My Little Corner of the World ....

Back in the first part of January I was pooped from Halloween and Christmas creating and all sorts of holiday preparation and I decided to knuckle down and sweep out some of the cobwebs from my brain and my sewing room/studio and get things organized a little so I could at least know what I had to work with to get going again in this new year.

So ... just thought you might like to take a peek at my little corner of the world and see where all the "little people" and creatures get their start.  It "ain't" fancy but it's home to us.

Here goes ...

This is where I sit (in the rocker) and do research and mentally work out the detail work in the pattern-making end of my art.  That rocker was used by my Mom to rock several of the grandchildren to sleep for afternoon naps.  The bear is called "Better Bear" and is one of six that I bought after completing each chemotherapy treatment.  He was and still is something safe and reassuring to hug even in the best of times.  On the upper shelf are many prototypes of my dolls and some treasured gifts from special friends and my "mantra" on the wall above, "Dream It ... Do It" to keep me reminded that any inspiration worth doing is worth spending the time on working through the details.

My shelving is comprised of orange crates turned on end and stacked.  I started doing this in my "single" days because it was so much easier to move from one location to another and moving my studio with all the sewing accessories was easier if everything was already packed in these boxes.  Just pick them up and go and when you get where you are going, stack them up and start sewing.  I love the cozy "natural" look of these crates and it reminds me of the days when having two nickels to rub together was a good day.



A few steps away is my drawing and cutting table where I draw out my patterns and cut my fabrics which become my little characters.  If you look closely, you will see that it is a 1920-30 vintage enamel-topped kitchen table.  I fell in love with this table when I first saw it and it constantly reminds me that many a woman started to accomplish her dreams and/or start her business right from her own kitchen table.

Finally here is the sewing center with my faithful sewing machine perched atop my husband's old school desk and sweet Hermione GoodWitch sitting at the corner of the table like a site boss insuring that I will face the least amount of resistance during my sewing machine time.

Well, that's my little world!  Please know that you're welcome here anytime!  I'd love to see your favorite "creative" place.  As we say down here in southern Virginia,

"Y'all come back now!"

First Week in New Year - HELP!!! Digging out from under in the Work Area

After the mad dash of Halloween and Christmas creating, and other asundry "future" projects started since spring 2011, I find that I cannot safely pick my way into the work space I call my "studio" without stepping on some sort of remnant, stumbling into a hidden box or any other relics of my past 2011 projects.  Also to my despair, I can't seem to find even the simplest and most routinely used of my reliable sewing tools  in any place that makes sense.  Sooooo, it's time to buck up and straighten up the place.  Yuck!  but this must be done. 

Started by emptying the shambles of the crime scene with the care and determination of an experienced archaeologist focused on making sense of a ransacked Egyptian tomb ...  out with the elliptical equipment, out with the stacks of bags of "post-Christmas sale" fat quarters and "deals," out with the empty plastic lidded tubs for storage of this and that needing to be labeled and relocated.  After pushing everything cumbersome and unnecessary into the hallway, I took a deep breath and sized up the bare bones of the work area from the doorway (of course, by this time I had blocked myself into the room and had to stay put to conquer the mess).

My work table, a converted 1950-something student desk used for a sewing table was nowhere to be seen ... buried under piles of snipped and slashed remnants of tea towels, extra doll legs and feet, assorted arms and unstuffed bodies all awaiting future ETAs.      This is the most critical area where I must begin.  I did have a sewing machine in there somewhere .... So, I  start with some newly acquired banker's boxes.  Love those great old things; they keep "stuff"  in small portable nuggets of space that can be marked, lidded , removed and restaged quickly and neatly.  As I attack this crazy bedlam of remains of creative insanity, I crank up the music and wonder how my fellow artists are faring in recovering from the holiday jam sessions of incessant sewing, cutting, dashing and reeling ....

What are your reorganizing strategies and storage ideas?  I could sure use some help as I sit here  alone in a room that needs to be at least three times its size for all the supplies I need to keep on hand.  Love to hear any hints other than burning the house to the ground and starting from scratch  (believe me, as I look around me, the thought has entered my mind).

Help!!!