Stash

While playing domestic goddess this weekend - with all that baking and quilting - I spent some time thinking about how these two activities might - or might not - fit into our fulltiming plans.

Baking requires time, space and tools. The time, I'll have. The space will be considerably reduced. The biggest tool is my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer with the mighty dough hook. And, guess what? It doesn't just take up space. It's heavy!

Truth is, I bake mountains of dinner rolls a couple of times a year. Other than that, the Kitchen Aid is idle. So, if I'm being realistic, this trusty tool doesn't make the fulltiming cut. We can buy mighty tasty dinner rolls on the road. That said, I have an emotional connection to my Kitchen Aid. After all, Boris gave it to me many years ago. And, my interest in it was inspired by my roll baking mother-in-law. Today, I'm the one the family counts on to make these crusty bits of heaven for a big holiday. While this mixer won't be joining us on the road, it will be placed in storage. I am ready to part with every stick of furniture in this house. But, I simply will not part with my Kitchen Aid. That's final.

Oh my! I can see how this is all going to go.

With the rolls freshly baked this weekend, I readied myself to make some progress on the quilt that's been four years in the making. As I assembled the tools for this project, I began to wonder what - if anything - might accompany us on the road.

I quilt a little more often than I bake. But, I can see myself spending a rainy afternoon sewing away at our spacious dinette table. I've read about other fulltimers who quilt. So, I wouldn't be alone. And, I can imagine poking my head into quilting shops across North America. Plus, there's a perfect storage in the moose for my machine, which probably weighs less than the mighty Kitchen Aid. So, it might come along, or spend time in storage. We'll figure it out. That's really not the issue. The real issue is all the stuff that comes along with it.

That's right. I'm talking about my stash.

If you quilt or knit, or have some other crafty hobby, you know what I'm talking about. Every quilter has perfectly folded squares of fabric stashed away for that "someday" project. And, I'm no exception. But as stashes go, mine is small. It all fits into a four-drawer rolling container...sort of. And, I'll confess, after sorting quickly through my stacks of fabric, I came to the conclusion that I'll give most - if not all - of it to a quilting friend. (Whew! That's a relief.)

The portion of my stash I decided I won't part with, though, is my notions. (I had to explain to Boris what "notions" are: they're my sewing tools.) Over the years, I have acquired a nice assortment of rulers, cutters, scissors, seam rippers, cutting mats and such. And, you know what? I like 'em. It took years - and many dollars - to find just the right tools. Whether I take them on the road with us or not, I want to keep them.

Really, just about everything else in our house I will happily part with. But, when it comes to mixers, sewing machines and notions, I think I'll keep 'em.