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.

Similar Posts:

• Craft room organisation |
• organisation blog fest |
• Guest blogger series | Creative chalkboards |
• Creative mending |
• Creative mending |

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?Similar Posts:

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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.

Similar Posts:

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• Guest post: The Shirt off Daddy’s back |
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Come and join us

1. Viewmaster Blanket: all done, 2. Miss Cathie’s raffle doll 126, 3. 362/365, 4. Embroidered tea towel for Cecily, 5. Quilted Bench, 6. holiday handknits, 7. Felted Wool Pincushions, 8. Pochette – détail, 9. Just Caught Two!, 10. Purple!, 11. class sample-Charming Patchwork Quilt, 12. The best hat!, 13. Drawstring Bag, 14. ready to mail, 15. Twinkling Stars on couch, 16. New fish baby log cabinSimilar Posts:

• latest from the whipup flickr group |
• Whipup flickr group | latest goodies |
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• Whipup Flickr Group: yarny stitchy textures |
• Whipup flickr group | Recent additions |

Join our flickr group

1. Waiting for the Miracle detail, 2. 3×6 Diamond Blossom Quilt Block Rainbow, 3. Pink Sweater IV, 4. nautical quilt , 5. alma stoller-glossy, 6. Skelly Trio Line Up, 7. little tunic, 8. DSC_0476, 9. Embroidery for Marie and her beautiful family, 10. 1160, 11. patchwork pillow n. 2, 12. Dresden Plate in progress…, 13. slippers, 14. Cozy Up, 15. july knitting in progress, 16. Going tribal – crochet tube necklaceSimilar Posts:

• join us at flickr + enter our Calendar comp |
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• Whipup flickr group: quilty |

Join our flickr group

1. my one true love., 2. Crochet Trimmed Vintage Pillowcases, 3. pocket cushion lining, 4. Spike, 5. city tote, 6. Perceptions detail, 7. 30th October, 2011, 8. Free form patchwork mini quilt – visual creative process, 9. Rainbow Mug Rug, 10. crocheted emperor penguin family, 11. Do Not Eat! Phat Quarter swap, 12. Tea-towel love, 13. puede, 14. Front of Donation Quilt, 15. Galaxy of origami stars, 16. hand embroidered zipper pouch (detail)Similar Posts:

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Join our flickr group

1. Embroidered eye mask tutorial, 2. New Block Design :: Half Moon Rising, 3. little thank you gifts, 4. recipe book, 5. Untitled, 6. rag strip crocheted rug, 7. Ingredients for a good Sunday, 8. Nani Iro cowl, 9. Pick a bunch log cabin quilt, 10. a new pattern, 11. making a kermit puppet, 12. A year in scraps :: bias tape, 13. Capsule Quilts – Pink, 14. leaves and washi tape, 15. Button Necklace Tutorial, 16. http://beaspokequilts.blogspot.com/2011/11/pile-of-quilts.htmlSimilar Posts:

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November (and a little bit into December) is book month at Whipup.net

Ok Ok – I have a dream… it includes a farm and some animals and lots of kids (being good and playing nicely), rain and sunshine and vegetables, honey and fresh air, free range eggs, a pizza oven and homemade bacon. I am thus just a little bit addicted to reading books on these topics, growing my yearning toward change and a new lifestyle – somewhere green and rainy and lush – maybe with a beach – does it sound nice?

The Beekeeper’s Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses By Richard A. Jones and Sharon Sweeney-Lynch. Stewart, Tabori & Chang (April 1, 2011).

Wow – beautiful book, full of amazing historic images, illustrations and posters – full of facts and history – myths and stories – bees in literature, art and ritual – the first chapter makes for incredible bedtime reading. Next everything you need to know about the honeybee- types of bees, the lifecycle, how they communicate, why they sting, where they live, man’s relationship with the bee and how to create a bee friendly garden. All super interesting stuff – and filled with amazing images of bees, bee hives, swarms, bee anatomy, as well as beautiful hand drawn illustrations – just stunning.

Next chapter is the ins and outs of keeping bees, when what how and who – everything you need to know to keep bees and harvest honey in your own garden. This section has wonderful practical advice on hive construction and where to locate it – looking after and feeding your bees and proper hygiene and safety. Again there are some amazing photos and a really informative section on what to expect in a beekeeping year. And of course how to harvest all that lovely honey and beeswax. The next to last section is all about honey and the bee byproducts (beeswax, pollen and royal jelly), including medicinal, scientific and food uses. This section begins with a really informative section on the types of honey, then goes on to make candles from beeswax through to the medicinal properties of honey. Lastly – recipes, crafts and home remedies – from honey syrups, drinks and marinades to hair products, skin creams, soaps and healthful tonics. This is probably the most thorough and interesting book on bees and beekeeping I think I have ever seen (I know I am not an expert – but this book is really fabulous).

