Sunday, August 12, 2012

Changes

This weekend I had the idea of hanging some old boxes in the studio to use as shelves.  The area above my sewing table has one shelf that Richard built last summer, but it didn't take long to fill the shelf up with glass jars of notions.  

Above the shelf I had a quilt, a calendar, and a clock.  Changing these things has become something of a bother.  I had to climb on top of the sewing table every month to change the calendar and occasionally to change out the quilt or fix the clock.  That climbing got old very quickly: 52 year old achy knees do not appreciate any kind of climbing,


I found these old boxes many years ago while at an antiques place.  They may have cost me $10 total, but when I got home with them, I had no idea what to do with them.  They went into the shed and hung out with Richard for several years.  

Once I had accumulated several other vintage finds, I decided it was time to do something with my old boxes.  So I dragged them into the studio, cleaned them up, and stacked them on the side of the sofa to eventually turn into a side table with storage.  

 I don't know what gave me the idea of hanging them on the wall.  I think I saw something on Pinterest.  I climbed on the table, took off all the stuff above the shelf and played with the boxes until I found an arrangement I liked that also worked with the existing studs.  Richard dropped in a couple of screws while I held the box and made sure each was straight using his level.

Because I am a little worried about what will happen to the fabrics where the quilts touch the wood, I've put down some plastic bags.  I plan to get some heavier plastic and hot glue it in place so that all sides of the boxes are covered, but for the purpose of taking photos the bags will do.  

I'm using the smallest box to put some of the larger glass jars in.  They hold vintage laces and buttons from my mom and grandmother.

The other two boxes will hold small quilts.  I folded up the quilts that go into the largest box and, for fun, rolled up the quilts in the medium sized box.


I must admit, I really like the end result.  And since I don't often have a need to move these quilts, I won't be climbing on the sewing table quite as often.
Happy quilting,
Mary

3 comments:

Carla said...

Great idea. These look like something off of the "funky junk" blog ; )

Jan Maree said...

Love that idea, so cute!

jenclair said...

Perfect! Recycling with such a useful and interesting effect. I love old boxes anyway and this is great for displaying both boxes and treasures.