Change Please

I have been on a whirlwind of organizing and streamlining pretty much everything that gets in my path right now. I was up until 2 AM  last night cleaning out and reorganizing my filing cabinets, work table, and yes, even the junk drawer in the kitchen.  

Working from home over the past two months has created a lot of excess clutter and is now demanding that I rearrange my dining room cool artists' studio for a more efficient workflow. I have a pretty work area, but I need it to be efficient as well as pleasing to my eye. As things have gotten cluttered I sweep them offstage into pretty little storage bins and boxes. I have tons of those pretty little bins and boxes. After a while I lose track of which pretty box is concealing the thing that I really need to find.  

I am also doing some blog maintenance...  mostly layout. Please excuse any wonky bits and bobs until I get things sorted out. In the meantime, please enjoy this pretty photo that I snapped with my iPhone a couple of weeks ago. 

Any organizing projects that you have underway? Any that you have on your to-do list? 

❤  
-t

Red is Dead...

just some of my awesome new office supplies.  

Crisp Little Apple Clips!  Even though they are red...

I am finally working on my bedroom suite. I call it a suite because I have the entire upper floor of the house... my own bathroom, bedroom, office, and walk in closet. It's not HUGE, but it is a healthy sized space. When the ex still lived here the suite was done up in red, black, brown, and cream/white. It was good. I liked it. It suited us as a couple. Not too girly, not too masculine, and playful, fun. When the space became my own, I left it pretty much as is. Sure there were changes, I got new bedroom furniture. But overall I kept the same color palette.
I DO like red... and I like black. I also like brown. And cream & white are ok as an accent. My original plan a year ago was to keep the red and black (the strongest presence with artwork, and accessories already in the room) and to add a mossy lime green. I slowly added some green here and there... but with all that red, it just wasn't floating my boat... and slowly started feeling a little like Xmas. Last month I went to IKEA and bought a gorgeous leafy printed green duvet cover. I brought it home but left it in the package for over a week... I wasn't sure if I was going to go for it. But every time i looked at that cover I got so happy. THOSE were my colors. that was my sanctuary. So I decided to ditch the red, pitch the black, and go green!

Last year i bought some raw wood shelves to use as... well shelves. I also got a couple of 5ft long ones to use on top of two filing cabinets as a desk. My intention was to stain them, make them look nice, etc. Over the past month, and a year after their original purchase, my awesome roommate stained all of the shelves and the desktop a gorgeous espresso. He also spray painted my filing cabinet. They were the UGLIEST fleshy tan color. And now the are gorgeous mossy green. And i have been shopping at work for super awesome green desk accessories. Like a little green magnetic hedgehog that holds my paperclips for me, his name is Dozi.  And then there is Winni, the green dinosaur guy that has a mohawk and mane of bristles for cleaning my computer keyboard. Archibald is the green turtle that floats upon my desk with a pad of post-it-notes atop his tummy.  Or what about Johnny, the little green guy with open arms just waiting to hold my cell phone. Though I am pondering introducing some orange. Dozi might get swapped out for a little orange ghost type guy.  I will also be adding Sebastiano in green.  What do you guys think?  Dozi or Curly?  Curly was named curly before he had spiral paperclips.  Dozi looks good in the spiral clips as well.  btw...  all of the above mentioned names did not come from my creative mind.  they were given those names by their creators, and all can be found at the fabulous shop where i work in downtown Oakland.  

Ravel-ry Rouser

OH, my darling Raverly ... how I love you so!

Yarn + Knitting + RAD Organizational Tool = An Ecstatic PuNkrAwKpUrL!!!

This site is simply amazing. It's like they read my mind. You will need to have a Flickr account to make it work properly, which is fine by me. I love me my Flickr. And at this stage, the beta stage that is, there is a waiting list. Being a knit-one-one diva, I received an invitation and got in on the VIP list. It pays to know the right peeps. The first night I was there I spent far more time than I have to spare on something that others would judge as frivolous and unnecessary. I went crazy, foaming at the mouth, my eyes darting around the room, looking at the piles of stash artfully displayed, taking inventory and entering it into the site, under the stash page of course. I attached photos, I checked dye lots, I retook photos of certain skeins. Then I started entering projects... wow, I have sooo much more to do. I decided to be systematic about it, I am going to take one shelf, one drawer at a time and catalog the stash that way. As for projects.... I have to decide how far back to go... So much to think about, my head is swimming! Check out the site. If you need to get your knitting world organized, or more organized, or ridiculously anal organized... it will become your new home.

Other news...
or... what is the deal with that big huge photo of your wrist at the top of the page?

New classes have posted on the Knit-one-one site. Check out the Lace Cuff Class being taught by yours truly. Not only will you make the cutest, coolest, hippest, lace cuff... BUT you will also learn the coolest, hippest technique, Magic Loop.

If you haven't heard of magic loop allow me to enlighten you... Using one, count them, ONE long circular needle you can knit small circumference items in the round. For example, maybe something like a little lace cuff, a sock, a leg warmer (if you like that sort of thing, Stevie Nicks!), a baby hat, the top of an adult hat, gloves, etc. It is really ideal for those who are terrified or just annoyed with double points. Which I am not. I got hooked on magic loop because I wanted to be able to do two socks at once, which magic loop is ideal for. Now what is the advantage to magic loop over using TWO circulars to knit small items in the round?? I have no idea if there are any technical advantages. I have not done the two circ method. The obvious advantage to me would be having to only buy ONE needle, and not having to keep track of which needle you are using next.

**btw... except for the cell phone pic taken by me at the top of the page, all of the pretty cuff photos were taken by the ridiculously talented woollywumpus! thank you Emliy! xoxo**

Killer Organization...

SOOOO much has been going on. I have missed blogging so very much!! School is so intense & I must say honestly that I am not motivated whatsoever! I was able to pull off straight A's last quarter despite my life being turned upside down and violently shaken. This quarter I am trying to stay focused on school, but all I want to do is work on organizing my new life. Set up my bedroom/workspace, get a car, a new bed, etc. I picked up my new car today (pictures will follow). I got my new bed last week. The photo above is of the midbeam that supports the bedframe. Gotta love that IKEA graphic charm! I laughed so hard that I forgot to heed the warning and wound up cutting myself on the damned thing. Stack that one up onto the half a dozen other cuts, scrapes, and bruises from my head to my stubbed toes....(anyone who has known me for any length of time knows that I am ridiculously clumsy)

Injuries aside, this last week has been the most solid. Things have just been falling into place, and quite beautifully. Car, bed, friends, shelving... Just look at my new shelves. And not even close to holding all the yarn that they are quite capable of. My life is starting to feel like it's mine. I am in control of my own emotions finally. things for being here for my sap! Now I am misty eyed and ready for bed. ; )
But before i go... I have been knitting quite alot, while i am putting homework off. I will snap photos of my current projects and of the MOUNDS of new yarn I have adopted since my regular posting. Yarn porn city... just you wait.