Arts and Dannas

February 18, 2011

Just a quick little update to let you know i've posted some brand new handspun yarn into my etsy shop. I have to say it's pretty darn awesome. http://www.etsy.com/shop/icemelon

In just under two weeks is my birthday... i might also have a little present in the form of a coupon code for my etsy shop!

February 17, 2011

I’ve only ever been half organized when it came to my yarn and spinning stuff. When I moved into my new apartment over the summer I had set up some of the wire mesh cubes I had in my old room, but they just were too… blah. I had been eyeing a shelving unit from IKEA for who knows how many years now, and I finally had enough money and a big enough car to tote it home in. I put it together all by myself one night and dragged it into my bedroom where the old cubes had been. I sort of haphazardly transferred everything over and there it sat like that for a few months. Finally I decided to re-organize it and clean off the top which had accumulated lots of odds and ends.

It’s kind of a tight fit at the end of my bed but it was the only spot there was enough wall space. This shelf is sort of gigantic, and I absolutely love it! There are plants that live on top because they are my cats favorite plants to eat, (Oh yeah, I acquired two cats recently too, but I suppose that’s another blog post!) and it’s easier to close the bedroom door when I’m not home rather then come home to a plant knocked over dirt everywhere. This happened once.

There are bins that fit oh-so-perfectly that had originally been bought for the old cubes. I think I would have been totally heart broken if they didn’t fit, because I wouldn’t have gone ahead and bought the new shelf. Only buy what works with what you have, right?

The contents of the cubes are as follows (from upper left zigzagging down): The green half bin has thank you cards, extra business cards, and random paper goods for my etsy. Next are pattern books, magazines, and buttons. Also there is some fiber that’s been recently dyed I just shoved in there. The next cube is my Dream in Color yarn stash, which doesn’t fit into the next bin: the brown bin is full of my “nice” yarn. Pretty much anything that isn’t acrylic and also my sock yarn. The green bin directly under is full of fiber to spin. The dotted bin has my own handspun yarn I just can’t bring myself to sell. The next cube has a divider in it that actually makes four little cubby holes, and right now there is random yarn, FOs, and a WIP. Next to that is cotton in a plastic container and crochet hooks and knitting needles. Below that is my ball winder, swift, a cd spindle I made years ago, and leftover handspun bits. The wicker bin has odds and ends. The next brown bin has undyed fiber. The cube with the Amazon box sticking out has some etsy items that are listed, along with shipping materials. The bottom row is pretty much random yarn/odds and ends. As you can see I keep my laundry detergent down there... but it’s right next to the laundry basket so that makes sense, right?

Whew, that was a lot of explaining! How does everyone else keep their hobbies organized? Oh, and here’s a close-up of that Dream in Color cube, how could I resist?

February 8, 2011

Between getting more hours at work and then changing jobs (and working even more at the new one) and moving into a new apartment (and never bothering to get internet), I've sort of let things get pushed into the background. Since I started knitting last year I've never really looked back. I still haven't tackled any very large projects, but I did sort of stumble into sock knitting.
These are socks I made for the boyfriend for Christmas. It sort of took me a year to finish these, because they were meant for his birthday earlier last year. I'd like to think that because he had to wait so long to get them it made him appreciate them more!
I think for the future if i'm going to knit something for a present, I should just assume it wont be done at the nearest holiday. I say this because i'm still trying to finish projects meant for this past xmas.. nearing two months ago.