The Littlest Room...

Whenever we have overnight guests, I de-kid the little room in the back of the house. I was thinking the other day how GRATEFUL I am for this little room...

Although it is the smallest room in our house, it is the space that makes everything else work. Over the years, it has been that place that morphed into whatever we needed AT THAT MOMENT...and it gave us options.

When we first moved into this house, in July 1981, that little bedroom was Elliott's nursery. I brought him home and laid him down in that little room across the hall. As God is my Witness -- he never slept more than 20 minutes at a time in that crib. When he was two years old, we eagerly moved him upstairs into a bunk bed with his brother Ross.

So, in 1983, the room became my sewing room. I was DELIGHTED to have a dedicated space -- as I was VERY busy with my personalized cabbage patch doll business. Remember that frenzy?




I made over 100 cabbage patch dolls and sold them. It was a profitable little business and my dolls were AMAZING. I made cheerleader dolls for West High School, and I once cut up an Army uniform to make a doll for the child of a soldier, serving at the Rock Island Arsenal...Without the internet, I don't remember where or how I sold them...but I could hardly keep up with the orders...and I was often stuffing dolls at 3:00 AM...

Then, a few years later -- both boys were in school, and I opened up Rita's Sew Fun -- a FABRIC STORE. Because now I was working with fabric all day long, and sewed samples at the STORE -- I no longer had the time or desire to do it at home. So the little room became an office...where John and I (unbelievably) -- shared a computer!!

That was okay. For awhile. But, eventually, the desktop became John's computer, and I worked on a laptop...usually sitting in my Lazyboy...situated in the living room. That's how I wrote my first book, "Life Is Not A Dress Size"...published in 1996.

After I sold the store -- I was traveling A LOT. The little room became John's den -- complete with deer heads hanging on the walls...

By the 2000's -- both Ross and Elliott moved out of the house. That opened up the large, sunny upstairs bedroom for John's office. The little room once again became my sewing/embroidery room. I was working for Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine, and I needed a space for both my computer AND my embroidery machine.

For a time, the little room became an unused catch-all.  John had his big room upstairs, and I was working on my laptop. ..

Lilly was born in 2009.

My cousin Jackie helped me clear out the room, get rid of the office stuff...(I burned a perfectly good antique oak desk that was TOO HEAVY to move)...

It became known as "Lilly's Room"...

My cousin Linda helped me to hang shelves, and we painted a tall metal shelf to hold Lilly's many outfits...

I used starch and cut-up pieces of fabric to decorate the one wall...

Although Lilly and Warren usually take turns spending the night, the little room had just enough room for a twin bed and a Pack 'N Play...so if they were both sleeping over, we could make it work.

I bought the bright quilt at Nancy's Sewing Weekend two years ago -- and I'm using it to make up the guest room for Mary.

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The Monday weigh-in: 262. Yikes. I AM LOVING THIS!!