Say it all together: ‘We must not clutter! We must be sparse, we must be spare, we must be oh so organized!’

photograph by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Okay, so my tongue is in my cheek when I poke gentle fun at the ‘gurus’ who have laid down the ‘no-clutter’ laws…

and I agree- I drive myself crazy with mis-placing stuff in my layers and heaps in the studio.

But, gee, sometimes, just a leeeeeeeeeeeeeeetle bit of clutter can be so much fun!

I was telling my friend about the oh so neat vintage Japanese silk reeling thingies that I bought at the Habu booth last year.

That’s one of them at the farthest left on the shelf and another hanging below on the pegs.

I can’t  remember their proper names, but, boy are they ever neat to work with.

I’ve used them for plying and they work beautifully.

They are a treasure for so many reasons… they feel wonderful, they feel imbued with history, and they still work!

I decided to take a pic of them to send to my dear friend, since I have been chatting to her about them.

Before I knew it, one thing lead to another…

and instead of just taking a ‘clinical’ pic of the silk reels, I had to gather up a bunch of things from around the studio and put it all together to keep the reels company.

Clutter? well…. yes….. but you see, I really am fond of all of it…….

and, it’s all so useful…. well, mostly…..

So, do you surrender to the joys of your clutter or are you ~oh so disciplined~ about it all?

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

In the contest announcement, I  posted a pic, taken from my computer desk, looking across at the drawing table.

There’s no way I am showing that pic again (click the link if you must…. shudder….)

But, I am showing the newly cleaned off drawing table, tadah….

I can actually sit there and draw again! Hurrah!

Thank you, Diane Dobson Barton for inspiring me to clear up some of my creative clutter!

(Click on her name to order your copy of Controlling Creative Clutter).

AND

The winner of the contest is SARAH (#33) who has 4 other housemates who all need help with their creative clutter!

I hope that Sarah and her gang will have a successful clutter clear up! And then, back to their creativity!

Thank you so much, everyone who entered the contest!

Stay tuned… there are more contests coming up at Hankering for Yarn!

(photo by noreen crone-findlay copyright)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

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 spend my waking hours in the studio, and don’t need much room to sleep- )

BUT that also means storage in the bedroom is just about non existant. erg.

So, when closet organizing popped up from Martha Stewart’s website, I went to have a look.

Her expensive options are totally out of the question for us, but the cheapest option looks kind of useful…..

here’s the link:  closet makeover

Do you have some good ways of organizing your stash?

and yes, I know – give away give away give away……  I’m working on it!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

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 2 inches (5 cm) in from each side.

Then, I drew around the posts on the back of the lable thingie and poked holes with a sharpish file.

(Couldn’t find my awl… now what was I saying about getting organized? erg)

I pushed the posts of the label holder into the holes, and miracle of miracles, they held! Kewl! So I folded a little  piece of paper to fit it and wrote vaguely what is in the box.

I figured if I was going to do one…. I may as well do them all…

I think I just had a ‘Martha Moment’.

It was VERY satisfying!

Now, I wonder where I put my awl?

 Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay

Post from: Hankering for Yarn