The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals: Choose the Best Breeds for Small-Space Farming, Produce Your Own Grass-Fed Meat, Gather Fresh … Rabbits, Goats, Sheep, Pigs, Cattle, & Bees by Gail Damerow. Published by Storey Publishing (March 23, 2011). (Distributed in Australia through Capricorn Link)

A practical guide to raising your own animals for food and includes chapters on each of the animals covered: chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese, rabbits, bees, goats, sheep, pigs, and cows. Most of these animals except maybe for ducks, chooks and bees are really not meant for the average backyard, this book really goes beyond the basic small-space animal husbandry and is more hobby farm material than for the suburban backyard farmer. This book is not meant to be a one stop shop – rather it makes for a great general overview while you are researching your topic.

Homesteading in the 21st Century: How One Family Created a More Sustainable, Self-Sufficient, and Satisfying Life By George Nash and Jane Waterman. Published by Taunton Press (May 3, 2011) (Distributed in Australia through Capricorn Link).

Wonderfully inspiring book written by a couple with a lifetime each of experience working and living a self sufficient life. Full of not only practical farming life, but also real interesting stories and advice of farm life. It’s difficult to explain this book – it’s an eclectic mix of part how-to manual and part memoir. The advice given is so obvious heart felt and hard earned – and the writing style is real too – the voices of these farmer folk comes through real and raw – it’s wonderful. A perfect book to be reading over the next year while I think about our next step into the unknown.

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Tegan Rose & Lara Cameron run the textile design and print studio, Ink & Spindle, located in inner city Melbourne. Their focus is on sustainable, ethical & local production.

Thanks Kathreen for asking us to guest blog today! Very exciting.

Lara & I had a chat about what we should write about & decided that if you wanted to read about us, you could do so on our blog or Facebook page. So instead I’m going to tell you about a fun, non-Ink & Spindle thing that has been happening after hours here in the studio this year!

Knitting. Machine Knitting to be precise!

And we have the raddest machine knitting crew around…

Backstory: My mum taught me how to hand knit when I was very little. We lived on a property in South West Victoria, with no TV, far away from anything or anyone that wasn’t a cow or sheep, so I spent my childhood following my parents around, probably loudly complaining about being bored. As a consequence of that I learned how to do a lot of odd things. From catching yabbies with my bare hands, to making candlestick holders on a lathe, to knitting. Not that knitting is particularly odd. Though it was maybe 1990 and I was around 6 years old. I have no idea what other 6 year olds were doing in 1990, but they were probably having an ace time playing Guess Who or Hungry Hungry Hippo (I always wanted, never had, those games – deprived child, I know), probably not hanging out in the garden with knitting needles.

So as you can probably already tell, I have a little trouble staying on topic at the best of times… ok – KNITTING! You see, I could decide on, plan and begin a project no worries. But finish one? Rarely. I have very distinct memories of my step-dad telling me – throughout my childhood, probably every time I picked up my needles – that I needed a knitting machine. I had no idea what one was, but he would describe one to me and tell me how his mum had one when he was little and used to knit all his clothes on it. And how great they are. And how I’d absolutely LOVE one.

But it was all just a bit too abstract and complicated for my brain to get a handle on without ever actually seeing one in action. But I always remembered about the mythical, amazing knitting machine.

So last October, when my lovely friend Suzie said she had just aquired a knitting machine and it was totally awesome, my immediate response was: FIND ME ONE TOO. So she did.

Less than 2 weeks later I was sitting in the home of the President of the Machine Knitters Association of Victoria, having a lesson on how to clean, care for and (thankfully!) use my new, highly confusing, complicated, beautiful and retro looking Singer 888 from 1960-something. I excitedly called my step-dad on my way home and told him it may have taken 20 years, but guess what I just bought? Hilariously, he couldn’t remember ever telling me I needed one.

But yay! It was fair to say my new machine was totally overwhelming, and also super exciting. Mostly overwhelming. I could make scarves – because they’re rectangle. But I needed lessons. Pronto.

The cool thing was, that Suzie dove head first in to the land of MK’ing and got involved in different groups like the Brunswick Novices Group and the Aussie Machine Knitters – Suzie was also experimenting like crazy with yarns and talking to people who had been knitting forever and generally doing all kinds of really awesome stuff… but best of all, through her our little crew of newbie MK’ers (who also needed lessons, pronto) developed and Suzie organised us a semester of classes with the hugely knowledgable Angela. [You can read about Sooz's machine knitting journey on a previous whipup.net guest post here. ed.]

