Arohtelp (Plethora)

Life, in general.

2012-01-28T21:34:00.004-05:00

There comes a time in everyone's life, I think, when you look around at what you've done with what you've been given and you wonder if you've done the right thing. Or you look around and think, "Is this everything?" And sometimes, you figure out that your life is fine the way it is, that you are happy and satisfied. And sometimes, you realize that what you are doing is not at all what you are meant to be doing. And although that whatever-it-is might have served you well up until now, it is time to let it go.

I think everyone should re-evaluate their lives periodically. If your life is one constant "When I get around to it", then maybe something needs to change. If you are inspired by certain things but find yourself stuck in the "I wish I had time for this" mode, then maybe you need to give something up to get something in return. If you are stuck, get unstuck. If you are lost, find a map to get you where you want to go. If you yearn for something, try it out. If it's not for you but only an admiration, you'll know soon enough, and you won't be any worse off for trying.

And maybe the next time you look around at your life and ask yourself, "Is this everything?" The answer will be "YES." And you will be fine with that.

Two things.

2012-01-24T18:08:00.000-05:00

I'm going to do Buy Nothing Lent again this year--Lent begins on Feb. 22 and ends April 7th.Also? To go with that, I'm giving up clutter for Lent this year. No, seriously. I'm giving it up. Each day during Lent I'm aiming to eliminate one pile--small or large--in any room in my house. If I can clear one surface/pick up one pile/etc., etc. per day, then by the end of Lent, I will be finished.The first Burlington is not until April 15th, so that will tie in quite nicely with Lent. (Clutter will be defined as anything that is not in its proper place, or won't fit in its proper place for whatever reason.)

Too much.

2012-01-07T21:44:00.000-05:00

My biggest reasons for buying an ereader were twofold: to be able to carry around something to read at all times--to work and back and elsewhere, without lugging around a large heavy book, and also, since my books are ebooks, it only made sense that I have an ereader to show people when asked.

(And it's much easier, say, to reread the entire Sherlock Holmes series, or Agatha Christie's books, or any number of classics that way.)

But suddenly, though a quirk of Christmas ordering/fate, I now have two. And I'm struggling with that a little bit.

Part of my struggle is that owning two ereaders seems--to me--to be an unnecessary luxury.

But then, there are many people who have three Kindles, an IPad, an IPod, and IPhone, multiple laptops and/or desktops, etc., etc., and seem to think nothing of it.There was even a discussion about covers on the Ravelry Nook group the other day, and some of the covers are more expensive than the actual ereaders themselves.

I mean, don't get me wrong. The only reason why I have a data plan on my cell phone is because of the internet policy at work. But even with what I do have--a seven-year-old desktop, a three-year-old netbook, two ereaders, and a cell phone, that seems to be more than enough. I have even contemplated not replacing my desktop when it dies and only using my netbook. But we'll see about that.

But even so, it seems excessive to own two ereaders, at least to me. In the larger scheme of things, in a place where people own more than one car, more than one television, more than one house (sometimes), more than a dozen pairs of shoes, much more than they truly need, what is my dilemma truly about? After all, I can justify a second ereader, since the second one's smaller than the first and easier to carry around. But I can justify a lot, in truth, that I don't need to justify.

My original reason for not buying an ereader was mostly financial, and it wasn't the initial cost of the ereader itself, in truth. I am a horrible bookworm. I buy books almost constantly. My stack of books-to-read is pretty monumental. I was afraid--I'm still afraid--that the lure of instant books could be too much for my budget. That the ability to purchase something and have it almost instantly appear could very well be my ruin. :)

So far, that hasn't happened. I have an ebook budget just as well as a pbook budget. I still read more nonfiction than fiction, although that's starting to change a bit now that I can reread some classics and other books I haven't read in years and years.

And, in all honesty, read more. Early on, I never checked my email before I left for work. I never ate in front of the computer, either. I would read at breakfast, and I've started to do that again. It's been a few weeks, now, since I resolved not to check my email and auctions and Ravelry before I left for work; after all, I have the dataplan on my phone, and I might as well get my money's worth out of it.

And I've been reading again. And I like that I've been reading again.

But see, here's the thing. If something were to suddenly happen and my internet connection went away; if I could no longer use my computer, or my ereader or my phone, it really wouldn't be that much of an adjustment to me to use one of my typewriters or crack open a book. Or to write a letter. And I like that I have alternatives. So to have two ereaders for convenience and nothing more shouldn't be a death-defying decision, in truth. Because I have alternatives, if it ever comes to that.

One of the books I'm reading right now struck a chord the other day, and I'm only going to quote this one little part-- "[In the modern world, during the last hundred or so years, there has been an enormous and historically significant shift away from self-reliance and towards organization. As a result, people are becoming less self-reliant and more dependent than has ever been seen in history. They may claim to be more highly educated than any generation before them; but the fact remains that they cannot really do anything for themselves. They depend utterly on vast complex organizations, on fantastic machinery, on larger money incomes. What if there is a hold-up, a breakdown, a strike, or unemployment?] [Many people fall through the meshes of the safety net; and what then? They suffer, they become dispirited, even despondent. Why can't they help themselves? Generally, the answer is only too obvious: they would not know how to; they have never done it before and would not even know where to begin.]"

This paragraph frightened me, because it's true, so very true.

I know people who would be utterly lost without electricity. Without their cellphones. Who couldn't even comprehend not having a cable bill, or--worse--a television. I know people whose idea of a recipe is to open a can and mix up a few ingredients and call it homemade. Whose idea of "cutting back" is to stop buying gourmet coffee.

I am not one of those people.

But you know, I can encourage creativity. I can encourage someone just cracking open a cookbook for the first time. I can invite others to learn how to plant a garden. I can teach someone to spin their own yarn, or crochet, or weave. I can help someone else become more self-reliant instead of stuck in the machinations of the present day. I can help people have alternatives just like mine.

And maybe one day, someone will come up to me and say, "You inspired me to do ____________." And even if that never happens, I think I'm on the right track, with or without the suddenly minor fact of owning two ereaders. Because that's not really what matters. It's what I do with what I have and what I've learned that matters in the long run and beyond.

Next Year.

2011-12-31T21:33:00.002-05:00

Sofia

I've posted my resolutions over on DisOrganization, but I wanted to post here as well, because I will be posting a lot more on this blog about what I intend to do.

One of those things is paring down my "keeper" spinning wheels.

I have to be honest; I like to use what I collect. And when it gets to the point that I don't use what I collect, or have so many of said collection that I couldn't possibly use it all in any comfortable space of time, then it's time for me to cut down a bit and destash and keep only my favorites.

(I'm using the word destash instead of declutter for a reason.)

I did that with my spindles more than once this year. And I've done that with my spinning wheels more than once as well. But in all honesty, I use my spindles much more than my wheels, and I don't need a moderately large collection of spinning wheels. I need a handful of favorites.

Obviously, Sofia isn't going anywhere. If I had to sell every single spinning wheel I owned, save one, Sofia would be the keeper, hands-down, and not just because I spent a lot of money on her. More because everything I spin on Sofia--whether it be laceweight or bulky--turns out fabulous. She is not only a beautiful spinning wheel to look at; she is a beautiful spinning wheel to use.

I'd like to pare down my "keepers" to four, five at the most. Since my "keeper" list currently includes nine wheels (I just recounted; forgot one in the resolution post) that's a lot to ask. (And I'm not counting the projects at all.) But I think it's a necessary thing to do, especially if I want to pay off some credit cards this year (which I do), pay for my new kitchen roof, and have an actual honest-to-goodness savings account as well.

It's not going to be easy. But then again, this sort of thing never is very easy to begin with.

Almost.

2011-12-18T09:44:00.000-05:00

I have yet to move a piece of furniture, because my initial idea didn't quite pan out like I envisioned. But now I think I have it. Hopefully.

Working Space/Living Space

2011-12-11T12:57:00.001-05:00

Over the past few weeks, I've been evaluating the space in my house. Working space, and living space. Working space includes craft supply storage, including fabric and yarn. Working space also includes sewing machines, looms, yarnwinders, spinning wheels, and the like.

Living space includes my bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, entry room/dining room, and library. I'm counting writing and my desk in the living space, not working space, since it really doesn't take up that much room.

So what I am aiming for is a smaller living space with a working space/studio incorporated inside of the same house.

Obviously, that means the Green Room and living room are now the studio, and my former craft room is the storage room for supplies, etc. There will be one spare bedroom and the Project Room for projects.

The living room and the Green room are the two largest rooms in the house. They are both ideally suited to become the studio.

So, in essence, I am splitting my house in two.

It's really only a different way of looking at my (rather large) house and repurposing the rooms to fit my needs more than anything else. I'm actually kind of excited about this.

So--what I'm planning to do is this:

The library will become my "living room"; it is, after all, my favorite room in the house. Eventually, I'd like to have a loveseat in here, at the end of the table in front of the fireplace. The table will stay in place, because who doesn't need a largish table in a library, after all?

My desk will be leaving the library, and moving to the Green Room to become my studio desk, due to the fact that the drawers and cubbyholes would fit the studio better than my writing. My nice walnut table will become my desk in here. I can always move my netbook wherever I want, after all, so the stationary desk does not have to be large.

I have bookcases to set up, a door to remove (from the closet), bookcases to move around, and my desk to move, obviously, and that's just in the library.

In the Green Room, either--

--My desk will be situated where the chest of drawers with doors (storage) currently resides. That will go beside the gateleg table along the wall behind the big loom. The gateleg table will stay in place where it is.

or

--My desk will go where my workbench currently resides, and my workbench and storage shelves will go where the chest of drawers with doors currently resides. I haven't decided which I prefer quite yet. The blue bookshelf will go on top of my desk like it was when my desk was upstairs. The pine bookshelf will go on top of the chest of drawers with doors. The white bookshelf will go on top of the half table that sits against the wall. The only piece of misplaced furniture is the tall Empire style table, and that can go where the walnut table currently sits, on the other side of the couch/bed in the living room portion of the studio. It can house my yarnwinder and other things. Or it can go elsewhere.

Upstairs in my bedroom there will also be changes. The little oak desk I've been wanting to set up (to use upstairs) will be set up. The pink comfy chair will move from what will become the crafting supply storage room into my bedroom. All crafting supplies except for what is kept downstairs in the Green Room will be kept--organized--in the Supply Room. The small chest of drawers or the larger one from the other bedrooms will have to be carried into the Supply Room once I get to that point. The oak desk, table, and chest that are already in there can stay in there.

Now, this does destroy my idea of a fiction library upstairs, but in all actuality, that's okay. I don't need two libraries. Keeping all fiction books in my hallway upstairs still works fine. I'm not out of room, and the bookcases I have work well right there anyway.

The first step--the actual honest-to-goodness first step--is to move the chest of drawers with doors to its new spot in the Green Room. Once that happens, I can move my blue desk into the Green Room and swap around more bookshelves, etc. Once that happens, I can redo the library. Once that happens, I can continue on, until I'm finished.

Now that I have a plan, I want to be done rearranging by January 31st. Yes, I realize that's not very far away, but what has been holding me up was the lack of a clear idea of how I wanted my working space and living space to look and flow. Now that I have a plan, it should go much quicker.

There will be lots of auctions posted on Ebay, stuff posted on Ravelry, and probably Craigslist too, because some things will not fit into the end-plan of my working space and living space. And the Project Room needs to be completely reorganized, not that it was very organized in the first place, truthfully.

And once I get upstairs, I may just change my mind and switch the spare rooms around, since it would almost make more sense to have the Supply Room be the room with two closets (and one built-in wardrobe), but we'll see what happens when we get to that point.

After that, I will reopen my Etsy shop and start with the second piece of my plan... more on that to come.

Buy Nothing (for myself) Holidays

2011-11-20T20:34:00.001-05:00

I almost bought another loom last night. It was a rigid heddle loom, and I had it in my cart and ready to check out, when I realized a few of things.

1. I did not need another rigid heddle loom, especially not one almost the same size as Junior.
2. That $112 I intended to spend could be spent elsewhere on things more important than another piece of equipment.
3. That I have two looms I am getting into working order already, plus there is nothing wrong with Junior.
4. That I'd just purchased a second tape loom, which I didn't need either, but which was purchased with legitimate spending money, while this wouldn't have been.
5. That I'd had the exact same loom when they first came out, and although the manufacturer has redesigned them a bit, I'm not really sure I would like it any better this time around anyway.
6. That I'd decided after purchasing the new tape loom--and promptly decided to forget--that I wasn't going to buy anything for myself until after Christmas. No new looms or spinning wheels*, no new spindles, no new fiber, no new books (especially books; my to-read pile is monstrous right now.) No ordering something for someone else for Christmas and buying myself something just because.

At the moment, I have two floor looms to get into working order, which will keep me busy for a while. I have a studio to get into working order which will also keep me busy. I have a library to get into working order, plus a house to declutter and/or rearrange. I have a mountain of books to read, three novels-in-progress to finish (maybe more than that, in truth.) I have fiber and fabric and everything I could possibly need to get through the winter.

I don't need to buy anything else, at least not right now.

*There are always caveats; if I find one for cheap that I can resell for a profit, then all bets are off, although I'm not actively looking. And there's one spinning wheel on my list-to-buy, which I knew about before I made this decision, but it hasn't been posted yet. And I'll have a strict budget for that as well.

Living Room

2011-11-09T17:12:00.001-05:00

Weaving/Crocheting in progress, and the living room couch/bed.

It occurred to me as I picked up yet another cat-hairy blanket, that I probably shouldn't have so many bulky blankets and quilts for them to sleep on. The smaller ones are fine enough, and easier to wash. Washing is only one of the things I've been doing today. I think I'm on the fourth load. Half of what I wash will go into the cedar chest until needed; I certainly don't want to have to do all of this again.

One thing I decided while picking up and moving stuff around in the living room is that I really don't need two couches in there. I have my couch/bed (it's a twin bed, really, that I use as a couch and sleep on during the hottest days of summer.) It's also useful and comfy to read by the window. And it's nice to be able to have my crocheting supplies on hand when I want to sit down and crochet a bit, too.

The other couch is a papasan couch. I originally bought it at Goodwill. It's fine; a bear to move the cushions, but in all honesty, I really hardly use it at all.

And, if I get rid of it, I will have room to put the small floor loom in its place. It's a perfect fit.

But, what to do with it? I'd like for it go to in the eventual upstairs library/spare bedroom, really. But that's a bit of a while off, and I'm not sure I have space to store it until then. I'm considering sticking it in the Project Room until I am to the point where I can move it; we'll see about that, because I also have a papasan chair, and that also needs to be moved somewhere too.

My envisioning of the upstairs library/spare bedroom is probably one wall (or one and a half; I really don't have an extensive amount of fiction books) of bookcases, a comfy place to read, a rocking chair, a bed, a small desk, and a small chest of drawers.

The comfy place to read was supposed to be the papasan couch. (The papsan chair is supposed to go into the sewing room.) So keeping it would be more economical than getting rid of it and finding something else later on. But storing it is going to be an issue. We'll see if I can fit it properly in the Project Room...

ETA: The papasan couch is upstairs. I only knocked one thing off the wall while carrying the second cushion upstairs. :( However, although parts of it did break (it was a terra cotta sculpture of a girl's head) it actually looks... kind of deliberately broken in those places, so I hung it back up. We'll see if anyone notices...

The loom is now in place. I can access my workbench again, yay! The hallway is completely clogged with stuff to go upstairs, however. I'll be working on that tomorrow, I think...

Contemplating a Solitary Life.

2011-11-08T18:28:00.000-05:00

The dining table.

As some of you know, I live alone. (If one can live alone with cats, that is.)

It hasn't always been that way. Up until I was 25, I lived with my parents, in a 10' x 10' bedroom crammed with about 3,000 books (not kidding), and everything else I was even remotely interested in. It was, as I see now, my Nest, and well-feathered.

When I was 25, I moved out of my Nest and my parents' house, two hours away with my new husband to start a new life together. That life didn't last very long; we had our first major argument two weeks after the wedding, and things went downhill after that. Four years after we were married, I moved back to my parents' house to save up money, pay off bills, and eventually buy a house of my own, which I did two years after that.

And here, in that same house, I remain, alone.

I've always been a solitary sort of person. I'm not a big joiner; I don't go out of my way to meet new people. I am content by myself. I have plenty to do. I have never once in my life been actually honestly bored.

And I'm perfectly happy and quite satisfied with my solitary life.

