Balancing Act

Not only am I a quilter.....I'm a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a friend. Often I fall short in all of the above, because finding balance is not always easy!!

 This week I'm in Grandma mode, as I have my little Autumn Claire (15 months) for the week....her parents and big sister are in Mexico, for a much needed vacation. Smiling brown eyes and dimples.....need I say more, we are so in love!!! There's a reason women my age don't have babies.....every evening my husband and I fall into our easy chairs exhausted, even though she is good as gold.

Just as I have more than one role so does the space I live in.....my quilting studio has to serve more than one purpose. I have the toys for the four grandchildren in a bedroom right next to my studio....this room also serves as a guest room for out of town guests. As you can see the playpen is all ready to go for my wee girl.

 My studio has to function as a family room and a home office as well as a sewing space. The cutting table makes a great craft table for my three year old granddaughters.....I love to nurture their creativity. My biggest challenge so far is to make the space look good (the stairwell from the upstairs is very open), have it function well and be safe for when the little ones are here.

The glass door hides a multitude of equipment.....needless to say, I have a lock on the door. Curious one- year olds and long-arms don't mix all that well.....I have a fear that my one year-old grandson will think of the frame as monkey bars.

As you can see, my fears aren't totally unfounded!!!

Behind those doors it's still a work in progress!!!!! During nap time I try to keep working, on getting this organized.

I even managed to finish this little sweater....I started it almost three years ago, sigh!!!

Sooon very sooon I hope to get some quilting done.....the quilter in me is feeling neglected!!!

Progress

Slowly but surely, slowly being the operative word.....I'm making progress. In between moving my multiple piles of stuff, I'm actually starting to check a few things off the list.

 I was able to reuse my multiple panels for creating the design wall or should I say design walls (what can I say, one can never have enough design walls).....I had stacks of these panels sitting around, just waiting to be put up.

Having a black design wall, as well as a beige one is really helpful when auditioning fabrics for a project.

 With the two left over black panels, I created a display board for smaller finished pieces (sort of artsy, don't you think).

 A new door was put in (by my handy husband) letting lots of lovely light into the long arm area. Since there are no windows in this part of the basement this door is just the answer.

Naturally, I couldn't resist putting the rest of the panels in here. We even managed to get the long arm up on the frame and all wired up again.

Oh, and take a look at that fancy lighting!!!! These lights used to hang above the pool table at the old house. The pool table was donated to a good cause and we thought these lights would be wonderful above the long arm!!!

Trust me, there is still much to sort and organize but progress is being made!!

Enough with the Moving and Unpacking!!!!

It's official, I'm taking a break from anything moving and unpacking related!!! And that's final!!!! As long as the main living spaces of the house are livable, I'm good for now. 

 As you can see....things are starting to shape up for now. Aren't those those the most amazing, adjustable stools I just "happened on" the other day!! It's incredible what one can find at Homesense. 

A new round table for the kitchen. 

 

 The living room is coming along as well....the old furniture went downstairs and off we went furniture shopping.

 Some new, modern type, french doors seem to give the place a little more updated feel.....eleven new doors later!!! 
Yikes, we are a little out of control, but trust me they were a really good deal that my husband "happened on". I'm not the only crazy shopper in this household.

 The upstairs furniture is working rather nicely downstairs.

As you can see, Christmas is just around the corner, so it's time to focus on that for now. 

I've been so busy this year I haven't had time to turn GRUMPY or WOBBLE this Christmas..... or maybe I'm just turning over a a new leaf. 

Plenty has been unpacked, but trust me there is still much to be done. I'm leaving it for January!!!!

I've missed the hum of my sewing machine these past months, but it's a great reminder of how much I love it.

Now that I've officially stopped unpacking, I might have a little more blogging time as well. 

Creating Some Calm in the Storm

 

 Here's one last look, at the view, from my son's hospital window (rather a quilt worthy view, in my opinion). I'm happy to report he came home on Friday and is doing really well. We even managed a family outing to Ikea over the weekend....that alone should tell you how things are going, 

Thank you so much, for your kind word, thoughts and prayers....it means so much!! 

