Room of Requirement Day 5

I had a few busy days since my last post. I might have been in the studio for a short time, but nothing worth writing about. Today I had a couple hours so I went in. Two year old Aliza was fast on my heels. Four year old Hazel wandered in after a bit. Aliza had to see my thread cabinet and look at all the pretty colors, so naturally Hazel had to see, too. That was fun, even though it wasn’t productive, but who cares, right?

I decided to tackle this wall. Lots of clutter and stuff. Thankfully the library card catalog was already packed, so today I started packing a lot of the surface stuff, which went in boxes with medium size objects from other parts of the room, some of my special organizing Tupperware, and other odds and ends.

The granddaughters were a big help when it came time to take the ribbons off the walls. I climbed up on my tables and handed them down to Aliza who was standing on a step-stool, and she handed them to Hazel who put them in a box. Both girls were pretty fascinated by them. Somehow they knew they were awards. I’m sure they didn’t really understand what that was all about, but they had fun picking out their favorite colors and the ones they thought were prettiest. I had one handmade ribbon that was a quilted star stitched with metallic threads. Aliza kept saying, “It makes my eyes bright!” She said the same thing about the sparkly thread that we found in my thread cabinet. So cute! After seeing how much they liked the ribbons, I think I’m going to have to create a couple special, glittery awards for them, too.

Next I moved on to packing up all those rolls that were tucked away in the corner next to my worktable. I had forgotten about most of that stuff! Some of it was oilcloth that I use for tablecloths. I love that stuff because it stands up to anything the kiddos dish out. I also had rolls of interfacing and fusible webbing, different papers, a roll of clear film, batting, and all sorts of other things that can be rolled up. I don’t even remember why I have some of that! I did come across a few big and long, heavy-duty, plastic bags from a shipping company which are intended for shipping skis or golf bags. That worked perfectly to contain all those rolls so they can be moved easily and safely. I used one bag for all the rolls and another bag for my custom pressing table, my ironing board, and a couple of easels. I have one more bag that I think I will be able use to roll up my big rotary mat and keep it contained.

Little by little, all this stuff is getting squirreled away. I’m very thankful that my son-in-law’s mother lives a few miles away and she has a big empty basement, so last Sunday my two son-in-laws loaded up (dare I say it?) 53 boxes (yes, he had to count them!!!) and a bunch of other stuff and safely stored it all in her basement. I think they’re going to need to make another trip, but not as many boxes this time! I’m not quite finished yet, but at least I’m getting towards the end of this. Of course, we still need to get the other half of the room packed, but at least very little of that stuff is mine!