Moving the tiles around

About a week or so ago I had the need to clear the clutter from the dining room. I managed this not by throwing away everything that was cluttering up the dining room (goodness me, no). Instead I moved some items to the library, some other items to the Brick Room, and a few other things to my bedroom. The clutter was out of the way, and we got used to not having to perform a tango just to get from one side of the room to the other. It was nice, and we bumped into the furniture a lot less often.

However, I had in mind some changes I wanted to make to my bedroom. Instead of having a desk there, which I was not using so much as a desk to sit at and write, but more as a horizontal surface to fill up with stuff (and a chair with clothes draped over the back), I wanted to have a drafting table. It should come as absolutely no surprise to you that, in fact, I already had a drafting table. For the last few years it has been positioned in the front entryway, at the bottom of the stairs, and bordered by a row of boxes and bins.

Before. (July)

Making the switch involved a multi-step process that went something like this:

1. Remove items (empty journals, in-use journals, Hebrew typewriter, desk lamp, decorative elephants, et cetera) from desk.
2. Move boxes (of books, yarn, office supplies, and miscellaneous objects) from floor to bed, until bed is almost completely covered.
3. Move jars of pens closer together to create shelf space, then put journals on bookshelf.
4. Remove sewing machine from typing table to bed, then move Hebrew typewriter to typing table.
5. Remove yoga books from top of dresser to piano bench. Move desk lamp to top of dresser.
6. Move side table from corner of room to dining room.
7. Move trash can from top of typewriter cases between dresser and wall; place side table on top of typewriter cases. Put decorative elephants on one shelf of side table.
8. Hang up clothes that are draped over chair.
9. Unplug computer that I was using (three months ago) to watch yoga videos.
10. Move plastic drawer unit, filled with yarn, on which the computer had been sitting.
11. In dining room, remove items from director’s chair at desk 2. Fold up director’s chair.
12. Move desk-chair from bedroom to desk 2. (Chairs at desks 1 and 2 in dining room now match except for height.)
13. Put dog in crate.
14. Drag empty desk from bedroom to dining room.
15. Ask Eldest to back car away from garage, open garage door, and help to carry desk from dining room to garage.
16. Move row of boxes and bins away from drafting table in entryway.
17. Ask dog to stop whining.
18. Wipe dust off of drafting table.
19. With Eldest, move drafting table from entryway to bedroom.
20. Clean cobwebs from drafting table and dust again.
21. Sweep entryway.
22. Ask dog to stop whining.
23. Decide to put dog’s bed, dog’s towels, and dog’s stuffed-animal “friends” into wash cycle while dog is in crate.
24. Ask dog to stop whining.
25. Move old books from side table in dining room to top of bookcase 1 in dining room.
26. Move side table full of fountain pens and ink to bedroom, next to bookcase.
27. Move typewriter table to space where side table used to be.
28. Decide that this was a Bad Idea, and move typewriter table back to original position.
29. Move rolling hanging-file cart to space where side table used to be.
30. Move typewriter table to where hanging-file cart used to be….

Honestly, this went on for at least 20 more steps. Eventually I was able to get things pretty much where I wanted them, and I was able to clear off my bed in time to be able to sleep there on Saturday night. The price to be paid was that the dining room once again has a row of boxes and bins stacked in front of the console (as well as in front of one of the bookcases), and the library is more cluttered than before. But I can sleep in my own bed and the dog now has his bed (and a canvas bucket of freshly washed “friends”) taking up the whole front entryway instead of being squished into a smaller and smaller space in the library.

After. Or, as I call it, “for now.” (October)

Checking out the new location.

On and on it goes, as the boxes move around in an endless game of Musical Chairs. But every so often, a box is opened and we find that its contents can be discarded, recycled, or redistributed. Slowly, slowly, we lighten the load and make the present house into a semblance of the house-to-come.

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Knitwise, I have another finished object (FO) to my credit this week. After having marked the “halfway point” on the Leroy Cowl, I had more yarn in the second pair of skeins so I knitted around for a couple of extra rows. After I had done four rows of ribbing I added one more round and then cast off.

At the halfway point.

Finished! Yeah, it’s upside down.

Ta daah! After weaving in the ends, I slipped the cowl around my neck, took a selfie, and texted photos to Lauren of the LaurenSpun. We agreed that I should wash the cowl in a wool-safe wash and then let it dry out naturally. I didn’t have enough free time to do that this evening, so I’ll have to work it into the schedule another night. Tuesday is my night class, I often do grocery shopping on Wednesday nights, and I pick up Youngest from school on Thursdays after he’s done with e-sports. So…Monday or Friday, I guess?

(This might be one reason that it takes me a while to finish a project. Another reason would be that I will have to clear everything off the dining room table. See above.)

I have about 50 grams of Leroy-wool left over, and I’ll probably just felt-join the ends together and create one ball. The natural wool would make a good contrast if I made a dark hat or a set of mittens and wanted to add some sort of colorwork motif. We’ll see.

The next project may be a headband made from 35g of leftover Manos de Uruguay wool in purples and lilacs, trimmed with 25g of black worsted-weight mystery yarn.

Yeah, the light is terrible.

It would be nice to stay on this finishing kick for a while and free up some room in the house, but I just have So. Much. Yarn. Oh, well, one gallon-sized Ziploc bag at a time, I will do what I can.