Hello, 2013!

First of all, I must learn to use the “3″ key when I type the date.  Next, I must get my studio in order so I can enjoy the space.  In May, I will have friends visiting, and if I start working now, this very instant, I have a chance of Studio 508 being an orderly place to visit.

The Adorables share the space.  Near the door, beside the drafting table, Bethy uses the small desk my son used as a child, which was the desk I and my sisters used when we were little girls.  She is so tall that, at six, she has to scrunch up to get her legs under it, so I am thinking about a change in the studio to accommodate this legginess.  Ethan, however, is not one to sit at a desk.  The floor is his realm, and I try to keep a space large enough for him to pull out long sheets of paper and devise race courses for his vehicles.  And for me?  Tables and bookcases and a wonderful drafting table by the window.

My only resolution for 2013 is to get in touch with my Inner Bohemian.  The first step in this project of discovery was a lovely session of curtain-making for Studio 508.  The five tall windows at front have half-curtains to keep out the winter sun, which can be fierce, as the orientation is to the south.  This, despite the trees.  Now, every window is covered differently.  I could not be happier!  I’ve re-claimed some vintage linens for three hangings, used some rather funky fabric for the others.  The two small windows overlooking the garden to the side are also covered now (the scrim I originally used was no match for the outpouring of western sunlight), though the door is still bare.  As it is metal, I need to use a magnetized rod, or set of rods.  This problem-solving is for another time.
I am in the process of completely re-arranging the tables, so my embroidery table will be on the opposite side of the room this year.  The occasional shake-up is good for the soul— it makes me see things differently, respond to the change in light, make less automatic motions and more deliberate choices.

The distance between the kitchen door and the studio is a (grey) twenty-six steps, now, but in a few months it will be a journey of thirty, forty, maybe more steps, because there will be so much to examine with the coming bulbs and perennials (and sun).  The walk between the two buildings was a dense pink line of begonias last year, but I am going to think seriously about a permanent planting this year, something so that my Head Gardener does not have to get down and dig anew for me every spring.  The constant recreating the wheel becomes more difficult as we age.

So many plans come to mind in those twenty six steps each day!

But for now, I am in grubbies and headed out to re-organize and re-shape the working spaces in my home away from home.  This will take a long, interesting time because I see something and suddenly sit down and read or add stitches or look for that small piece of fabric I remember putting somewhere last month.  And a package arrived yesterday from Fiber On A Whim yesterday that I will have to play with just a little little bit before I begin to move the thread boxes.  Charles looks at me sometimes and wonders why there is always a project brewing, but I believe it is the projects that keep me moving and glad to wake up each morning.
Good Stitching, friends!