Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Workin My Fingers to the Bone

 My Dayes of Frostbite & Sunburns are over!!!

   I have been working overtime double triple and beyond the past few months, and today, today! I spent my first 'quiet time' painting in my new woodshop! woo hooo!!!!!!  For our 25th wedding anniversary, husband bought me a 10x20 Weather King Lofted Barn...well...I should rephrase that...he wanted to get a 30' long and skinny tube of a building....but I have been pining for a lofted barn for at least the last 5 years, and no Sir...I would not give in! As excited as I was to see it being delivered....I also got kind of overwhelmed~ I had a lot of work to do to get it ready for me. 
 As I work now, my embroidery and wood are all in the same areas~ if I have to do any cutting, sanding, planing ect....I have to dig out my equipment, drag it outside, set it up....then work out in the weather...so in the winter I literally freeze my tuccass and fingers off, and in the summer I get the most horrible sunburns!  If its raining, I cant do anything~ so alot of my work sched is dependent on the weather. 
Well....not any more!


  See the dirt to the left of me here under the building....as I am signing for my shop....thats 12 ton of road base that I spread out~ and then my son & I got up close and personal with a 'jumping jack' tamper to get it all level. This stuff is harder than cement once its compacted. 

  The ditch for the new electric ...120 feet long and 4 and half feet deep....and yes, I got to fill it all back in by hand...plus another 18 ton of road base I got to spread out over the driveway afterwards...took me over a week...never want to see another pile of dirt for at least a couple of years.  

 Weather King makes awesome buildings~ you can even design your own on their website. I chose the lofted barn with the two big doors, so I can wheel  my tablesaw outside onto the deck when I need to cut something big...and  the two lofts above give me plenty of storage~ one side for wood, the other for all my packing/shipping materials. After the electric was finished, next came insulation.

Peg board wonderful pegboards! I have always loved them~ I can hang all my tools and wood so I can seeeeeeee everything~ oh it will be glorious for sure!

In the midst of working on the shop, I have been finishing up prep for class in August~ 54 pages of step by step instructions back from the printer, ready to go! I really am looking forward to getting all my woodworking things into their own space, so I can get back to having my embroidery out full time, instead of piles of wood everywhere...and I mean EVERYWHERE! 

Things getting messy.....but progressing

Nearly done~ got my work bench made in the center, that I can move around, with benches round the walls

Done and varnished! I have soooo much bench space now~ I can work on cabinets and cases and slate frames and boxes all at the same time~ going to be fantabulous. Shelves round the entire shop to put up all my tools
So I finished yesterday, and was supposed to be moving all the equipment in today....but I am painting on a slate frame and palette set and the shop was just calling to me to sit and paint...so thats what I did. Its so nice and quiet, I can now sit or stand by my window here and listen to my blackbirds and paint....so look for something pretty awesome coming to eBay....after I get my orders finished so I can work on it....you may be able to sneek a lil peek if you look hard in the corner!

8 comments:

Janet said...

Oh happy day! You have worked your fingers to the bone but oh what a place to work in from now on. I am so excited for you. All of your glorious creations need a happy and comfortable place to begin their lives.

Unknown said...

Oh, Rachael! Fantastic! I dream of a studio all my own, but for me it isn't going to happen. Think of me while you work and know that I really envy you! Congratulations!

Ann said...

This looks like absolute heaven--I'm, oh, so envious!

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a fantastic 25th anniversary gift! Lucky you. Enjoy! Lela

Anonymous said...

Wow, that is a fantastic anniversary gift. Lucky you! Lela

Unknown said...

Fantabulous Rachael ~ I just cannot wait to see what beauty comes forth from that build ~ xoxoxoxo
~ PS ~ any chance those bead instructions will be available for those who cannot migrate to the UK in August? ~ LOL

Unknown said...

Ahhh! The perfect Silver anniversary present.. YES!!!!
May this gift be the one that brings much silver ($$$) into your lives. it looks to be wonderful - Here's hoping this new studio brings you many happy and contented hours working on your projects and lots of success.

Barbara Brown said...

Looks so COOL! Bring a copy (if you have one left over) of your instructions for your class to Yellowstone so we can see it! Only a couple more weeks and we'll be together. In fact, two weeks from today! 😘