Moving to and from an off-site workspace for The Project

I haven't been posting much lately, having been slammed by deadlines from all sides . . . not including the deadline for The Project, on which I recently spent a blissfully concentrated week. I have a few additional photos of that endeavor.

Easily amused, I enjoy the pictures of how the car looked, coming and going. Rotating around the doors, beginning with the front passenger side:

Of course, that's the spinning wheel on top (Lendrum folding, single-treadle). Yes, it's belted in. Its top end rests on the box of reference books that went with me. Its lower end sits on one of the boxes of fiber. The blue sticky notes mean the fiber came to me clean. The green notes mean it came to me in the grease. A black checkmark means the fiber is clean and ready for me to work with. A big green dot means I've put it through all the necessary steps. Big green dots are good. They don't mean I'm done, but they mean I'm about three-quarters of the way there. My Cowichan-style sweater is tucked into the gap, along with an old blue towel. Old towels come in very handy on The Project. The white thing next to the towel, right under the dash, was probably my lunch, wrapped in a paper towel.

Moving to the next door, the rear passenger side:

The red bag in the distance is my suitcase. It also went to Maryland on this trip, so it held enough for ten days away from home. The wood-and-metal structure is my daughter's high chair/toddler seat, which makes an excellent stand for wool combs and is friendly to have around. But I wouldn't pack it if it didn't do the job better than anything else I could imagine having access to. Within its frame is a cardboard box of labeling materials for wool at various stages (sticky notes, adhesive labels, string tags, index cards, old business cards, and plastic ziplock bags in quart and gallon sizes). On top of that is a small blue plastic box of food: cereal, soups, Teeccino, along with brewing supplies, and tea (Good Earth Original, black, green, and Celestial Seasonings' Fast Lane.

On the floor is one of my knitting/crochet bags, with a bit of stray (clean) wool in a bag above it (I try to avoid stray bags of wool: this is clean wool bits left from combing, that I'll use to stuff something with). The atlas is just behind it: within reach of the front, if needed (there are also maps in both of the front doors' pockets). The black-with-blue bag on top is Computer Central Backpack.

Moving to the back of the car:

This is the core of the work. I can fit 12 file boxes in the back and still have full rear-view mirror scanning available. The green boxes contain the final record files. The white ones contain samples and clean wool ready to be processed (I didn't transport any boxes that were not ready for this step). That top box on the left in the row that can be seen was a bit overfull, but there was no room to put the excess in any other box. Tucked into the right side are my yoga mat and my rain jacket. There's something under the yoga mat, but I don't remember what it was. Behind them, aligned with the 6 white file boxes that aren't visible, is a case with two pairs of Viking combs (one-row and two-row).

Along the rear bumper on the left is the open toolbox, with three sets of carders (regular, fine full-sized, and cotton), spritzers, C-clamps, sample-size niddy noddy, four spindles, and Louet mini-combs. The cardboard box contains the master file of fiber inventory (index cards in a plastic box—I also have electronic records, but this is often handier) and more labeling and packaging materials. Oh, and I see the tip of the Eucalan bottle. I'm using Unicorn Power Scour, Unicorn Fiber Rinse, and Eucalan unscented at various stages of this project. (My daughter's aversion to lavender influences some of my choices.) Next to that: hand vac. I travel with a hand vac, specifically chosen to handle dog hair and fiber decently (although cleaning the roller is not my favorite job).

Moving to the rear driver's side door:

The suitcase (already seen from the other side) and an essential cardboard box whose contents I don't remember right now—oh! I'll bet it was the lazy kate and three extra bobbins, among other things, both above the pile of reusable shopping bags (wrapped around a few more groceries that needed some insulation). I think there might have been a small cooler under that pile. And on top, a planter (which made it home safe and sound)—thanks, Susan! The suitcases and boxes kept the planter upright and kept it from being crushed. The load was packed so nothing would shift en route.

And finally:

Room for a driver, with unimpeded visibility and movement options. Along with the green travel cup (containing tea or water), there's probably an apple or two. Just the other side of the console is a tiny space on the floor with CDs, although I usually drive without any additional car-noise input. Camera and purse are nearby, for easy access during stops.

And that's how The Project travels.

Comments

[gayle]

Holy crap!
If you decide to add an appendix, you'll have to rent a trailer...

[Deb Robson]

Thanks for the laugh. Actually, I had to tear out a wall in the house. And it's still crowded. I have a few photos of the working space to get posted. I'm saving the wall-tearing-out story for after the project deadline.