No, he was filling available space, it was an empty dark corner with a wicker dog basket in front of it that covered most of the front and he had some large shoe boxes stacked on top of the case. We have been going through closets and reorganizing things for the past year and we do have stored things in places.
So yeah, I feel bad that I didn't notice or sweep that corner but at least it had only been weeks/months and not years!
When we were at my cousin's, I had been intent on dealing with the machine in front of me and this one just didn't penetrate my brain. I have a rule that if I bring something into the house, like I am now with my sewing table and the hand crank, that something has to go out. Lots of stuff going out, most of which has been earmarked for a long time but now is the motivation.