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.
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 “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.
The bones of the room.
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.
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.
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.
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!
My goodness that was a huge project . Hoping you get lots of fabric time in 2017.
Thank you, that is a lovely wish! You inspired me this year too but you will have to wait until my next post to find out more….
Looks like a big job but with great results. No wonder your year was less crafty than usual! I’ve been reviewing my year, too, wondering why it seemed so disjointed. Turns out it was! Here’s to a smoother go in 2017.
Now that you have more time – there are two things you can do:
1-make of list of goals for 2017 with priorities put in
2-make a schedule of what you will do when
You don't have to stick to this (and things happen as you know), but it will help you to accomplish things. Wish I had done this more, but it is what it is.
Susannah Worth, Ph.D. (Textiles)
Sent: Monday, January 02, 2017 at 10:24 PM
That is a great idea. And that is how we are structuring our year, as far as project and travel plans. I think I will be loosy-goosy on textile crafts though, since for me they are a hobby. Thanks for commenting! 🙂
I’m surprised you were creative at all, around the mess and angst that comes with remodeling! It looks like the new arrangement is going to be a lot more livable. I’ll be looking forward to all your crafting (esp. weaving?) in 2017!
I could even squeeze my big loom into the house now! But I am just going to enjoy the emptiness for a while. 🙂
You are more creative than you thought. All that is a very big undertaking, I am so impressed. It is beautiful.
Thank you! I am very relieved that we finally tackled the project. It was like knowing we needed to have a root canal — awful to look forward to, but great when it is over! 🙂
Your rearrangement of your living space reminds me of a quilt in progress. You knew what wasn’t working, but it took a while to find the right solutions. Having that paneling gone really makes a huge difference. I love houses set up to suit the way people actually live, as compared to the photo shoot ones. I look forward to seeing what you create in 2017.
Yes, it’s a really odd solution, having an L-shaped room with open laundry and closet areas instead of having that stuff behind doors. But we don’t have to worry about resale value, and it works for us. And you are right, reducing the amount of paneling is wonderful, it lightens up the whole house!
[J+D] We understand ENTIRELY! Oh yes indeed! It’s so difficult to settle to creative work when the house is in disarray or a big project is hanging over you. May your 2017 be happy, healthy and productive!
Thank you, yours too!
What a terrific remodel. Everything looks so clean and spacious and efficient. I’m glad you were able to paint in your favorite color, lightening up the whole space in the process.
And I have kept it pretty clean — mostly by parking stuff in other rooms we don’t use as often! 🙂 But just for now, I really want the whole house to be that efficient, and now that we’re not working on the remodel, I can work on sorting and donating stuff.
It sounds like you have it all planned out. Good for you.
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