On the gardening front I've discovered that I really should have kept an accurate journal so that I can learn from my mistakes. So one purchase this weekend will be a notebook dedicated to the whole gardening experience. Maybe one day the boys will find it and be inspired or maybe they'll just toss it out who knows? I've had relatively good success with my tomatoes but the size of the individual tomato is small and I blame that on container gardening. I'm going to go the Square Foot Gardening route next time. I hope to get some boxes built in the next week or so and create some raised beds. My friend who started her garden along with me is struggling like I am. Since her garden is in the ground she's had a little more success and after determining that raised beds was the way to go and building a few boxes, her garden is going like gangbusters now. She has pulled up a few things and roped off the square foot sections and is going to try again in one of her beds. Since we're in North West Florida we have an extended growing season so a late garden is possible. Well unless a hurricane wipes it out.
In the department known around here as Crafty Endeavors, as I mentioned yesterday I'm on overload. There are so many, many things I want to do and have overwhelmed myself. My organizational skills beyond suck so chaos surrounds me. I'm on a mission to get my house in order, you know be company ready all the time. Not because I'm big on the whole clean thing but because I'm tired of all the piles of this and that and most of it is mine. Between all the WIP, the yarn, the magazines, the books, and that's just all the craft related books, the living room is a mess and continues to be a mess. I can't paint or do anything to make the living room nicer until I get the crafty stuff under control. I have tons of binders in the garage so organizing the magazine stash isn't that big of a deal, although those plastic magazine holders for binders get kind of pricey when you need, oh, 10 packs or so at $3 a pack. I'm not sure that would even begin to wrangle the magazine stash and no, I'm not tossing them out. At least not the quilting mags and most of the cross stitch mags. You just never know. A long time ago, when we had our first experience with a basement when we lived in Ohio, my whole JCS collection was stored in a copy paper box on the floor of the basement. It flooded I lost all my JCS magazines. The CS&CC survived, well a good bit of them, only because they were printed on a better grade of paper. I also lost all my Leisure Arts the Magazines and For the Love of Cross Stitch, so no, I have an unusual attachment to the magazines I've collected over the years. Eventually I might be able to toss out some I know I'll never stitch from but for the time being I'm holding on if only for the inspiration value. I've been trying to come up with my own homemade magazine binder holders and well I think I'll just buy a few packages a week and go from there. Should I mention that I already have 4 binders full of magazines on a shelf in the garage?
I have plans to make some covers for a couch in the far end of the living room. Should really spruce it up as it's one ugly couch. Even with my minimal sewing skills I think I can snazz it up quite a bit. I found some great fabric on clearance at JoAnn's a few weeks ago but there wasn't enough to cover one cushion much less the whole couch. I think I might end up mixing a couple of different fabrics but anything will be better than how it looks right now.
I have so many designs I want to stitch and unfortunately I'm the slowest stitcher on the face of the earth and I should really quit whining about it but it's a fact. You see I have this pile of WIP, I have this stack of charts, I already know where I'm going to hang most of the stuff, it's just not anywhere near "hang me on the wall ready" yet. Most are still in the "I dream of starting this one day" phase. I also have the "I couldn't wait to start this so I'm going to put in a couple of stitches even if I don't touch it again for
Then there's the quilting, the knitting, the crocheting oh and my obsession with learning embroidery. I don't have time for all this stuff. Whine, whine, whine, yes, but I do love to dream about it all. In fact I day dream so much that I'm always shocked when I walk in the bedroom and the handmade quilt I've pictured a 100 times or more in my mind isn't already on the bed. Am I the only one that does this?
5 comments:
No, you're not the only one Melissa :) Here's a small sampling of what you'll find at my house: my first ever patchwork quilt all done except fot the binding along the edges, and that's 3/4 done, and fabric for another 2 quilts waiting to be started; a rug hooking project started and 3/4 done along with 5 other rug hooking kits bought on sale and waiting to be started; one teensy punch needle project completed and just this month actually made into something along with 7 punch needle patterns and two purses for said punch needle designed embellishment, waiting to be started; oh, about 20 cross stitch projects started because I also have "startitus" like you and can't wait to put those first stitches in. We won't even go into how many XS projects kitted and waiting to be stitched. Oh, forgot about knitting...which I can do really well, in my mind, but not in RL, and crochet....oy.
Anyway, on another related note, I saw in MSL once, a display of magazines on shelves and it was really nice looking. If I can find that issue, I'll let you know which one.
I'm with you and Andrea on this, Melissa! I want so badly to paint the walls, hang the curtains that I bought (but should have made with my "new" Bernina, which has been just sitting since I got it TWO Christmases ago), but the pile of stash and magazines and unfinished projects (counted cross stitch, knitting, sewing and a lone unfinished quilt) and books completely gets in the way. Each weekend I think, ok, I'll clear this away/put it away/throw it away and start in with good intentions...but then it dies out. I've been good about sticking to Houses of HRH lately, but who know how long that will last--I've literally got 12 cross stitch projects in various stages of not-done-ness.
It's a disease, I say! But, we who are afflicted are in great company! I've got 29 cross stitch projects in various stages of completeness, one lone quilt top, a hugh number of unpainted wooden items to decoratively paint, and I just bought more cross stitch patterns and a knitted bead bracelet kit....hmm-mmm...craft-aholics anyone?
NO! You aren't the only one! My list of things I want-to-do grows every single day. A trip through my bins of fabric last night have my mind going overdrive, thinking about all of the cool things I could do to finish off xstitch pieces, make quilts, wall hangings, pillows for the living room, pillows for a bench, table runner for my coffee table, etc etc etc.... There are crafting paraphanalia all over the house, in spite of having a room dedicated to my obsessions. I have tons of magazines (quilting & xstitch mainly) too, but just spread them all over the house in piles and in boxes & baskets. Putting them all together in one spot might be a little frightening. :)
To organize just start simple. Sort into boxes, fabrics in one, patterns in another, etc. Stack boxes of coordinating items together then you can evaluate your storage needs and find a perfect place to house them or purchase the perfect storage system. I just love organizing but it does slow down the actual doing part sometimes, Happy Stitching, CJ
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