I started out as a kitchen table sewer. You know, the way we all do; drag out the machine and the scissors and fabric, work until dinnertime. Maybe sew a little while cooking, then clear it all away to serve dinner. After the dishes are done, bring it all out again. I did this for years. Every inch of extra space in our home, wherever we were, was taken.
I sewed clothing, for myself and then my three daughters. When they were small and you could make two pair of shorts from just a yard of fabric, my best friend (who had little ones too) and I would have marathon sewing sessions for our kids...on her kitchen table.
I saved all my scraps, thinking some day I would start quilting. In 1990 I started quilting finally, although not with scraps...yet. I was still a kitchen table quilter. I dreamed of having a space to sew where I could leave my stuff out all the time. When we moved to North Carolina in 1993, I came closer to the dream...I finally got a corner of the living room where we put our old dining room table. We had to buy a larger one to accommodate our family, so I re-purposed the old one.
Then, in 2001 both my older daughters left home for college. I gave the larger bedroom to my youngest and "took over" the smaller one. It had been a vibrant pink for her, but I re painted it an off white. I didn't want it to clash with all that colorful fabric. My quilting had grown quite large by then. I sewed on happily, learning new techniques and making quilts for everyone and all occasions.
Then, in 2007 my oldest daughter came home to live, with her 1 year old son. We put them in the larger back bedroom together. No one could have said how long this was to be, we didn't know. After a year, I decided that V needed his own room as did M need her own space. My sewing room, my haven, became a bedroom again. I was sad, but I was also joyous to decorate the room for a small boy. We painted, and put down a new floor and bought a big boy bed.
My sewing space became a corner of the kitchen that had housed our dining room table (moved to the ell in our living room). We use the kitchen door as the primary entrance, so coats, boots, shoes, grocery bags all accumulate there. It is chaotic in a way that thwarts my creativity.
Now, three and a half years later, they are moving out. They are starting a new life, and making a new family. I will reclaim my sewing room. I am filled with joy at this, but there is a part of me that will be sad also. I will miss them both.
My grandson has been both the frustration and joy of my days. His smile can melt my heart. We have a closeness that I know I will never have with any other of my grandchildren, because I have been Grammie and mother and friend to him. I will love the quiet, but miss the noise.
My daughter and I have both grown and become closer and stronger in the past few years. I helped her sew and parent. She taught me to love yarn and other crafts and blogs. She has been my friend, helper and co-conspirator. We craft, sew, cook and bake together. I will miss that too.
So as I am planning how I want to set up my sewing room this time, I have promised her I will finally organize it properly. And I will see her sitting in her corner chair, knitting while I sew, with V playing on the floor with scraps of fabric and yarn, and I will smile.