As I've said before, a satisfactory weekend (for me) is one where I park my car on Friday after work and don't get back into it until Monday morning to go back to work. I'm off all this week, and I've left my house exactly twice so far. Once to go to my parents house to see my niece (and my sister and my parents) and once to go eat lunch with my parents.

My goal has been to clean and declutter and get done with some of the stuff around here I've been putting off. One was to put the tarp on the leaky roof that didn't get replaced this year--that's now done. Others are in progress. Some, I see a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Others not so much, but I'll get there. Even so, I am having a fabulous week off--all by myself.

And that got me to thinking. The phrase 'to live a quiet life in solitary contemplation' has been running through my head for a couple of years now. I'm not sure where it came from, but it's always in the background of my thoughts. A mantra, of sorts, I guess. It follows me to the day job, and back home, and I've started many a post about what it might mean.

I think I know now.

Reading chair and tape loom.

This--this is my calling. To write my stories, to tell my tales. To live a truly quiet life in solitary contemplation. To grow my own food, spin my own yarn, create my own cloth. To share what I am and what I do here and elsewhere. Not to preach, because I am not a preacher. But to be. To be aware of the world around me; the natural world, I mean. The modern-day world--that world of malls and outdoing the neighbors and houses as places to sleep and not truly homes--that world is not my world and it never has been.

My world; my place, is right here where I've been all along.

One day I'll have that little stone cottage in the woods. And I won't have a day job, or I'll work part-time. That day is coming. I can feel it. And it will arrive. Until then, I will enjoy what solitude I get, appreciate my long commute for the time in contemplation, and work towards my goals.

And live a quiet life in solitary contemplation.

What I have been reading...

2011-11-08T14:38:00.000-05:00

Innermost House.

I am a hermit.

The Rewards of Living a Solitary Life.

Consider the Ravens: On Contemporary Hermit Life.

Alone.

Life in Solitary.

among others.

A slight change in perspective.

2011-10-18T22:05:00.004-04:00

I've been looking at this as "What I can't do/don't have time to do because of the day job" instead of "What I want to do and will make time for despite the day job."

And then we come full circle.

2011-10-17T09:34:00.001-04:00

I started a story a couple of weeks ago, backstory for a character who appeared in the book I'm writing. It's a story in itself, not just a slice of his life.

His beloved, Celeste, is a weaver, among other things.

Around the same time, I realized that the awkward space in my workroom/studio was the perfect size for a floor loom. And I realized that I'd told myself someday, and I'd put that desire away, and I'd said I didn't have time to weave anymore. And I remembered when I first learned to weave, and how I bought too many looms and how I bought too many supplies, and how I decided to sell Elizabeth, my rug loom, Lisbet my four harness Harrisville, and Ester, my Glimakra table loom, and all of the others, because they weren't the right ones.

The only looms I currently own--that are sitting in my house--are Junior, my 9" rigid heddle loom, one unnamed osage orange tape loom, and a floor-standing inkle loom I'd love to sell (but would have to sell locally since it doesn't come apart easily.) I still have the project loom as well, upstairs in the Project Room.

See, here's the thing. I don't need the gateleg table in the workroom/studio. I have the dining room table, which is well-suited for cutting out large patterns. The gateleg table is just extra storage, if I'm completely truthful. And extra storage isn't necessary in that room. I want it to be a workroom, not a place to stick stuff/supplies, etc. That's why my upstairs studio is no longer usable.

I told myself that I'd set a firm budget (very small) and also spend time looking for the right loom. I would want something large enough without being too large, and also something sturdy enough to weave rugs as well as scarves and dishtowels and whatever I could possibly want. Something smallish and more portable would be nice, too.

I would only want four harnesses, period. I'm not interested (still) in the Very Complicated weaving patterns. I did not want a table loom or a table loom with treadle setup, or a Harrisville. While Lisbet was a nice loom, I never felt that she was very sturdy. And while Elizabeth was also a nice loom, she was also really only a rug loom. And while Ester was absolutely gorgeous, I found that I'm not a table loom type of person.

And I didn't want to have to pay for shipping, either. So it had to be relatively local.

I figured it would take the rest of the winter and into spring and maybe summer to find one.

Imagine my surprise when I randomly searched on Craigslist Saturday afternoon and found one--literally--fifteen minutes away from my parents' house in Bethel for my exact budget price.

It had been up on Craigslist for four days already. I figured it was gone. So I emailed the sellers, and they responded while I was at Burlington yesterday. We emailed back and forth, and I went to go see the loom last night.

Not only did I get to meet the wonderful owners, I also found a practically brand-new Swedish-made loom in great condition. The only reason why it didn't come home with me last night was because I didn't think it would fit in my car and it was dark, so I didn't want to haul it outside, and then find it wouldn't fit.

This afternoon, Dad and I are picking up a 45" Lillistina four harness/six treadle floor loom. I'm quite pleased with my find. And I'm planning to give myself time to learn to use her, instead of bouncing hither and yon as I go along.

And that awkward space in my workroom will finally have a purpose.

Small spaces in a Big House

2011-10-15T08:58:00.000-04:00

The bay window in the library.

After my previous post, I decided that the best thing to do was to create small spaces in my big house and not fill the rest up with extraneous clutter. So I moved around my reading chair in the library so it would fit better, got rid of some infortunately dead plants, and created the "window seat" anew.

My desk will go over into this area as well once I get things moved around; that way, I can have a "reading/working" area that is not spread out across the entire room. I am also contemplating moving the gateleg table in beside my desk--for two reasons: I do have the dining room table to cut out patterns, if needed, and I really, really don't like the gateleg table in my workroom. It just doesn't fit properly, no matter what I do to make it fit. But we'll see... I'm not committed to that, either. Perhaps when I am ready to move my desk into place I'll see a better place for it.

Living Small(er) in a Big House

2011-10-12T13:54:00.000-04:00

I live in a large old house. It's 2500sf of 1903 farmhouse style, with wood floors throughout, unpainted woodwork, and original plaster walls. It has eleven rooms and nine-foot ceilings. It's the very epitome of a Big Old House.

I grew up in a Big Old House built between 1835-1865. And yet, that Big Old House had its cozy little spaces, which forever endeared me to tiny spaces and tiny houses. For quite a few years of my life, my place in my parents' house was a 10'x10' bedroom, phenomenally messy.

This Big Old House was filled with antiques and Interesting Things, so from early childhood, my idea of a neat house to live in was either a tiny stone cottage filled with antiques and Interesting Things, or a Big Old House, preferably with a tower, filled with antiques and Interesting Things. (My Big Old House does not have a tower, alas. But there is another Big Old House with a tower that I get to see every day right down the road.)

For quite a few years now, I've been struggling with the space in my Big Old House and trying to recreate it to work in a more efficient, less cluttered way. That has involves lots of decluttering and downsizing, stuff-wise, not that you can particularly tell I've gotten rid of anything at all...and there's a reason for that.

This is not me:

This is me:

Neither pictures are current; my desk isn't even in that room anymore (and I'm not even using the same desk, for that matter), but you get the idea, I'm sure. While I love the idea of a simply furnished, Shaker-style house, it's just not me. If I lived in a Shaker-style house or a small stone cottage, perhaps things would be different. (Although I'm not so sure.) Right now, I live in a Big Old House with a lovely bay window, large windows, a big kitchen, and too much space for one person. But it's where I live, and where I'm going to be living (barring anything catastrophic) for the next foreseeable few years.

So with that in mind, I'll be aiming towards comfortably cluttered instead of outrageously so. And my childhood dream of living in a Big Old House filled with antiques and Interesting Objects need not disappear after all.

A Certain Stillness.

2011-10-10T11:49:00.001-04:00

I got up late this morning, not for any particular reason, just because my bed was so nice and comfy that I stayed in it for a bit longer, which stretched to a bit longer, and so on, until it was 9am.

And I sat down at my computer with breakfast and tea and a side-street of a new story that I'm working on, and I've written since then.

I am in no true rush today. This is a rarity around here lately, but something I'd like to be routine soon enough. To have the luxury to sit down at my desk and write for hours without worrying about time slipping away is something I treasure, and also something I crave.

I don't have to leave my house today. Don't have to leave my yard, truly, because today is 'putting the garden to sleep' day, which will probably stretch into next weekend as well, as there's a lot to do. I'm going to dig up my sweet potatoes and pick the remaining peppers and harvest the volunteer squash from the backyard.

I'm going to bake bread today, and do my laundry, but those are normal chores, done every weekend.

Next Friday is my birthday, and next weekend is the last Burlington of the year.

It's been a long year.

Use it Up.

2011-10-09T08:01:00.000-04:00

In my quest for an actual workroom/studio, I realized that I had so many various crafting supplies that if I didn't buy any supplies for a year and made one doll per week (for example), I'd be able to make dolls for the next two to three years without purchasing anything to make them. The same goes with bears, among other things.

Knitters and crocheters (and spinners) usually have a stash--a collection of yarns or fibers, saved for that special project/rainy day/specific project you haven't quite gotten around to yet.

I've been considering the idea of purchasing some jewelry-making supplies (mostly wire) and other stuff like that, but after looking at the state of my general supplies, I've decided against buying anything new.

I am going to make-do for a little while yet. And utilize what supplies I have creatively. And if I find that I truly can't use what I have, then I'll sell what I can't use and use that money to buy what I need.

Reflections

2011-09-19T16:10:00.001-04:00

So the other day, I started this post about shoes. See, I had convinced myself that I needed new shoes--I do need a new pair of sandals by next summer, because my current pair is seriously dying, but I don't need new boots, and I don't need new shoes. I had gone so far as to actually place the order.

And then I slept on it, and when I woke up, I realized something. Namely that I'd been prepared to spend $90 on three pairs of shoes that I didn't really need, and that I'd convinced myself that I needed them.

What changed my mind was opening my closet to see the shoes I have--and finding four pairs of shoes that didn't fit that I never returned, still in the boxes. When I bought them in 2008 (yes, three years ago), those four pairs probably cost me over $125, if not more.

So I cancelled my order. The boots I am currently wearing that I purchased in 2004 have nothing wrong with them; the hiking shoes I wore yesterday, purchased in 2009 are still fine (and I expect them to last many years), and I have all winter to find a new pair of sandals that meet my criteria. There's no rush right now.

Cancelling that order made me feel as if something had changed, not just one cancelled order. It's not that I've stopped buying completely, I'm just... choosing more carefully what I do buy, I suppose. I haven't bought a single pair of new shoes since 2009 anyway; there's no reason to begin now until I find a suitable pair of sandals.

I need to declutter more than I need to add.

And yet...

2011-08-29T21:22:00.002-04:00

I miss crafting.

Over these past weeks I've missed dollmaking and jewelrymaking. I also want to start making teacup spindles again. I want to learn to use my lathe as well.

One thing I have discovered, something that I hadn't actually put into words until now, is that my creative self still wants an physical out. Not that writing a book can't be a physical out, of course. But it's obvious, at least to me, that I've had a crafting outlet for so many years that not being able to sit down and make something--in a dedicated space--is very annoying.

And the key word being 'dedicated space.' It's all well and good to have a crafting room if the room is full of supplies with no space for actual crafting. And I think that's part of my problem with the Green Room, which is supposed to become my sewing/crafting room. I've been rearranging the existing bookcases and furniture for weeks in my mind, trying to find a proper fit for everything.

But the issue is--I have too much of everything, most of which are clothes for fabric and actual fabric, in truth.

So what I think needs to happen is that I end up putting what I need in the Green Room and sorting through the rest. And if sorting through the rest means that I end up discarding a lot, then it means I end up discarding a lot. But at least my crafting room will be workable, and I'll have space for my supplies, which is the point, after all.

Updates... or not.

2011-08-18T20:52:00.002-04:00

I haven't actually published a post here since July 10th, but I've started about a dozen of them and I've never gotten far enough to push 'publish.'

There are a couple of reasons for that. For one, it doesn't seem that I've gotten much done in the decluttering/cleaning area of my life. I've started quite a bit, but not finished anything, again, for various reasons.

The other reasons involve my considerations of what I actually and honestly would like to do with my 'spare time', and that involved lots of series watching on Netflix, because I've found that helps disconnect my mind enough for me to think. I got a lot of spinning done while watching various shows. That also helps me think.

One thing I've been struggling with is the one thing that I would rather do in lieu of anything--writing.

Writing and stress, at least for me, doesn't work well together. And it's been a very, very stressful year.

But I had a two-day training this week in Columbus, and spent the night. By myself. With my netbook and nothing else. And I reread Heart's Desire and Fire and Water because I'm 330 pages into the third book in that series, Scarecrows, and I couldn't quite figure out why I was stuck.

And I realized something, while reading.

The stories I write are mine and mine alone. No one else can write them. They are important to me, not just because of that, but because the characters I write about are alive in my imagination. No one else will get this phrase until Book 3 is finished, but they are real to me.

And that's important.

Given my druthers, I would much rather be writing--or reading--instead of doing anything else. Anything else. They will pry my stories out of my cold dead fingers.

I think some of you probably understand what I mean by this. And by thinking this way, that means I need to rethink what I do with my 'spare time', my non-work time. And decide what's most important to me.

Although, I think I've already made that decision.

I thought a lot these past two days when I wasn't home and only had my stories to keep me company. My characters. My life's work. And I realized that I would be perfectly happy with a minimum of everything, as long as I had enough 'spare time' to write and to read and to sit and to... live.

I don't need much. I really don't. Now is the time to decide what I do need, and to get this over with so I can spend my favorite part of the year paying attention to what I love to do instead of what I'd prefer to ignore.

2011-07-10T09:10:00.002-04:00

I've not been ignoring things; I've been thinking about things. So expect a long post about it later on when I'm done working things out. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth quite yet.

2011-06-26T15:32:00.002-04:00

"If you're deriving that sense of identity because of the things you own, then all that's really doing is fooling yourself and giving yourself more and more reasons to let things pile up and let your actual quality of life decline."

--Hoarders

Heh.

2011-06-20T18:35:00.003-04:00

You do realize that to seriously eliminate half of everything I own, I'm going to be working at this into next year?

I started in the living room today. Went through most of my yarn. Ended up with two paper boxes full of yarn to sell... and four vintage suitcases and one trunk still full.

I'm thinking that for the yarn, I really should start making scarves now for the craft shows, to use some of it up. And then go through the yarn again until I have emptied the suitcases, at the very least. Because I haven't even touched the multitude of yarn in the chest of drawers, or the weaving yarn on the shelves.

I have to keep reminding myself that this will help my goal of making things easier to work on/with around here.

Half.

2011-06-17T22:14:00.004-04:00

Half of everything I own, I mean. Half my spinning wheels (at least), half my glassware. Half my baking dishes. Half my mixing bowls. Half my clothes. Half my crafting supplies. Half my yarn. I've already done half my spindles (plus quite a few) and half my fiber stash. Half my clutter, leaving room to keep the rest of what I own, without clutter. Not just 25%, but half.

The only thing I'm truly iffy about is half my books, so I'm saving them until last.

2011-06-08T21:08:00.003-04:00

I've started more than a dozen posts in the past month, trying to put my thoughts into words, only to abandon them halfway, because I ended up off on a tangent, or I just couldn't say what I wanted to say clearly enough to get my point across.

And then, I read an article (Of course it has vanished and I can't find it again) and essentially, it was about someone who lived in a very small house who had downsized, and they said, "How much stuff does one person need, anyway?"

And that got me to thinking.

And thinking.

And thinking.

And I realized something important.

You see, I have a 24qt stockpot. I have a 16qt one as well. Oh, and an 8qt one too. I have two stainless 5qt soup pots, and a 5qt nonstick soup pot that I use when I make Mom's candy (non-stick is a blessing in this case.) I have four 4qt pots, one 3qt stockpot shaped pot, two 3qt regular pots (both non-stick), and two 1qt pots. I have two smaller stockpots without lids as well.

I have a wok and a stir-fry skillet. I have (probably) a dozen cast iron skillets of various sizes, and three griddles, perhaps four. I have an abelskiver pan. I have a cornbread or scone pan as well, and a couple of copper bottomed skillets.

I have bread pans, and cookie sheets, brownie pans (8x8, 9x9, 13x9, etc.) in both Pyrex and aluminum. I have french bread pans, and a baguette pan as well. I have pound cake pans, cake pans in general of all sizes and shapes.

