Organizational Skills Trials

I've been on an organizational kick lately. I purchased Organizing Your Craft Space with a B&N gift card I received for Christmas (yay "free" books!)

Looking through it tonight, I realized that my 6' space of desk that I have just doesn't fit the amount of crafting that I (want to) do. My hubby Ryan & I have thought about other alternatives, but it's just not seeming to be feasible in our >1000 sq. ft. apartment that's filled with stuff. We've experimented a bit with thoughts of transforming the closet in the 2nd bedroom into a crafting closet, but can't figure out an easy way to do it without dismantling the closet or adding extra shelves, which isn't an option in our rental.

In any case, I'm going off on a tangent. I've been organizing lately. It all started when my hubby bought me a shelving unit to put my cookbooks on, so I can actually reach them rather than having to grab the step stool or climbing on the counter to reach the high cupboards. With that top cupboard almost empty, I was able to move all the knick-knacks crowding out the linens in the linen closet (and yes, there's something wrong with that picture! ;)). Once those were moved, I could rearrange the linens so they actually fit!

Then it came to putting away the Christmas decorations... at which point I almost gave up on the idea of organizing and consolidating. I mean, just looking at the pile of Christmas decorations, and then our boxes they used to be in... it's a scary process *sigh* In any case, we went from 7 boxes & 1 large bag of Christmas stuff to 4 boxes, with an extra box for Christmas tins, which are almost gone now that I used them for Christmas goodies this year! :) In any case, it's quite the accomplishment. Things are finally organized according to what it is (i.e. Christmas village in one box, ornaments in another, etc.), rather than everything just thrown into boxes & packed back into our garage.

In the process, I emptied a Rubbermaid container, which is exciting since I now have another container in which to store fabric, which is desperately needed since the recent purchases before & after Christmas out-grew my current boxes. Which brings me back to the fact that eventually, I need a crafting space of my own, even if it's half of a room somewhere. A few shelves for fabrics, a nice tall work table that I can stand or sit at, and an area to store all my tools.

But for now, I'll continue organizing, sorting through, and getting rid of unnecessary things around the apartment, in hopes that one of these days we'll have the space to allow for just a little more room in my corner of the second bedroom, which is my crafting area :)

New Books in Store for 2010... and a few resolutions.

I have a few new books to work through in 2010, and for years to come, I'm sure. While I still have plenty of crafting books to work through, I'm also the proud new recipient of Sewing: 2010 Day-to-Day Calendar. It's an awesome calendar that has over 100 sewing patterns and projects to work on throughout the year. Although I'm not sure if it will be possible, seeing as I have a full-time job among a lot of other commitments, I'm making it my goal to complete each of the projects by the end of the year. Given that they aren't super-complicated or complex patterns, I think I'll be able to do it. I just might have a lot of extra Christmas presents for 2010 and many random craft items to sell at next year's craft fair ;)

I'm also looking forward to seeing copies of Applique Your Way: 35 Pretty Projects & Patterns and One Line a Day: A Five-Year Memory Book, both from Chronicle Books. I kept a written journal for years, but lately it's just seemed like another item to check off my list, and I lost my desire to write in it a while back. I'm hoping that participating in the "One Line a Day" book will get me writing for myself again, recording what's going on in my life on a regular basis! We'll see what happens ;)

The applique book should be great as well, since I tried applique for the first time this year, and while the ladybugs stuck well to the pockets, peeling the Wonder Under fabric off didn't go so well :) I made a few dresses for Dani, a precious little 2-year-old girl, and my dear husband was stuck peeling the backs off of the Wonder Under fabric. :) Maybe the book will have a few tips for me to work through that process. Or maybe you, my faithful readers, have a few comments yourself? :)

In any case, I'm really hoping to devote more time to crafting this year, and hopefully by the end of the year, have a more dedicated place to work on my craft projects! Here's to a great new year, and to improving our craft skills all around! I'll share my tips if you share yours :) Happy New Year!

craft fairs, Christmas, quilts, and more.

Just because I let the blog go for a little while, doesn't mean by any extreme that I haven't been crafting! I did a few odds and ends things through the summer, and finished my first ever clothing item, which was an exciting feat. I have to say, Chic & Simple Sewing: Skirts, Dresses, Tops, and Jackets for the Modern Seamstress (which that skirt is made from) has to be one of my new favorite books. There are so many patterns for clothing that I would easily pick up in the store this weekend and wear until it's completely worn out! Now I just need the talent to make all of those clothes :)


October brought the idea of participating in my first craft fair, which led to many late nights of making various patchwork coasters and reversible table runners! It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun, and by the time I finished that weekend, I had agreed to participate in the annual craft fair held at my work as well, which was actually far more successful than my first!

