A couple of weeks ago I woke up on a Saturday morning and really wanted to sew. Unfortunately I didn't really know what I wanted to sew or which fabrics I wanted to use. I walked into my studio to find inspiration and didn't. I found this instead:


Some of the boxes hold patterns, some hold fabrics, still others hold supplies for different crafts; all are carefully sorted and labelled - none are in their proper places and many things were waiting to be put in the correct boxes. I've been using this system for a while now (a few years I think - I started it when I kept my supplies in the living room and wanted everything to look very tidy and uncluttered) and it works pretty well (provided I put the boxes back where they go and put things away in them) as long as I know what I want before I start. Searching for inspiration tends to involve pulling out a lot of boxes and riffling through their contents until something speaks to me and then spending a proportional amount of time cleaning everything up again; it's a messy process and often results in haphazard tidying since really I want to get on to doing my project.

I realized, standing there wishing I knew what I wanted, that now that I had my own space I could change my system. I could make it more inspiring. I could make it easier to grab what I want and put back what I don't need. I've seen pictures of what others have done and it gave me an idea of what I wanted (and a bit of confidence - other people have survived stash reorganization - I might too). This is what I have now:


Every time I walk into my studio now I see all these little stacks and smile. They are so colourful. Oddly, it doesn't look like as much fabric as I thought I had when I was trying to find homes for all those boxes (lots of small pieces too). There is still plenty of work to be done to make my space more usable in general (notice how you're not seeing any of the rest of the room) but now that I've tackled the shelf of fabrics it doesn't feel quite as intimidating.

Zeke got very tired of my taking pictures, instead of carrying him around the house (that's my job you know), and braved the obstacle course to express his opinion.

Everyone in our family has a stocking made from these patterns.  Everyone ... aunts, uncles,  cousins and spouses. Most of them were made by my grandmother. My sister got married last fall and wanted one for her husband but Darney isn't able to knit anymore. Jane asked me if I thought I'd be up to it. I got out my stocking and looked at how it is made: knit flat and seamed up with some stranded colour work and some picture knitting. The only new skill would be the picture knitting and I thought I could handle that so I told Jane "yes, I could" and we called Darney for the instructions.

Darney sent me a package with copies of all the patterns (there are five different designs), her hand-written instructions and a bunch of yarn bobbins to help me deal with all the different colours. Each design has the names of everyone Darney knit it for written across the top and, frequently, drafted out onto the graph paper to be knit into the top of the stocking.

I choose Cascade 220 for my yarn. I like working with a pure wool and this one is sturdy and comes in lots of colours.

It's been a lot of fun knitting this so far (a little confusing at times but still very fun). The back side is not as neat as the stockings Darney made because I'm still learning how to deal with all the floats and ends but it makes me smile every time I see the front and realize that I really am knitting a stocking just like she did so many times. I feel so honoured that I'm able to carry on a family tradition.

The sun came out today!

I didn't have my camera with me so I don't have a picture but after all the snow we've been getting it was fantastic to be walking around in the sun and I was late getting back to work after lunch because of it.

Another great thing today: The winter issue of Twist Collective is up and I can't stop looking at that coat!