Guarding My Space
 

Most of us consider having a place of our own to sew and create, priceless. It didn't help that both myself and DH are packrats, but every so often I purge. He's never heard of the concept.
I had carved out a spot in the basement a couple of years ago, among the moving boxes that were not needed and never unpacked. But when he started moving into MY space with his wine and beer making (granted its ALL delicious) I knew I had to do something Drastic. The only argument I could come up with that made him see what was happening was asking him "if he were a customer bringing me a quilt to finish, would they feel confident leaving it in the rat's nest my sewing/quilting space had become!" That did it!
We sent off 50+ boxes of books to the library sale, bags to charity and even emptied, cleaned and moved the freezer. It took almost month, but I can see the finish line. Now I have twice as much room and he has a dedicated spot to brew and bottle! But I need to rest before I can start creating again!!!!
Mary Katherine

I am jealous ! I wish I had a work space like yours. Very nice!

Wow - what a difference!

Love your new space and it is so organized. I just covered insulation board with flannel backed vinyl, flannel side out, and turned it into a design wall. Brightens the space, reflects light and is great when designing a quilt. And they are inexpensive and easy to cut to size. In my case, it was concrete block walls, so mine just lean against the wall. works great. :o

I do have 6 sheets of Dry wall in the garage. Hope to get them up before we put the car back in for the winter. 2 walls were finished 2 years ago. That's as far as I got. And I have a 4x8 sheet of plywood (curtsey a neighbor) that I'll drop over the banquet table.
MK

Wow, you have been busy! It's looking great. Fantastic hobbies the two of you have - making quilts and wine... Woo hoo, how lucky are your friends and family, lol!

Gee, in the first pic I didn't even notice there were windows! Place looks great. Good for you guys. I'm not judging anyone, but as for me - I can't stand clutter. Makes me nervous and unproductive.

What a big difference. Good for you and hubby too. Thank you for sharing.

Wow .. I am tired just looking at all the work you did! Such wonderful results!

Love your space. I know how it is. I have pack rat genes in me and I can't help it. There are times my sewing room gets horrid and after a while I stop and tear into it. It makes it so much better. You have a lovely workspace now. Get to creating!!! lol

Way to go! Looks great.

Your room now looks like you could do something creative. Good for you, my Husband only works outside on the weekends for a hobby. Good thing too, there would not be any space for him inside our small house.

Congrats on finding more space for the both of you! :)

Looks awesome!!!!

Good for you, he obviously did not realise what your space means to you. Now you both have your own spaces,

Great job with the purging. Looks like you can get busy sewing now.

That's a pretty awesome transformation! Great work! Now get your rest, then get busy, Gal!

Wish I had your space! Looks good.

Wow, what a difference. I wondered how you got to your sewing space when I saw the first picture. I think we could all purge every so often. From a firefighter's perspective, it's always a good idea to have an organized basement with as little storage as possible, basement fires are so hard to fight because they are difficult to vent, keeps the heat and fire contained, "chimneys" up stairs and easily weakens the floor above. So pat yourself on the back, job well done!

Great working area.

Beautiful space you'll be done into time.

Holy cow, the difference! That's a lot of work and a lot of decisions on what to keep and what to get rid of. I believe you will think much clearer down in that space now that it is decluttered. Enjoy!! Plus, you've given me some inspiration to get rid of a few things.

On my studded wall of basement I put up pegboard....holds tons of things...rulers, templates, patterns all hanging up nicely so I can see them.

You have done a lot of work but I know you will so enjoy the cleaner environment for creating in. Get your well deserved rest and then I look forward to seeing what you will be creating!

You have a great space now and I am sew jealous. I have to wait on my space to put up my long arm, and it is just sitting there in boxes, crying to get out. I still have one side of the room to finish and it will all go together with a lovely painted floor

It looks great!

Congratulations on finding a way to impress upon DH that he had crossed that line. Great job, I know it couldn't have been easy and had to be frustrating. I am very impressed with the organization you came up with, and wish I could have done that when I still had a sewing room that DS, DD and DH all felt was their "dumping ground". I purged a lot when we down sized to a 2-bedroom apt., but DS and DH expected more, however, I drew a line in the sand telling them I wasn't willing to give up any more. I'm glad I did - I make far fewer trips to JoAnn's, make fewer purchases and have been making quilts from my stash - one stop shopping at home.

Looks great!!

A lot of hard work - but so worth it! Great space!

Love your space! You all did a great job cleaning out and organinzing.

You both win!

Your first photo looks very familiar to me.

What a difference...and oh, how jealous I am! I have space but it is not half so nice!

Well done, you will enjoy the newly found space :-)

I plan on doing just what you did one day but life keeps getting in the way. In the meantime I'll dream of an organized space. Congratulations to you .... it's a great looking space!

Your pictures are inspiring. Maybe there's hope for my basement after all.

I love your Space!! I wish I had a space like that. Thanks for sharing!

Great clean up. A clean place is so pretty but mine never stays that way for long.