A Room of One's Own

“It is strange how a scrap of poetry works in the mind and makes the legs 

move in time to it along the road.” ― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own  

 It's been two years in the making, this little space for quilting.  Over this time, there have been Momma strokes, timing frustrations, ridiculous city permit requirements, great cost adding to nothing....  But the time has finally come to create a space of my own.

After spending money to have the property surveyed, building a fence, and then having the city send out questionnaires for approval of converting the garage into a working space, the city gave approval with stipulation that I remove my driveway and would be forced to park on the street.  At that point, I nixed the idea of the garage and asked the contractor to build me a "tiny home."  No permit needed for a house on wheels (yet!).  But as we searched Portland's permit requirements, we found that a stand-alone shed 200 sq ft or under needed no permit.  After initial searching, we found Tuff Shed would build any size desired for a very reasonable price.

And finally the day arrived!  The prefab shed arrived bright and early.  I had to make sure it was definitely mine..I had been disappointed about this building so many times before. 

The space for the shed was ready.  The gravel had been compacted into almost solid concrete.  The builders found it perfectly level.  Everyone was happy.

The base was laid down.

The sides went up quickly.

They had to trim the Dogwood and Hazlenut trees.  Just a little.

Then up went the gables.

Next came the roof.

And the porch roof.

Tarpapering the roof.

Roofing and windows and trim.

I wondered how intrusive it was from the street but found the fir tree and lilac, rhododendron bushes hid it well.  Looks good!
 

The roofing was the last task for the day.  They returned bright and early the next morning to complete the job.

Siding!

Everything is caulked to the max, tight and happy.  And we've got doors!

Next step is to have another coat of paint on the building and then to bring in the electrician to start the interior work.  Lots of lights, insulation, wallboard, painting.   Add steps down on this side from the deck, move the hose and water out.  Lay a walkway and add steps into the studio.

Still some work, but it looks cool :)

Virginia Woolf was talking about writing in her essay, but I think it expand to all forms of art.  This is a space of my own to create art in a whole different way.  And it makes me happy :)

peace~~~