Bags & Baskets

I've been trying to figure out a way to organize my crafts and needle work.


Here is a for now solution:

My dining room table with basket of yarn, boxes of junk and some projects - at least they are in 1 place

I used a small yellow flower pot to hold my hooks, needles and scissors

This is the good ole basket of yarn

And here is what needs a nice organized pretty box to hide, my ribbon, sewing stuff, paints, brushes, glue gun, glue sticks, fabric glue, etc...

And here are 2 bags of old WIPs finally finished. My headbands are pretty much done. I have 3 left that are WIPs but I needed a break. One pattern for too long gets boring.

And I'm trying to make this bag... the pattern is from Stitch n' Bitch: Happy Hooker I hope it comes out good. I have about 20 rows done. I started it last night at the 1st Stitch n' Bitch meet up. I wish I took pics last night but I totally forgot.

Here is the project at the moment.

Here it is up close. It's basically 1/2 double crochets

Here is a photo of the book's picture. I'm going to attach the flower and not the ribbon to mine. I chose my own colors and type of yarn as well.

Here is a close up of both versions

And here is a last picture... I hope it comes out at least close

as always you can click the pictures to see them larger

Stitch n' Bitch

Today is the 1st night of Stitch n' Bitch. It's an idea taken from the book.

Knitters and Crocheters basically get together to stitch... while they bitch. People get to know one another, talk, learn from each other, be inspired and encouraged by one another... and while they are there they enjoy a few snacks or tea.

So I did some research to find a SnB in my area and found nothing remotely close. So I decided instead to start an unofficial one of my own for now. My sister, cousin, and possibly my sister's friend will be at my house tonight, crocheting, chatting, munching and hanging out.

I hope it turns out well =)

WIP Wednesday post might have more than just my pictures!

Crafting and Organization

I need to work on organizing my crafts... why - because they are all over my living room.

The perfect corner would actually be where my dining room table sits at the moment. No one uses it. We don't eat at it anymore... since it's crammed in a tight corner. And Paul isn't home... sitting at a table alone can feel lonely. So I don't use it for anything but opening the mail.

At the moment my non-yarn related craft tools are in small boxes, shopping bags, or ziplocks thrown about our overflow closet. It's hard to find things, and honestly, this closet is a mess as it is. That needs it's own organizational blog... and pictures. (Be afraid).

So I'm trying to think of ideas. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment. Each corner of the space is occupied with furniture, plants, or electronics. So I figure I need to play with what I have while only adding a few frugal pieces of organization. It needs to be beautiful and functional.

So here is my table in the corner:
Here is my basket of yarn:
My yarn can sit in the basket... it's cozy there. It's also a good way to tell me to stop! When that basket is full, my trips to the craft store are few... because I have enough to work with. It's the perfect size.

What needs organization is the scissors, needles, hooks, fabric glue, fabric, sewing machine, craft paper, paints, exacto knife, and glue gun. So it's time to think.

I came up with 2 ideas:

The 1st was to purchase a small side table like this from Ikea for $30. The shelf at the bottom can hold my basket of yarn and above can sit a decorative box with all my other goodies. But it seemed like a lot of money to spend on a table that wont be useful for anything else and doesn't even match my living room.

So Idea #2 was to use that dining room table. My yarn basket can sit by the couch and wonder about the rooms I'm crocheting in as it always has, but those other pieces of goodies can sit a top the table... in boxes, organized, nice, neat and out of the way. Baskets... boxes... for under $10 would do the trick.

Hiding... in plain sight
Then one day - when we have the room - I'll have a craft room... and maybe it can look something like this:

I love the space, the organization, the crafts and computer all in one place. I hate... the color.

I love the light, the brightness, the organization, the height, the use of this little corner, the color... I would want a spot for a computer (for pictures & research & printing)

I love the light, the brightness, the sitting area, the organization and fresh flowers

What I envision is a small room with lots of natural light, with a desk used as an office space. Where Paul and I can go online, do research, upload pictures and do some office work. In that same room, I picture shelves, filled with baskets of yarn, fabric, paints and crafts materials. I picture boxes, filled with paper work, craft paper, and other paper products, and jars filled with buttons, paint brushes, hooks, scissors, etc... I picture sage green or light yellow walls, a comfortable love seat or extra large chair, a stereo with great music, and scented beeswax candles.

That would be my perfect room... a room to retreat in. A room to relax in. A room to feel organized in. A room to share.

What do you say Paul? Can we turn our home office into an office/craft center?

Up to my eyeballs in hairbands!

just in time...

I've been working only on headbands until this craft fair

Hairbands for the craft fair!

Here are some of the headbands I'll be selling at the craft fair. I'm getting pretty sick of making them to be honest. These were taken with the new camera!

Baby Blankets, flowers & hairbands

An Update of crochet crafts:

Finally finished my friends blanket and made a matching hat

I've been practicing different flowers (excuse my broken camera)

Some more flower head bands:

Craft Sale Update

A WIP Wednesday post will come later this evening. Last night I was much too tired to take pictures of anything.

But the craft fair... it was yesterday. We got to the conference room it was to be held and got ready. We were given a small counter space to set up. Lauren took to the left of the counter and I took to the right. She laid out her hair clips and I laid out my headbands. In the end, I sold 11 headbands and made $62. Each one was unlike the last but there was definitely a trend of the types of headbands that sold. The shinier softer fabric which I found to look more delicate definitely went faster than the standard worsted weight acrylic. Everyone seemed happy to have us join their fair and I believe we are invited back for next time. I'm going to try and whip up some bigger pieces, like afghans, shawls, hats, etc... and hopefully this can become a hobby that brings in some extra money, gives me peace (I find it very relaxing) and can pay for itself through these sales. I know in total over time I must have spent at least $62 on yarn, but for what I had sold, maybe only a few dollars. Almost all of that money is for labor... which I suppose makes sense.

I don't feel right charging etsy like prices for the crafts I'm making. I prefer to still feel as if this is my hobby. This morning when I got into work and found an email from a woman I work with saying her daughter was thrilled with the headbands and wore one to school today, I was ecstatic. That is payment enough in a sense.

Anyway tonight the WIP post will be up.. hopefully.

My 1st Craft Sale

Today is the craft sale. I didn't even count how many headbands I have but there are quite a few. I'm wearing part of the inventory. I suppose that's advertising. Too bad I can't sell it.

Wish me luck!

Here is our flier... with a few things blurred out

Killing Acrylic

This post is kind of out of date. The night before the craft fair I decided I'd attempt to kill the acrylic headbands to help them lay flat. Basically I pinned them to my ironing board (which has 2 layers of padding on top) and filled my steam iron to the tippy top with water. I then went to town pressing my steam button allowing the steam to hit the yarn without allowing the iron itself to touch it. It worked like a charm!

Killing yarn alters some of the fibers in the acrylic. It reduces it's elasticity allowing it to drape more fluidly. It also sometimes gives the yarn a nice sheen.

The headbands pinned and ready to go

My trusty iron and pins