Saturday stuff

Thanks for all the kind words about the studio cleanup. After I posted the pictures I was thinking it is kind of funny that these might well be the "before" pictures for some studio cleanups. My standards for my workspace are fairly low. I need to be able to find things. I need to be able to find a space in which to work. I like a certain amount of visual clutter around me—it energizes me. Threads and snips and schmutz on the floor make me tired, but are a fact of my life. I am in breathless awe of those spotless, gleaming white, light-filled studios I see, but if I had one I know I would be wanting some color and some texture around me.

I love to read designers' blogs and especially those talented young designers who have such great ideas, but a lot of their blogs depict a kind of perfection that I know is simply impossible, or they are aliens from Planet Precious. Their studios have sweet little shabby chic shelves and beautiful baskets and antique desks and chairs and one even has a chandelier in her studio. They are painted chalky pastels and have chintz curtains at multipaned windows where the sunlight pours in. Their bulletin boards, unlike my explosion-on-the-wall, are the French kind with crisscrossed grosgrain ribbon and dear little antique postcards of the Eiffel Tower tucked under the ribbon. I'm not making fun. I absolutely adore looking at these blogs. But, can you believe them? Naaaah.

This morning was a beautiful, summer Saturday morning and put me in the mood to hit some estate sales just for the fun of it. I didn't find much of interest, but in a futile search for one of the advertised estate sales I drove by a moving sale at a huge, palatial home hidden away up in the Portland West Hills. I stopped to see what kind of rummage the rich have out on their lawns. Turns out it was pretty much the same kind of junk we all have. The one thing I did spot, however, was a nice rolling office chair. We have needed another one for Ray's computer desk. He has been using a folding chair and has been known to steal my nice big comfy chair when I'm not looking. The sale chair was very comfortable and very solid and well-built, and best of all, priced at $5. I decided on the spot I would give Ray my big comfy chair and take this smaller one home for myself. The only downside was that it was quite relentlessly BEIGE.

When I figured out I could take it apart and quite easily recover the upholstered parts I searched my fabric stash and found a piece of awning-striped denim I picked up from the remnant box awhile back. It seemed perfect to liven up the chair and I still have enough left to make the tote bag I originally bought it for.

Isn't it just—well "divine" isn't a word I use, but if I did I'd call this divine. You can't have much more fun on a Saturday for $5 than this.

For anonymous, who left the comment on the studio yesterday—If you look to the right, up at the top near my picture you will see "view my complete profile". Click on that and on that page is a link to my email address. That is an excellent way to get in touch with me. Then go back to the blog page and scroll down below the long list of "favorite places" in the sidebar to "other links" and click on "my fusing method tutorial". Click on that and it will take you to a post that shows how I use the lightbox for my work. Thanks for stopping by!