Same Sheep, Different Day

I have some new bags up in my Etsy shop.  I love how startled these sheep look.  Go and check them out!  Buy some!  Valentines day is coming soon!

Work on my sewing room has stalled a bit.  I got some new drawer sets to store my sewing and crafting supplies.  For right now I have more drawer space than I need.  That should change soon.  I haven’t gotten to the yarn yet.  I ‘m not sure what’s holding me back on that. 

The Solstice Slip pattern just did not work for me with the Garden Daze yarn.  It seemed just a bit too busy.  I tried a couple of other patterns before settling on the Lava Flow Socks by Sockbug.  I am knitting them on 0’s (2mm).  The fabric is very dense.

For my Fellow Americans Experiencing Winter

I give you, Garden Daze:

This is the yarn I just finished winding into a cake.  It will become Solstice Slip Socks by JC Briar.

While most of the rest of the country is wrapped in a blanket of white snow, we are having unseasonal sunshine.  We are NOT complaining.  In fact, we are being quietly joyful about our golden bounty.  I just couldn’t resist some brightness to knit while I soak up some much-needed vitamin D.

Little Minx and Simple SKYP

Little Minx Socks by Karen Scott

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight in Spinel

Needles: Knit Picks Options US 2 (2.75mm)

Impressions: I used a cable needles on these socks and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Lately it seems that if you do not cable without a cable needle then you belong in the retard class. I used a cable needle and I am proud of it. I get more even tension with a cable needle. I am sure that I will not drop any stitches with a cable needle. I am sure that I am twisting the stitches correctly with a cable needle. Cable needles are fine tools.

Simple SKYP Socks by Adrienne Ku

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight in Love in Idleness.

Needles: Knit Picks Options US 2 (2.75mm)

Impressions: The SKYP has nothing to do with Skype. It stands for the stitch pattern. For the interest of copyright, I will not repeat it here. Go check out the pattern for yourself. It is simple and easy. I think these are fairly unisex socks. It was from the first year of the Rockin’ Sock Club. Worked in this pattern, it pools and flashes. I really don’t mind. To me, these socks are very “denim friendly” and will go with most of the clothes that I own.

While I Was Interrupted

Progress on the Great Sewing Room Clean Out has been slow over the past week.  I did get some things done.

The drawers full of DMC floss (and assorted crap) are cleaned out.  I threw away any floss without a label.  I put all the rest of the floss in with my collection in the closet.  I will sort through that later.  The drawers now stand empty waiting their new assignment.

 

I sorted through my sock yarn.  I listed some to sell on Ravelry and have already sold one skein.  I made sure that my Ravelry stash was accurate with what I had in the bins.  I trashed some odd skeins.  I still have two bins of sock yarn.  Neither bin is full.  I‘m fine with that.  My goal for the year is to add only the yarn from the 2011 Socks That Rock Club.

I used to have two bins of fabric scraps.  I weeded out all the scraps that were smaller than my hand or just fabrics I know I would never use again.  I am down to one almost-full bin of scraps.  That might be a problem unless I work on using up scraps.  I am thinking of selling small zippered notions pouches on my Etsy shop.  That would use up some of the scraps. 

You cannot really see it, but I have put all my 8X11 scrapbook paper in the filing box on the bottom shelf.  I used to have some there and some in the cabinet.  Now it is all together.  Sorted by color.

Just for comparison, here is the before and after.

Now onto the rest of the yarn storage, business taxes and making more GothSacks.

Clean Out Interrupted

I’ve had a to take a day off from the Great Sewing Room Clean Out to do some…sewing!

Some wonderful person ordered two GothSacks over the weekend. I make them up once the order is placed. I like to think about where the ‘Sacks are going while I am sewing them.

The next target for the GSRCO is:

The Under-Desk. My sock yarn and my fabric scrap bins. I’ll probably fill the vacuum cleaner bag with all the fabric and thread that's on the floor.

Day One of The Great Sewing Room Clean Out

Progress has been made.  How could it not?  Yesterday the bookshelf looked like this:

I had already started on the first shelf before I got the idea to blog about it. 

Today the bookshelf looks like this:

Pluses:  The bottom two shelves are craft books and quilting books.  I now have a station for my Pixlkitten mailing supplies.  The kitties have a half shelf from which they can sit and supervise. 

Minuses:  I have about a shelf’s worth of old sewing and quilting books to sell to the book store.  I have a large outdoor trash bag full of old magazines to recycle.  I have a chicken and two pigs to take to the charity drop off. 

The next step:

My MIL’s embroidery floss.  These are two organizing units that have been sitting under my crafting desk for 1.5 years.  I just realized while typing this that I have another small plastic bin full of her floss as well.  The organizing units are nice.  I think I can re-purpose them. 

The Great Sewing Room Clean Out of 2011

The time has come, my friends, to make some sense out of my sewing room.  Things have gotten out of hand since I began incorporating my Mother-in-Law’s sewing supplies into my own.  My sewing room is starting to look like a junk room. I have very little space to work.  It is becoming less and less fun to be in there. 

The Before Photos:

From the doorway:

The East Wall:

The South Wall:

The West Wall:

I cannot show the north wall because it has proprietary Pixlkitten stuff on it. 

I have to be careful where I begin.  This is still my workspace for my business as well as my crafting.  I need to be able to continue to craft while I am cleaning out.  You know how things always get messier while you are organizing them.  So I decided to start with the least used areas first.

My first victim:

You can see that I have already begun on the first shelf.  It was full of notebooks of patterns printed from the internet.  I have recycled all those pieces of paper.  I now have only 2 notebooks of patterns that were purchased.

I am thinking the giant chicken will have to go too.  It’s legs are broken.  It was made by my mother-in-law and is therefore hard to part with.  However, chicken chic went out with the 80’s.  Even she did not want it anymore.  The pigs are going to charity.  The Goth bunny is staying as is the fabric basket.  Bookends are like gold to me.  They will be used in the new room.

Back to work!