“When you’re in a little room, working on something
good…” - Task #1, Making a Mini Sewing Room
"The Master does his job and then stops. He
understands that the universe is forever out of control, and that trying to
dominate events goes against the current of the Tao. Because he believes in himself,
he doesn't try to convince others. Because he is content with himself, he
doesn't need others' approval. Because he accepts himself, the whole world
accepts him". – Ch 30 Tao Te Ching (Mitchell Translation, my emphasis)
For this project to work, I have to have my own dedicated space
- making one obviously had to be my first and, for now, ONLY step.
In the past I’ve kept my sewing machine and all materials in
the top cupboard of my wardrobe, which I can’t reach without steps. So it’s
been out of sight, out of mind. Now Little O has graduated from a cot to a bed,
and Mr O has risked breaking his neck stashing the old furniture in the loft
(thanks darling J),
our box room had an empty corner with my name on it…
I found a small, basic desk on castors in our local Oxfam.
It cost £12, so I’ve broken this task’s £10 budget already, but I’ve decided
that since it’ll be my making-stuff base for the foreseeable future, I’ll just
take £2 off my next task’s budget. (This really is about as rebellious as I get
these days so let me savour this one).
After a scrub and a polish, the desk is looking pretty
decent, even though it’s actually grey, not white like I thought when I saw it
in the shop. So there is a reason why my optician pesters me to go for
eye tests roughly every six months…
I commandeered:
- a plastic chest of drawers, which we used to use for camping, for material and wool;
- the two workboxes I already have – the blue one is for general sewing and the red one is for embroidery;
- my knitting work bag (seen under deskm where I have a feelingn it is going to get on my nerves a bit); and
- a basket from under the kitchen sink, for craft books I’ve collected over the past couple of years.
The nursing chair in the corner opposite is about 70 years old and
belonged to Mr O’s grandmother, so I’ve decided to use a folding stool we’ve
had for ages for sitting at the sewing table, as it’s a bit higher and should
hopefully make things more comfortable.
The walls around the desk are crying out for decoration. Once
the workstation was set up, I found it really hard not to start making
more stuff in a mad fabric frenzy straight away. This tendency is what I like
to call “binge crafting”, and it is the story of my creative life so far. I
start a hobby and do it to death for about a week, then languish into sheer exhaustion
for several months – much like eating
your Easter eggs all in one sitting and feeling really sick and ever so
slightly ashamed afterwards.
But this week’s task – setting up a room of my own - was
done, so. I. Actually. Just. Stopped. That was not as
easy as it sounds. But I have to start as I mean to go on. As in all things, if
I take on too much too soon, this project will be dead on its feet and what I
have done so far will just have gone to waste. And we can’t be having that!
Task Round Up
Total Cost: £12 (so sue me).
Chaos Factor:
3/10. Had to cross busy Smithdown Road
on a Saturday, embarrassingly crab-like, with the desk to get it in the van,
and then lift it over the two sets of child gates on the stairs when I got
home. Otherwise a fairly simple task of moving around some stuff I already had.
Creation Factor: 3/10. As I said, it was just moving
stuff around really so I’m not going to get cocky. The best is yet to come,
honest.
While I worked I listened to: A Trojan Records
compilation. Highlight = Liquidator by The Harry J All Stars.
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