I have CorningWare and Pyrex, Pampered Chef Stoneware and FireKing. I have mixing bowls and serving bowls and enough of my dishes to sit a dozen people.

I have cereal bowls, and what I like to call spaghetti or salad bowls (wide, shallow bowls), small bowls and larger bowls. Handmade bowls and Bybee bowls. Saucers, and a horde of small dessert plates. I have what I call my ice cream bowls, and many others I'm not going to name, because this is getting too long as it is.

I have teacups, and tea mugs, and teapots, and tea kettles, and, and, and... I could keep writing for hours, but I'm not going to, because you probably see my point already.

How much stuff does one person need?

My stove has two burners (the other two have to be manually lit, so I never use them.) One burner houses my tea kettle. The other I use to cook. I rarely have to move my tea kettle to put another pot on the stove because most of the meals I make are one dish meals, like stir-fry, especially in the summertime.

The cast iron does duty both on the stove and in the oven. I frequently use the griddles and skillets for bread and pizzas and the like, along with using them for their proper purposes.

The stockpots, at least the larger ones, are moot points; they are useful when processing produce from the garden.

But the smaller ones--one 5qt, one nonstick 5qt, two 4qts, 1 3 qt, 1 nonstick 3qt--I could even get rid of both 2qts, because I only use them when I'm completely out of clean pots to use, and that's stupid.

The stir-fry skillet and my wok are very useful in my kitchen. The copper bottomed skillets are not, because I use my cast iron skillets when I need a skillet, not those.

Do you see what I need to do now? It's not 25%, it's more like 50%. And that just feels like the right thing to do.

How much does one person really need?

Not a lot, really.

On Simplicity.

2011-04-23T09:08:00.003-04:00

When a process or even an organization is too unwieldy, steps are taken to streamline so everything works in sync again, flowing properly the way it was always intended.

There's always a transition period. Those who hate change resist; those who love change embrace.

There is also a mourning period, but no one really talks about that, because we don't talk about such things in this culture. You are expected to deal with it, to move on, to not look back. (Personally, I think that's the reason why people make the same mistakes over and over again sometimes; that not looking back.)

And yet we do look back. We talk about how things were ten years ago, twenty years ago, and some of us get stuck in the past, yearning for that time before, when things were better.

When things were simpler.

But what, exactly, made things so complicated? Directly, our life experiences; indirectly--or perhaps even more directly--our lifestyles and/or cultural pressures.

We are taught that success = things, not personal satisfaction, not knowledge, not the glow of a job well done. To be successful in this day and age, you (evidently) must be willing to keep up with the New--new phones, new gadgets, new cars, new houses, whatever trend is currently in vogue. You must change your wardrobe long before the fabric of your clothes wear out, you must have a pair of shoes for every occasion, you must constantly change and adapt to reflect society's whims.

Otherwise, you are left behind, or so it seems.

But in all honesty, is it possible to keep up with so much change? Why must we always strive for something better when what we have is really and honesty good enough? Why cut corners when the object is already circular?

Simplicity, to me, has always meant the conscious choice of having less to choose from.

If I decide to only buy secondhand clothing, then right then and there I am limited to what I can find at the thrift stores/rummage sales. If I add in my fashion tastes, I am limited even further, because I don't like most of today's styles. But some styles are timeless, and there is where I find the clothes I wear--simple cuts, not flashy, earthy colors for the most part. Cotton, rayon, wool, silk, and other natural fibers are in; acrylic, polyester, and other manmade fibers are out. By eliminating even the potential possibility for buying new clothes (and every once in a while, I do, like t-shirts when my old ones finally bite the dust and it's cheaper to buy them on sale rather than hunt for secondhand ones.)

If I would decided to buy only food I cannot make or grow myself--or, alternately, only buy food in season if it won't grow in my garden--then that eliminates a lot right there.

When I was a child, my parents had a rule: We could not eat any cereal that had sugar as the first or second ingredient. Third was fine; first or second were out. That was the rule; the only time we were allowed to not abide by that rule was when we went on vacation. (And let me tell you, one week of eating the chocolate chip cookie cereal was more than enough for me.)

That completely eliminated about 85% of the cereal in the grocery store back then. We ate a lot of Cheerios and Wheaties. And we didn't have any cavities, either... but then again, we weren't allowed to drink pop either for normal every day drinks, and we lived just fine.

To me, making that choice to not buy something--to not consume something, whether it be food or clothes or anything else--is the true sense of the word simplicity. To not allow that item in your life, whatever it may be. To accept the fact that you aren't taking the easy way out. To go the scenic route. It might take a little longer to accomplish your goals, but you'll get there.

When you begin to streamline a process, or change your life in any way, it's okay to mourn what you are giving up or changing. That door, after all, is not locked. It's not even closed. If what you've decided to do doesn't end up working, you can always go back, a little wiser, but not in disgrace. You haven't failed if you consciously decide to chose to live differently, or to do something differently. You're just trying out another way to go about doing things.

Otherwise, you remain as you are. It's up to you whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. :)

Momentum.

2011-04-20T07:09:00.002-04:00

It's the snowball effect--you start small, at the top of the hill, and as your snowball rolls down the hill it gains momentum and mass until you are able to blast across obstacles as if they were molehills instead of mountains.

The hardest part, of course, is the beginning, when you are trying to find enough snow to make a snowball so you can begin. The hardest part is gaining any momentum at all.

I had a certain amount of money I needed to make--from destashing on Ravelry, from ebay, my miniscule tax refund, and Burlington--by April 30th. I had three weeks. I still have ten days to go.

I have that money in my bank account, plus some. (With only one tax refund added, even.)

I met my goal.

You cannot believe how validating this feels. It is amazing. Simply amazing.

See, and the reason why it feels so good is because I did this--by myself. I didn't have to ask anyone for money, or for help. (Well, other than God, that is...) I decided what needed to be sold, I argued with myself, I slid backwards, I even bought two spinning wheels during that time (which were part of a transaction that had begun before all of this.)

So, by doing this, I averted a major crisis or two. My next goal is to maintain--to set a goal per week and meet that goal. I still have a lot of stuff to declutter around here.

With that in mind...

2011-03-27T09:53:00.004-04:00

If I have less to do, I will have time to do more.

Where do I spend my time? I work a full-time job, 40 hours per week. I have a three hour a day commute. I sleep seven hours a night, usually. Those are non-negotiable at the moment. And I'm not adding family stuff to this list; this is stuff I do, not anyone else.

But otherwise?

--First and foremost, I am a writer.

Now, I don't need a lot of equipment to write, but writing does take time. I normally write something every single day. Whether it's a work-in-progress or something else; writing is like breathing to me. It's what I do. I write on my lunch breaks at work. If I'm stuck on something, I reread, or read a book.

--I spin.

Spinning helps me think. It's also a great meditation aid. It's also really cool to make my own yarn. (I got a little carried away with buying spinning equipment, especially spindles. I realize that now. I'm down to a more manageable number at the moment; although even that might drop eventually.) I also think that it's fun to buy antique spinning wheels and repair them into working wheels. There's a nice sense of satisfaction with a properly working spinning wheel that might not have been used for fifty years (or longer) suddenly coming to life again. I also really enjoy making spindles. They're fun to make, and fun to use.

Cost-wise, if I learned to dye my own fiber, it would be cheaper. That's on my list of things to do. I even have the dyes.

--I garden.

Which doesn't take up much time during the winter months, but takes a lot of time in the spring with preparation and planting, especially, and the summer once I start picking.

--I bake and cook.

Which is important; to use what I grow and supplement with foodstuffs I buy.

--I read.

Non-negotiable. If I can't curl up with a book at night, even for a few minutes, then my life is too busy and something needs to change.

--Craft-wise, I crochet and I sew.

Knitting I can take or leave. Crochet I've done all my life (almost), and I'm more comfortable with it than anything else. Sewing I haven't done much lately, but once I get the sewing area of the Green Room set up, I will be able to do more.

--I go to auctions/sell at antique shows and on ebay and have many collections.

And buy stuff to sell, or to keep; this hasn't been an every-weekend thing lately and probably won't be, either. I am paring down some collections and getting rid of others that I really have no interest in expanding. However, selling on ebay has been expanding, for obvious reasons, and that also takes time.

What don't I really have time to do anymore?

--Weaving.

Weaving takes time--the kind of weaving I'm talking about, at least. I'm not going to say I won't keep what looms I have and use them on occasion, but the desire is just not there right now. I like weaving, I want to weave different things, like tartans, but I don't like the time involved in preparing the warp, warping the loom, etc., etc. So weaving is on the back burner for a while until I have more time in my life to devote to it. Which might not be any time soon.

--Ravelry.

While it's a great resource, and I would not have gotten into spinning or antique spinning wheels without it, it's also a bad time sink for me. I've cut down on a lot of the groups I belong to, and put all but the ones I read most on different pages. And I've cut down on other internet usage as well. I can't completely get away from it, but I can cut down a bit, and needed to.

--Excessive cleaning/decluttering.

This takes up a lot of time. When I have to search through a pile to find something, or step over stacks of stuff to get to something else; when I can't access my sewing machines because the table is full of other stuff--that's a problem. So I need to get to the point where that doesn't happen as soon as possible. This means--for now, at least--decluttering/selling is a priority.

What I want to do is keep what I will use this year. And then if I miss something I've sold, if I decide selling it was a mistake, then I can go ahead and get another one (at the right price, of course.) If I get rid of the clutter and sell off the excess and have no more piles, then it will be much easier for me to do stuff around the house. It will be easier to clean, to keep things organized, and to do what I want to do.

With that said, I think it's about time I get off the internet and start on another room...

ETA, later:

Other things I don't have time for at the moment:

--Learn how to play a musical instrument.

I just don't have time. I don't have time to learn to play the fiddle, or the guitar, or the piano, or the accordion. I honestly and truly do not have time--and still have time to do everything else. I am adding woodworking to my hobbies this year since I got a mini-lathe for Christmas; I don't have time to do this as well.

That doesn't mean that one day I won't have time, and that's fine. I'll keep my keyboard and the accordion; I'll keep my tin whistles and ocarinas. But the violins and my guitar? It's probably time for them to go. While I enjoyed the fact that I could learn to play, especially the fiddle, I just don't see myself having time to play. I'd rather do other things right now. And that's okay.

If.

2011-03-26T14:52:00.001-04:00

If I have less to do, I will have time to do more.

Think about that for a moment.

...

I think this is the crux of the matter in its entirety.

Okay.

2011-03-13T20:53:00.002-04:00

The first week in the new office was... not bad. I'm a little over half a mile from the main post office, which I'll be visiting this week to mail ebay stuff that sold last week. Saturdays are going to be my auction days, since the post office situation is now solved. (The main post office is open 'til 7pm, even, so after work is not a problem now.)

The cost of gas will be the hard part, so even after I pay off my car and have more money at hand, I'll still be posting auctions and keeping up with the decluttering effort around here.

I'll write more later; just wanted to post an update.

2011-03-06T07:47:00.001-05:00

We must let go if we want to move forward. (Quote found on a blog.)

Okay.

2011-02-23T20:28:00.002-05:00

I think I've figured it out. I will post auctions on Thursdays. That will give people Friday to pay, and then I can mail stuff out on Saturday (given my new commute, I might or might not be able to get to the PO before it closes.) Anything that isn't paid for by Saturday I'll hand off to Dad to mail (he has already offered.)

This begins tomorrow, of course; I already have six items and hope to have four more for an even ten. Ten items per week isn't that terrible, really. And it's not like I don't have the stuff to post, believe me.

My previous goal of $100 per week will remain.

Current thinking, Part 2

2011-02-21T19:12:00.002-05:00

Okay. The library is finished, meaning, there's a tub of cobalt blue wine glasses on the table (they're going to Mom and Dad's) and nothing more. Everything that doesn't belong in here is out of here, although I won't promise I'll never move a couple of things around, here or there, eventually.

Some of the fiber overflow is in here, in a wooden box that I was using for a lamp stand and not much more. There's still more fiber overflow, however, and I'm going to have to deal with that eventually; either I'll have to sell some yarn or get another trunk. I'm leaning towards selling some yarn. For some reason, my Craigslist posts aren't showing up, so I'm thinking about putting all four items I posted on Craigslist on Ebay instead.

The current thinking is that the Green Room will be mostly sewing, with the papasan couch. The coned yarn will stay up to a point; I'm hoping to clear out most of the chest of drawers (well, it has two doors and one drawer, whatever you call such things) and use that for fabric storage.

Against the wall of the Green Room, I am planning to use the typewriter desk as a sewing desk. I'm also planning to keep the old porch table where it is, and replace the walnut table where it was, with the large yarn swift on top of it. I would also like to add the round table that is currently my sewing table from upstairs; I'm not quite sure there's enough room, but we'll see. The idea is to have a large area so sewing something will not be a problem and I'll have plenty of room. That's the idea, at least.

But first, I'm going to be in the living room, which also needs to be rearranged. In fact, I might do both rooms together, but we'll see. I'm just glad this room is finished. All I have left is to sweep the floor. :)

Enough, Part 2

2011-02-21T10:32:00.003-05:00

Except, then we go into need.

And then let's just start with the spinning wheels, since they're the newest acquisitions.

Do I need eight keeper spinning wheels? I'm not even counting the projects, which number about a dozen or so. Projects can be fixed and repaired into working wheels and resold.

But keepers?

Here are the current keepers, with pictures:

1. Sofia--my Norwegian style green Saxony.
2. Lucia--L. Brown signed Farnham copy.
3. Eliza--Bisson with a Paradis Wheel Saxony.
4. Gloriana--Canadian Production Wheel.
5. Julius--Columbine Wheel.
6. Echo--EB signed Double Flyer Wheel (technically a project.)
7. Agatha--Great Wheel.
8. Amelia--Great Wheel.

In truth, halving this list wouldn't really be that difficult. Of the eight, Sofia, Julius, Lucia, Agatha, and Amelia are non-negotiable. If there was no other choice, I'd sell Amelia and keep Agatha. I wouldn't want to go farther than that.

Yes, that puts my CPW on the potential chopping block, along with the DFW and a very nice Saxony I enjoy spinning on. But the question remains--how many wheels do I honestly and seriously need? I can only use one at a time, after all.

Right now, I'm going to concentrate on finishing projects and selling the wheels I've already earmarked for sale. When the time comes that I have no more project wheels, or if I need the money or if I decide I need to downsize farther, then I already know which spinning wheels will be sold.

This week's question.

2011-02-12T10:42:00.003-05:00

I posted this on Ravelry earlier in the week, and my response is under the line.

This week’s question (in between finishing up my spindle spinning projects while watching Season 1 of Being Human (the BBC version) via Amazon Video-on-demand) is--

When is enough enough?

Crafting-wise,

--I have enough fabric, thread, and sewing notions to last forever, and I’m not really kidding.
--I have enough fiber to last a few months, at least; I’d get bored after a while with the pound of gray blend and pounds of white, but it’s still fiber than needs to be spun.
--I have enough yarn to last me for the next couple of years… and I’m not really kidding.

--I have eight ‘keeper’ spinning wheels and twenty spindles, mostly supported. I had nine keeper spinning wheels, but when I figured out I could use one of my spare wheels on my favorite Great Wheel (who has a fragile, repaired wheel) and thus allow her to be able to be transported to places for demos, I decided not to keep GW #3, who is really GW#7, because I have a few to sell, too.
--I have six looms. Two are four-harness table looms (one 27”, one 12”), two are rigid heddle looms (one 16”, one 9”), one floor standing inkle loom, and one tape loom.(There’s more about the looms below.)
--This year’s learning experience will be how to use the lathe I got for Christmas, once I figure out where I’m going to set it up. (I’m still working on that.)

I plan to continue to spin, that goes without saying. I plan to continue to buy wheels in need and repair/replace parts so they are able to spin again. I like to do that. Now that I can distribute my spinning wheels throughout a couple of rooms, they won’t take up as much space in one entire room, if that makes sense. The wheels to sell will all be upstairs in the project room; that’s ok, too. I plan to keep one spare bedroom for storage and project purposes anyway.

I plan to continue to sew. I do need to sort through my fabric and notions, etc. Not sure I really need 200 zippers, for example. Among other things.

Weaving is the iffy thing. When I started weaving, I bought a bunch of looms in quick succession, and then kind of burned myself out getting ready for the craft show that year. I then sold most of what I had, and replaced them with others. And haven’t really touched any of the looms for almost an entire year now.

