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Creative organisation

by kath_red on January 27, 2012

I have been interested lately in all the creative ways that people find to recycle and reorganise the little things and the big things. I constantly battle with disorganisation in my house – I blame the kids! But seriously it is a problem that we need to tackle together – I live in a house full of messy people. We have tons of book shelves and yet books find their way onto every spare surface. I have a filing system for paperwork and yet there is a pile of to-do papers on top of my desk, on top of the piano and on the kitchen bench. I have lots of drawers and boxes and jars for craft supplies and yet they never get put away. I have coat hooks on every possible spare wall and yet coats and bags and hats still get tossed on the entryway floor. What is with that?

So hence my research to find out how others are solving their organisation issues – check out my creatively organise board on pinterest – here are some of my faves though:

I love the use of old pottery or old tins as pen and paintbrush holders
I love how they have winched up these old crates and used them as bookshelves (and scrolling up a bit – don’t you just love the world globes used as light shades). On thea’s blog she also uses crates in a much more ordered and colourful fashion.
I love a chalkboard calendar – we have a much simpler version than this and it works so well to keep track of our weekly schedule – our weekly planning board is a bit like this chores board (great idea too). I think the idea here is to create a family command centre - don’t you just love that! Here is an organizador (available on etsy) that combines the command centre approach with the blackboard planner – love it.

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Exploration of colour and design at Pinterest

by kath_red on January 20, 2012

in Community

I have been spending a little time over at Pinterest lately – if you are interested in following my boards – here is the link. This virtual pinboard is a little addictive don’t you think? What do you think?

I am doing some research for a article about pinterest and so headed on over there for some serious pinning — to be honest I have used it a bit before but infrequently — sporadically — so I was interested how widespread it has suddenly become.

As well as hanging out over at Pinterest – which is no hardship believe me! I did a little digging and found a few articles about how people are using Pinterest – tres interesting! :: Chronicle are group pinning [Follow their boards here] :: Apartment therapy say that folks are actioning their inspirations thanks to pinterest :: and the nester says that pinterest is a wonderful social networking and link building site :: it is also being used as an educational resource.

I keep a few different boards (the pics above are from my colour and pattern boards) – colour and quilts and pattern and crafts, as well as home and kids etc – its interesting to watch trends and find new ideas, products and colour… what do you use Pinterest for?

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Guest post | Monthly apparel challenge

by contributor on January 19, 2012

in Community, Guest Blogger, Sewing+Fabric

2012 Monthly Apparel Challenge

Becca is a music teacher who knits, spins, sews and tries to keep up with her three young sons in her beloved Minneapolis, MN. You can follow her attempts to sew her way through 2012 at her blog and on Twitter. She is also on Ravelry, where she attempts to design and share a pattern now and then.

I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions, but I do like to take a look back at the previous year and think about what I’ve done. Usually I like to challenge myself somehow, but when I looked back at 2011 I found it to be a bit ho-hum. Not that I didn’t make a lot of things, I just didn’t push myself to do anything new. I’ve learned a lot of skills since I first picked up a pair of knitting needles 8 years ago. I can knit myself a gorgeous lace shawl or a sweater that actually fits. I can spin a consistent yarn that’s nice enough to knit something with. I can make myself a quilt. And I can throw together a pair of pajama pants for my boys in my sleep. What I realized I can’t do yet, is — sew my own clothing.

Now, I can sew up a basic skirt out of old t-shirts. And I did sew a skirt with a zipper in it once, but it was unlined, a bit wonky and way too big. So there’s a start. But the more I thought about it, I realized that after eight years of being the mom in a wrinkled t-shirt and baggy jeans, I wanted clothes. Real clothes. Unique clothes that were beautiful and fit me properly. I wanted skirts, blouses, dresses and pants that didn’t fall down. And I wanted to make them myself.

That’s when I decided it was time for a new challenge in 2012. I’m calling it Monthly Apparel, and it’s my personal challenge to take my sewing skills to a new level. At the beginning of each month I’ll pick a pattern. I’ll take the month to work on it and by the end of the month I’ll blog about how it went. I plan on working on more fitted, tailored clothing, but I also expect to try to make the perfect t-shirt and maybe even attempt a pair of pants. I’ll use wovens and knits, cottons, wools and silks. And by 2013 I should have twelve lovely new pieces of clothing in my wardrobe!

Now, a challenge like this is no fun alone. So I invite you to take up the challenge as well! Maybe you have your mother’s sewing machine hiding in the closet because you’re terrified to even plug it in. Maybe you’re a seasoned sewer who sews for everyone else but never yourself. Or maybe you’re like me, somewhere in the middle and hoping to push yourself to the next step. Wherever you are, I would love to have your company while I take on this challenge.

Now to get started, I’ve found some wonderful resources to help me (and you!) on this journey.

The following five sites are my very favorite for tutorials, patterns and inspiration:

And of course, we need books!

For those who have never/barely touched a sewing machine: Stitch by Stitch by Deborah Moebes
For basic garment sewing skills: The BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook by Nora Abousteit, The Colette Sewing Handbook by Sarai Mitnick and Sew U by by Wendy Mullin
For drafting and designing patterns: Design-It-Yourself Clothes by Cal Patch
For working with knits: Sew U Home Stretch by Wendy Mullin
For using applique, hand stitching and other unique additions: Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin

Lastly, no sew-along is complete without a brand new Monthly Apparel Flickr group to share ideas, questions and lovely new garments!

I’m quite excited to see how this challenge progresses. I’m having visions of my fabric stash shrinking and a closet filled with new, beautiful clothing. I’m a little nervous that accomplishing this without driving my family crazy or feeding them nothing but cereal for supper might be more than I can handle. Despite my worry, I think this is a doable challenge. Some months might be less complex than others, and I’m sure there will be at least one month that I go back to my ever-easy recycled t-shirt skirt pattern. As I sew, I’m hoping to inspire others to take up the challenge as well, playing a part in this wonderful revival of garment sewing we’ve been seeing these past few years. I do hope you’ll join me!

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