I had every intention of "working" in the studio on Thursday. Getting things done, crossing lines off The List. Out of the corner of my eye, I realized that part of my studio could maybe use a bit of a tidy. Then the other corner called out, and next thing I knew, hours had passed, leather scraps and paper bits had been scooped up, trash thrown out, books put away.  A clean studio. Just the kind of work I needed to do, but hadn't realized yet. As I sat in my cozy brown chair, soaking in how big the room felt now, the light in the yarn cupboard caught my eye. Nothing like well-lit hand-spun yarn, is there?

Now, I'm off to teach a meditation class, followed up by tea and a yoga class - in that order.  Have a beautiful weekend!  Happy November!

On squirreling away

My studio is nearly painted, and right now it is very clean and even organized! While all the shuffling of things and shelves happened, something came to light. I've noticed that when I begin a new technique or craft a certain urge comes over me. I keep every. last. bit. of whatever the material may be.  Let's go through some things I found while cleaning out...

Bits of yarn stuffed in to bags? 

Check! 

Are they too small to do anything with?

I don't know what you mean by this.   In English, please.

A drawer full of leather pieces?

Check! 

The little skinny strips MUST be good for something, right? 

I can always use the itty bitty squares and shapes to make pendents, right?

...right?

BAGS of embroidery floss

I'll get to them someday, really! It's quite handy to have around!

Fabric scraps

Let's not talk about those...

OK?

Oh! Don't forget the paper collection!

And the beads!

And the everything elses! 

It felt good to go through these collections of mine, thin them out, get realistic about what can be used, what needs to get tossed.  

This box, for instance, is only mostly full now!

I went through everything, tossing the crumbs and putting things into craft bags for friends. It felt good, lightening the load.

Well, everything except the embroidery floss. That's supposed to be in small bits, and you need every color, and in triplicate.  Am I right, or am I right?!?