My big table loom takes up a lot of space. And I really, really, really am okay with plain weave. I have no desire to get more complicated. I like weaving scarves and little bags and such. I do like the dishtowels I wove, too. I like patterns, like plaid and stripes and such, more than twill or complicated things. I hate warping four-harness heddles. I don’t mind rigid heddles, however. But simple is my friend. And I’ve made some really lovely things with interesting yarns and plain weave.

I have tried to sell the big table loom before, rather half-heartedly. Each time, someone has convinced me that it’s a mistake to sell it, and yet, I never use it. (It is a lovely Glimakra Pysslingen.) The smaller four-harness was supposed to be for scarves. I bought it on Ravelry. And I haven’t used it yet. It’s also lovely.

When is enough enough? My first thought is to sell the table looms and be done with it. The second thought is to take off two harnesses and try them as two harness looms and see if I can manage that without too much complaining. The third thought is that there’s room for both looms; I’m not out of space or anything, and don’t really have anything to put in that space if I do get rid of it/them. The fourth thought is--do I really have enough time to weave along with everything else that I do? Is it a viable hobby or just something I feel obligated to continue? The fifth thought is that if I bring the sewing machines downstairs as I plan, I could weave for sewing, like hats, and bears, and bags and suchlike. The sixth thought is that it’s much easier (time-wise) to just go to Goodwill and buy clothes for fabric, or just use what I already have upstairs, and am I likely to do this? The seventh thought reminds me that the winter will be over soon and it will be garden season and I will be busy with that. The eighth thought informs me that if the table loom wasn’t sitting in front of the one pocket door, I could open both pocket doors and then have more light in the Green Room where the sewing stuff will be. The ninth thought thinks I am making this more complicated than it actually is, because it’s not like I couldn’t buy another table loom in a few years if I decided I wanted to do so.

And this is where I usually shake my head and give up. Which is not going to happen this time, darn it all!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I like to spin, because it's a portable and soothing pursuit that I can do while I'm sitting here at my desk writing, or while I'm watching a movie, or listening to the radio, or whatever. I like to spin. I could sell my handspun to recoup some money. I also should make and sell more spindles.

I like to crochet. It's easier than knitting, there are less sticks to keep track of, and honestly, it works better for me. So I'll stick with that, for the umpteenth time.

I like to sew. I like to sew dolls, sweater bears, and I'd still like to make hats and bags and stuff like that as well. This is primarily to sell, of course, and there's nothing wrong with that.

But while I like to weave, I had no real desire to learn complicated (or even uncomplicated) patterns. They're pretty, but the time involved seems far too much, and it's time I really don't have to spare. I am ok with sticking to plain weave and rigid heddle looms, when I weave at all. It's not what I do. It's something I enjoy, yes, when I do it. But it's not something I do every day, and in all honesty, unless I intend to sell scarves on Etsy or something, it won't be something I'll do every day.

Both table looms and the inkle loom will be sold. I'll keep the tape loom, because that's just fun, and I'll keep both rigid heddle looms. And that's it.

That's enough.

Definitions.

2011-02-12T09:56:00.004-05:00

First and foremost, I am a writer.

I say that because I write almost every single day. I consider writing--the stories I write, not just writing anything under the sun--to be my vocation. So, first and foremost, I am a writer.

I am not all that interested in the technical aspect of writing, of discussing writing or how-to-write, of reviewing things unless the story moves me, of the pettiness that seems to hover around such discussions. I write stories. That's what I do, and have done, for the past 24 years.

It's me.

Current thinking, at least for the moment.

2011-02-04T19:39:00.002-05:00

Okay, so the plan is thus:

--All nonfiction books go in the library. Fiction books can stay upstairs in the hallway. There's still room on the shelves.

--Only my most-used cookbooks stay in the kitchen. All others, and there are many others, can go in the library, on a cookbook bookshelf right inside the door.

--Nonfiction books will be grouped by subject. One of the subjects is 'research'; that's a bit broad, but needed, I think.

--My desk will also go in the library. This will entail moving the phone wire around. I don't think it will be a problem, because I actually think it might be a shorter distance, and there's already a lot of slack in the line anyway.

--All wooden, non-painted bookshelves, save for the ones already in the Green Room, will go into the library. This means I'm taking my crafting supplies off the shelf in that room and they will have to go somewhere else.

--Included in that thought is the thought that I will now have a large space empty in the Green Room where my desk went. I have an idea for this, of course. See below.

--Okay, spinning wheel-wise, Agatha and Lucia will be library wheels. Gloriana, Sofia, and Amelia will be living room wheels. Sarah will be in the Green Room, somewhere. That's three working and accessible Great Wheels downstairs. That doesn't count the small wheels--The Princess, Echo, and My Precious. They already have spots.

--Okay, the 'see below' part. My craft room is upstairs. Why? Because it has always been upstairs. There are a few parts to this:

It's a spare bedroom
I spend most of my time downstairs
There isn't enough room for my sewing machines, crafting supplies, etc. in that room, mostly because I have fabric and sweaters/clothes for fabric everywhere
I have no downstairs closets, but I do have trunks.

What if I brought my sewing machines downstairs? In the space where my desk is now, I could carry down the rolltop desk bottom (again) and put it right back where it was before. With two small bookcases across the back, it would give me plenty of room for supplies and/or sewing machine storage. Fabric? Well, Fabric can be stored in trunks, baskets, boxes, even my empty vintage suitcases. Sweaters/Clothing for fabric? I do have a closet in that room. Why not store them there? They don't have to be 100% visible.

Pros:

Easier to sew large items on the rolltop desk bottom
I could set up my lathe upstairs--there are two windows for ventilation, plus a really heavy oak desk that could very well become the lathe stand/work table
It's out of the way and could be shut away from curious kitties
It's not ideal to run a lathe in a bedroom, but if I keep the furniture/clutter to a minimum, it should be pretty easy to clean up after myself, and I'm not looking (right now, at least) to be turning loads of stuff at a time anyway.
The only furniture up in that room that I can't move myself are the heavy oak desk, a chest of drawers that could end up holding supplies, and a trunk that I might end up bringing into my bedroom anyway. Everything else, which includes a table, a shelf/rack, a bunch of bookcases, an upholstered chair, and lots of crafting stuff that needs to be gone through, can be moved by me.
The upholstered chair could go in my bedroom to replace the papasan chair, which is kind of large for that space anyway. The chair is pink, but that doesn't mean I can't hide the color with some throws. It's a very comfy chair.
It's more ideal to paint and stuff downstairs where I have easier access to water. The upstairs bathroom does work in that respect, but it's always a bit of a hassle.
The upstairs bathroom could become fabric storage, too.
If I managed to get a treadle jigsaw, I could put it up there too... that would be two woodworking tools in one room! ;)

Cons:

It's a lathe in a bedroom.
Dust
Smell, depending on the wood
Um. Got any?

2011-02-03T20:26:00.001-05:00

There were approximately 30 marbles under the china cabinet, courtesy of my cats, who like to drop them down the stairs.

Progress, of sorts.

2011-02-03T15:56:00.003-05:00

I stayed home from work today for two reasons: One, the china cabinet is leaving today, and I needed to clear a path to it. And two, I needed a day off. So I worked my tail off yesterday to get a lot done at work, and left in good conscience.

This room will become my library and writing space. My desk is going to go in here--I'm determined to Make It Work. There will be bookcases, my reading chair, and spinning wheels, I'm sure. And only one organ, because I've found a spot for the other one, in the living room right beside the picture window. (Shocking, I know! It should just fit.) The table will stay, but be moved a bit farther down. My desk will be put into place; I can do that by pushing it along on a rug so as not to scratch the floor.

It's progress. And it's working, so far.

2011-01-29T07:22:00.002-05:00

There's an indoor yard sale up at church today; most of what won't sell will end up at the rummage sale and not come back into the house. Quite a nice large pile, completely gone. I am not complaining.

Buy Nothing (To Keep)... For a Year.

2011-01-18T19:20:00.002-05:00

I'd been kicking around this idea since before New Year's, knowing it would be really difficult for me to pass up bargains, especially at the antique shows or auctions.

But then, I got some news at work that jolted me out of my rut and my preconceived (but only half-believed) notions of what happens if you do a good job and play nice with your coworkers and management.

And I realized that this year, because of monetary constraints that will happen due to this change, and time constraints that will happen because of this as well, I truly and honestly have to work towards one goal, and one goal alone: Paying off the credit cards and getting out of debt.

Period. No questions, no excuses, no more looking the other way.

So, to that end, here's my plan:

Nothing I buy from now on--for the rest of 2011--will be to keep. I will not buy anything from an auction or an antique show, a yard sale, ebay, or wherever, unless I can--at the very least--resell it and double my money and thus help pay off my debt.

I will learn how to use my lathe and make things to sell at the craft shows and on etsy this year. I will not buy any supplies--barring necessities (I do not have a stock of sellable wood, for example) for craft shows or the like. I will post spindles and yarn on etsy. I will make my hobbies pay for themselves--and help pay off the debts they incurred.

I will declutter my house, get rid of previous hobbies that I no longer do (and will no longer pursue due to time constraints or lack of interest.) I will decide on other hobbies--and make an actual honest-to-goodness decision.

I will plan my garden using the Ruth Stout 'No Work' method, but I will have a garden.

And I'm still planning to visit Colonial Williamsburg with my family this year as well. I might allow myself one souvenir. I know I will take lots of pictures, especially of the spinning wheels.

Moving right along...

2011-01-16T17:16:00.002-05:00

So I swapped the displaced treadle sewing machine with my nice walnut table, moved the table and the antique yarn swift into this room (along with the trunk where I store a lot of my fiber), cleaned off the old porch table, moved some stuff around (the tape loom fits on top of the treadle sewing machine, for example), put Amelia (Great Wheel) back into place, put Gloriana in front of Amelia, although that might not stay like that), and am in the process of cleaning off my bent hickory rocking chair to put beside the walnut table.

I have a 16" LeClerc Bergere loom, a table yarn swift, and a niddy noddy to sell. Those will probably be posted on Ravelry.

Moving right along.

Moving things, and plans

2011-01-16T11:43:00.003-05:00

Last night, I looked around this room, which was supposed to be my 'writing room'; my sitting room, of sorts, I guess, and has become the room where I pile stuff I bring home, or store stuff that really has no place. I moved my small church pew from the soon-to-be-library into this room as an extra place to sit; it's been a place to stick stuff ever since.

Last night, I wondered if I could put it in the entry room as the back 'chair' at my table, just to get it out of the way. I measured this morning, moved it just now, and it looks really nice. It fits perfectly, doesn't look out of place, and can fit two people at the table, if needed. A good solution to that, at least.

However, I have two other issues. With the church pew gone, there's plenty of space in front of the old porch table for something, but what? I have a displaced treadle sewing machine at the moment, but that wouldn't look right in front of that table, and it would become a place to pile stuff, too. I would swap the table with my desk, but then the problem becomes the lack of electricity over there. (Which has always been the problem, really. I'd love to have my computer over there. It would be a great place to keep my desk and my computer.) There's only one plug in this room, though, and it's on the wall I'm currently on. So that means hooking up an extension cord to a strip plug--not the best thing by any means at all.

And what about my idea of putting both my desk and my computer in the library? I'm not really sure it's going to fit, in truth, not unless I find a new spot for the smaller organ. What might fit is a smaller desk--I'd love one of those little desks that look like tables and have a folding top (I can't remember the name of them offhand) that I can use with my netbook.

This is, of course, the problem when you have too much space. Which I do, definitely.

I'm going to have to think on this some more.

Projects, projects, projects.

2011-01-15T10:25:00.002-05:00

Someone wiser than me asked, in response to me counting how many spindles I actually owned and that most of them had projects on them at any given time, "Do you really need to have thirty-odd projects going at once?"

The answer, of course, is no.

And yet, there are always spindles to buy, because spindlemakers come up with new designs, or use woods that speak to me, or someone destashes one I missed before. And that's not a terrible thing.

But I don't need thirty-odd spindles, nor do I need thirty-odd projects.

I just finished gathering every spindle I own and taking them into the soon-to-be library, lining them up, and choosing which ones need to go. My goal for the weekend was 10; I'm up to seven, with two already sold. My goal for this destash--not just spindles, but everything else--is to have $1000 in the bank for my emergency fund. And every little bit helps.

Say What?!

2011-01-15T10:04:00.002-05:00

I read this yesterday on CNN.com. Saving $18,000 in a year by cutting back; who wouldn't want to read it?

And then, this morning, I read it again, just in case I missed something.

And then I decided that, nope, I didn't miss a thing. The only concrete mention of money saved is by riding the bus--to a tune of $1400/year.

I hope this author didn't get paid by the word for this article.

Destashing.

2011-01-05T06:48:00.002-05:00

That's what it's called when you sell something you previously intended to keep, or bought and now won't use. Destashing. I posted five spindles on Ravelry last night and one wheel; as of this morning, four out of five spindles are sold (three definites, one probable) and I have a couple of people interested in the wheel.

My new mantra is "I can't keep them all."

I have no reason to own five or six or more of the same spindles (different woods), in all honesty. I'm pretty sure this will be my last destash for a while, but it's hard to tell, since I have other spindles on order and two on their way here.

As for wheels, Elinor is the one up for sale. And yes, she was on the keeper list. But I bought myself a wheel for Christmas, and I like spinning on Lucy a lot better. Also, I really don't need multiple smaller Saxonies--or any smaller Saxonies at all, really, on my keeper list--if I'm not going to use them regularly. So Elinor is looking for a new home.

Progress.

2010-12-31T20:45:00.002-05:00

New kitchen table in entry room.

Red desk, mail center, mail to shred, assorted other things, plus walking sticks!

I decided to have a dedicated spinning area here too.

Chloe finds a box to sit in.

Mabel can sleep beside the radiator (there's a spot for the cats beside her.)

Entry Room Part 1

2010-12-31T19:25:00.002-05:00

I--

--moved the old kitchen table back into the kitchen, and the new kitchen table into the entry room.
--in a fit of genius put the typewriter desk in the kitchen! It fits perfectly under the hanging shelf. It doesn't match, of course--we're doing Victorian and Primitive--but who cares. It actually looks quite nice. It will be my cookbook central.
--moved the red desk where the typewriter desk was. Not only does that bring it out into the open (it was hidden before), it also makes that area and the space in front of the dining room/library door seem larger.
--rearranged my shoe/boot shelf, put a rag rug (folded) on the floor in front of the radiator for Mabel and/or the cats.

What needs to be done--

--the other side of the room, which is boxes. boxes. boxes. boxes, one Great Wheel table, a bunch of spinning wheel parts, some boxes of books, and God knows what else.
--the old kitchen table needs to be put into place, baking table and porcelain topped table rearranged
--a metric ton of dishes washed, Things Cleaned in the kitchen.
--the space in front of the dining room/library door cleaned. Sweeper put away, etc.
--dehumidifier needs to go down into the basement, and so does the Big Box.
--Floor swept and mopped once I find my floor cleaner, which is around here somewhere.
--I still have to go through my coats and jackets
--It would be nice (not essential, but nice) to find a spot for the stepladder and the other ladder that is not behind the door (although, what I would put behind the door if they weren't behind it, I don't know) and/or a space for the glass fronted cabinet. That's really just wishful thinking, because there is no space for the glass fronted cabinet.

Kitchen = Workspace

2010-12-30T18:48:00.003-05:00

I had a thought earlier, while trying to decide what to do about my entry room, which is the room I've decided to start with.

The entry room was the original kitchen in my house before the addition was built sometime in the 1950s. It's quite a large, useless room. Useless because it's too big to just be a mudroom, but it's also a thruway to the rest of the house, where I keep my coats and hats and scarves and stuff, and (last but not least) has four doors and one large doorway into the kitchen.

I've wrestled with this room since I moved in and have never once been completely satisfied with it.

So today I wrote an email to myself, listing what I wanted the entry room to be versus what it is now. (Which is basically a repository for boxes and anything I don't know what to do with.)

And I hit upon something--to make it an extension of the kitchen.

See, I have a large kitchen, too. It's huge. It's an eat-in kitchen, although I rarely eat there (in the summer, it's too hot, in the winter, too cold.) I rearranged it not that long ago to create a working island in the middle, but sacrificed a lot of the table space I once had, so that things get piled on my working space (my baking table and the porcelain topped table) and then I have to clear both off to bake anything.

