photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Here’s another of my

most favorite tools

of the designer and author’s trade.

What is it?

A spreadsheet.

Why is a spreadsheet

such a big deal?

Believe me…

it’s truly one of

my favorite tools for a lot of reasons!

This is the spreadsheet from my latest book: The Woven Bag (the link is to Amazon, but it’s not one of the payback links…. it’s just the only link that I can find to the book at this point…. )

Anyhow…. when I am creating a book, there is a TON of information that I need to organize. I designed about 37 bags for the book. I needed to keep track of a whole bunch of things for each of the bags….. a million piece of information were flying and whizzing around my head, believe me!

As well as all of the information about each of the bags, I also had all kinds of other things that needed to get into the book- all manner of how to’s and illustrations and charts.

There were different deadlines that had to be met, and because I was zipping stuff off to my editor all the time, I needed to know when I sent what.

So, you can see why I would love spreadsheets so much!

It gives me a chance to break down and organize a mountain of information into an easily accessible, visual format that lets me pinpoint everything I need to keep track of.

There are categories like chapters, projects, which looms are used in which bags, what fibers and embellishments, whether illustrations and charts are done,  the dates when different deadlines are met, as well as text requirements for each piece.

I also like to establish codes that match up on the spreadsheet, to help me with the whole organizing process.

For me, working on  a huge project like writing a book requires that I summon all the organizational skills that I can muster.

A book may look like it’s just a collection of some projects and that the author probably had lots of fun whipping it up, but the truth of the matter is that the creation of a book takes monumental effort that is almost mind boggling.

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

This ……….

is a shot of my studio, taken from my computer desk,

looking across at  my design desks.

They are totally out of control right now.

I have just finished launching 2 self published books,

Rosie Recycle Dolls and Spooligarumi,

and am going like blazes on the next one……

as well as getting up to speed with Hankering for Yarn.

Because I have so many balls up in the air, things have just heaped up to the point of- ‘aaaaaaggggghhhhhhhh’

here in the studio….

So, when I read about Diane Dobson-Barton’s new book: Creative Clutter Control, I thought… oh yes!

Diane Dobson-Barton is an artist, so she knows the creative personality from the inside out!

Creative Clutter Control is written with humor and insight and is really well thought out.

I highly recommend it! And am going to work with many of her suggestions.

Now, you already know that Diane has kindly offered a copy of Creative Clutter Control as a prize – you saw the title to this entry!

How to win?

Leave an entry, and post a comment about your Creative Clutter !

The contest starts now and runs until March 22.

Who can enter? Anyone, anywhere.

Good luck!

Now… to deal with some of this clutter….

(photograph by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Does this include your yarn stash?

If so, here are some ideas on how you can organize your stash for the new year. This way, you’ll know where your supplies are and not waste precious crafting minutes (or hours) looking for what you need.

Clear, plastic storage units are always popular and a good way to store and organize your stash so you can see what you have. With lids on, these boxes keep out dust and dirt, and possibly pets and kids.

Plus, you can easily see your yarn inside without having to open anything.

They come in a range of sizes and stack well. They work great for natural fibers as well as artificial ones, but if you store wool in them, consider adding cedar chips, cedar balls, lavender sachets, etc. — things to keep the moths away.

You can also make use of a hanging unit. These come in canvas as well as plastic and if you’re short of space, you can store one of these in your closet, which won’t take up a lot of room.

Again, you can easily see what you have without having to dig through boxes or a chest (my current dilemma).

With either of these storage options, you can organize in a few ways:

* By color

* By fiber content

* By weight

* By animal vs. artificial

The good thing about organizing is that you can do it however you want, in whatever way works best for you. So how about it? Are you organizing your yarn stash today to get a fresh start on the new year?

Images: Rubbermaid and Bed Bath & Beyond

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

Here are a few pics of how I store mine, as well as a nifty new gadget that I really like for carting my hooks around with projects:

For quite a few years now, I have been using this plastic pencil box to carry crochet hooks and needlework tools in my purse.  It’s not lovely, but it’s efficient!

Recently, my best friend gave me a set of dpn tubes for my sock knitting, and they are great.

The folks (nancys knit knacks) who make the dpn tubes also make another kind of dpn tube that is great for carrying crochet hooks:

It’s one of those incredibly simple ideas that make you go, oh yes! Clever, very clever!

At home, my hooks mostly live in clusters in various cups:

I found this painted wooden goblet at the second hand store and fell in love with it. It’s perfect for the hooks that I carve:

My steel hooks  live in a small vintage pewter cup:

Crochet hooks are so beautiful they deserve to be on display!

Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay 

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

The Three Doors Down project on b5 is so neat! It’s giving me a great excuse to enjoy some of  ‘blogging neighbours’ on b5.

Here’s a link that explains what the ‘3 doors down’ project is.

This morning, one of my neighbours UP the b5 blog list (Jennifer at De Clutter It) wrote a posting about hankering for yarn.  She posted a pic of the most Zen yarn storage solution I have ever seen.  You really have to check it out!

Zen yarn photo at De-Clutter It 

She also posted about some other really great yarn storage solutions.  Brilliant. and useful, too! thanks, Jennifer!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn