Finished!

It's only taken me six months, but I finally have everything as organized as it will ever be. All of my stash is in a closet, a bench, and a vertical cabinet. I just finished up this morning.

First, the closet. I now have all my threads and larger WIPs in there, along with assorted bags to hold or carry around assorted projects. There's even enough space for me to keep my laundry basket in there! Woo-hoo!

 

I also have room for my bag o' ribbons from Woodlawn's Needlework Exhibition and other shows. See how nicely I take care of them. Hahahahhahaha. This side space is sort of a catch-all for needlework and other sundry items I want to get out of the way.

Next up, the bench. When my father bought the house I grew up in (a few months before I was born), this antique bench came with it. We always referred to it as the "hall seat," so named because it was a bench in the front center hallway. Through the years it's held a lot of things in its rather commodious storage space beneath the seat. When we were all taking dance classes (three girls, youngest and eldest five years apart), the bench was the repository for our dance paraphernalia: tap shoes, ballet slippers, toe shoes, batons, leotards, tights, random costumes, whatever. When we grew out of that era, my mother took charge of it. I don't remember what was in it after that. Fast forward to the adult me, married and a mother: I inherited the bench when my parents downsized from a three-floor Victorian farmhouse-style home to a one-level rambler. For most of its life with me, it's held Jane's artwork. When I moved this last time, I put all her art in a box to make it easier to move. (The thing is heavy!) I finally decided the best use would be to house what wouldn't fit into the closet.

 

I have a basket of "current" WIPs on the left and my Scott Church Creative "Bunny Mummy" on the right, which I hope to start sometime in the next year. I just finally figured out how I want to stitch it and pulled threads. The pillow on the right is mola embroidery from Panama. The other three are pillows I made (two of the same cross-stitch design I and a friend created, one stitched over two threads and the other over one). It'll be a pain to move everything, but if I want blank canvas or some of the other WIPs that didn't fit anywhere else, I'll just have to deal with it.

The other vertical cabinet? I believe I've posted a photo of it before, but here it is again. I did add a few more projects, but it basically looks the same as in this earlier photo.

Some of the shelves now hold a few more project bags with WIPs. Note the baton sticking out of the urn. The last remnant of my dancing classes.

And that's that!

Kthxbai.

Progress?

It's been over a month since I posted that I planned to organize my needlework stash. I know you're all on pins and needles waiting to hear what I've done.

The short answer? Zip, zilch, nada. But I have put a lot of thought into how I want to organize my threads. It means basically starting from scratch.

You see, I've been doing much more painted canvas over the past year or two and much, much less counted canvaswork. Color families are much more important than thread numbers or names now. Even when I do counted work now, I end up changing the colors to my taste. Having all my threads sorted by color families would make that much easier.

My main problem now is doing it. I've been putting it off while waiting for some work to be done in my condo. It was originally supposed to be done in early July, but that didn't happen. So I'm now in the middle of it. I hope to have my space back next week so I can get started on sorting my threads. Perhaps after I hang some pictures.

I'm planning to do the sorting and organizing in the guest room, but that's the repository for all the pictures that need hanging. I will have to tackle that to free up the bed for sorting. And for guests, should I have an overnight guest.

I have been doing some stitching on a number of large projects. I do a little bit on one, then a little bit on another. It all adds up to looking like very little being accomplished. That's why I love my small projects. Those I can get done. A recent finish was a jewelry box for my eldest sister's birthday earlier this month.

The insert is a Mindy design that fit perfectly. The jewelry box is by Lee. This was such an easy finish! And the whole project was easily finished in a reasonable amount of time.

So that's where I am this month. I wonder if I'll make any progress that I can report next time. I mean, how hard can it be to reorganize all my threads? Don't answer that!

Kthxbai.

Oh, My

Has it really been that long since I posted here? Is there anyone out there? I understand if the answer is a resounding silence. Not even crickets.

I've decided it's accountability time. I recently decided to become a homeowner again. This time, though, I have a lovely, small condo that's just the right size for one person and the occasional guest. Having been here roughly two months, I think I've got the place fairly well organized, with most everything unpacked. What's left, you ask? Why, all my needlework things, that's what!

Well, that's not totally correct. Some of it's unpacked and stored after a fashion.

These would be my WIPs and projects at least mounted on bars. On top sits Stars for a New Millennium. The crowning glory?

I have in my storage unit across from my condo the three boxes I packed and moved from the rental condo, pretty much unloaded from the truck, placed in the guest room (which was the temporary holding station for all the boxes), then moved to the storage unit the next day by my brother-in-law so we'd have room to finish setting up the furniture (he put the bed back together) and find all the stuff I needed for the kitchen, dining room, and my bedroom. Oi!

Note that those wine boxes are empty. I think they could come in handy sometime. But those three medium boxes sitting there contain all my threads and a few random other things I can't recall. These are supposed to all fit in the smaller closet in my bedroom.

I don't know. Do you think it'll all fit? I may have to visit the Container Store for advice on reconfiguring this space. I also keep my laundry basket in there. Perhaps that may have to go to the big walk-in closet.

So this is my accountability post, after all these years. I'm determined to get to work on organizing all my needlework stuff sometime this week. It'll probably take some time.

But really, how hard can it be?

Kthxbai.