The Creativity Book: Exercise 4 - Other Space

Back in my first post about this exercise I said

Fourth, he requires whatever other space your endeavor requires. Quilting, my primary artistic medium of the moment requires a cutting table, a sewing table, fabric storage, notions storage, and a design wall. I have most of these things already and just needed to unpack them and arrange them properly. I'll keep you posted as that happens.

Well, like the comfy chair, this took some time unpacking and arranging.

First, I must wax poetic about my cutting table. It is four adjustable table legs from IKEA (which I got for FREE from my brother), attached to a 4x8 foot sheet of MDF, stabilized by a network of picture hanging wire, and covered with a cutting mat with a grid underlay from Cutting-Mats.net. It is 37 inches high, which is pretty optimal cutting height. I also use it for basting, since basting on the floor is knee torture.

My sewing table is nothing to write home about, but it's not awful. It's from IKEA and is on casters, which is convenient when I want to move my sewing machine to a different part of the room. Ergonomically a table that had a way to set the sewing machine into it so the arm was flush with the table would be ideal. I plan to save up for one of these. I think it would extend my sewing life.

My fabric storage is sufficient for the time being. I dream of Katie Pasquini Masopust's seven-tiered wired shelves with long work surfaces on top. But I don't have nearly enough fabric to justify that arrangement. Some day I dream of arranging my wee stacks of fabric by color.

My notions storage is a bit haphazard.

My design wall is minimal. The previous owner had cluttered up her gorgeously open walls with wee little shelves. I have repurposed those shelves and thus cleared off my wall. I don't have Homasote or flannel over the whole thing. But for now I'm OK with that. Also, I can only get about eight feet away from it, which I find insufficient. I'm contemplating either hanging white flannel or using mobile flannel covered Homasote to cover up the gaping closet maws with a design wall because I could get a good 20 feet away from it.

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