Busting stashes, taking names

Seen on Buzzfeed - several great ideas to bust your stash!  Here are some of my favorites.  I already wrap presents with some of that acrylic / eyelash yarn that is no fun to actually knit with.

Cabled tree covers for corks

Wrap a wooden block and use as a stamp

It's about time

This takes a lot of balls ...

Here's an idea for something to do with all those little yarn leftovers!

an ode to ikea

My latest project:  redoing my craft room, a la Ikea.  Look at my wall of yarn!  It makes me so happy just looking at it.  Before, I would sit on my couch and get stressed out by all the clutter.  Now there still is clutter, but it is contained.  And now I have all my books within easy reach.

This is the sewing corner.  Check out the fabric bolts, the same ones I discussed in an earlier post.

I uncovered some old sumi-e sketches that I did in a class back in Seattle.  Makes me want to take it again.  That big swath of pretty fabric is just pinned up there, no hemming or finishing.

i have attained SABLE

Stash
Accumulation
Beyond
Life
Expectancy

Major revamping of my craft space going on right now;  am purging clutter and stuff I don't use.   Including yarn.  It has been an exercise in trying not to be attached to stuff.  For me, yarn is especially hard to get rid of.  Part of what I love about buying yarn is all the hope and potential it possesses.  Sometimes the dream of the potential of the yarn is better than the finished object.   So parting with yarn is a little like parting with some of my dreams.   Don't get sad though - I'm making room for more!  In the sense that with less clutter and quantity, my existing dreams have room the breathe and actually take shape and happen.  That's the idea, at any rate.

I would do well to heed the advice of this blog.  I love this cartoon from it.

To bead or not to bead

You have seen my collection.

I have waaaaay too many beads.

It's worse than my yarn collection.  Because when I look at my yarn, I find a pattern and I can start knitting.

I look at my bead collection, and I cannot begin.  I am overwhelmed.

My bead stash increased quite a bit last year.  Beading was something I could easily do with visitors.  It was easy to teach, easy to learn, and we could craft together.  I also wasn't venturing out much, so I ordered a lot online, with variable success.  Two problems:  the obvious one being that I couldn't see the bead in person, so occasionally it was way off.  Like the democratic donkey beads that I was going to make earrings out of, but didn't pay attention to the size of them (they're huge!).  Two, I often had to order a pack or a string of beads, would use a few, and then still have the rest remaining.

So I sat down and made some stuff.  First, I made this - it's a super long chain that goes down to my navel.  Here it is looped twice.  I like this new technique (for me) of putting chain in between beads.

Recently I went through a Groupon phase and overbought a lot.  I bought a groupon to a local bead store ... which actually was kind of sparse, but I lucked out and found these wood agate beads that I really liked. 

But I still have so much remaining.  I had a little party with a few neighbors and taught them how to bead.  Still too much remains.   Anyone want some beads?