Before and after

I've always liked September, I find the change in the weather exciting, the return to a schedule pleasing and the energy good for new projects.

With running in and out of studio for the past 6 or more weeks, the place looked pretty wild. We would come into town with just enough time to do some laundry, re-freeze the cooler packs, shower and hit the library. That gave me about an hour each week to find enough stitching to keep me busy for 6 days.

I managed to keep the piles separate, but I never had time to return anything to its correct spot.

A significant change this September is that Phoebe is not in town. No more quick drop ins for tea or chats or for her to take a nap. I felt the studio needed a complete rearrangement of furniture to give me fresh energy as I work through this tough change. The armchair gets better overhead light now as well as nice natural light from the west window. In a fit of taking charge, I pulled the slip cover off the chair. I prefer the darker blue, but slip covers simply slip around. I'd pull and tug everything into place and one flump into the chair and it was all ruined. I'm not crazy about this orange/green but it is a beautiful upholstery job. New project some day.... buy fabric to re-upholster it.

I thought I had the tiger by the tail but then I decided to get rid of the carpet. The only reason I had it is that it keeps my toes slightly warmer than the floor in winter. Those linoleum tiles have Gold! sparkles. New project, shop around for new flooring. Most of the shelves hold the same stuff, but I hid the printer. It is so annoying, with all the wires, different types of paper and ugliness. Using the printer is never a fun thing to do.

I also moved the table and chair around. The table faces a blank wall. That's good for a few weeks, while I get my thoughts organized. My goal is to return to some abandoned writing projects and to use the table for any painting I do.

I outvoted myself and kept the carpet. New project, buy a new carpet. Preferably one that cats do not love to barf on.

The centre of the room is much more open now, plenty of room for the cat to tear through, and generally not help. She's a lot better than the previous two cats, one would gallop through and skid on any piles of fabric and commence to beat it up. The other would flop onto whatever I was working on and shed. He had hair 6 metres long and it took rolls and rolls of masking tape to de-fur anything. I had a dedicated lint brush. I do a lot of work sitting cross-legged on the floor, now there is lots of room for that and this cat can peer down from the window.

All the projects are in the right pile, with the correct threads or do-dads. Books are re-shelved, papers on the desk and cat back in the window. I am quite happy with this change, and now to confront those other ones.