Tag: storage

Still At Home, Still Crafting
Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Cross Stitch Patterns · Elegant Ladies · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mermaids · Project Bags · Storage · storage bags · WIP

Still At Home, Still Crafting

My Time Stitching12 Comments

It’s been almost 4 months at home during this Pandemic.  I am sad, frustrated, depressed, angry and lost.  I am sad for all of those that have been sick with this virus and for those that have lost loved ones.  I am frustrated and depressed because I can’t go out and do the things I used to do or go to the places I used to go.  And I am angry because the numbers of cases are going up again and hospitals are reaching capacity in some states.  I cry watching the news, wishing I could magically make everything ok.  And I have periods where I just don’t want to do anything.  My husband is going back to work tomorrow, and I am really sad about this.  I will miss him being home and I worry about him being in a place where the risk goes up.  So I turn to my crafting to take my mind off of things.  So, what exactly have I been up to?

First, I want to talk about a product that I purchased on-line a month or so ago from a yarn shop.  I saw this product last summer at a fiber fest, but chose to spend my money on yarn at the time.  But it has been in the back of my mind as a great organizational piece.  How do you store your circular needles?  This is what I decided to use:

circular needle holder

Sorry about the poor photo.  It was the best I could get while it was empty.  It is hand made by Wonderfully Made and I thought it was a great idea.  So as soon as it arrived, I started pulling my needles out of their original packages and threading them onto the holder.

circular needle holder with needles 1

Now I am not so sure.  Now I will have to put the needles in a needle gauge to find the size I want (which was included with this holder)  and will have to measure to see how long they are.  And I always forget if I am supposed to measure from tip to tip or just the cable.  I think it was easier to flip through the packages in my accordion needle holder to find what I wanted.  It looks nice and I love the concept.  Maybe in time I will forget all of the packages.  What do you think?

In my last post, I forgot to post my May project bag.  It took 19 days to get to me by mail and from a driving distance of about 20 minutes.  It really took the scenic route.

May project bag

This is the front.  I love the pink and yellow watercolor top of this one.  And the striped border looks awesome with the Spring colors.

back of May project bag

Here is the back.  Just look at all of those pink boots!  So fun and totally a surprise.  And since then, I have received the June bag.  It arrived in record time, getting to me in a day.

June Project bag

I was over the moon when I received this one.  It is now my favorite 😉

back of June project bag

And here is the back.  SO SWEET!  Kristine knows me well.  And she does an awesome job with all of her project bags.  Different shapes and styles for everything you want to store.  She is Clevergirl Designs and you can find her on intsagram.  Oh, and this bag is already filled with a project  gifted to me from a very sweet friend.

june project bag filled

I can’t wait to start stitching this beauty.  I still need to find a fabric.  So for now, I am still stitching on Lady Mirabilia and here is how she looks this morning.

Lady Mirabilia progress 1

She is getting there.  She has been a joy to stitch and I find myself relaxing while stitching on her.  Unlike my knitting project…

wingspan progress 5

I pulled out the Wingspan yesterday and knitted 3 rows and was so done.  This pattern is not hard, just requires my complete attention and I feel like I hold my breath and really tense up during every row.  Ugh!  But it is my only knitting project on needles right now and I really would love to get it finished.  A few rows every day 😉  So far,  I am very proud of myself that I have not started anything new.  Still trying to get WIP’s finished.

I spent last weekend getting some of this and that done.  And I crossed 2 bigger projects off of my to do list.  I finally redid all of my cross stitch files.  They were still mostly in boxes from when we remodeled the basement.  They all wouldn’t fit in the 2 filing drawers I had planned, so they went into the old file cabinet and with a few more files added.

cross stitch files

It took 2 1/2 drawers, but they are like I want them.  And all patterns are filed.  Woo Hoo!

I also reorganized most of my yarn.  I put a lot of it in the 2 file drawers that would not hold all of my cross stitch files. the top drawer is all AJHC Wools yarn.  Just love her yarn.  The 2nd drawer is mostly 2 skein project yarns.  It will be fun to rummage through the drawers when I want to start a new project.

yarn files

My ottoman is also home to some pretty yarn,  Mostly one skeiners.

Yarn storage

So that is what I have been up to.  Trying to keep myself a little busy and away from the tv, except to watch Vampire Diaries.  How are you spending your time these days?

 

 

cross stitch · knitted scarves · Knitting · Mermaids · Passione Ricamo · storage bags

New Storage and Stitchy Progress

My Time Stitching25 Comments

 

So I have been looking for someone to make me some bags and grime guards for my WIP’s and I finally found a gal that does an amazing job!  Her name is Deanna and you can find her Facebook page  at Deanna’s Frame Covers and Storage. Here is what I received in the mail from her yesterday:

WIN_20160806_181833

The coffee bag contains my 36″ scroll frame, with matching grime guards.  It was wonderful to see the Passions Ricamo SAL #3 again.  Can’t wait to get back to it :). The bag in front holds a 24″ scroll frame with matching grime guards.  I just love the colors in this bag and if you look closely, there are little pink owls in some of the squares.  Sweet!  These bags are so wonderfully made.  Lined with a matching fabric and zipper closure.  I am so happy that my projects are out of pillow cases and into some very beautiful, sealed bags.  I also asked her to make me a custom bag to hold all of my scroll frame parts when they are not in use.

