Summer … don’t go yet!

Do you feel like that some days? I noticed a few nights ago that the days are getting shorter. I was working on my small table in the living room and all of a sudden I needed to turn a light on. I thought: “Oh wow! It’s that late already?” – thinking it was around 11:00 p.m. But sadly, nope. It was just a bit over 9:00 p.m. That’s when I noticed that the days are getting shorter, which means that Fall is on its way. Another clue? The fact that there’s Halloween stuff in the stores! And it’s not even September yet! I had to think about that for a minute or two … isn’t Halloween in October? Why is Halloween stuff in the store already? I know what’s going to happen. Do you? As soon as Halloween approaches, Christmas stuff is going to appear in stores … sigh …

But I’m not ready to let go of Summer yet. I am happy that it hasn’t been overly hot here in Calgary. Not like last year. Which means there’s a cool breeze at night that allows me to sleep with the window open and a light cover. Bliss!

Summer is also when we take time to relax and rest; recharge and plan for the months ahead when it gets cold and there’s a need to stay inside and hunker down. If you’ve been following along, you may have noticed that this summer, for me, is “Cleaning time!” with a capital “C”. Yup! It’s time. And I’m excited.

I have plans, you see? Interesting how things happen. I decided to clean up my stash and I donated a lot of it to Ujamaa Grandmas in early May, but more needed to be done. So a little bit at a time, day by day, I’ve been clearing out fabrics, threads, notions, rulers, magazines, etc. etc. to hold a Studio Sale the first Saturday in September. Yup! Day is set. No going back! :)

And being downstairs in my basement cleaning stuff made me feel better, lighter, happier. On Friday, I went through a pile of quilts, and took around 45 out to sell and donate. Plus painted and quilted pillows, monoprinted fabrics, and so much more.

So why now? Because it’s time. The state of my very very very messy basement has been a constant in my mind for the past few years. It used to be set up for teaching classes, but a few years back when I renovated my home, everything went there and got piled up and messy and well, it became a dumping place of sorts: Don’t know what to do with it? Take it to the basement. I need to do something with it? Put it in the basement. Got a bag of stuff? Off to the basement until I decide what to do with it. And that seems to never happen.

It’s heavy. It weights on my mind. Every. Single. Time. I go downstairs to do something which doesn’t happen often because … it weights on my mind – then I avoid going downstairs – denial is a powerful thing. If I don’t see it, I don’t have to deal with it, right? Or “out of sight out of mind?” But, let me tell you, it’s heavy.

2023 is the year for it. I want to build 2 units on one of the walls to store quilts and class samples, books, and lots of stuff. I called my contractor and he’s coming in a few weeks to look at the place and talk things through. But on Wednesday I had a revelation. I was working on a new project and all of a sudden, a thought popped in my mind. I stopped and turned the computer on and went looking. Yes!!!! I ran downstairs and took measurements. Mmmhhhh ….. a bit of a problem with the window frame? Can I deal with it? And yes! The solution was right there.

Hah! As I said, I have a plan. 2 PAX systems from IKEA would be perfect for what I need. One on each side of the window. Drawers, pull out trays for class projects and small projects, shelves and even a pull out pants hanger for smaller quilts. And then, in between those two, a built in rack to hold the larger quilts. Not the cheapest solution, but I think it’ll be less expensive than custom building them. We’ll see …

Now I feel better, lighter, more energized. In time, my basement will go back to being even better than what it used to be. I will be able to hold small groups for classes once again and teach things that I cannot teach in my studio: like fabric dyeing, and messy stuff. Or maybe it’ll turn out to be a place for friends to hang out and stitch. It’ll take a while, but the vision is there. And today, I’m one step closer …

So Summer, don’t go yet. I need you to hang around a bit longer. Don’t be in such a rush to be done. I’m off to clean and sort and make an even bigger mess. Until I write again, keep enjoying the warm days and by all means, keep making wonderful stuff.

Ana