Spring Cleaning

I finally gave my studio the clean-up and makeover that were long, long overdue. I'd been getting to the point where I was buying tools I already had because I couldn't find the one I originally bought. Nothing was organized--one table was supposed to be the painting or "wet" table and the other was supposed to be dedicated to sewing. But stuff was strewn everywhere--bits of paper and beads on the sewing table, heaps of thread and scraps on fabric on the paint table. It was utter chaos. 

I'm not one to spend a lot of time cleaning and organizing my space (obviously). I just figure that I have a limited number of hours to live and I'm not going to regret that I didn't spend more of them tidying up my space. But you get to the point where the blasé attitude towards housekeeping becomes a thorny, weedy patch you have to machete through each time you want to work and it's not making you happy nor are you getting anything done. Plus you just feel defeated by the mess and that's hardly inspiring. All that stuff I just said is obvious. I mean, I know it. But it never seemed to be enough to inspire me to do anything about the mess.

Then.... I bought a new sewing machine! It was an impulse purchase (yes, an impulse purchase in the 100s of $). I'd gone to the Lancaster Quilt Show and at one point just needed to sit down and sort through my black hole of a bag for my camera. I asked if I could sit in a chair that I then realized was for people who were trying out sewing machines--it was actually a vendor's area. 

Oh my, was that saleswoman ever smooth, without being slick. She was an expert. And it didn't hurt that she had a Wisconsin accent! So one thing led to another and I bought a Small portable Lotus machine by Elna. My old machine was a college graduation present--a Sears Kenmore I'd had for more than 30 years. It has served me well, but it was time to upgrade. Setting up the lotus in my studio would be like parking a Lamborghini in an outhouse. So I got busy.