Anyone besides me get fooled into thinking spring was here? Yes, I thought so… While sitting in my sewing room last week, amongst yet another dreary day that was supposed to be a “spring” day, I noticed how dirty the windows had become. It’s not that I’d not noticed, it’s that the weather has been so nasty it didn’t seem important to clean them just to have the wind blow more dirt and snow to mess them up again. Saturday was so beautiful that it finally bothered me enough to do something about it. It’s a big undertaking since my sewing furniture at least partly sits in front of each window. I’m very fortunate that my sewing room is the “dining room” of our home. It’s Kismet (I think) how this came to be. Wanna hear it?
When we built our home 19 years ago, we had no dining room furniture. We moved in one month to the day before our oldest child was born. Mostly the dining room sat empty. Slowly the room was used for the baby swing and playpen, but still mostly sat empty. That’s when I learned to quilt. I’d always sewn, my mom taught me when I was young. I pulled out my sewing machine and put it on a small table. I didn’t sew a lot, but I could leave it out because we basically didn’t use the room. Then came child #2, more swinging and playpen usage, but slowly our son outgrew the swing and the playpen. I was a stay-at-home-mom, so I spent almost every day at home with two toddlers. When they took naps, I sewed. When they went to bed I sewed, get the idea?
Slowly, but very surely the “dining room” became my sewing room. We had a third child, don’t remember if there was room in there for the swing by then! The room is open to the whole house so I could be in the middle of everything going on with our kids. Play time, T.V., playing outdoors, in the kitchen, pretty much everywhere.
Our oldest is now in college and our youngest is 13. I’ve toyed with the idea of moving my sewing room to the basement. On some levels it makes sense. The unsightliness of my creativity would be much less noticed by those who stop in. But face it, we live in the country. No one “stops in.” Even more, who cares??? The basement is chilly, and removed, not to mention has very few windows; translated a dungeon compared to my sewing room now.
I love my sewing room for all the lovely huge windows with which I have a great view of the sunny world at least today. I can see who drives by, my mail carrier (how is it that some days I get my mail by 11:48 in the morning and some days it’s after 4 in the afternoon?), I can see & sometimes hear birds and when we don’t have weather advisories out I can see our across-the-way-neighbor’s huge, beautiful American flag, day or night! Inside, my sewing room is just off the kitchen. I can stir food in between writing pages of my newest pattern, or between the seams I sew. I can see the bus drop off the kids in the afternoon. I can hear what’s on T.V. in the next room, and oversee who’s on the internet, yes I’m always watching! I’m part of the family.
It makes me smile to see my windows sparkle!
While I iron I can see the sun shine!
While I sew I can see the sun shine!
While I cut & design I can see the sunny day outside!
And now I can see it more clearly… Even if it’s not so warm out, you know spring-like???
I know spring showers are on their way, but my sewing room windows are tucked under our front porch, so they’re usually protected from the rain unless the wind is really blowing. And since we have storm windows, I only have to re-clean the outside layer of windows when it does that.
Now I’m going to get back to sewing and enjoying the sunny day that I can see from inside my sewing room.
Until next time,
Susan
Quilting my way through life! 