Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Culling the herd

In a recent post, I mentioned that I felt a little makeover coming on...

This is how my cube system looked last year:

This is how it looked recently (before makeover). As you can see from both photos, I wasn't using all of the space in the cubes, mostly because there were so many loose balls of yarn just piled up. In addition to the wasted space, I somehow accumulated more fabric over the past year and had no place to put it other than in the basket on the floor. It wasn't long before the basket was plum full.

Problem solved!

No, I didn't get rid of the yarn. I just cleverly disguised it in bins ($2.99 at Christmas Tree Shop - Helloooo bargain!).

As indicated by the title of this post, I did "cull the herd" and forced myself to admit that I had yarn that I'm just never going to use. I still don't know what I'm going to do with it, but at least now I can see my fabric! Most of those orphaned skeins of wool are in plastic bins stored in my cubby closet. I figure it's no different than putting clothes away for the winter.

Just look at all of those yummy colors!

Bag patterns are in their own bin next to home dec fabrics (guarded by Posey),

and Charm packs and ribbon are within easy reach.

Speaking of easy reach, I always find it hard to remember where I put things, especially when I can't reach them. This time, I made labels for everything.



Now, when I want to know if I have grommets or eyelets or D-rings, I know where to look!

Several months ago, I ordered belt buckles from jcaroline creative and couldn't find them anywhere. I just found them a week ago in a plastic bin with clothing fabric. It must have seemed logical at the time.


Now they are in a clearly marked bin. I wanted labels that I could change, so I made these by cutting double-sided fusible Pellon stuff (like Timtex) 2.5 by 3.5 inches and fused fabric to both the front and the back, then I satin stitched around and added an eyelet for the ribbon. The white label is just a regular Avery sticker label that I can change.

Incidentally, my friend Linda gave me this tobacco box a while back and it smells wonderful. I hope my buckles smell good too, not that people should be close enough for a sniff!

My mom gave me several plastic cases of my Nana's old buttons. This is just a sampling. You are jealous. I know you are. Just admit it. I.have.fabulous.buttons!

The basket that used to hold my fabric now holds knitting WIPs. Not too much there. I finally frogged Frances (too small) and the Sunburst pullover. Ariann is in the Market Squares felted tote and there are some single socks and the Larger Than Life Bag, but that's it.

OK. I lied. Somewhere, I have a baggie stuffed with felted flowers and Aune, and Flutter Sleeve Cardigan and Rusted Root are downstairs in the living room next to the couch. I've been picking at them here and there, but have been too tired and not especially interested these days.

When I finished the room last year, my friend Betsy said, "I want to see it in a year, because I bet it will be messy again". Eat your words Bets! Just to prove that I'm not cropping out heaps and piles, here's the rest of the room (one more shot of the cubes, just because I love them!):

Sewing/cutting table with fabric bins stored underneath:

Bookcase (it's not "perfect"- there are some loose patterns, magazines and books that need to be put away).

My other sewing machine and thread. The quilt is covering a basket of wool. It usually covers the sewing machine, but I used the machine last night to make the hanging basket labels.

Pens, paper and other little do-dads:

So, that's the tour. Who knows what it will look like next year. Despite all of this organization, I still feel like I need more space! I'd love to have the room that Mr. S uses as his office (talk about a room that needs organizing!).

I'll leave with a photo of my new gadget:


A plexiglass extension for my sewing machine! I've wanted one for a long time and finally found one this past weekend at The Fabric Garden in Madison.

Now I just need time to sew!

6 comments:

Octopus Knits said...

Nice, and I LOVE the color-coded buttons!

P.S. The fabric bowls (in your previous post) are so lovely - I will have to check out the pattern.

Lisa said...

You have the most beautiful sewing/craft room. I feel green. ;)

Lisa said...

wowza lady - looks so good. What a big job but in the end, it looks totally worth it!

Knitting Diva said...

You are Brilliant! And yes, your button collection is Awesome!

Chrissy said...

Look at all those colors! You have great taste! And you are so organized. I wish I could be that organized. Seriously.

Aimee said...

I am proud of you! Having been so intimately involved in the initial cull a year ago, I'm so glad that you've kept it up! Good girl!!!

:-)