Saturday 17 September 2016

My Very Own Craft Room

Thank you all so much for your good wishes following my husband's retirement.  We're settling into a pleasant routine, helped by the lovely warm weather we had last week.

As a result of his retirement, I have taken over the room he used as his "study" and it's now been re-designated as my "craft room".  I had the foresight to decorate the room bright pink some years ago, so it was as easy process to convince him that he wouldn't want to use the room after his retirement.






I have collected together all my crafting bits and bobs.  They were previously scattered (hidden) around the rest of the house.  I must admit that I shocked myself at how much "stuff" I actually had.  Craft books alone fill most of the shelves in the bookcase.  I found so many duplicate items that I had bought that had been stored and forgotten about.  All I can say is it's a good job that I have spent this year de-stashing my yarn, because I would never have been able to fit it in the room otherwise.  It's certainly made me appreciate having a more streamlined yarn stash.

My mini sweater bunting is decorating the walls, and it's lovely to see all the different yarns and remember what I originally knitted with them (mostly socks).



There's still some more organising and tidying to do before I'm happy with everything and can remember where I've stored various things.

And because I'm no good at being disciplined, I bought three more craft books this week!  I'm going to struggle to fit them in the bookcase, but they were only £1 each, so I couldn't leave them.


There's something interesting in all of them.

This week I have finished the cardigan I was knitting.



Most of my cardigans are cropped or just below the waist length.  This is my preferred style for cardigans as I tend to wear dresses and skirts all the time.  Occasionally I wear jeans but I don't have any longer cardigans to wear with them, so this boyfriend-style cardigan fills a gap in my wardrobe.


It's in worsted weight yarn that had been frogged from a previous unloved cardigan and the pattern is a free one by Vanessa Townley.  You can see full details of this project on my Ravelry page, here.

 I'm now working on a shawl with the last of the unused yarn that I bought at Yarndale last year.


I love the colours.  The pattern is for a two colour striped shawl, but I'm just working with the one colour throughout.  It's semi-circular and the body of shawl is in stocking stitch with a lace edging.  The pattern is from a book by Kirsten Kapur and is called Cladonia.  I'm hoping to get this finished over the next week before Yarndale.

Finally, as well as the craft books, I bought some fabric this week.  I wanted something to make dresses and skirts for the Autumn.  I ended up with two fabrics, one for a skirt and one for a dress.

Dress fabric

Skirt fabric

I don't think I'll have time to make a completed outfit this week, but I'm hoping that I can get the dress cut out - ever the optimist.

Oh and finally, finally, I just remembered, Grace gave some some amazing fabric when I saw her recently.



Isn't it fabulous, Paddington Bear is my favourite character from my childhood and I still have all my books.  This fabric will be made into a tote bag for a knitting project.  Something else I'd like to get done this week - so long as I can find more hours in the day.

Well I had better get a move on if I want to get everything done.  I hope you all have a happy and productive weekend.  Bye for now.

22 comments:

  1. Lucky you to have a craft room all to yourself!

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  2. You have certainly made your new room your home, its looking splendid. I used blackboard paint to paint some wooden shapes, glued them onto pegs and now label all the baskets/boxes in my craft room. It really does make it easier now that everything is labelled. Hope that helps.

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    1. Thank you Lorraine. That sounds like a good idea, I'm still a long way from being properly organised and sorted.

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  3. Your craft room is pretty!! Love the tiny sweater bunting, so cute:)
    You have got a great collection of craft books!!

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  4. Your craftroom looks lovely. I love the little jumper bunting too. Are you thinking of learning to spin, or perhaps you can already. It is something I have been thinking about.

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    1. Thanks Ginny. I've had a quick go at using a drop spindle, but I still need a lot of practice. The book is interesting because of its information on the different breeds of sheep.

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  5. It is so good to have personal space for crafting, it helps the creative brain get going. I look forward to seeing what you make in there:) x

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    1. Thank you Daffy, I agree that have my own space makes me feel more creative. It certainly helps that I can leave the sewing machine out ready for use.

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  6. I love your new craft room Janet it's perfect and yes it's your turn to use it now! I love that cute bunting it makes me smile. Your cardigan is great, you need a few long cardigans I must finish the one I've had on the go for over a year. The shawl is going to be lovely and the fabric is so pretty have a great Sunday. :) xx

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  7. I love all of this! The pink room, the sweater bunting (amazing!) and your new cardigan!! Enjoy your new space :)

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  8. Your craft room is lovely! Expecially the details!

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  9. Yay for you getting your own craft room, a fare trade for your husband retiring I think. I am in Love with that sweater Janet, it is perfection in color and style.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  10. What a lovely room, I'd dread to think how much 'stuff' I have if I collected everything from around the house xx

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    1. Thank you Cheryl, it was an eye opener to put all the stuff together and see how much there actually was.

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  11. Janet, I don't believe it ! Another cardi finished. Looks great. No wonder you frogged that beautiful Rowan wool. Can't waste it. Gorgeous colour for winter too.How much stash in your new craft room ?. Ha ha.

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    1. Thank you Caz. I'm glad I frogged the yarn too. I love the colour and it would have been a pity to waste it.

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