A Mixed Bag of Tricks

I was tied to my house yesterday, doing very mundane tasks.  It was landlord laundry day and since the only working laundry facilities are in my personal space, I do it.  It isn't like it interferes with anything else, as it would have back in the day when the boys were small and all I had was a washer spin dryer but it is a task that needs tending to all day.  No big single task.  It was a day of a variety of things.

I picked raspberries.  

We don't have a huge patch and it is in serious need of care and renovation. Not a huge amount of fruit but enough for us here. Renovate after fruit season and look to next year for better production.

I sorted my needles.

Okay, that does sound weird, but before moving from my wee house, I put all the needles in one small box, just for storage.  

I came across these sweet little boxes at the dollar store a few weeks ago and bought them, not knowing what I was going to use them for.  They were only a dollar twenty five, so not like it was big money to buy something that just made me happy. 

When I needed urgent clothing repair and couldn't find the sewing machine needles, I knew it was time to sort things out. I had forgotten where I put them, and when I finally found them in that mashed and stuffed full box, I was determined to find a better solution.  These little boxes are it.  Each class of needles has it's own space: tapestry, hand sewing, sewing machine and specific task needles like darners and beading needles. It is so nice to have them ordered and on the shelf right where needles should be.

Next, I started playing around with the warp on my loom.  I had spent time over the last week watching many videos online about warping and what worked and that, combined with my own small bit of experience with a rigid heddle loom, led me to Kathy Elkins very good video on warping a loom back to front.

As you can see, midway through my task, I was interrupted by the nicest kind of interruption.  My brother stopped by!  It was unexpected but just really nice. 

Then the rush of making dinner, doing the dishes (or not)  and I didn't quite feel ready to finish the warping.  There are a couple things I wanted to think through and about before I tie this one on as they say. This may just be a prairie reference, but to tie one on means to drink and party to excess, so yes exactly like that but with coffee and fibre.

Sitting on the little yellow box right beside the bookcase, I couldn't help but think about my books.  I do have a lot of craft books,  four stuffed shelves that didn't quite fit them all.  When I reorganized my bedroom/study and put the miniatures in their new house, a couple shelves were freed up and I decided to put some of the books in here. Yesterday, I gathered all the miniature books to move them.

In my head, I only had a few, but really, it is a pretty substantial pile. Miniature houses, miniature embroidery, miniatures with polymer clay, miniature rugs and carpets and so many more.  There are also a few books that cross the boundaries of crafts like embroidered knotted gardens,  a fascinating book and a couple knitting treasures, the Knitted Farmyard and Knitted Gardens.  These last three were bought expressly to use with all the lovely miniature pots and garden furniture I found on vacation in Mexico to establish a garden for my miniature home.  

The other class of books that I think will end up here are the sewing books.  Sewing room, sewing books.  Works for me.

And to top it all off, there was knitting in the cracks of the day, between and around all the other things in the day.

I did pick up the sweater, but this just seemed so much more interesting and cheery for such a gray smoky day.  Yup the sweater is in the long haul the hard part.  That part where keeping up your interest in it is a full time task.

I love it but...

Today is going to be a bit of the same.  Moving the sewing books, warping the loom, a possible venture to make jam.  Who knows where this will go?  !!