Craft Corner

A glimpse. This is a little bit of my corner of the basement. It is in desperate need of adjustment. I have not been working in this space for quite some time. So long that on the floor there are several thousand Lego pieces scattered around which made getting these pictures quite a task. The girls have taken to acquire that much needed floor space with their Lego villages leaving me to tip toe around their dangerous to adult feet set-up. This will be remedied very soon. With the warm summer days ahead taking a break from the heat will be an everyday event and this little corner is where I want to be. Well, of course, besides the pool. One thing I know is I have to find a decent table. Sturdy and not too big. It will be where I place my serger and second (fancy) sewing machine. Currently they rest on the floor underneath that antique sideboard. Not convenient in any way. Which  is why they sit there unused until I can get them to a surface that is capable of bearing their weight. Finding a table is far more difficult than you think it will be. I have checked some thrift stores but there just is nothing I really like. Not yet. I'm thinking this will take a while. I might just need to adjust my expectations a bit. Where I'm thinking table the reality is a simple flat-topped desk because what ever I need it has to be comfortable for a standard chair. A desk is more slim in its footprint whereas tables, large dining tables, are very easy to find.

Besides needing to find a reasonable place to put those machines I still have to solve the problem of stuff. At first I wanted this corner to be mine. And it was for a little while. No matter what I do or think I still can't ignore that there are at least 2 other gals who like to craft living in this house. That is a good thing. So what I had in mind previously is just not going to do any longer. This space, this small corner of our home, has to be for all us girls. We girls, (I love this phrase that Leah used to say oh so many times as a littler girl) love to make things, and need a little area for all of us to create things. My thoughts now are of making this space work for all three, and eventually four counting baby, where we can access supplies and have space to use those items. I would love to have a good table for a work space for all of us girls. It would be nice to have something large enough for Leah and Olivia to sit and draw or paint or make collages, plus a booster seat for Adelynn to bang around with toys. The floor is just not working out. Those big girls love to create but we do not have a good location for them to spread out those pipe cleaners, glue, paper, stickers and stamps to make anything. They love to make things and have spent hours doing so when we used the kitchen for our craft room. Overall I envision a family workspace. Someplace where school projects and hobbies (even Legos) can happen.

Storage is my issue at the moment. I have countless sewing and crafting supplies that have been boxed up and crammed in the storage room. Highly inconvenient for usage. As a result I often find myself giving up on the project or trying to find a replacement with what I can grab. Ease is imperative with a baby. I need to have those supplies in a location that is easy enough for me to get to without having to move 3 large boxes just to get to the box I think that stuff might be in. What I imagine is some shelves with containers of all those supplies: knitting, sewing/quilting, painting, drawing, paper, stamps, glue/tape, beading, craft odds 'n ends, etc. There is quite a large amount of things to organize. I was doing well until I gained a bunch of stuff and then took a major crafting break during pregnancy. That break has put me in a pickle of a situation. That time away although not long, it was paired with much indifference to placement. I began stacking up things here and there and before long it just got wacky in that corner. Now is the time to start correcting that behavior.

My first step is going to take some time. I have to sort all those inherited sewing/craft supplies into their proper category. This is the best way for me to determine the type of storage containers I'll need to place all that stuff. From that point I'll be in good shape for re-organizing the rest of my mess. Ideally it will go smoothly and speedily which is what I hope so that I can start working on things sooner than later. But before any of that I need to re-claim my corner floorspace from all those Legos. Time to evict those Lego people from my space.