I am in the middle of trying to re-configure my studio so that the spaces work better.
I want to be able to get at my yarn and tools quickly and  easily, but keep them away from mischevious cats and small wicked dogs (yarnaholic animal companions are a pain in the skein!).
I am blessed with a large studio that we heat with a wood burning stove in winter and big south facing windows.
This is great, but oh so dusty, so I can’t have my yarn displayed openly.
Having a big studio means we have a tiny bedroom. That’s mostly okay, as I …read more

I love ‘cross pollinations’ in which I can bring together my various yarnie passions.
Crochet, tatting and spool knitting are so dear to my heart and VERY harmonious to combine.
I really enjoy making flat multi-media dolls to embellish garments and accessories.
Here are a few of the flat dolls that I’ve made with tatting, crochet, spool knitting, using everything from handspun angora  to wire:

They’re stitched to a tote bag that I bought at a second hand store. (love it) *G*

It’s a very bad idea to read a hysterically funny book when you are in bed, and your exhausted husband is trying to sleep.
Last night, I was reading with my wee tiny light, trying oh so hard to be inconspicuous…. well…. oops!
I am reading the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith, and the gentle, but hilarious adventures/misadventures in the agency and garage had me in stitches. Which meant that the bed was shaking like a windswept leaf.  Poor seasick (awake) hubby!
There was one passage that struck me as being totally ‘Winnie the Pooh’. That made me want …read more

I’ve been working hard to get my studio more organized, and have put up a shelf full of boxes. They hold roving and fleece that I will be spinning (eventually… I am deep into meeting deadlines on my new book, and I am not spinning yarn for it, so the roving has to wait).
Even though I don’t have time to get to it, I still like to know what’s where.   I bought some of these thingies a few years back [for some wooden boxes that I've since given away]:

I took the bolts out and measured half way up the box

and …read more

I’ve been posting about organizing yarn stashes
Here’s one of my most favorite book cases. It’s GREAT for storing yarn and stashes:

We found it at a garage sale. For FREE! The lady who owned it reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally hated it. (I didn’t ask why).
On the second shelf, I have a heap of yarn in wire baskets from a retired freezer.
They came from another garage sale.
They are good in that I can see the yarns and colors, but tend to latch onto one another and launch themselves at me if I pull on one of them without anchoring the others. erg. There’s …read more

A constant question for yarn aholics yarn afficianado’s is: ‘ACK!!!!!!!! My stash has eaten my house! HELP? ‘ um…. ‘How do I store my yarn so it’s easy to get to but out of sight of cats, dogs, friends and relations?’

Here are a few pics of some of the ways that I deal with my stash of yarns and rovings:
Rule #1 for yarn storage: Any piece of furniture that is high enough to have yarn stored under it is fair game in our house.

This pic shows the old family …read more