Living Space

 I finished hand quilting this table runner before shifting things around in the house again. The dining room table has gone back to the dining room and my work table is serving as a desk. The sofa is back too. Things change around here to suit the projects that I'm working on.

 We still like doing the computer work on the big TV but it helps having a 19 inch monitor next to the desk as well because we're often working on several projects at once.

 I'm re-working a few furniture pieces and that blue painting in the living room while I get things sorted out and set up to use the dining room as studio space again. A lot of this is seasonal and has to do with making the most of the windows and natural light available. My friends say that they never see the place the same way twice and they're probably right. I'm too "into" my projects to notice.

This little stand had a lot of paper cut outs and things on it along with all that paint. I'm in the process of removing all of that and coming at it with a new approach. No idea for a theme or anything yet but I'm really enjoying the work. Sometimes destroying a piece can be a very intense process-it helps you relax and think. Often the re-imagined piece is better than the first attempt ever was.

Making it big

Well, as you can see this painting is taking up a good share of my living room and my table so I've had to set the painting aside at this point and move on to some other projects. Just now the painting stands in the doorway between the living room and dining room and I'm folding a load of laundry on the table which of course is a lot easier on the back than tossing it on the bed or the sofa.

People are a bit startled to find the dining room table in the living room but everyone agrees it's so much handier when we're working on things and we gain an extra window that way as well.
Thinking "outside the box" is a way of life for me and I can highly recommend it in these tough economic times when most everyone has got to find the best ways of using the things they've got to make life better, brighter and more pleasant for everyone.

Well, it looks like I'd better get some housework done before I jump back into this painting. Whatever your particular struggles are today I wish you the best and remind you to take a minute to play as well, it  changes everything.

 Don't put it off or wait till you have the perfect project or materials. Draw silly things on your paperwork, see how many ways you can fold that receipt. Make people wonder and smile. You may not be able to change the world but you can change how you feel about it.

Gardening in the dining room

I just shot this photo and will haul the planter to the table to do some pen and ink or colored pencil drawings from it and may even get out to the studio to take a crack at it with paints.