WOYWW 160

Better late than never, I am finally posting a photo or two of my workspace today. If you like taking a sneak peak into other folks craft rooms, hop over to Julia's blog , and join in the fun.

My desk is a bit different today because my room is at the rear of the house where it gets the full sun every afternoon, and it is becoming too hot to work in there, so I was looking for something that I can do out on the terrace, where there is often a light breeze to keep things more comfortable. I suddenly had the bright idea of tackling a new bobbin lace project. I haven't done any for ages, but over a year ago I bought a kit (pattern and bones/frame) to make a fan, and I really want to give it a go. So this morning I dragged out my box of lace bits and bobs, several rolls of bobbins, and boxes of threads. I pinned the pattern onto the pillow so I could estimate how many pairs of bobbins I might need, and I think it's around sixty pairs. 

The worst task at the start of a project is winding the bobbins. I have done two dozen pairs so far, so there's still a few to go! I got distracted sorting through my bobbins, and pairing them up. They are so lovely with a wide variety of wood and design, and the pretty 'spangles' hanging from them. I had a go at renewing the spangles on a couple of pairs this morning, and it was a lot harder than it looks!

The rest of my room is much as usual with a stack of things to put away on my tray, and every corner filled with boxes, folders etc. I have moved my box of copic markers from the top of work surface to underneath the desk. I realised yesterday that at certain hours of the day they were in full sunlight which probably isn't a good idea. So now they are in a darker corner, but still easily accessible when I need them. Next to them are a couple of folders stuffed with decoupage sheets, acetate, shrink plastic etc.- all the stuff I couldn't fit into the drawers!

Of course, in the background are the two furry ones. They are never far away. On Monday, the grey one had a run in with the dog we are looking after for a couple of weeks, while our friends are on holiday in UK. He is wonderful with our two dogs, but cats are a different matter. Fortunately we were on hand to separate them when the fight broke out, and I have to say, my Baggins came out on top! However, he was a bit traumatised and is spending even more time than usual in my craft room now. And hopefully Barney, the dog, has learned his lesson and will leave the cats alone for the rest of his stay.

And finally here is the one thing that keeps me sane in here right now. The floor fan, switched off for the photo, is on all the time, as well as one on the ceiling, which makes paper crafting a tad difficult, but I wouldn't survive in here without them. I am sure most of you are saying 'Why is she complaining about the sun', but actually I am not complaining, I love it, but we have a red, heatwave alert on our forecast for the rest of this week, with expected temperatures of at least 36º in the shade (that's around 96ºF), so a drop of English rain would be a welcome relief.