The embroidery continues. Clutter increased on my workbench. Boxes of threads. Reels of stabiliser. I bought kitchen towel holders to make it easier to move the stabilisers around; I now have 4. That doesn't count the stabiliser which is flat, which is propped up against a wall; or the water-soluble stuff which is in a box upstairs (a kitchen is not a place to keep something which dissolves). There's magnetic knife block with my scissors, tweezers, clips and stuff; the box with the machine feet; the needles..... it goes on and on and on.
I had sorted out a cupboard upstairs to organise my fabric. It has storage boxes in front of it containing stuff like bindings, cords, ribbons, and apron tapes (which are great for bunting). There was no room for any of the downstairs clutter.
We had decided some time ago that storage underneath the worktop would be required, and a little while ago I decided that an Ikea kitchen unit would probably work best. Either 60cm- wide x 40 deep, opening under the worktop,a bit awkward; or 40 wide x 60 deep opening to the side and requiring me to move the bin each time. I needed to see the units and drawers "in the flesh" to decide and, as this meant a trip to Ikea, I kept putting it off.
Eventually, DH asked what we were going to do about storage and I told him. I explained that I wanted to look at the kitchens anyway, as I am seriously thinking about an Ikea kitchen. We set a date to go to Ikea - yes, it really does require planning - and eventually The Day arrived.
Ikea is actually only about 40 minutes away. It usually takes longer to get back. I normally go to Ikea on my own, as I can pretty much guarantee that one of our gruntles will be dissed if we go together.
The problem isn't getting to Ikea, it's (a) the parking, and (b) how long it takes to get around and do everything. Even a quick "in and out" isn't quick at all, especially if it involves buying a kitchen unit - it requires 2 additional lots of queueing: once to order the items, and then again after the checkout to wait for the order to be picked and assembled.
We walked through most of the store very quickly, stopping maybe twice to look at something. We got to the kitcheny bit, and it took forever. I wanted to examine the cupboards and drawers. I wanted to see how the different drawer combos worked. I evaluated all the insidey bits. I thought about our kitchen. I studied the doors. DH did well, really.
Eventually, we discussed a drawer for the embroidery stuff, and agreed what size we wanted. We then discussed the drawer configuration, and innards, and queued to order. We then bought lots of innards. Experience has shown me that it's quicker, easier and better to return items having bought too much than to have to go back and buy more. The Returns department doesn't necessitate going in to and round the whole store.
We raced through the rest of the shop.
We queued to pay.
We queued to wait to collect the kitchen unit.
And we went home. Without arguing, Without even a bit of gruntling.
Wonders will never cease.
