Wednesday, August 19, 2015

If socks could decorate

It's August, and I still haven't had my spinning wheel out for peaceful summer spinning.  I haven't unpacked the knitting bag I used to carry back and forth from condo to house.  I haven't even grafted the toes of the sixteen pairs of socks I've knit, give or take, since I started packing to move.


But I sure have been cranking out new fodder for the grafting needle.

This new sock is lying on my white sofa.


It really is white under all that white - it's white leather, and even though it was graded suitable for a life as high traffic as one that includes crayon-wielding kids and muddy-pawed dogs, I have been scared to let it be great on its own.  I mean truly: we bought it for the incredibly comfy pullout sofa inside, and we could afford it because it was the floor model, so it's not like I went into this with a clear head. 

Also I'm not mad for the shade of white (chalk) against the walls' white (whipped butter).  Also I have nowhere else to store those white blankets.  And the sure-not-to-fit slipcover I bought to protect this thing just looks terrible on its own. 

(we won't talk about the fact that I didn't properly commit to either grey or beige when I was buying slipcover and nap blankie stuff.)

Honestly, I think storage is probably the big issue here... though there are a ton of closets in this condo, especially compared to what gets built today or what got built with my house, there isn't actually a basement.  Our storage room is already full of stuff I would actually be very pleased indeed to be able to get at if it weren't clogged at the entrance, and our closets are full too.  I have to keep my vacuum cleaner in the laundry room and it's such an ordeal getting it in and out I'm moving it as little as possible, with disastrous results.

What I really need to do, then, is get rid of the clutter.  Or at least hide it better. 


I mean, would it kill me to run some fabric down behind these IKEA cheapo wardrobe panels so we don't have to look all the time at the Christmas boxes?  Which should totally be down in the storage locker... and will be, one way or another, as soon as this Christmas has come and gone.  I know myself well enough to be sure I would not want to be hunting for that stuff this November.

Another factor in our current situation is embarrassing because I'm a very creative person and I know I have made many a cute nest but... I seem to have lost my decorating skills.  I'm still very good at taking a bunch of furniture I can't get rid of and finding a functional place for it to be.  I've just lost all ability to make it look like it was meant to be there.  I still approach paint selection with a plan in my head, but the plan is centered around my putting in the least possible effort.

True story:  the other day Ray and I were talking about putting crown molding into the bedrooms of the house and he said he would go for clean walls, a nice sharp edge, very simple and uncluttered.  And I said we have that at the condo and I'm finding it very stark.  Then we looked at each other and I said, You think it's because I made you paint every single wall in there white?

So I am feeling like I need to take some refresher decorating courses or else hire somebody before we get to that stage with the house.  I would love, LOVE to live in a magazine spread for a little while, wouldn't you?  Someplace neat and warm and inviting that doesn't lure you away from what you should really be doing.  Because your home can do that, if you're a writer and there's newspapers to be gathered up.  Even the worst housework will always tell you it's more important than writing.

And with all that in mind, I have to tell you that when I photographed my new sock in progress I wished it could decorate for me.


I love these colours together.  I love how they make the white look like a frame, rather than the main event.


I love knitting them, and I think I might go do that right now.  Because it's that or move furniture again.

Have a lovely evening however you spend it, and I'll see you tomorrow!

4 comments:

Mimi said...

I just bought a couple of decorating magazines this afternoon. First ones I've purchased in a few years. But it's time to spruce up here and I wanted to see what the new colors are. Now, I'm like you. I'd just like to go live in those pages for a while. Good luck with your venture.

Mary Keenan said...

Oh yeah Mimi, decorating magazines are so dreamy! And you really can live in them even here... if you just don't look up from the pages ;^)

Linda said...

I keep torturing myself and watching decorating shows on tv! I so wish we could fix up our house - especially the rooms we spend so much time in! And I wish I could knit socks - because I would have dozens going!

Linda in VA

Mary Keenan said...

Sometimes just moving the furniture helps Linda... I've been doing that the last couple of days (apparently instead of writing a new post here, yipes) and it's surprising how it can a space a big lift!