WIN_20160806_181638

It is beautiful and quilted and perfect for storing all of my scroll frame parts :). Yes, I do have some scroll frames not in use, LOL. So if you are looking for some bags for your Q-snaps or scroll frames or grime guards for them and hoop frames, check out her Facebook page.  She is so sweet and she does an awesome job at creating these bags.  And she has a pretty quick turn around, too.  So check her page out and get some beautiful bags for your projects 🙂

Since finishing Aphrodite, I have been working on another mermaid, Passione Ricamo’s SAL #2.  It is good to be working on her again.  Here is where I left her last night:

WIN_20160807_124310

I love all the metallic threads in this one.  So pretty and sparkly.  I am nearing the bottom of this one and will have to go back up and add her face and hair and then hundreds of beads!

I am also working on trying to use up my scarf yarn stash.  I made a list of all the yarn projects I have and I have 2 pages worth!  The last scarf I made was for a friend and it is the prettiest one I have done yet.  I forgot to take a picture of it before sending it to her, but I did have a little of the yarn left and I made this swatch:

WIN_20160807_124350

Such pretty colors and so sparkly. These are my favorite colors for winter.

Yesterday I got a new phone, so I will be spending some time today getting to know it :). What are you working on this weekend?

Storage

I Love to Organize!

My Time Stitching10 Comments

I don’t know about you, but there is something I just love about organizing.  And the companies that make bins, baskets, boxes, bags and buckets know this and rely on this.  Today I want to share with you my newest find for organizing my Kreinik threads. About a year ago I “de-kitted” my cross stitch kits because I realized that I was buying duplicates of beads (a future post) and krenik threads.  These things are not cheap.  So I put them in an Art Bin box that has spindles for spools of thread.  Since the Kreinik threads are so thin, there was so much empty space being wasted and I have been on the look out for a new way to organize my threads.  So here is what I found over the weekend:

Krenik thread storage

This cute little pink box (had to have it in pink although it does come in other colors) that is called the “Really Useful Box”.  I found it at an office store and they come in many shapes and sizes from a very small box that will fit in the palm of your hand all the way up to great big storage bins.  This one happens to be the 1.7 litre size and is quite perfect!

krenik thread storage 3

After putting them in the box, in numerical order, by type, there was a little wiggle room and I didn’t want them to get all jumbled up.  So I took some thin card board ( I get it in the 12 x 12 paper packs I purchase from Stampin’ Up!) and made some dividers.  I  cut 10 strips   5 5/8″ x 2″ and they worked perfectly!  I still have a little room to grow before I purchase another one.  I even cut some extra dividers in preparation for the next box 🙂

krenik thread storage 2

It has a clear lid so that I can see what is inside without having to take the lid off.  This will come in handy when I spill over to the second box.  I think this is the perfect box for my Kreinik threads and I don’t anticipate having to re-organize them again in the future.  I just love it when an organization problem is solved.

Floss · Storage

My Floss Storage

My Time Stitching42 Comments

I was pulling threads for my next project and realized that I never shared where I store my skeins of floss.  DMC cabinet

I think that Hubby ordered this for me back in 1998.  It is a limited edition DMC floss cabinet.  I have number 1386 of 2000 made in 1999.  I remember it took a long time to get as they were ordered in advance and made after ordering.  It’s in my living room, so it is a little scratched up from 2 boys and their toys over the years.  But I love it!  I have patterns to stitch panels for the doors that will have my initials on them.  I just haven’t gotten to yet.  I’ve liked the wood doors for years, and only this last year dug out the patterns to do in the near future.  Here is what it looks like when I open the doors:

dmc cabinet open

It has 13 drawers and the first 12 drawers are numbered with dmc floss numbers. The drawers have sections in the front and back for the floss.

close of dmc cabinet drawers

dmc drawer

Whenever I need floss for a project, I usually check my boxes of bobbins first and then pull the threads that I need from here.  I make a list of what is empty and the next time I go to Joannes or Michaels I pick up the colors and replace them.  I have noticed that some of my floss skeins are really old and a slightly different color than a newer skein.  I hope I pay attention to this when I want to use those colors on a project and make sure that I don’t use them together.  I love my floss cabinet.  It’s so fun to open a drawer and see all the beautiful colors.  The bottom drawer is my “junk drawer” of the cabinet.  It’s full of black and white floss and duplicate skeins.  I also store all of my needles, small scissors and some varigated floss in there.  Where do you store you embroidery floss?

DMC logo plate