Regular readers of the blog will know that every now and then I enjoy a bit of organisation, usually spurred by procrastination. Previously, I have read Marie Kondo’s book about how your belongings should “Spark Joy” and I have briefly folded my clothes accordingly until I can’t be bothered anymore. The problem is that I have a reasonably capacious old house and a love of junk shops, and if I am honest, could be a bit of a hoarder.
The term “Swedish Death Cleaning” has piqued my interest – the idea that you should start clearing out your belongings before you die so your children don’t have to. I have no intention of shuffling off my mortal coil just yet but I do have far too much stuff. Freya will soon be bringing all her worldly goods here as she is being evicted from her Glasgow flat and has not found new digs yet. That means this house will have 3 pianos!
This week I made some space for storage in the summerhouse which is reasonably dry except for the corners. I finally got rid of the Raeburn cooker after a bit of a palaver with a Man and a Van involving car jacks and wooden pallets. I have sold some hair clippers, rustic apple crates and a badge making kit on Facebook Marketplace but this is not even skimming the surface. My plan is to start with the easy stuff that I have not touched for ages but ultimately the kids will have to muck in and they seem to be even more sentimental about “stuff” than I am. I can either sell a surplus piano or two, losing money, or accept that they will have to be stored here until my children get their own houses. Which may be never, according to the latest gloomy news about the property market in the UK.
One of my biggest problems is obviously quilts – many are getting foosty in one of my damp cupboards. A coracle hangs in my workshop and a 12 totem henge gathers dust on shelves. I have many, many boxes for sewing machines that I have to keep in case they have to be couriered somewhere. I have been ruthless before, occasionally ditching something that I come to regret but I can hardly move in my workshop and I am sure it is blocking my creativity.
It has been an admin heavy week, apart from a customer quilt that looks 3D if you stand far enough back.
It was really nice to meet a friend on Friday and go for a photography wander around Hazlehead Park in Aberdeen. I have a cute new second-hand Pentax with interchangeable lenses and far too many clever settings for me. I just kept it on Auto and hoped for the best. I have also been working on projects in Art and Stitch, not necessarily according to the manual. I think I lack the patience required to become a digitiser but as a teacher I have to know how it all works and it is not exactly straightforward.
I am weeks behind on a Quiltalong that I signed up for – the Tula Pink Butterfly quilt. I decided to go by the book and use the same rulers as the group leader but there was a debacle about their delivery and Creative Grids wanted to charge an additional £30.00 for postage. I re-ordered them elsewhere but they still have not appeared. I could crack on without the special rulers but that defeats the point of ordering them. I will just have to fill my time with decluttering…
thequiltquine 