Taming the Tangle

Heading upstairs for the evening meal

Had a beautiful sight coming up the stairs from the kitchen... my iPhone doesn't want to capture the glorious sunset, yet I think this view is lovely all the same with Mark Orr's crow silhouetted.

Out of sight means peace of mind

Did I tell you I moved from Fairy Cottage to Hobbit House? It happened in a bit of a flurry after moving my mom into a care facility and before Thanksgiving, so needless to say it was a hectic time in my life and that's why you didn't hear from me much (hopefully you follow Kathy Frey: sculptural wire jewelry on Facebook so you could keep your finger on the pulse). I am so in love with Hobbit House, and as it comes together I will share more with you because there are some incredible things here. And I'm right in town, so I'll share that with you too. For now here's a sneak peek of me looking out of my third floor studio window (before my house got painted... I do love the rustic Grizzly Adams look) on one of our gloriously sunny winter days.

As you might guess, my studio is an interesting shape since it's the crow's nest. There's definitely a good amount of room for storage where the peaked roof meets the floor, yet that's way too much visual clutter for me to have in my studio.

You can see how it's the perfect place for suitcases, summer clothes, random display pieces, sewing machine, Halloween costumes, and some other embarrasing stashes of things that I haven't dealt with (I am working on it, though). I had a concept for hanging drapes and luckily had a friend drop by during my planning phases so we could work out logistics together. The space in general is still being organized/tweaked/rearranged as it gets used, but check out this improvement:

Love this fabric score from Ben Franklin's discount area... there was just enough with about 7" to spare to cover this 13' section, oh lucky day. For the curtain rod, I simply coupled together sections of copper pipe and suspended it all from brass cup hooks. I sewed the fabric in section so that I can still easily access the storage area.

The space has evolved more since this photo from last week (there are way fewer piles in the middle of the floor), so I'll have to update to get your feedback on the progression.