My Work Space (aka "studio")

This is what we sometimes call "The Multi Purpose Room." I think it is the nicest room in our house, for it has all these big windows overlooking the garden, and lots and lots of natural light. It is furnished as a guest room, where family and friends stay when they come visit. When no one is visiting we use it for other purposed: as a crafts room, a music room, a quiet place to read books or an undisturbed space to work on puzzles.

 

For a while my sewing machine was set on the corner table when in use, and stewed in the closet whenever I didn't need it. A few years ago I wanted to quilt more, and so decided to look for a sewing table. I spent a lot of time looking for something that would fit into this room: it had to be the right size, but also to fit in aesthetically with the existing furniture. Most importantly, it had to have doors and look neat for the many weeks each year in which the room hosted guests.

I saw lots of metal or white, industrial-looking tables which I didn't like at all, and finally settled on the next best thing: this mid-sized Koala sewing cabinet, which I customized to fit the color of the furniture we already had. Although I have some issues with this table (it could have been so much nicer had it been made of real wood!), it mostly works. And so, the setting was perfect for those few times a year in which I actually had time to quilt.

(The above picture shows the table closed, and the room ready for guests. The picture below shows it open and ready for work).

 

When I got the Bag Bug, however, my nice arrangement didn’t work all that well anymore. The more I sewed the more things I needed: more fabric in different sizes and colors; more cottons for the lining; metal buckles, rings and rivets; buttons, closures and zippers, all in different shapes and tones. Interfacing of varying thicknesses; leather straps and cotton webbing, again in different widths and colors. And so on and so on. Within a couple of months the room looked like this:

 

Needless to say, I need a better solution. It's hard to concentrate in a messy work space, and also hard to find things. So I’ve been thinking hard about how to organize and rearrange everything so that it’ll work better. I think I have an idea, so stay tuned!

 

A Christmas Booth

It just so happened that shortly after being inflicted with the Bag Bug I landed an amazing opportunity to sell at a booth in a local Christmas Market. When the offer arrived, I only had a handful of bags and an idea to start selling some. I was quite hesitant at first--I had never done anything like this before, and didn’t feel like I had enough inventory. But friends and family urged, and finally I decided to leap in and go for it.

Participating in the (shared) booth gave me a deadline and a purpose, and most importantly--the self-legitimization to dedicate six whole weeks to full-time creativity. The dishes piled up, the laundry lay unfolded, my family ate a lot of pasta, but I had a blast, designing, matching fabrics, learning new things and sewing, sewing, sewing!

My kids weren't initially that happy with me not fulfilling their every need at all times. Towards the end of those six weeks, however, they came around, learned to appreciate me in new ways (yes, even that previously-taken-for-granted laundry service!), took on more responsibility for house work, and joined in the general effort.

The weekend before the booth, I gathered all the things I made over the previous six weeks, and set them up booth-like. This was the first time I realized how much I had actually produced, and I was quite impressed! The biggest compliment came from my daughter, who only a few short weeks before told me she wished I’d get sick of sewing, and soon. “Mom,” she said, “this is really beautiful!”.

 

How it all began

My current creative adventure began with three rescued upholstery fabrics:

One was heavy-weaved and cream-colored

the other herringbone-weaved in maroon

and the third a lightly-rippled cream-colored viscose, beautifully embroidered with flowers in black and maroon.

I brought them home one day and laid them on the dining-room table, then stared at them for a couple of weeks, unsure of what to do. They stared back until I finally understood what they were trying to say: “Make a bag out of us!” they told me, and so I did.

No sooner had the last stitch been put, and my daughter ran in claiming the bag for herself. She immediately made it her school bag, attracting many compliments from admiring friends. Soon my other daughter asked for one, too. I made another one, and it, too, was much loved. And that was all it took. I got the bag bug.