A working kitchen needs space. Flat space, to put cooling racks when I make a dozen loaves of bread. Flat space to put produce from the garden. Space for cookbooks, and for writing down recipes or alterations. Space for cookware and bakeware, and pantry supplies as well.

Now, when I got my hutch (which sits in the entry room), it was supposed to become the pantry. Only, most of my 'pantry' stuff is in jars, displayed on shelves, not hidden away. I don't really buy many canned goods, for example. Most of my pantry stuff is dried or frozen.

And the hutch is staying where it is, anyway.

That got me to thinking, though, that a working kitchen doesn't necessarily mean an eat-in kitchen. And that I needed more table space for preparation and temporary storage than I needed table space to eat.

I have the huge gateleg table that used to be the kitchen table in the entry room. I stuck it there because I didn't have any other place to put it. But it's pretty useless in the entry room, because it's actually to large to function there.

However, if I brought it back into the kitchen, and put it behind the baking table and the porcelain topped cabinet, meaning, along the entire back of the 'island', and if I moved the eat-at table into the entry room, and if I moved the little red desk into the kitchen under the 'pantry' shelf (I measured, and it should just fit, and it will be a great place to sit and look at recipes, etc.), and if I then had space along the back of the baking table/working area to store stuff temporarily, and also would have the opportunity to open that table up if needed (say I was making a lot of bread, or cookies, or whatever), then my kitchen could be a working kitchen with dedicated workspace, and my entry room could be the breakfast room the realty listing named it as in the first place.

And the entry room would have a purpose--mudroom/breakfast room, and I'd be cooler eating in there in the summertime and warmer in the winter, to boot.

I'm obviously not going to start moving furniture tonight, but tomorrow? Yep. Definitely. I really think it will look fabulous when I'm finished.

It's been a month... almost.

2010-12-28T20:03:00.003-05:00

And it's not like I don't have a lot to say. I've just been working through how to say it.

Over in the Cave group on Ravelry, someone posted about having a "JanPlan." A plan for something that you do only in January (with the expectation that if you like doing it, or are making progress, you'll continue.) A no pressure start to the year.

My JanPlan (which will take much longer than a month) is to clean my house.

And not just to clean my house--to really, honestly, clean and declutter my house. My house--and outside, which actually and honestly includes the shed--is my project for this year.

Cleaning my house means touching everything. And I seriously mean everything. Every drawer, every nook and cranny--everything. It's going to take probably half a year to get completely finished, especially when I move upstairs. But you know what? In the end, I'll have less stuff, less mess, less clutter, and I will be able to concentrate on what I want to do with my time and my talents, not eke out a hobby between bouts of tripping over stuff.

I'm allotting one week per room. Including the hallways as one room, although I might do the downstairs hallway as one and then upstairs as two others; it depends. I'm not going to start on another room until the first one is finished, so it might even take longer than that.

I'm also going to start a Project Book. This will be a Master List of all my projects--every single one of them, no matter how small. Each individual project will have one page. When that project is finished, I'll mark it off as completed. Projects can be as simple as hanging up pictures that have been sitting around waiting for me to grab my hammer and a few nails and go to town to stripping Casper the spinning wheel and completely redoing her and bringing her back to working order.

This will entail, of course, creating my project/workroom upstairs--in Ethan's old bedroom. I have a lathe now, and need space for it, so there it will go, along with the project wheels, project loom, and anything else that I am working on.

It's a big project, this JanPlan of mine. I'm sure I'll lose steam once or twice, but I'm hoping I can keep it up long enough to declare 2011 the year of decluttering; the year of getting back some space. We'll see.

2010-12-01T20:54:00.001-05:00

Well said.

The Library

2010-11-27T09:25:00.003-05:00

My formal dining room (which will eventually become the library) has always been one of the most favorite rooms in my house. It's also wasted--because I don't entertain. Having a formal dining room is really kind of dumb when you never entertain. And even if I did--if I had people over, why would they have to eat in the formal dining room when I have a huge entry room, an eat-in kitchen, and plenty of other space?

I have always wanted to have my library and my writing space in the same room. A room full of books with a desk where I could sit and write to my heart's content. I think it's time to realize that dream.

I am going to donate my china cabinet to church; it didn't cost me anything, so I won't be sad to see it go. And I will move that room around, and move my desk in there. And I will have my library and my writing space, all together.

One of these days I will not have the desire to rearrange any furniture in this house. And then I'll know I'm finished. Ha!

25% and counting.

2010-11-21T15:56:00.002-05:00

I am still liking my bedroom arrangement. Eliza, my Paradis/Bisson Saxony spinning wheel, lives up in my bedroom now, and I've curled up in my papasan chair to spin while listening to a radio show or two in the evenings. I envision I'll spend more time up there as the days and nights grow colder.

However, since then, I've added no less than four spinning wheels to my collection along with a treadle sewing machine. Clearly, Something Must Be Done.

I did manage to clean the living room just two weeks ago-

I took the two project Great Wheels upstairs, along with my big Paradis wheel and sorted things out a bit. But after adding more wheels, my living room is a bit messy again.

Which brings me to the 25%.

At the moment, I own 21 spinning wheels. If I break them down into types, here's what I have:

7 Great Wheels. These are the big ones. Of the seven, four are project wheels that need parts, cleaning and parts, or just cleaning. Three are staying permanently. (Agatha, Amelia, and the new one, Sarah.) The others are inventory. (Gertrude, Helga, unnamed oak GW, Alexander.)

2 CPWs (Canadian Production Wheels.) One, Gloriana, will be staying. One, Marielle, is the one I'm working on for a friend and won't be staying much longer.

1 30" Paradis CPW tilt-tension, has a warped wheel and/or other issues. Currently set up as a spindle wheel.

3 25" wheels--1 (possibly American) Norwegian marked JJG (Sofia), 1 possibly Finnish (Casper), 1 Canadian marked FO (Oliver.)

4 18 1/2"-22" Saxonies of various origins. 1 American marked T. Millard (Tess), 1 Canadian Paradis/Bisson (Eliza), one unmarked (new, no name yet), one Haldane Saxony.

3 Castle-style wheels. 1 Columbine Wheel from the 1970s (Julius), 1 small possibly German oak castle style wheel (The Princess.) 1 early 19th century double flyer wheel marked EB (new, no name yet.) The Princess will be going home with a friend of mine eventually.

1 small Gypsy wheel (My Precious), who I've been using as a display piece in the craft shows this year. I would like to eventually have her working.

So, 25% of 21 is 5.25, so let's just say that--at the least--6 wheels need to be earmarked for new homes.

Marielle, the Princess and four GWs is six. However, considering it's going to take me a bit of time to get the GWs into working order and sold, I'm also adding in my Haldane spinning wheel--because I honestly don't need four Saxonies and that's my least-antique (wooden) wheel. It's nice, don't get me wrong, but it's also not any better than the Saxony I just picked up at an auction for $50, either. (In fact, I like that one better.)

But even then, that's leaving me with 14 spinning wheels, and I don't need 14 spinning wheels.

Eventually, I'd like to be living in a smaller house. With that in mind, and knowing I'm going to be buying more spinning wheels for projects, to keep, or for resale in the future, I decided to have a 'core' of keepers--those wheels that will never leave my possession unless something Absolutely Terrible were to happen.

Not counting GWs, as my core is already stated--Agatha, Amelia, and Sarah--here's what I've decided:

The first is obviously Sofia. This is the one I spent actual money on, as opposed to (sometimes way) less than $200, let's just say.

The second? Julius. I love my Columbine wheel. I love Julius. Very nicely portable, fits in my passenger side seat, chimes as he spins, and is fun to spin on as well.

The third? Casper. Once I get finished with Casper, I'm not going to want to sell her.

The fourth? Gloriana, my CPW.

The fifth? For antique value and coolness factor, the double flyer wheel marked EB. I will spend the money to get the second flyer fixed. Also, doesn't take up much space.

The sixth? Eliza, Paradis/Bisson Saxony. I would love to eventually find a larger wheel for Eliza (her original was probably around 25")

The seventh? My new 19 1/2" Saxony, unknown maker.

The others? Can stay for now, but will be the first to go if another wheel arrives that I want to keep. And that's way more than 25%.

2010-10-30T21:24:00.002-04:00

I spent the entire day in my bedroom, cleaning. I figured it would take most of the day; I was correct, and I'm not quite done yet; I have a pile of pants to try on, but that's not going to happen tonight. I swept and rearranged and carried and moved--the small chest of drawers ended up in the wardrobe as you see, because I did not like it beside my bed at all. It's very deep, and it just didn't look right.

I got rid of most of the skirts and dresses and shirts and sweaters that I had not worn, didn't particularly like, or just wasn't really my style anymore. Some of the dresses will end up as skirts, which is okay too.

Eliza is my bedroom spinning wheel, and I sat and listened to When Radio Was for a while this evening, spinning more of the wool I brought up for her. It was actually quite nice to sit and spin and listen to the radio.

Once I'd put the chest of drawers into place, I had a spot next to my bed, so I brought up the shaker style rocking chair I picked up at Goodwill a while back. The cane seat isn't in the best of shape, but I can set stuff on it--the book I'm reading, for example. So it's now beside my bed. My painted rocking chair fits perfectly beside my papasan chair. I'm very pleased at how everything worked out.

I had intended to start on my craft room tomorrow, but my washing machine decided to stop working, so I'll be cleaning downstairs tomorrow. Hopefully I can get a lot done. Hopefully, my Dad will come and look at it and it will be a simple fix. Otherwise, I'm not sure how I'm going to get the rugs and blankets I had in it washed. :(

First Steps.

2010-10-30T09:50:00.002-04:00

Is to decide exactly what furniture/stuff needs to be in a room, where it will be placed, and then to remove everything that does not fit/belong.

My bedroom is one of the smallest rooms in my house, especially due to the floor to ceiling wardrobe that takes up one wall. My door open inwards, and leaves a pocket of space behind it; that's where my Davis treadle sewing machine resides, along with an antique mirror (on top of it) and Emma, my 1918 Singer 99k.

I sleep on a twin bed (try doing that with five cats.) Right now, the bed sticks out from that same wall, with a bedside table beside it. On the other side of the bed is my painted rocking chair, which is a catch-all for things like the shawl I wear if I'm reading in bed and my arms get cold, a couple of vintage stuffed animals, and two small pillows.

There is no place to sit in my bedroom. No place to curl up and write or read, or crochet, or whatever. Bringing my papasan chair up there will change that, but it's a big chair, and takes up a lot of room. So there has to be room for it to go.

Past the rocking chair is another wall, and a window, and a small cedar chest that hold pajamas and oddments, like belts I don't wear and bathing suits. Past that, the radiator. Past that, another wall (see, I told you it was a small room!) where my small chest of drawers currently resides. There is a clock hanging on the wall there as well. On the other side of the small chest of drawers, there is another window, and then, the wardrobe again, which completes my bedroom.

There is a wide hallway past that. It is lined in bookcases (fiction) and also has a coat rack that holds button-down sweaters and cardigans and shirts to wear over t-shirts and stuff like that.

All the clothing I own can definitely be weeded. Some needs to be repaired; there's also a lot to try on. Anything that doesn't fit, or that I won't wear can either go into a bag for the rummage sale, or into my craft room for fabric. (And the craft room is another mess entirely.)

My goal with this is to have a comfortable bedroom, with everything in its place. To have a spot to sit if I want to sit and read or whatever--especially in the middle of winter when it's cold downstairs and warm upstairs.

I have tossed around the idea of actually putting my small chest of drawers inside the wardrobe, but while there's a spot it would fit in (yes, the wardrobe is that big) it would mean I'd have to maneuver a lot of stuff around inside the wardrobe, and I'm not sure if that's more trouble than it's worth. At the moment, the only clothing inside the small chest of drawers are my bras, underwear, socks, t-shirts, and long-sleeved t-shirts. Everything else goes into the wardrobe.

So the current line of rearranging:

The small chest of drawers goes beside my bed where the bedside table currently is. The bedside table goes on the other side of my bed where the rocking chair currently is. The rocking chair and papasan chair go opposite my bed, where the small chest of drawers and a massive pile of clothing to put away currently is. The exercise bike comes downstairs. It will eventually go into the living room. The clothes get tried on and put away. All cat quilts (that go on top of the cedar chest) and my small rag rug get washed. The floor gets swept and possibly even mopped. All garbage gets thrown away. I go through my bags and purses as well. I go through all jewelry, etc., too. And sort through shoes, only keeping the ones I actually wear. Clean out the top of the wardrobe; decide what to store up there. (It's too high for clothing.) And then, voila. Clean room.

25% Part Two.

2010-10-29T21:40:00.004-04:00

A friend and I were emailing earlier this week, about cleaning and clutter and stuff. And I mentioned how I'd dropped the ball in my 25% purge, and she said she would be willing to join me if I wanted to start it up again.

Which I do.

But I have a new theme, of sorts:

"Less Stuff, More Time to Create, and Get Out of Debt."

Let's break that down a bit.

1. Less Stuff--that should be obvious. Less stuff means less stuff to dust, or clean, or clean around, or under, or whatever. Less stuff means more open space. Less stuff means less clutter. Less stuff means less to become clutter; without excess, there is only what is needed. What is useful. What is used.

The 25% challenge probably isn't enough, but it's a good beginning. I'm bucking tradition and starting in my bedroom--because I have some rearranging to do, clothes to go through and put away, and in all honesty, it's probably the room I have the best idea for, space-wise. My papasan chair will be in my bedroom, there will be a spinning wheel there as well. My small chest of drawers will take the place of my bedside table, which will go on the other side where my rocking chair now sits (along with the oak chair I use as a stool to get to the top shelves of my wardrobe. My rocking chair will be in front of the window; my papasan chair over by the radiator. All clothes will be gone through and sorted out and put away. My exercise bike is coming downstairs where I'll actually use it.

2. More time to Create-- I make stuff. I write stuff. I repair stuff. Not the kind of stuff I'm decluttering, but creative type stuff. And I want more time to go towards doing what I love to do versus cleaning clutter and/or sorting piles. I want to--without guilt--be able to curl up in my reading chair for the day and read a book cover to cover. I want to be able to use my baking table whenever I wish and not have to clean it off first. I want to be able to sit down or stand beside any given spinning wheel and spin. I want to be able to easily warp my looms without having to rearrange an entire room to do so. I want to whittle, and carve, spin, crochet and weave, write and read, bake and cook, paint and sew--and have my supplies organized, neat, and at hand.

3. Get Out of Debt-- Seriously. How long have I been trying to pay off the credit cards? It needs to be done; they need to be gone. Without the credit card debt and once my car is paid off (in March 2011), I could live on half my salary. That's a significant amount of money I could be putting into a savings account, or using to fix up my house, or whatever I wanted to use it for. It's time to stop waffling and start paying off the debts. Goal for completely debt free except for my house payment--December of 2012. And dammit, I'm going to reach that goal.

Am I going to fall off the wagon again? Of course. Will I climb back on? Of course. Do I need twenty pairs of shoes (I kid you not?) Of course not. Do I eventually want to move into a smaller house? Yes, of course.

This is the only way I'll ever reach that goal. The time to start is now.

Well Worn.

2010-10-23T10:27:00.003-04:00

About 15 years ago, I stopped at Goodwill to find a sweater. I wasn't looking for anything special, just a sweater to wear around the house. I'd wanted something big and roomy and cotton, didn't particularly care what color, just as long as it was comfortable, washable, and would hold up.

What I found was a Men's XXXL Tall cotton cardigan, that had obviously shrunk in the wash; the arms were still really long, but that was about it. I bought it for probably $2.50 or so, brought it home, and have worn it around the house ever since.

Kittens have played with the cuffs of this sweater (as you can no doubt see.) I've spilled things on it. It's still nothing to write home about, not the prettiest sweater in the world; it wasn't even a pretty sweater to begin with. But unlike my wool sweaters that I wear a lot to work and such, the only actual holes are in the cuffs; the elbows have survived the years quite well.

It's warm, and still comfy, and I will probably still be wearing it five years--even ten years from now. When I finally discard it, it will have to be for something terrible that I cannot fix--perhaps one arm will disintegrate one day, or I'll burn a hole in it while using it as a potholder.

When I find something I like--especially clothing, I tend to wear it until it falls apart. And then I mourn, because it's very likely I won't be able to find the same--or similar--thing again.

