Making a Nest

There's been a lot of talk on the quiltart list about tidying up, reorganizing, cleaning out the stash, etc. This might explain why, even though I was exhausted Saturday night after sweating and selling glass all day, all I could think and dream about was cleaning my craft room. I got up early Sunday and proceeded to do just that. But it wasn't just cleaning the room needed, since I was out of space. I needed more shelves, better organization, more places to put my STUFF. And as you can see, I have a ton of stuff.

All of my glass supplies have always been in the garage, which is now my workshop (even though my DP occasionally still MISTAKES it for a garage and stores bug killer there, or plugs her electric edger in, or uses the compressor to air up a tire. I'm a patient person, so I try not to complain. Plus, she doesn't say a word when I haul home more glass, fabric, paints, and books, so it seems like an even trade).

The one area of glass-making that managed to make it into my craft room has been the torch, because I thought I could get away with running that in the house, and thus getting the benefit of air conditioning while working inches away from a flame hot enough to melt glass. My lovely DP built me the big, beautiful, tiled table for the torch and my lampworking supplies. Unfortunately, my torch uses a mixture of oxygen and propane, and I could always smell propane in the house after lampworking. I've decided to relocate it to the glass workshop (once I clean and reorganize and make enough space for it out there; gosh, does it ever end?). The good news is, this frees up my big beautiful table for all sorts of other projects. The only other workspace in the room is the countertop-desk against the wall (which my lovely DP also built), and it's typically buried under piles of paper, paints, brushes, and other crafty stuff.

Now, I know seasoned quilters are thinking, "but where's all the fabric?" Well, remember, I've only been quilting for a couple of months now. I only have 50 or so fat quarters, and another 15 or 20 yards of assorted batiks, backing fabrics, and painted whole cloths. Those are all stuffed in the little 4-drawer plastic chests. It's not a long-term solution, of course, because I already know that in another few months I'll have fabric piled and stacked and stashed everywhere. But it works for now, and it gives my lovely DH the comforting impression that I'm not going nuts buying fabric I might not use for years (if ever). I like to be considerate and provide her with a little hope, especially when she starts eyeing all my stuff and I begin to see the dollar signs whirling in the little calculator in her head as she ponders how we'll live when we're old and broke. I like to remind her at those times that even if we have to eat cat food, at least it will be served on beautiful fused-glass dinnerware, atop fabulous quilted placemats. For some reason, that doesn't seem to reassure her.

At any rate, it may not look as if my craft room is clean, but I can see the floor and two work surfaces. That's beyond clean--it's close to miraculous. Oh, and don't worry--I don't have to make space for the sewing machine in this room. We weren't using the dining room anyway . . . and if occasionally my DP gets confused and tries to eat in there, I'll pull out the fused-glass dinnerware and the quilted placemats, and I won't say a word.