"Granola chic" my husband says

I have problem.  I am naturally disorganized.  And I like every thing and nothing.  I go to the office store in town and it is full of beautiful office things.  They really are lovely.  But I don't like them.  Not enough to buy and bring home.  But I need to do something.  I LIKE just running to the store and picking something up.  If I don't like it, I know what glue and paint are for!  LOL!  But then it's always put on the backburner while I work on "real" projects.  But I was losing my mind and supplies.  And my husband doesn't like that very much.  I can get pretty crabby.

So, the solution, according to my amazing husband, is I can have any storage I want as long as it is almost free.  The "almost" is because he knows what happens when we run out of glue or sealer!  (I am pretty sure he believes it will be short lived organization!) So I started with my pens and specialty markers that others (not just the kids) keep stealing.  I had so many pretty things to layer on, the only thing I had to buy was lunch!  Everything used was courtesy of a box I found in a drawer.  And Dinty Moore.

Regular pens and pencils go in No.1 and specialty pens and markers go in No.2.

One little thing down and 100's more to go. 

After I got these done, then I started second guessing my self.  If my organization is visual, it needs to look, well, organized.  Do I go with a theme?  No, I don't love anything enough for all to be butterflies or pansies or whatever.  What about style?  Do I have a style? Is it shabby chic?  Hippy chick?  It's a little too matchy for boho, and so not industrial.  At this point, I have other stuff to do and I am getting crabby.  Too much introspection at that point. So DH looks at me and says "it's granola chic."  I guess since the man is an artist himself, and he actually pays attention to style and movements and whatever,  we can call it whatever he wants.  The cutest part is when he has to explain to me what he means by granola chic.  I ask at least once a day!

I suppose I ought to go and actually put the pens in the holders, and see what else needs a home.  I think I can close my eyes, point a finger, and spin.    Maybe I'll try that!

Sharing this today at Shabby Art Boutique's Shabbilicious Friday

And DONE!!!!!!!

It is finished!  The sweater I had been working on for years is done!! It did not fit me, so D2 has a lovely knew sweater.  I also have yarn to make another one, 1 size up, for me.  It will be brown though.  The second one is going much faster that the blue one, so I may start knitting two of everything!

 This is a little basket I knit up for a friend's birthday.  DH and I are still deciding what will go in it!  There have been a few great ideas floating around!

And I only finished one scrappy star last week.  since I wasn't spending that much time at the sewing machine! :)

We did get some seeds planted over the weekend, as well as more ivy and blackberry dug out. We planted tomato, basil, peppermint, and peas.  I would love to have a green house, but since that is a dream for after the kids are grown, we flip over the large, clear, plastic storage bins.  They work great, and are easy to clean when we do the transplanting.  With some planning and time management, we may be able to put the rhubarb in this weekend!  

This week I need to finish some dynamite sticks for DH, and find a row counter for the sweater.  I have no idea what else will happen.  

I am so close to finishing!!!!!

I didn't finish anything last week, but that it so okay right now!  I had started knitting a sweater when S2 was in kindergarten.  I would work on it, put it away, and get distracted by life.  And few months later, the cycle would repeat.  So this year, I committed myself to finish it!!  And here we are. 6 rows and some making up to do and then it is done!!!! The down side about it taking so long is that it may be going to D2.  It seems like it might still fit me, but it's rather touch and go.  I won't know for sure until it is done, and it is on me.  If it is too small, it's one of those painful "if only it had another inch" kinds of too small!  And this is probably why my DH is so supportive of my participating in OPAM.

I also found out that the ladies group at our church would sponsor raffles if I did the quilts.  So now I need to get those done!  All I really need is backing, batting, and time.  It looks like I have until the end of April to finish, but we'll see. 

This week I am hoping to get 5 sticks of dynamite done, but I am waiting for my replacement cutting mat to get here.  My old one finally died. But since was close to ten years old, it was only a matter of time. I am looking forward to another 10 years of sewing when the new gets here.  And I WILL be finishing the sweater.  And I am already looking for my next knitting pattern.  It may be wise to spend some time outside working the garden as well, but it is rather windy today.  I'll check the weather for tomorrow and go from there.  I know we have more blackberries to dig up, as well as a couple rows of planting to do. 

a double Birthday present

The other week I had my birthday, and one of the gifts I received was a new skirt pattern and the fabric for it in my favorite color.  Which is like getting 2 presents!  One to sew and one to wear!  I finished it Friday and found all the threads on Saturday so it was ready on Sunday for church.  

I'm usually a straight cotton girl when it comes to sewing, but this brocade was fun, and surprisingly easy to work with. 

I also stitched up a little something for DH after he came back from the Emerald City Comic Con.

Yep. A little stick of dynamite.  This is a reference to the comic he draws, written by a gentleman in Kansas. The tag line is "secrets! science! dynamite!."  So far, the whole family has enjoyed reading them as they've been finished.  One of the teachers at school has bought each issue for her husband, as well as sharing them with the class. 

And, I actually got some of the scrappy stars done last week! I need to 16 to be where I wanted to be, but since this is just something for me to do to use the scraps, I'm not too worried.

And since 5 is a rather large chunk of 16, it's all good.  I don't know why, as much as I'm not big on pink, I like pink in quilts.  There are a couple of groups of youth from church heading off on adventures this summer.  One to BSA's National Jamboree and another to a mission trip in the Philippines.  I'd love to a quilt for each as a raffle item.  I think these stars would be perfect.  We'll see how much I get done and when they need the money.

In the near future, I'd like to get an I Spy pattern and use up some of the novelty fabrics I have laying around.  There's one I saw last year that I really loved, and now I can't find it.  And of course, I didn't write down who designed it or the name of it!

I finished nothing....

And I am okay with that.  I spent my birthday with a good book and a steady supply of coffee.  A very dear friend bought me a new skirt pattern and fabric, and I got all the  way through before I realized, I think I cut ONE piece in the wrong size!!! Which is ok.  I will be able to fix it. 

S2's day was spent running and screaming and acting like a little boy.  Go figure!!!  DH went to the Emerald City ComicCon, so I was pulling my hair out by Saturday night!  And that was with my best friend coming over for the day!!  We sat around and visited and had a good day, but she did have to go home eventually. I had all the kids with all their plans and activities and ONE DRIVER!  I was quite happy to see my hubby when he walked in the house Sunday night! 

This week should be back to normal!