I've pretty much stopped wearing my house sweater out of the house now. It's ragged around the edges, and ugly, and while comfortable, I never intended to wear it out of the house in the first place. Yesterday, I stopped at the local Salvation Army store to see if I could find a cotton sweater that I could wear out in public, and I found one. It's gray, and long, and a Woman's XXL. It also has a hood.

It is fabulously perfect, and I hope that I'm still wearing it 15 years from now. That would be nice.

Hey, wait a second.

2010-09-04T11:01:00.002-04:00

So this weekend is 'packing up stuff for the yard sale and/or Burlington weekend. The yard sale's next weekend, and Burlington is the weekend after that.

I had intended to take Alfred to Burlington to sell after deciding to sell the wheels that won't fit in my car (which would be two), but in a strike of fate, Alfred has been sold already! I will still be taking him to Burlington so the nice buyer can pick him up from there, but hey! That works out well. :)

And then--while feeding the outside cats this morning, I realized that the bike situation solution has been staring me in the face all along. See, there's already a bike on my front porch. And where it sits (behind the porch swing) rarely gets wet at all. And that's what tarps are for, don't you think? Instead of doing something like attempting to keep my bikes in my basement, I could keep them out on the front porch. And there's room for all three bikes behind the porch swing. The porch door has only gotten wet once that I remember; they should be perfectly fine. Problem solved. (And I can always set up a screen of sorts to protect them even more; I have two spare shutters in the shed that would work well for that, I think.)

And the odds of someone being able to see them from the road and taking the time to steal them are pretty low, too. I can always lock them up if I am concerned about theft. They are more easily accessible to ride there as well; I would have to go down a couple of stairs, but that's it.

So. That will work out quite well.

2010-08-09T18:45:00.001-04:00

What does simple living mean to you? How do you live it?

I’ve been trying to answer this question for three years now, and I keep coming up with different answers. I think it’s more of a process for me more than anything.

At the moment, ‘simple living’ means living within or below my means--which I’m not doing due to credit card debt but could do so easily without it. That’s my largest goal at the moment is to get rid of my debt. It also means decluttering my house and allowing myself to let go of the things I will probably never get around to doing--projects that have been sitting, sometimes for years, unfinished. It also means baking bread every week and eating from the garden in my front yard.

I buy used as much as possible; my house is filled with antiques and the only new piece of furniture I own was handmade by the local Amish. (It’s a rocking chair.) My house is way too big for one person, but I’ll be here for a little while yet; the next five years, at least, if all goes well. Eventually, I’d like to have a little stone cottage with more land, and I’ll get there, eventually. My dream house exists, about 40 minutes away from me.

I only use my air conditioning when the temperature in the one room it’s in rises above 82 degrees. The fan that blows on me as I sit here was made in the 1950s. (So far this year, I’m paying $20 extra a month for the air conditioning usage; considering my electric bill is usually $44, that’s not so bad with the terrible heat and humidity we’ve had for the past three months.)

It means continuing to hold fast to my ideals about my vocations; that despite the fact I still need a day job to live, I have plenty of time to devote to the things I love to do. It means, among other things, that in the end, it’s me who is responsible for what I do with my life and no one else.

It is silence, and spinning, and weaving, and fiber. It is writing down the stories in my head and seeing them published. It is reading instead of watching, and losing myself in a good book. It is taking a step back from the lives my coworkers lead and finding my own way to do things.

It is not giving up on my dreams, but giving up on what I’m “supposed” to want, according to so many others. I don’t color my hair, I don’t wear makeup. I like natural fabrics versus synthetics, and I find what I like at thrift stores. It is buying--when I do buy something new--quality, say, with a new pair of boots, and expecting those boots to last at least ten years or longer. It is reusing fabric from clothes that no longer fit; setting my thermostat far too cold for most people and bundling up during the winter. It is blankets, and quilts, and the patchwork quilt on my bed that someone made from their wool clothing, long ago.

It is understanding the meaning of the word ‘enough’, and acting accordingly. It is budgeting, and allowing some food items to be luxuries and not something I eat every day. It is anticipation--I only eat fresh tomatoes from my garden, and freeze them for use during the winter, but I have never purchased a tomato from the store in my entire life.

It is fresh blackberries, and tart currants warmed by the sun.

It is apple mint tea.

It is peace with my surroundings, eventually.

Enough.

2010-08-08T13:21:00.004-04:00

With the purchase of my latest spinning wheel, I realized that I have one of 'each' now, more than one in the Great Wheel department, but still--a small Saxony, a castle style wheel, a Tyrolean gypsy wheel, five Great Wheels, and a Paradis Canadian Production Wheel.

And you know what? That's enough. Out of them all, three Great Wheels and the castle style wheel are working, and the others are projects in varying states of completeness. (I am not counting Ema Bleu here, because I really don't need another project, so off to ebay she will go.)

Honestly, any other wheels that come my way are probably going to be bought to resell. So that means I'm going to be really, really picky with what I do buy--unless I buy them for parts and they are almost free.

Speaking of projects, it's quite obvious I have too many of those as well. So I'm culling my projects. That's why Ema Bleu is headed for ebay; maybe someone else will want to take the time to fix her. I will probably dust off the project loom and post it as well if I can find a box big enough to ship it in, or figure out how to take it apart.

Too many projects means I don't spend time on what is finished, or the important things that need to be addressed around here. I have too many projects already. I don't need any more.

Enough is enough.

Thoughts.

2010-08-01T12:12:00.002-04:00

Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. ~Lao Tzu

Declaration and Updates...

2010-07-31T16:33:00.002-04:00

If I buy another spinning wheel--a working wheel, not a project, because I'm sure there will be more of them (which will go into the project room once I get that situated)--then one has to go.

And here's the reason: I'm full.

I have four Great Wheels in my living room; I can comfortably use three without moving any at all. I have one Great Wheel upstairs in my bedroom (Alfred) who can stay there; I kind of like seeing a spinning wheel first thing in the morning.

Eventually, my Paradis Canadian Production Wheel will probably go upstairs into the 'sitting room' once I get that situated--it will also be the spare bedroom. That's probably where my TV will go as well. Although there's room for her where she is, so she might stay downstairs.

The idea was to be able to use my wheels, and have enough space for storage, too. I only have two spots that need to be fixed and I'll be done in the living room. Moving the couch, even though it comes apart, was the really hard part.

I like the way it's coming together, but I have a couple of orphans nonetheless. The wicker thing I originally bought for the cats no longer has a spot, but that's the only thing I haven't figured out where to put just yet.

Rearranging

2010-07-31T10:20:00.003-04:00

Today is the first actually lovely day in a while, but instead of working outside (it's going to be pretty nice tomorrow too) I am working inside. I am rearranging again.

See, while I'm happy with my desk setup here in the Green Room, I'm not happy with the living room or the other half of this room. A while back, I had an idea to move the couch and chairs into this room--to make the Green Room the combination living room/library, and I realized the other day that this is not only possible now, it's also very smart. The corner cupboard, instead of my Frankoma dishes, can hold yarn and fiber (which actually makes more sense, since it's so awkwardly shaped. The couch can come in here and sit where Ester's table sits, Ester's table can go on the other side of the pocket door. My TV can actually stay where it is or end up upstairs in my 'sitting room' once I get that situated. My papasan chair will probably end up upstairs as well (again, once I get everything situated.)

I spend a lot of time in this room since I'm on my computer a lot. And having the living room as a weaving/spinning "studio" only makes sense. So that's what I'm going to do.

That means, of course, that the dining room will stay a dining room... and that I have lots of plans for upstairs as well. I will get there. Eventually.

The October Project (No, not the band)

2010-07-14T11:28:00.004-04:00

I am also off a week in October, during the week of my birthday. Last year, I had every intention of cleaning up in the garden and putting it to bed for the winter and all sorts of other stuff, including cleaning up my craft room and stuff like that.

I got nothing of the sort done. I did crafts, instead. I ended up setting up at too many craft shows (nearly all of which were disappointing) and while I managed to clean my bedroom, I just now got rid of the bag of garbage from that cleaning. Seriously.

I start projects and cleaning projects, and I rarely seem to complete them. I get involved with new hobbies, my WIP takes off, or something, and everything falls apart again.

I want to stop that from happening.

My October Project for this year is upstairs. And when I say upstairs, I mean the entire upstairs. I don't care if I end up with a small craft show sampling; I don't care if I end up using mostly leftovers. I need to get organized so I can concentrate on other things. I need to have less stuff to worry about so I can take care of the stuff I already have. And that means weeding and decluttering--again.

I want to be able to spend the entire day writing or spinning or weaving and not have to worry about what I'm not getting done. That's what I want. It's up to me to make it happen.

Well, that worked out.

2010-07-05T10:55:00.003-04:00

See, I have this rocking chair. It's the only piece of new furniture I own.

I really love this rocking chair, but it's been moved around and moved around so many times that I was beginning to despair it would every have a spot. Well, as you can see, it has found one, hopefully for the last time.

This is the former incarnation of this:

I've sorted through the coned yarn, I found room for all my looms to be in one place, it looks nice. Now, just to finish it up.

Planning

2010-07-04T09:26:00.002-04:00

I am off the week after next (except for four hours on that Monday, but it almost doesn't count) and my goal for that week is to clean, declutter, and basically, work downstairs.

If I make it upstairs, that will be a bonus, but I'm expecting it will be too hot. However, I do need to get into the spare room and take apart the brass bed so I can try out my couch/daybed idea, and that will involve some nastiness cleaning-wise, so... I'm prepared, I think, to work on that, too.

(I'm also off today and tomorrow for the holiday; I'm going to be working on cleaning a bit as well.)

And I'm still trying to decide about what to do with my new extra space. I've been kicking around ideas--from a complete and utter rearrangement of this room to just bringing in my rocking chair to sit in that spot--from finally bringing my blue desk downstairs (which would mean I'd need help) and taking the rolltop desk bottom upstairs (which was my original intention, since it would make a great pattern cutting place) to swapping the living room and this room or just making both rooms extensions of each other.

I'm a bit hobbled, computer-wise, because of the lack of plugs in this room; there's only one and it's on this wall. Short of slinging extension cords everywhere, that kind of limits my possibilities.

I have thought about moving my desk into the living room where the couch (and the plug) is now, and putting the new 'couch' (if it works) in here; that would entail moving quite a bit around and getting rid of the papasan couch, of course... if I had the time, gumption, and extra strength, I would rearrange multiple times until I found something that stuck. But at the moment, I'm still in the planning stages. Something will click soon, I think.

And actually, I am going to bring my blue desk downstairs and take this one upstairs. Because it's my desk, darn it. I miss it. And it's been two years since my sister moved out (where has the time gone?!?!!) and I still miss my desk. So it's time, now that I have the space.

There's a space in my house...

2010-06-30T21:12:00.003-04:00

That was filled for the past four years.

I can't regret the initial purchase; it's what got me into weaving in the first place. If I hadn't bought Elizabeth (my Union #36 floor loom) I don't think I would have purchased the Ashford Knitters Loom or any of the others after that. So I can't regret the purchase.

But she's gone now, off to her new home. And there's a large space empty in the room I'm sitting in--the Green Room, or the Loom Room, depending on what day it is and who you ask. And while I'm planning to rearrange some furniture in here, there's no real plans to fill that space at the moment. I like my little looms. I also prefer to collect spinning wheels. I also would rather have some extra space so the two rooms don't feel so cluttered.

And now that Elizabeth is gone, I have some decisions to make. Like, what to do with the extra space? Expand the living room (since the spinning wheels have taken up half of the living room as it is? Should I do my idea with the brass bed (making it into a sort of daybed/couch? Since I have two brass beds, I could (technically) have the same size headboard and footboard, put the mattress that is now in Elizabeth's space on that, and have a nice comfy couch. That would mean getting rid of my papasan couch, of course, or moving it elsewhere. (That would also mean I could sleep downstairs if I wanted or needed to; that also means I need to clean up the spare bedroom and remove the nasty mattress and dissemble the bed. So that might not happen until the fall.)

Should I move my desk? Bring my comfy chair down from my studio (which is also a mess and needs desperately to be cleaned and organized, again, this fall) and use it down here? Or should I get another comfy chair (I actually almost bid on one at an auction not that long ago.)

I'm going to take my time in deciding what I want to do with my extra space, because I want to do it right. I want to have room for everything I have at the moment, and perhaps room for another 24" LeClerc Bergere Rigid Heddle loom because I like them best. But I'll be thinking. And rearranging until I get it right.

Spinning my Wheels

2010-06-21T09:44:00.003-04:00

I like spindle wheels (The Great Wheels, the Charkhas.) There is a Canadian Production Wheel coming up at an auction that I hope to win; that actually should do me in bobbin/flyer wheels for the most part. I would still like a small Saxony, preferably antique. I might be getting one soon here, if all goes well.

That means the Ashford Wheel can go to a new home. And that's okay. Odds are, she'll go to a new spinner, or someone else who loves the design, because, after all, I don't have to keep them all.

If I ever decided to buy a new wheel, I have already decided that it will be a Rio Grande wheel. Now this would obviously be a "I've paid off all my credit cards, have enough in my emergency fund, and have a 'free' paycheck--which could happen in the next two years. (Or, alternately, I save up my Etsy money for the purchase, or something like that.) I really think I'm a spindle wheel girl at heart. That is not a bad thing at all.

What I am Likely to Do, Part 1.2

2010-06-13T16:30:00.003-04:00

--on second thought,

If I'm keeping both Gypsy wheels, which I intend to do, then why not sell the Mutant Wheel too? For one, since I am much more likely to spindle spin than wheel spin, and I have two Gypsy wheels and two Great Wheels, to boot, not to mention the charkhas, I really honestly don't need to keep the Mutant Wheel. So I think I will bring it to Burlington. I only paid $25, after all; if I can get $125 for it, I would be very happy.

What I'm likely to do, Part 1

2010-06-12T09:26:00.003-04:00

I'm likely to...

--weave scarves vs. crochet (or knit) them.

Decluttering my yarn stash with that in mind is a good idea, I'd think. I am more likely to weave vs. crochet because I like the style better; my 'go-to' scarf in the winter, however, is my first and only knitted scarf. But that's because I like the color more than anything.

That said, I think I can eliminate one more suitcase of yarn, then. And it will be the medium-ply wool that I probably will never use.

--spin for miniature crochet or (occasionally) for weaving.

That said, buying lesser quantities of fiber is probably a good thing. Do I need pounds of the same color? Probably not. I really honestly don't see myself crocheting sweaters. Shawls, sure, because I actually use them in the wintertime. Maybe even throws. But handspun? Probably only for scarves and miniature crochet.

That said, I also don't need four bobbin/flyer spinning wheels, either.

--take a support spindle and some fiber with me versus a spinning wheel.

So... I now have four bobbin/flyer spinning wheels, two Great Wheels, two upright Charkhas, and one briefcase charkha. Two of the bobbin/flyer spinning wheels are Gypsy wheels--teeny tiny ones. Both need some work (I'm sending away for one (Abigail) and I can fix the other (Ema Bleu.) The others are the Ashford Traditional and the Mutant Wheel. I'll be keeping the Mutant Wheel, since it seems to be the only on in existence that actually works. I really love the style of the Ashford Traditional, but I also bought it to resell. (It needs a little work; not much. Nothing I can't do.) So it really needs to stay in the 'sell' category. I'll be keeping the two Gypsy Wheels. I'm planning to repaint Ema Bleu, and Abigail is just too cool not to keep. Not to mention that both of these wheels are easily portable if I really want to bring a spinning wheel along to a festival or something.

So that comes down to the Great Wheels and the Charkhas. I want to keep the briefcase charkha definitely. In fact, I'm in the market for a book charkha as well. I'm not sure I need to keep the Ashford Charkha. I bought the other one new, so that one's going to be kept, although I'm probably going to do some surgery on the spindle setup. So I guess at the moment, I'm not sure.

The Great Wheels--obviously Agatha is staying. Alfred's not finished yet. Alfred also might be staying, although I'm not sure. If I can find the correct missing piece, then we'll see. If I come across a better wheel--a signed one, perhaps--then I'll have to rethink keeping Alfred. I will not get rid of Agatha, however.

--I am very unlikely to ever use Elizabeth, my Union #36 loom.

I have discovered while spinning that I really like being intimate with my projects. I like small things. That's probably why I don't really care for the bobbin/flyer wheels. They seem a step removed from spinning.

