and the move is smooth. Having the basement as a studio space for you and your mom sounds like a big treat, but the best part will be having more time with your husband. 🙂
I totally agree.
A basement studio all to yourself! Wooohooo. Shorter commute always a bonus, I drive 3 hours roundtrip on my commute. No way to shorten it so we bought a hybrid car.
I too have moved around so it can be scary but exciting all at the same time.
Oh Jen, {{{hugs}}} a bunch for you. How stressful for you, but there are so many positives in your move. How fun will that be to have another quilter in the house?!! And the studio all in one large area. I look forward to seeing the whole process! Happy Sunday! ~smile~ Roseanne
Thanks! I can’t wait.
Wow! Good for you for making your lives easier. Having sold our house last year (the only one we lived in) I know what a process it is. We did it to downsize, a different reason, but yes you do go through the whole range of emotions doing this. Look forward to seeing your new studio – jealous of the space – but so pleased for you. Which town are you relocating to? We do the PA to MA/ME drive frequently so I know a lot of those towns – at least by name!
I can’t imagine a 90 minute commute although I’m sure lots of people do it. You have such a nice big space now so I am curious about what the new space will be like. Good luck with the move and selling your house and enjoy the added time with your husband.
Your new space sounds amazing, although I really like the room you currently have. It will be fun to have your Mom to sew with. Good luck on the move Jen! I look forward to reading your progress posts.
Ohh sounds very exciting!!!
Good Luck with the move and with selling your house quickly. I, too, have the entire finished basement for my studio and wish I had some window view. As for the lighting, I just installed daylight bulbs and it has made a big difference.
Good luck with the move. I haven’t had to move in 23 years, and the thought of clearing all this crap out is both liberating and terrifying.
Congratulations on the house and a full basement studio. I hope this makes everyone’s life more pleasant!