Do you Inbox?

AAAAaaaaahhhhh! I'm falling behind. Boo. All of my well laid plans have fallen by the wayside. It's a tragedy. I need to get back on track if I want to NOT lose my mind. *sigh* I'd like to say I feel a little better, but not so much. Things are still a mess whether I admit to it or not.

Now, I think my problem is that I get busy, tired, and lazy. Life, eh? The other problem is that I tried to continue on my road without  turning, or upgrading, or however you'd like to think of it. I maintained the course without making any further improvements. Improvements are always needed on an endeavor like mine. I believe I've said something about an "inbox" before. I was going to think on what to use. I also don't have a command central, yet. I think that I was waiting for the command center to finish what needed to be done. Bad move on my part.

Do you have an inbox? What do you use? Does it work for you, or is it just another drop spot? Does size matter? How often do you clean it out?

Well, I have had an inbox before. I never cleaned it out. I dumped everything in it; ie: yarn, crochet hooks, knitting needles, sewing needles, hair ties, bills, paperwork, pencils, school papers, spare keys. Blah. Seriously. I am horrible about these sorts of things. I maintain that I need to make time every day to go through the inbox. I need to put things that need my attention in it and not junk mail, school spam, or anything else that should probably go straight in the trash. Oh trash! I need to keep it free of trash.

So, now I know what to do. I know where I want to put it.....eventually. Until I have my command central, though, I think I shall put it on top of one of my bookshelves in the front room. That way it is easy to get to and right where I can see it and it can remind me of what needs to be done. This definitely needs to be a thing.

The next order of business is what to use. I wanted to use those stackable ones so I could have an in and out box. However, I'm cheap and didn't want to pay $8-$9 each. Boo. So I have a ton of wicker baskets at home, I thought I'd use one of those. However, I used one of those the last time. What a debacle! I did use a large one, though. I used a large one because I always have so much that needs to be taken care of.....because I let it pile up......and then it becomes unmanageable.....and we are right back where we started. Blech.

I still think one of my wicker baskets could work. And, hey! They are cute. I like cute. It's my thing. I have one that's shorter and rectangular with handles. I think it will work nicely.

It looks much like this one from epicureanfoods.com.

I also have a really cute white one with big handles and a cute flower liner. I haven't made my final decision. I do need to decide soon. I also need to take a bit of time to catch up on my paperwork. This weekend, hopefully. 

In crafty news, I am a knitting machine lately. I have finished two and a half hats since Sunday! I know, right?!? lol I still have a bunch of whatnots on the needles, and I am happily plugging away. I hope you are staying safe and warm during the snow (if it happens to be where you are).

Breaking the Silence

All this quiet, huh? I know it's been a while, but I have been so very busy. It's a great excuse, right? While I haven't been doing any great organizing lately, I have been doing a lot of crafts.

Yesterday, my baby turned three. It's a little bit incredible, really. She was so tiny just yesterday. I swear. lol I made her the cutest baby doll. I know she doesn't look like a real baby, but we decided to use her favorite colors. I used this pattern.

I gave her blue eyes and blond hair (I didn't have it on her yet), and Miranda exclaimed, "just like me!" It was so great that she noticed.  I even gave her a belly button! It's called a woven spider wheel stitch. Pretty neat, huh?

Of course she needed a dress. So, she got hair and a dress and was ready to go! I used colors that I knew Miranda would love. I'm happy with the results and she loves it. 

Hubby modeled her for me. He's the best. Then, at the last minute, I decided I needed to make her a dress. I found this tutorial on Pinterest. It was really easy. I think it took me roughly two hours from measuring and cutting to finishing up. The tutorial was easy to follow and fun. She also had a great link to the exact measurements for a wide range of sizes. You can find it here.

Hands on hips is totally her new stance. lol I made it out of two of hubby's old tshirts. The body was a dark red and the arms were a beigey-brown color. I didn't think it fit the birthday girl too well. So, I went and got some navy blue Rit dye and gave it a soak for about an hour. I like how it turned out. She seems moderately happy with it. lol 

I've also been working on a wonderful baby set for my sister's new baby that she is expecting in April. I was so incredibly thrilled when she asked me to make the coming home outfit. I can't share pictures yet. I am very sure she doesn't read this, but I just want to be sure. 

I hope to have more to share soon. Hope everyone is enjoying their month!

Playing, I Mean, Organizing Yarn, Hooks, and Needles

Today I want to talk about organizing yarn/needles/hooks. I gave myself permission to have a stay at home morning. I definitely needed it and considering how it is 2 degrees F with the wind chill, I feel it's justified. So I spent the morning playing with my yarn. Read: I organized one of my stash totes.

I am still looking for the perfect way to store my yarn and projects. For now I use these purple totes that I bought on clearance. I printed out labels and taped them to the fronts. They read acrylics, natural fibers, finished objects, and unfinished objects. They still do not hold all of my yarn, but I'm doing a lot of working from my stash this year so we'll see where that gets me.

Today I worked on my Natural Fibers tote. I took everything out and made sure it was documented in my Ravelry stash and that there were pictures. This also gave me the most awesome excuse to fondle all of my lovely wool. I may have had a huge grin on my face the whole time. 

Here's a screen shot of some of my stash. I had lots of fun. Plus my phone has an app that allows me to see my projects and stash when I'm out and about. Now if I am out and see yarn that I need or actually do need to pick up some yarn I can see what I have on hand. I am filled with so much happy when I look at my stash. Plus it makes starting a new project easier. How? Well, now I can link the yarn and see how much I have and if I need more or if I have enough to start another project with that yarn. 

This leads me to my needles. I made this needle roll a few years ago. I love it, but a few years ago I didn't have nearly the needle stash that I do now. I am thinking that I need to make another one just for DPNs and keep this one for straight needles. We will see what time allows, though. I'd also like to confess that even though I have this roll there are still needles all over the house. Meh. It's life.

There is a lot of different ideas out there about organizing circular needles. I usually do not have a need to take my whole lot of circs with me anywhere, so having a moderately cheap solution for the house works good for me. It also seems that my method isn't too different than some of the more expensive options out there. I took a tote that has the deals that come up over the handles to latch it. I made this nifty label, and it's all ready to fill.

As for the needles themselves, I put them in your average, run of the mill storage bags. I write the size of the needle, the size of the cable, and what the needle is made of on the label. If I were really good I'd follow this with, "then I organize according to needle size". I'm not going to lie to you though. lol I really just have them put in no particular order. It's ok. My circular needles are not so much that this is causing a huge issue when I go to look for one. Maybe someday I'll organize it better. This is working great, for now. 

Here are my needles, sort of. This is nowhere near the extent of my hook collection as I have been crocheting for well over twenty years now. However, this is the holder that I use most. I do have a special holder for some of my other hooks that have sentimental value. Pretty odd, huh? Well, that's me. 

I think that's about it for today. I have to work on my grocery list and will myself out of my warm house into the frigid temps to get food. Boo. *sigh* I leave you with this picture of the most adorable toddler sock ever! And it was a pretty fast knit, too.