I now have a 15" LeClerc Bergere, a reproduction tape loom, Ester, my 27" Glimakra Pysslingen table loom, and Junior, my 9" Anders Lervad loom. I would like to eventually replaced the 24" LeClerc Bergere that I sold (At least that's the current thought; the jury's still out on that.)

And Elizabeth, the Union #36. I think my reasons for keeping her are purely sentimental, since buying her at an auction is why I got into weaving in the first place. However, she deserves to be fixed up and used. I just have my doubts that will happen here, with everything else I have going on. (And I also already have a sentimental loom--Ester. I don't need two of them, especially one as large as Elizabeth.)

I also still have the project loom. Still on my list to fix and resell, albeit pretty far down the list. Maybe after Elizabeth is gone I'll have time and space to do something about that.

--I am also unlikely to use my small collection of drop spindles.

I almost quit spinning because I wasn't having any fun with drop spindles. And they hurt my shoulder/arm with prolonged use. And then I discovered support spindles, and the rest was history.

I will probably keep one small and one large drop spindle, and my Turkish spindles (and the bottom whorl one that I use as a weight for drying yarn and my only silk spindle) but the rest are going to be destashed/sold. That means the spinning corner can be disbanded, since I hardly use it. Which is good, because that might end up being Agatha's corner! If she fits. ;)

--the entry room is becoming the 'project room' since I moved the big kitchen table in there. That's actually not a bad thing.

Also, the ebay packing room, which is also a good thing. A dedicated space! Finally! Still don't have a good place for the bikes, however...

This will be continued, I'm sure.

Ok, then.

2010-05-29T22:37:00.001-04:00

I sold Lisbet, or I will be selling her next Saturday when I drive her to Indiana to meet the buyer (at a fiber festival, even!)

I am pleased!

Alright.

2010-05-25T18:49:00.001-04:00

I've put my small Harrisville Loom (Lisbet) up on ebay twice, and not reached the reserve price twice. You know what that means? It's time to start weaving and make her pay her way to stay here.

Scarves, I think. I like scarves.

Thinking.

2010-05-19T19:19:00.001-04:00

How do I want my story to read when I write 'The End'?

Crafting Thoughts.

2010-05-18T20:13:00.004-04:00

So I've been spinning for five months now, and I've run the gamut from flyer wheels to drop spindles to a charkha to supported spindles. That's a lot of information in five months. But I've already found my preferences--supported spindles and spindle wheels. Flyer wheels? Not so much. I'm currently plying some laceweight yarn on one of my homemade support spindles and it's working wonderfully. My next experiment will be to ply on a charkha.

I've also decided that I much prefer rigid heddle looms to harness looms, whether they be two or four harness looms. And I'm not so fond of extensive weaving widths. 24" sounds about right to me as an upper limit.

And knitting? Not so much. I thought I might pick it up again, but you know what? I prefer crochet. And that's ok. I find crochet much more versatile than knitting.

But my question is--should I now sell my flyer wheels (I have two, although one could have a quill spindle attachment if I bought one for it) and my multiple harness looms? Should I keep one of each, just to be versatile? (There's that v-word again.) If I do that, the choices would be simple; I'd keep Ester, definitely. The two flyer wheels I own--an older Ashford Traditional and what seems to be the only wheel of this style that actually works (all of the others seem to be fake; I have a mutant)--would be harder to decide upon. (The Ashford is the one that could have a quill attachment.) But since I now own three Charkhas (not counting the Great Wheels, which are technically really big Charkhas), do I really need a treadle wheel at all?

I originally bought the Ashford to resell anyway, so I could resell it. But it's a cute wheel and it doesn't take up much room, but. I really could use some extra money. The funny thing is; I could sell it for as much as I could sell Elizabeth, my Union #36, which would be for around $200. (Although really, I don't want to take much less than $250 for Elizabeth.) But it needs some work first.

And I like the mutant wheel. It's not too large; it's fast and quiet, and it works well. Hrm.

And, if I'm not going to use my drop spindles (after the fiasco with the 84 yards of laceweight that took me four hours to ply straight, I really haven't used them much at all) then could I sell them instead? I've already sold one I bought but hardly ever used; the others I don't see myself using often at all. Hrm again.

And what about yarn? I have yarn that I bought for specific things that I'm probably not going to do. So that needs to go as well.

I have a lot of decluttering to do, I see.

(But the rearranged kitchen? Absolutely lovely. I am so pleased with how it's turning out.)

Inventory Part 2

2010-05-11T07:01:00.002-04:00

I'm actually kind of glad it's supposed to rain for the rest of the week. Yes, there's plenty I could be doing outside, but there's also a lot I have to do inside, because my house is a mess and I would really like to see the surface of my kitchen table sometime soon.

And I really have to do inventory again, because I would like to keep down on the clutter. And when things don't have a permanent spot, then they create their own clutter. And that's not good.

I can ignore the clutter for only so long before it starts to drive me nuts, and it's starting to drive me nuts. I will start this evening, probably with the living room.

Been Thinking.

2010-04-25T21:00:00.002-04:00

So I haven't updated here in almost a month. It's not that I've forgotten my goals or anything like that; it's that I've been reconsidering things. Thinking on things. Fixing Great Wheels. Acquiring. Discarding.

As I sit here and write, I spin between thoughts. I'm using one of three support spindles that I have--not counting the one I made, which isn't over here yet. I spin, and I think, and that works well for me. And I make yarn. What more could you want out of a meditation aid?

My current question is: If I'm making yarn, then do I need to keep all the yarn I'm not using? I have four large suitcases, one small suitcase, a couple of shelves and piles and baskets, and a cedar chest full of yarn--plus my shelves of warp for my looms, plus the acrylic coned yarn in the chest of drawers, plus all my cotton warp.

If I never bought yarn again and used one skein or cone per day, I would probably still have some left in a year. Do I need all of that? Am I using it every day, or even once a week, or do I keep it around just so I have a stash?

With fiber, it's different; I'm actively spinning. With yarn, I'm not. And even if I were, I have some odd colors that I'll probably never use; enough cotton warp to make a flotilla of dishtowels, and acrylic out the wazoo.

It's quite obvious I need to declutter my yarn, even though I already have quite a bit--I made almost $100 on destashed yarn not three months ago.

What I think I need to do is decide what I'm going to make with all the yarn I have--am I really going to make dishtowels for sale? What was I thinking when I bought all the thick-n-thin wool yarn before Christmas that I haven't used? What am I going to do with all of this wool yarn, again, unused? Am I ever going to use all the scrap yarn I have stored in a bin?

And what I'm planning to do is to list auctions as I declutter. And I need to decide to touch everything again; it's getting to the point (again) where I can't find things, and that's more annoying than it seems.

So, onward.

Ponderings

2010-03-28T09:56:00.004-04:00

I passed up a spinning wheel yesterday. A week or so ago, a very nice lady on Ravelry posted a link to a weaving guild in Minnesota who had some weaving and spinning items for sale. One of those items was a Columbine spinning wheel, which is a metal frame castle-style spinning wheel that is no longer in production. I saw one on ebay a while ago, seriously considered bidding on it, and eventually passed.

Well, I expressed interest in this one, because the price was great, and the very nice lady on Ravelry even offered to pick it up and ship it to me if I really wanted it, and I seriously thought about it and I looked at my budget... and I decided not to get it, at least not right now.

Because although I'm having a great time learning to spin, and my spinning seems to be progressing, I already have three--four, if you count my other Great Wheel in storage--spinning wheels. And while I am learning quite a bit about spinning and historical spinning (which is a very interesting subject), I think I would be more likely to buy more spindles than another spinning wheel right now, especially if they are historical reproductions. (Which, I'm afraid to admit, I have--I ordered a Tibetan support spindle and a French hand support spindle from etsy. Which were nowhere near the cost of the spinning wheel.)

I like the craft of making yarn. Of starting with a fibery bit of nothingness and ending up with yarn. It's very meditative, sitting there and spinning fiber. It's also great for portability; moreso than crochet or knitting, and it gets a lot more questions, too. I'm considering bringing some spindles and fiber to Burlington this year. I don't see why I couldn't. (Heck, I could practice my walking while spinning technique, couldn't I? Although I would have to foregoe the walkingstick.)

But anyway, it looks like spinning will stick around. I'm learning a lot, and it's fun, and... I can live with that.

Ebay

2010-03-24T19:39:00.002-04:00

I'm going to cut back to Sunday auctions only, because I never seem to get around to it on Wednesdays without having to take up a goodly portion of my evening. Sundays work better anyway.

Is it worth it?

2010-03-14T12:46:00.002-04:00

So yesterday, while sitting at the craft show*, I decided I might as well finish up spinning the almost-spindle full of yarn I had, so I could chain ply it and try that out. (I ended up with 40 yards of chain plied yarn; it looks quite nice. But obviously, to do anything with it, I really need to start spinning more in quantity.)

So anyway, I'm sitting there with my drop spindle, spinning away, and of course I get questions. And I explained what I was doing, and also said I'd just bought a spinning wheel at an auction, and got it working without much trouble, and... someone asked me, "Is it worth it?" (Meaning: Is it worth the time and trouble to start with fiber (heck, I'm not even carding it myself) and end up with yarn. Worth the time involved, I guess, too.)

And my sister chimes in with, "Oh, handspun yarn sells really well on Etsy," which is true. (And some of it is darned expensive!)

And I said, "It is to me; I can spin my own doll hair and other yarn that I might use to weave, crochet, etc."

And someone else said (I kid you not), "No one does that anymore!"

And that got me thinking.

See, back in the day when handmade things were the norm, no one had closets full of clothes to wear. No one had many pairs of shoes. You treasured what you owned, and wore it out. And then, you took the scraps and rags and you reused them, until they wore out, and so on and so forth.

I'm not saying that we were all thrifty, make-do people. And a lot of that had to do with the fact that not many people had money to go out and buy new things; getting a new dress, for example, was usually a big important occurrence in someone's life.

Many people don't realize what goes into the things we wear, the things we eat, the things we use every day. They just assume it's made, or grown, or created without much thought as to what went into that item to get it into their hands.

I have stumbled across people online who realize this. Who will spin 2,000 yards of yarn for an afghan that they want to knit. Who will dye their own fiber, or raise their own sheep. And it makes me wonder--are they ever asked "Is it worth it?" I bet they get that question all the time.

So. Is it worth it? Is it worthwhile to be able to spin my own yarn for doll hair or anything else that I might want to create? Is it worth my while to learn a new skill? To be able to say, when asked, why yes, I made that.

Why wouldn't it be worth it?

*I didn't expect much from this craft show, since I had nothing new and most of my stuff was winter-related. I made $20, balled up yarn, and spun. Not a bad day, overall.

Decisions

2010-03-07T17:27:00.004-05:00

Here is what I've decided. If I can't sell Elizabeth (the Union #36 rug loom), then I won't. Right at the moment, I have enough space because I turned her around, which I should have thought of earlier. Now, her back is against the table and my back would be towards the bathroom entrance. Surprisingly, this frees up a lot of floor space.

I moved the sewing machine over to in front of the cabinet/chest of drawers where I keep my acrylic cones of yarn and the reeds and heddles and some warp for the looms, and that can be my spot where I box stuff up for ebay. The ebay boxes themselves I moved into the entry room, and you know what? They can stay there. They aren't bothering anything at all. And my Great Wheel (who needs a name) fits perfectly beside Elizabeth.

Because I couldn't use my ball winder where it was (the Great Wheel's wheel is in the way), I moved it too. And I moved my makeshift bobbin winder as well. And it looks so nice and workable!

I am almost done with Ester's corner as well, and then that means this room is finished.

In the living room, I have to go through the small chest that I want to put my extra fiber in, because the spinning wheel is going to go in front of the chest (and it's small, so it will fit just fine), and I also have to fix up my spinning corner a bit better. But I have progress! That's a nice thing, indeed. :)

How I work

2010-03-07T08:37:00.004-05:00

You know how it usually goes with me. I get all interested in something, and then I end up buying way too much stuff related to that something, and then one of two things happens:

a. I lose interest, deciding it wasn't for me

or

b. I decide it's something I want to do

and then,

if a., then c. I sell all my supplies, equipment, etc., and chalk it up to something I tried that wasn't for me. Not a failure, per se, just something I needed to try out before I decided either way.

if b., then d. I go through excess equipment, supplies, etc., and pare down what I really need vs. what I thought I might need eventually and resell it all.

d. has already happened with weaving, although I'm not quite done selling equipment yet. I pretty much know what I want to weave, and I know what I need to be able to weave what I want to weave, and I pretty much have it. Now, I'm not saying that if another small floor loom comes up for sale really, really cheap I won't buy it, but I'm not actively in the market. If I were, there's a four-harness antique/vintage counterbalance floor loom for sale right now that I would buy in a heartbeat if I had both room and money.

Right now, I can feel this happening with spinning, and I'm 99% certain I will stick with it. (I just figured out Navajo plying today; go me!) It's more economical to buy a pound of mill-ends or even handpainted roving for my dolls' hair than it is to comb etsy attempting to find the right colors and thicknesses. It's also more economical to learn to do this myself versus paying someone else to do it. And I enjoy it. That's a biggie.

However, my arms just about fell off while plying 84 yards of mostly laceweight yarn yesterday. I like to spin on my spindles; I like that a lot. However, plying on them (at least two-ply; Navajo plying doesn't seem to bother my arms that much) is a pain... so I am looking at my options. (Although not spinning laceweight might be a good option, since I rarely crochet with it. Heh.) Doll hair isn't plied; it would be singles, so there's that option, too. And I like singles. They're fun.

I have a Great Wheel spinning wheel already; I bought her less than a month ago. (I actually have two of these; one is in storage and will arrive here eventually.) I have a secondhand book charkha coming my way, too. I am looking at a Mother Marion kick spindle, and I am also looking at reasonably priced spinning wheels that don't take up a whole lot of space. I will probably end up with a spinning wheel here soon.

Is that a bad thing? The spinning wheel I'm looking at is less than $200 new, it has very good reviews and while it's not the most beautiful spinning wheel out there, it does the job and it is made well. Conceivably, I could make this hobby pay for itself; handspun yarn does sell on etsy, and along with the local fiber I can get easily, I like the idea of using the mill ends and such.

I highly doubt I would get into dying my own yarn; while I like the concept, that's just not something I can see myself getting into. Although the option is there if needed.

Will this set me back in my financial goals? Not really; I'm still ahead of schedule. Which is good. Am I going to buy a spinning wheel? Yeah, I think so.

I am, however, thinking about dedicating two evenings per week (if it works out that way) for crafting. I have all these ideas, but I end up without a lot of time to implement them. We'll see how that works. (I say 'dedicating', but that doesn't mean I can't do it on other nights throughout the week, either.)

And a small PS--I know it would be nice to get a used spinning wheel. I have actually considered that quite a bit. However, I am going to be supporting a small business if I buy new, and used ones (of the one I am looking at, at least) aren't that much less expensive, so that's why I decided to go ahead and buy a new one. Anyway, my Great Wheel and Charkha are both not new. So it balances out, I think. :)

Sustainability in Crafting

2010-02-21T11:51:00.001-05:00

Not too long ago, I read something about yarn and sustainability. It might have even been a comment on Ravelry; I don't know, but whatever it was, it got me thinking.

See, when I first started crocheting; when I first started crafting, I sought out secondhand (or upcrafted) yarn whenever possible, because--for one--it was really cheap, for two, I was just starting out, and for three, I couldn't recoup my time and cost if I decided to sell whatever it is I was making. I "inherited" my mom's fabric stash* when I decided to start sewing, so actually going out and buying fabric at a store was pretty much an alien thing for me.

That changed, of course, as those things do, and I started buying yarn at a discount place near where we vacationed in Florida every year. This yarn was designer yarn--I'm pretty sure some of it was Rowan brand--and it somehow made its way to this discount store for $1/skein, and every year I would spend $40 on yarn and leave with a bunch of cool fibers, until the store ran out of yarn (I honestly think I was the only one buying it, because I did this for about five years total) and eventually closed.

At that time, I didn't know anything about fibers, so I pity the people who bought scarves from me, because they probably didn't wash well. :)

Anyway, I started getting more interested in fibers, and then yarns, and while I still sought out upcrafted yarn, I also bought it new. Mostly on sale, mostly at a discount still, but I managed to have quite the yarn stash when I started really getting interested in local foods, more sustainable living practices, etc., etc., and while some things were way beyond my budget, I realized that my edict of buying used really wasn't a bad thing after all. (99% of the furniture on my house is antique or vintage; the one new piece of furniture I purchased was a handmade bent branch rocking chair from the local Amish.)

