Spring Clean Up

Who can work in such a mess? I could barely walk into this room, and all the clutter was way too distracting to feel like creating anything.

Piles of silk on my chair, and slippery bits of paper and fabric on the floor made walking dangerous. Not to mention the stuff I dragged out on my socks, everywhere I went.

Three irons and a rubbermaid box made getting to the sewing machine a struggle. You can't see the inch of dust that has settled here. Something was seriously wrong here.

I am so lucky to have a lovely room to create in, and yet it looks like I don't have any appreciation for it. When I walk into Frieda's or Laura's or Emily's studio, I am instantly inspired. Mine makes me want to bolt. I KNEW SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!

1. Remove all unnecessary furniture. Out goes the chair which never get sat on and is just another surface to pile on stuff. I found the ottoman was nearby, and I thought I lost it, but no, it was just so full of junk I didn't realize it was there!

2. Roll up all the fabric from the last project and stash the myriad scraps in the cabinet under the the worksurface. I will spend another day organizing scraps, perhaps bagging and selling them, since they are all hand dyed and already fused.

3. Sweep and vacuum. There are dust bunnies wrapped around thread and fabric bits and chunks of things that defy description. Spiders live here, and are taking over.

4. Find a new place for books, slides and projector, in the new bookcase in the dyeroom/pantry.

5. Dust and brush all surfaces, including washing off coffee rings etc.

6. And the most important thing: Arrange remaining fixtures with Feng Shui in mind.
I had the furniture in non-Feng Shui locations. I know that one should have the workstation facing the door to alert one to incoming visitors, despite that there are NEVER visitors to my studio. I must consider myself as a visitor and make the entry wide and open, with a wonderful view.
The room is long and narrow, so that must be allowed for in my arrangement.
I moved drawers, tables and workstation to accomodate the guest and artist alike.
Then I removed distractions from my walls and filled the big wall with a big quilt. The bright graphic quality immediately improved the entry view.

The sewing table is now in front of the window, under the heat/ac vent, and to the right of the doorway. The lighting is so much better at this spot, but I have added a halogen floorlamp, for additional light.

The view as you enter. I have four sets of drawers and have separated them to form two groups. This set holds the working fabric. The two boxes hold cottons on the left and silks on the right, already fused and rolled into colorways. Keeping them off the floor is my challenge.

The big quilt on the wall was made by Frieda Anderson in a Nancy Crow workshop in 2002. She didn't want it anymore and gave it to me. I added a few new parts, making it bigger and more bed sized. It is pieced, as in sewing machine! and washable. I am about 60% done quilting it, but needed to get it up off the chair it was on for two years! Now I am inspired to finish it.

The clear path to the doorway.

And the more or less cleared off other set of drawers. In the corner is a trolley cart that now holds my extra irons, three thread caddies and two big bolts of Wonder-Under. On top is my overhead projector and boombox. I can reach the phone so much easier now.

I feel so much better when I walk into the room. I am about to spend the morning pinning up pictures and postcards on my white working wall. This is one of the things that always inspires me when I visit Frieda or Emily. I never work on the walls anymore, being a fuser, so why not have oodles of inspiration pinned up there?