Lara and I quickly volunteered our studio to host the classes, as we have a big long table perfect for the machines & really love that we can share our studio space with other creative and like-minded people within the Melbourne/handcrafted/local community.

We spent the next 6 months learning, practicing, making mistakes, doing homework (my step-dad scored himself a very unattractive birthday beanie which, I have it on good authority, he loves) then our beginner classes came to an end…

Have to say I felt quite bereft when our monthly Friday night MK classes stopped! (Yes, Friday night. I had to laugh when I turned down invites from my 20-something friends to all kinds of ace gigs/parties/bars because I was much too busy… attending knitting class.)

Again Suzie came to the rescue. Now we had learned just how to use our machines, we wanted to learn more about technique and garment construction. Suzie got us Brianna. Brianna has an amazing knowledge of machine knitted garment construction and generally I think is pretty brilliant at all things textile related.

Brianna spent the whole day yesterday teaching the crew all kinds of nifty tips and tricks, not just how to knit a super cool cardi. Which, yes, I am totally wearing today. That’s how great knitting machines are – in one day, even learning a new thing (so we were really slow) and we all have a spanky new cardigan.

To conclude: My step-dad was right. They really ARE awesome. Go get yourself a knitting machine and someone to teach you how to use it – build your own crew of MK newbies and a wardrobe of handmade garments!

xx TeegsSimilar Posts:

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Carina is a 30-something Dane living in England. She is passionate about colour and pattern. Her grandmother (a crafty rockstar) taught her to cross stitch when she was very young and she likes to think that she would be happy to see her continuing the crafty tradition. Carina writes a blog, Carina’s Craftblog, about her crafty adventures in embroidery, crochet, sewing and more. Under the name Polka & Bloom, she designs colourful, free-form embroidery designs inspired by folk art and design of her native Denmark.

Image credits: MadameRenard & The Pickled Herring.

Crafting can sometimes be a bit solitary – we sit in our studios, livingrooms or bedrooms with a crafty project and a lot of the time we’re the only ones working on it or interested in it. If we’re lucky, our families don’t think we’re completely mad or boring because we want to make stuff.

I don’t mind the solitude of crafting, but sometimes it’s nice to share what you’re making and work on something with other people. It can be a bit difficult if you don’t have anyone around you who shares your passion for making – but that’s where (craft) blogging comes in handy!

Regardless of where we are in the world, in the big city or way out in the country-side where your mailbox is an hour drive from your home – if we’ve got internet we can find kindred spirits who enjoy making things too. I am sure you already know this; maybe you’ve experienced this and have become friends with some of the crafters and makers whose blogs you read. It’s quite amazing!

Image credits: Carina’s Craftblog & dreamfollow

These friends can really inspire you and your crafting projects. And you can do things together, even if you are on opposite sides of the globe. Recently, I co-hosted a craftalong with a bunch of lovely crafty ladies that was so much fun. As is the case with a lot of fun things, it came to be ‘by accident’ when an innocent email conversation turned into “let’s do a craftalong and get lots of other people to join in too!”

Which we did – and I can only recommend it. There’s a lot of fun to be had when you share a project with someone else. Different points of view which will inspire you and move your own crafting along.

I have always thought it would be so fun to give a group of crafters and artists a theme or a photograph and ask each of them to interpret it in their own way. I think the craftalong works exactly in that way. And I really do, as you know, get a huge kick out of seeing how others approach a project and add bits and pieces from their own muses.

[Source: Pam]

Our craftalong was all about making things inspired by the Dala Horse, and we called it a ‘craftalong’ because it was open to any type of crafting. Some collaborative crafting revolves around just one craft, so you may have heard terms such as stitchalong or crochetalong, but they are all basically the same thing: a group of people who work on a common project or theme and then share their progress, either on their blogs or Flickr or other places on the internet.

Image credits: Gingerbread Snowflakes & Golden Lilly Crafts

One of the best parts of being in a craftalong was the exposure to the constant enthusiasm of the other organizers, and then the joiners.

[Source: Hanna]

I really recommend organising, or just participating in, a craftalong of some sort, it’s really inspiring. You will discover new people who are making similar things to you – or maybe completely different things and that might actually be the most inspiring thing of all: seeing the different ways people interprete a particular theme.

It’s also just so much fun to be a part of an online community where people take the time out of their busy schedules to participate in something like this – such a great way to meet new, creative and fun people!

[Source: Kathryn]

Maybe you’re still physically working on the crafting alone, but being part of a craftalong like this will make you feel like you are part of a bigger picture; that what you’re making is important to others. It may also make you feel less likely to give up on your crafting endeavours, because you’re accountable to more than just yourself. You will be spurred on to keep at it! And you might just pick up a few new crafty friends as well…!Similar Posts:

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