2016 Year-End Wrap-Up

In 2015, I followed the lead of NanaCathy and had a structured list of goals, “15 in ’15.”  I enjoyed that structure and got a lot done, but in 2016, I never made a specific list of goals.  As the year went by, it certainly felt like I was accomplishing less.

I finished fewer quilts in 2016, but I put together a lot of blocks.  I went on the same number of fiber field trips, and I watched the same amount of online quilt class videos.

The quintessential yarn shop -- teaching, browsing, reading, and chatting going on in one bright colorful space.

The quintessential yarn shop — teaching, browsing, reading, and chatting going on in one bright colorful space.

There were two big differences — one was that I finally worked with chemical dyes instead of natural dyes, and the other was that I did not do any weaving at all!

There were good reasons I couldn’t get around to crafts much this year — we did a one-month project of replacing our deck, then we had a tree fall on the house, and then for two months, we had a fourth of our house torn up, as we totally redid the laundry area and bathroom.

As I have said before, my husband’s parents built this house themselves, and it was meant to be a weekend place with lots of visitors.  So when we moved in full-time, we needed to make some changes.  We had put off fixing up the bathroom and laundry area for seven years because 1) we knew it would be a big job, and 2) we just couldn’t decide on the best arrangement.  The house was built second-story first, on big piers.  The internal walls are not load-bearing, so they could be moved around, but plumbing and electric were in place and we didn’t really want to move them.

Here is the floor plan as it has been since we moved in.  Initially there were two small bedrooms, a two-part bathroom, and a hallway.  We used one bedroom as a closet and laundry area.

The red squares show the supporting piers, that cause each room to have little bump-outs in the corners.  I did not draw the doors in the diagram, but you can see they would have contributed to a loss of usable space.

The "before" diagram.

The “before” diagram.

The "after" diagram. We reduced the number of wall and doors.

The “after” diagram. We reduced the number of wall and doors, and turned the bathroom 90 degrees.

While we hemmed and hawed over possible plans, we made do with random “temporary” shelving units.  For seven years.

Before, looking from the kitchen into the closet room.

Before, looking from the kitchen into the closet room.

The bones of the room.

The bones of the room.

It may be odd to have bookshelves in a closet, but they fit nicely.

Now, bookshelves in the closet! I could do laundry, or I could sit and peruse Hollywood Sketchbook.

My father-in-law really loved paneling.  This wall had three different kinds!

Before, looking from the closet room back into the kitchen.

Before, looking from the closet room back into the kitchen.

After, all the appliances on one wall, and actual cabinets above them.

After, all the appliances on one wall, and actual cabinets above them. And sheetrock, painted my favorite color.

Before, a hallway with a lot of doors.

Before, a hallway with a lot of doors.

After, the bathroom has been turned 90 degrees, and there is no hallway.

After, the bathroom has been turned 90 degrees, and there is no hallway. (We have since added the trim around the second door.)

Originally, I thought I would put pantry shelves all along that plain blue wall.  But I love looking at it so much, that I have just re-used the old shelves, and tucked them in a little niche.

Pantry area, built into the space between piers, that previously was just walled up.

Pantry area, built into the space between piers, that previously was just walled up.

The best part of the whole re-do is that now I know exactly how much space is available to use.  Since we live about 16 miles from a store, I usually go just once a month and get enough food to last a while.  Also I keep natural dye materials in the freezer, and I put up pears and jellies, so I keep more things on hand than most people do.  But we decided that if we can’t fit everything in the storage areas we have now, we will get rid of things until we can.

Now that I will be so organized, I should have lots more time for textile crafts in 2017!

Category : Home on the Range, Interior Decorating
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