After Covid ...

(NOTE: The above "heart" is a sample that I came across whilst moving things around in my new workspace - it is about to take a "transform" but more on that later.)

Here I am ..... & once again updating - this time here with just a brief outline! Time has marched on & it won't be long til 2021 appears but since I last posted, I have been very busy. The new workspace is operational & is an absolute pleasure to work in as it has an "open wall" with doors to the outside ... on a hot day (like today) it's brilliant especially when you're really cool inside!

The 'old' workspace remains in a smaller area & at the moment just contains many items I'm not currently using. It's taken ages to sort all my things out but after distributing to charity shops & some textile groups, I'm left still with lots to use!! I've decided to discontinue with most of the other blogs that run ... mainly because I've decided to have just one place to generally display & the other to have more detail. Not sure at the moment which one will be which - that's still to do.

The studio at the end of 2018 ...

A corner of the studio with flooring down & new walls....

& some cupboards arriving ...

July 2018 & all has changed !

Hi everyone who reads this. Just to let you know I'm still around albeit my last post was 2016 & we're now over halfway into 2018!

A variety of things have happened - most importantly I've had a replacement hip op August 2017 ... the best thing ever as I now feel 21 again!!! Also our dog died (the one whose fur I was knitting) earlier that year & I moved just before the op!!! Traumatic for everything .... but I'm now back on track & hoping to continue where I left off. My poor favourite pink bottle brush transported well into rented accom garden (in a pot) before the final move & was transplanted into the ground (in the move house) about a month ago. It's now grown a bit & hopefully will do well.

I'm really pleased about this blog as it's meant I've been able to recapture all my thoughts .... albeit currently only in a hurried way. As soon as everything is located & easily reachable, I'll be updating in a much better way. With a house & hip ! move (etc etc) lots of my things have again been into boxes & only recently found & come out to see. The hip bit meant I wasn't able to get the house going as early as I'd have liked but the current weather has meant lots being done now. Many of my earlier ideas & projects are now hopefully "better equipped" ... or should I say - will be soon ... & at the moment, that's all I can say!!!

PS The dog shawl was finally finished, some knitting's been completed, some web sites have been undertaken & a new studio is about to happen!! So not been too lazy!!!

Dog fur gets spun ready to knit ...

I've recently had some dog fur spun (below left) ready for me to to use for knitting (below right).

Its "story" will be discussed & detailed here within my studio blog (please click the link to read about it).

Boxes galore ...

Mid December, the majority of my equipment got sent off to the studio. Then we had Xmas & snow & I haven't seen things since. All I knew the space was just full of boxes. Saturday went down to see how things are & after moving some items into the office section, this is how it's been left.

Not as bad as it was when I first entered but LOTS TO DO & can't wait to get started although some painting to be done.

The studio make-over has begun ...

Above left is the new front entrance where I'll be working. Likely to be decorated in some way but unsure at the moment how so for the time being it will remain just plain white (as you'll notice above right, a big improvement from how it started its life). The shutter too is new - gone the old 2-hand pushed one & now an electric one that also allows more light in.

The inside redecoration is well underway - appx 80% of all ceiling & walls now finished (just bits left) as is the office area. All flooring is booked for 10 days time & furniture/fittings removal-delivery for the week after that. Then it will be finishing ... putting furniture in place & final decorations. By the way, the frontage has a 'ram post' I've inherited ... rather rusty at the moment but a useful thing. As you can see, it's a bit of an eye-sore but I also intend giving that a make-over too!

This final stage is likely to be on-going over the next few months as I get each 'dedicated section' underway & completed. At this stage, I envisage 7 (or so) small areas set aside for:

on-going work - inspiration - art & design - repair/renovation - photography - reference

plus some sort of display 'gallery' for finished items. This sectioning idea has mainly come about whilst I've been decorating inside & familarising myself with the lighting qualities & the way in which natural & artificial light falls inside. (However, once flooring & furniture come in, this could change.)

The general idea is to have the inside rather like a blank canvas with neutral type colours (white, dark grey/black) to display on & work within. Some of my previous work relies on specific lighting conditions which this 'studio' currently has - one reason for moving into it ... I also find it rather inspirational in its own right!

Updates ...

It's been a few weeks since I've written as things are beginning to move forward. First, here's the latest 'studio' update news :
Have now finished 1 coat on the studio walls & it's looking nice & bright. The 'silk' finish of the paint is reflecting the outside light to the inside although I still have the ceiling to do (my next in line of jobs in this section). The office has been emptied ready to begin that part of the painting - possibly will finish this totally as removals booked for end of this month (I hope if all goes according to plan).

Some other jobs are being completed by local workmen: some new electrics & a heater, a mezzanine floor has been boarded over (above the studio so I will be able to store more items), a new studio 'front' (in white) booked in for 2 weeks time & floor covering thru from the office to the kitchen/loo area.

I've also been keeping my 'record' of notes up-to-date - now many names for projects all ready to start. I treated myself to a new compact camera about 2 weeks ago - still haven't had time to charge it! I opted for a compact after much thought - decided to keep my old trust Minolta Dynax with all bits. Thought I'd be able to set this one up in the studio for using for in-house shots - bag of bits & pieces too bulky & awkward to carry easily around.

Some shots last week reminded me of cloud formations I find interesting - here's just 1:

Studio now ready to start the move into ...

First step of my new journey is now complete ... it finally happened last Friday at 12 noon. Although not actually where I'll be working, this is nearby & hopefully where I'll relocate to!

The intended 'studio' where I'm going to be working from is now empty of previous owners & their things. The next step(s) is now to prepare it ready for my use ... & that'll involve decorating whilst empty so that things (when taken there) can immediately be put into their new homes.

It's quite frustrating wanting to get started on everything but unable to. The vast majority of my 'tools & other paraphanalia' have been boxed up for several months ready for moving. Most things are in neat & tidy piles ready to transport on their way - all I'd left myself with is the 'bare minimum'. A depleted 'textile tool kit', a small working area (for minimum work/small jobs), a basic art section (ie. mainly old notebooks to sort through) & a computer table with my Apple. At least with all this I've been able to keep some basic jobs 'on-the-go' as well as getting all my 'bits & pieces' into boxed order.

I chose to do things in this way as one of my personal longtime wishes was to get as much of my design notes/reference & images onto the computer. (It makes my life a lot easier & quicker.) Anyway, knowing that it was unlikely I would be able to move, relocate & work in one step, I decided that for a period of time (without much of my equipment to hand), I would work on all my e-skills & get another task out the way!

This weekend, I spent a long time updating iPhoto & iTunes & getting them ready for yet another way of working. (I try to do this regularly anyway but over the past year, it's got a bit messy!) I've found & located all previously stored images, got rid of all the dupes, labelled & tidied them up in a much better way PLUS backed it all up! Definitely a job worth doing & highly recommended. I've also found more odd photos that I'll be scanning into the system - just wish there'd been digital cameras when I'd first taken them!

I'm hoping to get along to the new workplace at the end of the week - just a short journey of 100 miles or so! It'll really be just to collect keys, have a look around inside the building & a possible brief clean-up & decide on new colour scheme for the walls. Have a look at the view above (hoping to live near to this), then passenger back home to plan the next stage.