This is how it is

My youngest daughter has been chastising me again about my blog. She thinks it's too severely edited and doesn't reflect reality. I've told her that the people who read this want to see my creative side and if I wrote about all the other stuff that fills my days no one would visit. She insists I should be more candid - she's worried you think I have a charmed life!! She says I make everything look effortless as though fairies appear in the night and do all the work! It's true that I don't spend my days lounging in a hammock sipping cocktails and if I am wafting around the garden in a caftan it's usually only for a few minutes to take photographs. I do spend a lot of time in the office but when I escape to my workroom I'm a bit of a demon. In an effort to be real I'm going to show the organised chaos I work in. This is how I get the most stuff done in the shortest possible time!

It's only a tiny space so organisation is key. Behind me in this picture is my longarm machine. That's a monster and takes up the whole of the far end of the room but it earns its keep when exhibition deadlines loom. I'm lucky to have a number of sewing machines. They all have different functions and here you see them lined up so I can flit from one to the other. I don't even have to stand up - my chair has wheels and just scoots across the room!

I'm still making an effort to tie up lots of loose ends - you know what I mean, all those unfinished bits that only need a binding or a sleeve or a label. Why do they sit in a heap for ages when all they need is a few minutes of my time? In the picture above I'm attaching a binding to one of my Iris quilts using the straight stitch machine.

 Behind me the embroidery machine is making the label for another quilt. Once the design is loaded I only have to press the odd button or change the thread colour from time to time. I can't tell you how satisfying it is to hear two machines purring away at the same time - the best kind of multi-tasking I know!

The overlocker is kept busy as well - here's my latest jersey T shirt. It's so much easier to get stuff done if the machines are sitting there ready and waiting. I know I'm lucky to have a creative space of my own no matter how small. After many years of working at the kitchen table this little room is now my sanctuary. I feel creative just being in there!

Hope the long days of summer are lifting your spirits and encouraging your creative juices too. Bye for now - Linda