December brought Christmas, which, as I'm sure a lot of you know, means making presents and figuring out what particular presents and fabrics fit which particular people. Fun none-the-less, but a little stressful :) After all, I'm still in the process of working on two different stitcheries that were intended for last Christmas. One of these days they'll get done! ;)

As a result of the Christmas projects and finishing up coaster sets, I have leftover Christmas fabric, which has inspired me to make a Christmas quilt. I'm still debating between a few styles, but I'm excited about the prospects!

In any case, I just wanted to check in and make sure you guys knew that I hadn't completely deserted you! I'm still here, and still crafting as much as ever. Hopefully I'll find the time to be posting here more frequently as well. You're more than welcome to keep me accountable :)

On one closing note, I'm looking to find a book that can act as my "mentor" for sewing questions when I don't have a physical person to turn to. While a book could never replace a real live person, it's a good resource to have around the house as well! So I've found these two books:

Complete Photo Guide to Sewing - Revised + Expanded Edition: 1200 Full-Color How-To Photos (Singer)

New Complete Guide to Sewing (Readers Digest)

Any suggestions from the peanut gallery? If I'm going to spend the money on a book like this, I really want to be sure that I've found the right one, and unfortunately, our library system is closed for a few weeks due to funds, so I don't have anywhere to check these books out in the meantime, since neither of them are at the local bookstores right now. In any case, I'd rather have real-live advice from you guys out there than the few (very contradictory) customer reviews on Amazon. So I'd appreciate any input you can give! Or... if you have another book that seems like a better fit, recommend away :)

Thanks, friends. Hope to hear from you soon... and I hope that I haven't lost all of you faithful readers during my hiatus from the blog. :) Catch you all later.

-Mary

p.s. props to my dad who took the new photo in my banner :) i get my photography skills from him ;)

to be continued...

hi guys. sorry for the lack of blogging in the last month & a half. i'm sure i've lost a lot of you readers in the meantime, but for those of you who are still around, waiting for that next post... i figured i owe you a bit of an explanation.

while i love blogging and love the opportunities this site has brought me over the past few months, i'm going to have to take a step back for a while. i'll be back -- that much i know. this isn't a project that i want to give up on, but with how busy life has gotten lately, i don't have the time to craft like i used to... and even when i do have the time to craft, i don't have the time to post on here, or even keep up on the blogs that i follow.

so this is just "see you later" for a little while -- until life calms down & i have more time to spend crafting and blogging and following all of you wonderful people on your own adventures :)

until then...

away we go...

Off on vacation so things will be a little bit quiet around here for the next 2 weeks. I'll be sure to come back with pictures & stories & keep plugging away at the giant list of blogging ideas that are rolling around in my brain! :)

Don't miss me too much ;)

busy times! also... February craft challenge (finally!)

I knew that this past week & a half was going to be busy, but a few unexpected things (oh, like buying a car) made it a bit more hectic than I had planned! my best friend bought a new car a few days ago and left a nice car needing a good home. seeing as my car was needing repairs more & more often, we had been thinking about a new car anyways. when the most recent problem (a crack in the rear axle) led to the repairman telling me the there was no rear axle available in the entire continental US, Puerto Rico, or Guam, we knew that something had to be done. so for a decent price, we decided to buy the 2002 Mitsubishi Mirage de Coupe off of my friend... and figure out a way to either sell my car or get the state to buy it back :)

anyways... in the midst of the busy week i finally managed to get pictures of the newly finished shower curtain (February's craft challenge) and dig out pictures of the fabric basket that I sent off to Bley (March's craft challenge)! So without further ado... pictures of the infamous shower curtain :)



and the finished product...





what do you think? I think that's definitely the biggest project I've tackled thus far... and I really like the way it turned out! It's been brightening up our bathroom for several weeks now and I think it's a keeper :)

more tomorrow on how I made it and the book that I used to help me out!

Wow!

Ok, so people really DO read this blog! Or maybe I just need to get myself out there a little more often :)

After participating in Park City Girl's 0online quilt festival (fabulous idea, btw!) my number of visitors went up... and so did my comments! Just look at all those pretty little words :)



I feel like a proud mama :) Thanks, friends! And be sure to stop by (and comment ;)) again!

*I think I'm addicted :^)*