Sadie's Place

I’ve thought that Sadie’s Place should be a comfortable spot, filled with plants and sunlight, cats, and cushions. A wonderful spot to curl up and read in a window seat, to sit in an old oak rocking chair to knit, or to work at any of the various stations throughout the space to sew, weave, or quilt.

The walls of Sadie’s Place are lined with antique barrister, glass-front bookcases filled with fabric, books, and baskets of yarn. In one corner, in front of the woodstove/fireplace, you’ll find a window seat, the rocker, and several vintage, overstuffed chairs arranged around a warm, but worn, vintage Persian carpet. The chairs are all covered with white denim slipcovers to make everything look the same. But everyone knows that Nana Sadie has a weakness for collecting interesting chairs, so nothing really matches! And you never know when there’ll be a “new” old chair pulled up with the others, from one of her latest junking trips. Knitted and quilted lap throws and shawls abound on chair backs. Needlepoint footstools stand ready for feet to prop upon.

Floor pillows made of kilims are piled invitingly, waiting for overflow seating to be needed. Friends stop by often and the knitting group drops by every week to enjoy a bit of conversation and a cup of tea, made in the nearby kitchenette. Yarn is piled in the baskets near this corner, along with knitting books in the bookcases and spilling out onto the floor. There’s plenty of space for the spinners in the group to set up their wheels and spin awhile. An antique secretary holds cross-stitch and needlepoint patterns and supplies, and near Nana Sadie’s chair is a large daylight floor lamp to help her see her charts.

Above the bookcases and on any available free wall space are prints from Susan Loy, the Literary Calligraphist extraordinaire, her floral renditions of great writer’s words repeating the live flowers and plants throughout the room, as well as those seen out the windows in the meadows beyond.

The floor loom and the quilt frame, both vintage oak, share the middle of the room and are set upon polished hardwood floors. A quilt is usually in the frame, and oak church pews sit ready for anyone who drops in and wants to add a stitch or two. The loom is set up with a simple floor rug in the works and ready for the weekly lessons from the teacher who drops by to show Nana Sadie just how this new craft is done.

On one side of the room is the more modern sewing station, with Berninas at the ready. A TV and VCR set-up assist in learning new techniques. Sewing books and fabrics line the white laminate shelves on this side of the room. The ironing board and cutting tables are nearby, so there are few steps to take when making Nana Sadie Rose’s totes and purses. There are rolling bins with buttons and notions. Vintage sewing machines and implements decorate the area. Not too far away is the mailing station where shipping takes place. After all, Sadie’s Place is not just for relaxation, but for the work Sadie does from home.

Classical cello or violin music from the CD player fills the air, and cats are curled on window ledges and the perches of the 2 floor-to-ceiling cat trees in the room. At Sadie’s Place there are no limits on the number of kitties that a person can have. And Sadie rescues meezer kitties. Warm brown and ivory bodies stretch and purr in the sunlight streaming through the windows, winking an occasional sapphire eye.

Last of all, the computer, printer, and digital equipment for photographing Nana Sadie Rose’s bags, for managing the business, and for keeping up to date with the on-line knitting community stand with file cabinets and more shelves.

This special creative workspace is only partially in my head (and your’s too, now). Some of what I’ve described is real at Nana Sadie’s now.

But if I could only win that $100 million to make it all reality!