and then somehow found time to clean the church.
AND do three loads of laundry (folded, too, thank you very much)
Three rooms down. Eight to go. Thankfully, none are in as dire straights as the craft room.
Before:
I hesitate to show you these pictures because....
I am petrified you will think my whole house looks like this. Or that we ALWAYS live like this.
Both are totally false. Believe me when I say this is a one-time deal.
So this post is going to need some serious qualifications.
Qualification #1: My house is (almost) always tidy and when the craft room gets unruly it is rarely THIS unruly (or for this long).
Here are my excuses:
*It was the holidays
* I had lots of last minute gifts to run around finishing
* I had a one year old at my feet the whole time
* Said one year old loved nothing more than to roll hotglue gun sticks around the room, unfold fabric and wrap it around her head/neck, undo everything that was still left done
* said Mother allowed this because it kept said child occupied while she hastily tried to finish said gifts
* I tried to keep the house tidy everywhere else---but the craft room door was a serious temptation to shut out the horribleness for another day. and another. and another.
* I had recently "come into" some serious fabric (explained below) that I had not been able to sort through before the holiday rush happened
Qualification #2: I have a ton of fabric. DO NOT THINK I SPENT MONEY ON IT. 75% of it was given to me. MAYBE more. In December alone my Mom passed along a huge black garbage back of fabric that had been my Oma's AND the librarian, who always notices all the sewing books I borrow, asked if I might be interested "in a little bit of fabric since she no longer sews". That little bit of fabric turned into what equalled FOUR garbage bags of stuff. That on top of a whole wall cubicle set FULL of fabric (mostly given to me).
I never turn down hand-me-downs, and am always grateful for the givers' thinking of me and being so generous. But, as I cleaned this room tonight I realized that there is a WHOLE lot of fabric that is so NOT my style (think deer prints) and that I am storing up all this fabric I will likely never use. (Hey! Anyone want any deer fabric?!?) Not to mention wasting space. Not to mention appearing at best a packrat and worst a spendthrift. Not to mention getting all sorts of stressed out at the STUFF I have accumulated.
After:
I cleaned the room out today and got everything as tidy as I could but I realized I need to make it a goal for this winter to sort through with open eyes as to what supplies I ought to keep and what I ought to get rid of. This MUST be a January or February project.
So it is going to be.
yuck
11 comments:
Great job on the tackle. I'm too ashamed to put up the before pictures for the 2 rooms that I've been working on the last couple of days. Let's just say that some rooms, I like to be able to just close the door on after a move. I only tackle them when I know I have to. (ie: company is arriving tomorrow and one of the above mentioned rooms is the guest/sewing room...)
The nesting bug bit you already too, eh? I have been nowhere NEAR as productive as you, but that's from tending my sick liitlest. (Fever for 2 days, coughing which leads to throwing up- but she is SO cuddly right now!) I'm hurrying to do what I can while I still feel relatively decent.
Wow. That's a lot of fabric. I don't feel guilty anymore looking at my ginormous pile. Though my ginormous pile is still in pile mode right now. Not all neat and tidy like yours.
Isn't it awesome to list what's BEEN DONE on ye olde blogge! I love doing that! More often than not, I actually listing what NEEDS to be done, and sitting there on my heiny at the computer instead of doing it, but hey, that's besides the point!! ;) :P Your craft room looks GREAT!! Good idea to have your fabric out and visible! I have mine in a bin or two and I can never remember what I HAVE! :(
GOOD JOB, GIRL! :)
Looks wonderful!! What a sense of accomplishment you must feel! Thanks for the inspiration!!
Tip: Check to see if you have a local freecycle group. You can post things that you no longer need and someone who wants it will grab it! It sure beats loading 3 kids up in the car in the freezing cold and making a run to Goodwill. That fabric would probably be gone within a week (or sooner).
WOW great job on your craft room. If you find yourself needing to get rid of any fabric I will take it..I am just getting back to sewing and my stock is low and so is my $$ supply. :D
In Christ,
Jess
I've had a room or two get like that every once and a while...it happens. Especially with little ones getting their hands in there! Of course it's always a room with a door, wouldn't want anyone to see it! I'm a bit of a freak about that sort of thing. Ha,ha...I wish I had a craft room to mess up and then clean again...
Ok, I must admit I gasped when I saw the first picture.. (laughing) then I had to shield my eyes to avoid the corner of the the living room where my paltry supply of fabric and various other items is spilling out from under the desk into the living room. However I looked at your after pictures and was truly delighted! What a beautiful, lovely room... :)
You have been so very, very productive!! Oh my, that could be taken more than one way couldn't it!! Ha ha... Isn't it wonderful how the Lord blesses us! And to second Mamey Jane, freecycle is a wonderful idea. We have been blessed and been able to bless others through it! Plus there is always Craigslist or you could do some sort of giveaway on your blog. Or are there any organizations in your area that make baby quilts/blankets for the crisis pregnancy centers/home. In Ohio there was a local group of ladies who made baby/toddlers blankets for the shelters for domestic violence, homeless, and those in need after a major natural disaster. Just throwing out some ideas.. :) (Can you tell we have been "purging" recently? hee hee he)
You will find an e-mail from me today... If you could get back to me as soon as possible it would be great. (I'll be including the new address but we won't be in the house prior to the 1st of February.)
Toodles! And have a wonderful day!
Love, Peggy
Wonderful "after" pics - and all to familiar "before" pics ;) I have a lot of purging to accomplish this January - my goal is to be a streamlined crafter (stop laughing!!)
Blessings - Kathy
Wow, what a beautiful craft room!!
It really didn't look that bad to me in the before shots, honestly my bedroom looks like that nearly all the time and if I look away for too long my whole house begins to look like that!! Yikes!!
Great job on the room! What a blessing to have all that space. And how sweet of your mom and the librarian to think of you when it came to the fabric.
I'd love any of the fabric you decide you don't want. My 3 boys would love the deer prints fabric. I'm not sure when we'll be down your way again, though.
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