Winnie the Pooh. There's a lot of wisdom in that little bear. But more of that later. First, a story of my yet to be realized new quilt studio.
The reason why I need more space is not important. What is important is that I do need more quilting space. I have a 12-foot quilting table for my Gammill Classic Plus sitting in a storage unit in Bend, Oregon. All I am waiting on to get it moved up here to Chinook is the completion of my 12' x 20' quilt studio. It will be a simple studio. Just a simple shed of sorts, to be attached to the end of the garage. No plumbing, Just needs electric. A simple little project that we started planning the summer of 2020.
Here is a photo of what the studio looks like one year later:
Which is exactly what it looked like one year ago. Those trees are currently sitting inside the future site of the quilt stuido. And why the long delay? Just three little things:
- Our choice to first complete a small remodeling project.
- Covid related delays and lost plans
- Beach time
The small remodel project. After 20 years, 2 kids, 4 dogs, 6 cats, and a lot of sand, the carpet in our house was in dire need of replacement with dog proof floors. So was the fireplace. The glass doors blew out during a power outage during the storm of 2007. It wasn't really the fireplace's fault. My husband and son decided that two presto logs and a couple of real wood logs were necessary. So when the doors shattered, it wasn't really the fireplace's fault. Couldn't find any doors to replace the shattered ones. Since 2007.
Covid related delays and lost plans. The remodel was finished by end of October 2020. And it was time to apply for the building permit. But we couldn't find our site plans anywhere. After thoroughly searching our house, our builder found them. In his garage. In December. Which was right around the time the county closed county offices due to Covid. Until March 2021. But we were ready when the offices opened. Applied for that permit as soon as they opened their doors. Should not be long now! But it was. 14 weeks. Over three months. Finally approved shortly just the 4th of July.
Beach time. Just in case you are not from a small, rural, coastal town and are unfamiliar with beach time, it is important to know that there is no correlation at all between actual time and beach time. Beach time happens when it happens. Example: the electircal lines were traced the Tuesday after the 4th of July. Site prep would begin by the end of the week. Concrete would be poured the following week week.
Three weeks later and it finally happened:
The actual timeline to excavation was supposed to be end of week (4 days)
Beach time to excavation: 3 weeks
Therefore, 4 days actual time = 3 weeks beach time.
Still waiting on concrete pour.
After living here for 33 years, I've gotten use to beach time. The casualness of beach time is one of the things I love about my little town. But it was finally getting to me. The quilt studio project was now entering year 2 and I was definitely not in my happy place. It was time to let my frustrations be known.
Enter Pooh. A Pooh meme showed up on Facebook. And that was when I remembered the wisdom that existed in that "silly, willy, nilly old bear". The meme quoted Pooh (thank you A.A. Milne) as saying:
"The river knows this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day."
A perfect explantion of beach time.
Why am I so stressed about this studio? Why does it really matter if it got finished in September or October? Is it that important? Well, it is important. But not that important as it turns out. Without the ability to quilt, I have focused on simply sewing. I started with potholders and progressed to bags. Tote bags, market bags, drawstring bags, and zipper bags. I learned how to make bag zipper pockets and even made a couple of purse bags. I've started and built up my Etsy shop. Without the delay, I don't think the Etsy shop would have happened.
Concrete is supposed to be poured on Monday. It might happen. If not, I'll remember the words of Pooh:
"The river knows this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day."
Winnie the Pooh. A wise little bear. There is no hurry.
We could all benefit from a little more Pooh in our lives.
The 4' x 6' window was ordered today. Expected delivery: November
That's beach time! We shall get there some day.
I'll keep you posted.