 Meanwhile we've been trying to create a little bit of calm in the midst of the chaos. After all one does need their computer!!

 And perhaps a sewing machine or two.....just perhaps.

Yup....there's the cutting table. Are you wondering what's up with all the plastic??

The basement has approximately 700 hundred square feet of unfinished space, besides the finished part. Unfortunately there are no windows in that area. So just what does a quilter do with a black hole of that magnitude??

Cut a door of course....and let the light from the patio doors shine in!!!!! We'll be putting in a french door.

Put up some drywall, add some lighting and electrical sockets, paint the floor.....and I will have more storage than I have ever had and a spot for the long arm.

 Of course this is rather a slow process and dusty to say the least.

Meanwhile, upstairs is becoming a little more orderly.

 

Slowly but surely things are coming together. 

I've even created a temporary closet until I can get around to ordering an Ikea system.

Lest you think things are under control.....remember this room, yup it is still piled high to the ceiling!!

Once again, thank you for all your wonderful comments and emails, I tried to answer as many as I could....a few might have slipped through the cracks.....your support as ever, means so much.

Marianne

With a little Help from my Friends

Okay.....with a lot of help from my friends!! My quilting buddies are the best!!  As I wait here for the new dishwasher to arrive, I thought I would catch up with you. 

As you can see we have been very busy around here.

This closet used to be loaded with fabric.....not anymore.

Now that just looks wrong....my long arm sitting there on the floor. My poor husband drew blood wrestling that frame out the door.

I still feel like I'm running around in circles but having my friends support me means everything!!

It's Official...I'm in Panic Mode

Within a week of listing the house, there is a deal pending.....so yes, my state of panic is now official. Meanwhile the house is still being shown just in case the deal goes south. And of course, the potential buyers want possession by October 21 (two days after my workshop)....and yes, there is still some prep to be done in that department. 

Insomnia has also set in...it sort of goes hand in hand with panic (it's after 2:30 am). So instead of tossing and turning, I thought I would catch up with you.

See how useful fat quarters can be for packing dishes!!

 Balls of yarn work equally as well. 

As you can see from the blue counter-tops, there will be some kitchen renovations in the near future, which just might cause more panic to ensue.  

But will you look at the lovely views I will have from the condo!!

 

 

All in all it's been a very busy week, so far. But the highlight of my day came, when my three and a half year old granddaughter, Paige, told me, I was her special Grandma.....just what I needed to hear, puts it all in perspective.

Help!!!

WE ARE MOVING......three words destined to strike fear in the heart of any obsessed serious fabric hoarder collector!!!  

As as usual, my ability to focus has vanished and I find my self either running in circles like a chicken with it's head cut off or being totally immobilized in typical deer in the headlights fashion. Or worse yet, I'm procrastinating even making myself what will most certainly be a very long to do list, by window shopping for things I might but don't really need for the move.

Also, out of the blue, my design wall fell down.....hmm, it must be a sign that it's time to move. Maybe I need to switch to a heavier duty command strip to hold them up. As much as I love command strips....this is my first mishap, I don't recommend hanging anything breakable with them, such as mirrors or framed pictures with glass.  Just sayin'....

So here we go....time to pack up hundreds of meters of fabric and other quilting paraphernalia....sigh

It's times like these, that the words "I'll take the whole bolt" turn around and bite you in the....well, you know where. And that's not even thinking about moving the long arm!!! 

 

 

 

Plus the house has to look good for potential buyers.....oh dear. 

But before you feel too sorry for me (you do feel sorry for me, don't you??), the condo we are moving to has a walkout basement with a lovely view. And yes, I snagged it for my sewing studio. Plus...yes, there is another plus, there is loads of storage space!!!!! 

Between prepping for my upcoming retreat and moving I might just be wee tad bit busy. I'll keep you posted.