Saturday, April 30, 2011

Time to Work


Another thing I have learned from being a stay at home person is that what the day is doesn't really seem to matter anymore. A Saturday can be a Monday or a Tuesday can be a Saturday - meaning I do what I want when I need to. Yesterday I spent watching TV all day - catching up on wedding stuff so today I need to buckle down and get some work done.

Having said that today will be devoted to working on projects for Island Cottage Needlearts -my other moniker :). I 've got wool to cut, fabric to slice and a pattern to publish for the next May release. Then for another project, dyeing wool, choosing the silk threads and the hand dyed linen to complement the design. It will be a work/creative weekend. Just what I love! Hope you are enjoying a weekend doing something you all love.

Friday, April 29, 2011

British Wedding Date


This morning I was up at 3:00am - TV turned on - Roby brought out for his P&P - did not want anything to take me away from the TV. Set myself up for a few hours of royal watching and it did not disappoint. Just loved it! She was beautiful, he was handsome - they looked so much in love and I hope they have a long and loving life together. Of course I did not want to miss a minute so there was no needlework going on for these idle hands.
The Brits sure now how to put on a party with pomp and circumstance.
My sister came over for the balcony kiss (es) and we had our own little British breakfast.
Pink grapefruit, raspberry scones with strawberry and rhubarb jam, and scrambled eggs with a cup of tea- delightful as they say. I served it on my only purchase from London when I was there - a breakfast dish set.. how appropo.
To bed early for this gal .. have a good nite...Joni

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Organizing the clutter - YES I will

I read the other day that storing your hand dyed threads in plastic bags could result in the dyes having a reaction to the plastic. I don't know the complete details on this but maybe someone out there can enlighten us by leaving a comment.

Anyway it was a good excuse to buy some pretty boxes at Michaels. They are having a sale and I am always a sucker for a sale. Besides I am on an "organizing my workspace" trip so any box will be put to good use. The clutter in the two rooms I have devoted to my crafts is driving me crazy. When I was working a 9-5 job I never had the time. I just wore blinkers because I couldn't see my way clear of getting rid of the clutter. Now that I am home - I am attacking the rooms with a vengeance. - well the plans are in place and just need to be executed LOL. First step to decluttering - what do you need to keep. Ohhh that will be hard. That's why I have my sister coming this weekend to rein me in and justify what I need to keep. I figure a well organized studio will lend itself to my devoting more time to creating. Right now I spend more time looking for things ughhhhh.

So my trip to Ottawa today was to locate the "Solutions" store. I fell in love with it when I walked in. Even though I had to drive 1-1/2 hours to get there - it was worth every minute. I can see that this store will be visited often in my pursuit of the organized workspace! Lots of goodies.

You can also find great stuff at Ikea. Found some wonderful cloth bins - my colour of choice was pink. They make great storage bins and I love the idea that they fold flat. You make them into a box by zipping the bottom. I also found some black vinyl ones that are the height of a letter tray and I use them to store projects in progress. Just use your imagination and you can find all kinds of items that lend themselves to organizing your craft essentials. Now I am looking to find something to organize my stacks of ribbon rolls. Any suggestions out there??

On a side note - what the heck happened on American Idol tonight.. one of the best singers, Pia is gone. what gives with that!