So anyway, I started thinking about my own crafting, and the other stuff I do.

90% of the fabric I own is upcrafted anyway, so I'm good in that department. My main sewing machine is a Singer Featherweight that I bought used (of course), and my second-in-command sewing machine is one that I got for my 16th birthday. (It was new then, but I'm giving myself a break there, since I am 35.) I also have other sewing machines that are antiques. The only thing I buy new sewing-wise with any regularity is thread, and you can't really get around that. Although I have enough upcrafted thread to last me a million years, so I should be fine there too.

But then I got interested in weaving, and then yarn raised its head again. I've bought new yarn, mostly cotton, for weaving. I've also bought a lot of upcrafted yarn as well. And last year, I bought and sold three spinning wheels, telling myself that I wasn't interesting in learning how to spin; this year, I've ditched that thought and found spinning to be quite enjoyable on a spindle.

And I started thinking about yarn.

If you go out to your local chain craft store and buy a skein of yarn for $6, odds are that skein was not made in the USA. I just took a quick look through my yarn chest and found yarn made in Canada, Turkey, Peru, China, USA, and India, and that was just looking at a few skeins. Now, I'm not saying that USA-made yarn is the best stuff in the world or that you need to buy it exclusively, however, I also started thinking about yarn miles (as opposed to food miles; if you aren't familiar with the term, it's basically how far your food travels to get to you) and I realized that despite the whole 'buy handmade' push, can we really and truly claim that our handmade item is sustainable if it's made from newly purchased supplies? Are we not just supporting corporations whose practices might just be as bad as any other corporation? (And I'm not pointing any fingers here, but have you actually questioned--ever--where the yarn you use comes from?)

(This doesn't just apply to yarn, by the way. It should apply to everything, but again, another post for another time.)

So anyway, since I am interested in spinning now, I decided to attempt to find some local fiber sources. So at the very least I could offset the fiber miles of the fiber I purchased elsewhere; from independent dyers or on etsy or wherever. (And it's nice that on Ravelry there are swaps and such; finding upcrafted fiber isn't that difficult. I also like the fact that mill waste--which seems to be vanishing for weaving--is well and alive for roving and such. I like that. A lot.)

I found a nice lady an hour and a half away who has Icelandic sheep; I bought some roving and it's wonderful stuff to work with. I also found a lady who has alpacas who is closer, I will be buying fiber from her as well.(And short of raising my own sheep, which I can't do and don't really have interest in at the moment, this works.)

My whole point of learning how to spin was to be able to spin yarn for my dolls' hair**; that looks like it will work out, but it's ending up something a bit different as my goals change a bit. I'm not saying that I will end up only using local fibers for yarn, because I think that would be a hard sell at craft shows, but I can, at the very least, start to be more aware of what I'm buying and why.

If I do end up buying a spinning wheel, I hope to get a used one. But that won't be for a while yet.

*Mom made all of my clothes when I was young, and then didn't sew as much with my sisters, so she still had an impressive stash of fabric.

** Like this:

or this:

or this:

Decisions, decisions, and Lent

2010-02-19T20:01:00.003-05:00

I sold my Glimakra Emilia. In about ten minutes after I posted it on Ravelry. (!!!) For the price I asked, even, which was a fair price anyway.

And here's why:

I wasn't using her. Junior is the loom I use for scarves; Junior takes me twenty minutes to warp and Junior is a very cute loom anyway. Much more portable than Emilia, and remember the cuteness factor? Yeah. I really like the Emilia; don't get me wrong. But Lisbet really can do everything Emilia did, plus almost double the weaving width. And Ester's good for everything else.

And that's really what I'm doing for Lent this year. I'm not participating in Buy Nothing Lent; I'm participating in "Use it or Lose it Lent."

I can, if I wish, buy another Emilia after I pay off my credit cards. However, I cannot buy another Junior. Since I purchased Junior on ebay, I haven't seen another Anders Lervad rigid heddle loom there at all. One showed up recently on a yahoogroup I'm on, but it wasn't for sale.

And how many looms do I really and truly need? Especially since it seems I've taken up spinning?

I have also posted my Union #36 (Elizabeth) for sale. Again, if I really want a larger floor loom after my credit cards are paid off, then that's fine. I can buy one. But I don't need to keep equipment, yarn, or anything else that I am not actively using, unless I honestly believe that I will use it in the near future, or it is part of an active collection (like the sewing machines, although I have a couple to sell there too.)

"Use it or Lose it", or "Use it or sell it", especially if it's easily replaceable if needed.

Don't worry, I'm not going to sell the dough buckets. I use them both!

2010-02-18T06:22:00.003-05:00

I had a whole post almost ready to go for Lent, and then I got derailed by a leaky kitchen roof and ice and snow. And I don't feel quite up to getting back on the train quite yet.

Rest assured, on Sunday, I will be posting auctions again and getting back on track. (The roof's still leaky and there's still ice and snow. But I'm giving myself a little break.)

Ebay Report

2010-02-15T10:06:00.004-05:00

So my goal is $400/month on ebay. For the first month--which isn't even over yet; I started keeping track with the auctions posted the week of January 17th, so they didn't end until the 24th--I have made $969 on ebay. And much of that was small stuff. (A couple things, like the Franciscan mugs and the teapot I just sold were recent Goodwill finds, and the fife and saxette were recent auction buys, which validates my point that it's a good thing to keep going to auctions and to Goodwill.)

So. I'm way ahead of schedule, which is nice. The auctions I've posted have been manageable in size and quantity so far; I've not had any issues with posting on Wednesdays and Sundays that weren't weather-related. (I didn't post auctions last night because I went to my parents' house to see Elsa, whom I hadn't seen in almost two weeks. I will post them this evening, since I'm off work today; holidays are nice things!) Shipping seems to be workable, too, although if this snow keeps up, I may be walking to the PO tomorrow to mail stuff. We'll see.

So. I'm happy with how things are going so far. I hope things continue to go as well as they have.

Taking the Night Off

2010-02-10T20:05:00.003-05:00

I am taking the night off of posting auctions; I got home a bit later than usual this evening and I just didn't get around to posting what I have stacked up here. So I will post again on Sunday, and then take pictures for next Wednesday on Sunday, I think. That should work.

I am still ahead of goal, so one night isn't going to kill my progress. :)

Goal #1

2010-02-07T16:42:00.003-05:00

~~Pay off Paypal Buyer Credit-- $550~~

Done. I had enough in my paypal account to pay it off, plus some. Yay!

And, paid off and closed Card #2, which was one of the annoying little ones that kept hanging out there. So, second goal half done. One more small one left, and then, onto the big ones!

A conversation with myself.

2010-02-07T12:46:00.004-05:00

I just walked out to get my mail, and I thought to myself "Now would be a great time to walk out in the woods and take winter photographs."

Which is true, because it's sunny, and not so cold, and I have good boots, and I could really use some winter photographs for my notecards. And I thought to myself, "That is something I want to do more of; photography."

And I thought, wait a second, aren't I supposed to be cutting back?

And I thought, But photography is for notecards, and maybe prints, and easily reproducible; isn't that supposed to be the point of finding a craft I can do with a day job and everything else?

And I thought, well, yeah, true... and it's also not expensive to produce, and doesn't have a million supplies. And I have a box of leftover notecards from the craft shows that I really should post on etsy anyway.

And I thought, well, then, why don't you post some? You have a great photo area set up for ebay, so why not post notecards on etsy and see what happens?

And so, that's what I'm going to do. I don't have time today to go take winter photos in the woods, but I will go. Before winter is over. I promise.

Looms and Such

2010-02-06T15:27:00.004-05:00

Here is what I've decided:

I am unlikely to use the Union #36 rug loom, so I've posted it on ebay and craigslist. I would prefer to end up with a four-harness loom of approximately the same size, or else another small floor loom. If I want to weave a rug, I can do so on Ester (my Glimakra Pysslingen table loom) because I can't believe Ester's not sturdy enough for that.

I've also listed my Willcox & Gibbs treadle sewing machine on ebay. Again, I'm unlikely to use it, and having something just for the heck of it isn't the right reason to have it in the first place. These are fairly highly collectible; I only paid $30 for it anyway, so I should be able to get a decent price for it. We'll see.

I will be going through my yarn as well, and selling some of it that I won't use, like a whole box of Aunt Lydia's rug yarn (acrylic) that came with another lot of yarn I purchased. And I will post that on ebay as well. Once I get upstairs in my craft room, I'll be posting a lot more stuff until I can move in there again--I really want to work on sewing some bags and other things, which I can't do right now because the room is too full to work in. And I don't like that.

Eventually, probably after this is over unless I find a decently priced one, I would like to get a castle-style spinning wheel; one that doesn't take up much floorspace. If I can sell my Union #36, my loom room will become just that; I can move Lisbet into this room and there will be more space to walk.

I will keep my Davis Treadle sewing machine, and both Singer 99k's. I will also keep my Featherweight and the Apartment sewing machine. I will sell the Singer 5140, which I always intended to do anyway. And of course I will have my New Home sewing machine for alternative stitches.

I would like to be able to use more than one sewing machine in my crafting room, but we'll see. Right now, it looks like a bomb went off in there, and I'm not really kidding.

I intended to take the coat rack I bought last week at the auction upstairs to replace the one that is in my bedroom, but then I realized I could use it down here for my project tote bags. (My projects are all in bags for easy grabbing if I want to take something somewhere.) This works out great, so the bags aren't all on the floor or hanging elsewhere. Now, in the loom room, the only spot I have to clean up is my typewriter desk and in front of the yarn cabinet. So I should be able to get to that today.

I've been working in the kitchen, too; I didn't discard any baking dishes, but I rearranged them a bit better. I just went through them a few months ago and got rid of quite a few. I might not use all the ones I have right now, so I reserve the right to go through them again if needed. We'll see.

Moving onward!

Mugs--25%

2010-02-06T13:34:00.000-05:00

Some of my favorite mugs. All Goodwill finds.

The two brown ones on the sides are Pigeon Forge Pottery, the blue one is Village Pottery, the owl is unmarked. In the back is another marked pottery mug and a small brown mug that just fits there perfectly.

I thought I would begin the 25% challenge with my mugs.

I have quite a few mugs. Not quite as many as I had before I weeded them not long ago, but enough that my mug cabinet is full again, and I have some on display as well.

See, my biggest weakness is finding a handmade mug at Goodwill for $.50 and not being able to pass it up, because I realize how much work the potter put into it, and I realize what it probably cost at retail price. Or a Japanese floral print mug; I really like those, even though I only have two.

However, unless I'm drinking a different flavor of tea, I tend to use one mug, every day, the same mug that matches my batter bowls.

I bought two of these mugs on Etsy a couple of years ago to replace my 'everyday' mug that one of my cats (now outside) broke; that one I bought at a discount store and I used it almost exclusively for ten years. I tend to use them until they break. And I hate trying to find another one. It is so hard to find a decently-sized large mug to my specifications. It took me quite a while to find the one I'm using now, and it's even smaller than I really wanted, although I've adapted. ;)

One of the pair is cracked, and on display. The other one I use all the time. My other 'favorite' mug to use is a porcelain one from Pier 1 that I bought a while back; it's blue and white and has a very pretty pattern. I usually use that for green or white tea. Another Pier 1 mug fits perfectly into the drink holder in my car, so when I want to bring something to drink along (not my thermos) I use that.

Some of the rest of my mugs.

Only a couple of weeks ago, I found five coffee mugs in my Franciscan Madeira china pattern. I intended to keep them until I really thought about it and realized that I would probably never use them; right now, that $2.50 investment is making me over $75 on ebay, so I'm not complaining.

I am unlikely to stop buying handmade mugs, but I did manage to eliminate eleven mugs from my collection in the purge. That was more than 25% of the ones in the kitchen; the others will have to wait until I get to those particular rooms.

Weekend Plans

2010-02-06T09:14:00.002-05:00

Will be making piles of stuff to sell, taking pictures of stuff to sell, sorting through stuff, baking, cooking, and cleaning. I am not complaining, mind you. And I will post a real update later, and more of the 25% challenge.

Goodwill

2010-02-04T21:05:00.003-05:00

Why yes, I did spend $55 at Goodwill today.

What did I buy for that $55?

--An 8-qt Farberware stockpot--retail price on Amazon is $51.43, for $15
--Six pairs of pants, sorely needed; all able to be worn to work, $1.99/each
--A Calphalon beehive teapot to sell on ebay for $6
--A pair of Covington oxfords that look kind of like chukkas for $8 (a bit high, really, but they're cool shoes, and they fit.)
--A very neat looking slip decorated mug, pictured above, signed on the bottom, for $.50 (there are more pictures on my blog)
--Two Fire King mixing bowls that match the cereal bowl I already own for $10 (I've been wanting one more medium sized mixing bowl, and now I have one.)

First Goal

2010-02-02T20:51:00.003-05:00

My first goal is to pay off my Paypal Buyer Credit, which was around $530. On my plan sheet, I have that with an estimated payoff date of March 31st. The goal was also to only use ebay money to pay this off. I paid $250 of it just last week.

Right now--with 17 items sold, and 10 with bids that will sell, I am within $20 of my goal to pay off the first credit card. And I fully expect to reach that goal by the end of this coming weekend when my Sunday auctions end.

That is two weeks into the twice weekly auctions. I am very pleased!

Once that is gone, I have about $200 on two other credit cards to get rid of, and then I will concentrate on one that will take me a bit of time to accomplish-- to the tune of $2800. I have on my plan sheet that the estimated payoff date for that one is July 31st. I have a free paycheck in July, and while it would be nice to be able to put that towards something else (which might happen; we'll see how much money I can make from ebay until then), I will have $1000 to put towards that credit card if needed, so I really only have to make $1800 on ebay from March until July. That's 21 weeks. My goal is $100 a week, so that is under my goal. So if I get lucky, I will be able to pay off that credit card without using the free paycheck. That would be very nice indeed.

If I can manage to make the $2800 on ebay without having to use my free paycheck, then I will use the free paycheck to pay a portion of the next credit card, which is also around $2800. But we'll see. A lot could happen between now and July. I can only hope things will continue to progress the way they are right now, and that decluttering will continue to pay off.

Onward!

Bargain Hunter

2010-01-31T20:17:00.003-05:00

Can I use my love of bargains--such as the 1870s Estey Cottage organ I bought at an auction today for $17.50--to my advantage?

I think the main thing I have to wrap my mind around is the fact that I don't have to keep everything. That just getting it as a bargain is one thing, selling it for a goodly profit could be something else entirely.

I am unlikely to stop buying antiques, especially when they are very cheaply priced. But what I keep versus what I resell is the main piece of the puzzle I haven't quite managed to grasp quite yet, although it's coming.

The 25% challenge.

2010-01-24T20:34:00.004-05:00

Okay, I've decided it will be a challenge. Anyone can join, of course, but you don't have to, obviously. :) It could also be a 10% challenge if you don't want to go for 25%. Either way, it's decluttering.

Basically, what I intend to do is draw a line--if I have 32 mugs, say, (which I probably do), then 8 of them need to go. If I have twenty casseroles, five of which I never use, then why not get rid of them? They are just cluttering up my cabinets. If I have 200 skeins of yarn (which... I may have), then I need to get rid of 50 skeins of yarn--which probably won't be too difficult, because I have some I know I'll never use (mostly because of the color.)

Everything I discard will either be sold on ebay, etsy, or saved for a yard sale, depending on what it is. Which will bring me all the more closer to my goal, and get my house decluttered as I go along.

I needed a new challenge for the new year. Onward!

25%

2010-01-24T13:44:00.008-05:00

Okay, now that Grey mentioned it, I wonder if I could really sell or discard 25% of what I own and not even miss it. I would have to go through everything; all cabinets, all storage, all places where I keep things, and I would have to count (if I'm doing this properly, that is) and then take away 25%.

I've already basically done this with the looms--two are sold, and that's 25% of the prior number of nine. (I'm not counting the project loom, since I can't use it as-is, and I know I'm actually one off, but oh well.)

Some things could be 50%, depending on the item. But it could be done. And in the end, I might actually reach my ebay goal, plus my storage space would be more organized and less cluttered.

I think I will do it. The only caveat would be if there was something I used 100% of, and at the moment, I can't think of anything that would classify.

This will be a good challenge.

It's fun to erase things in photoshop! :)

Stuff.

2010-01-23T20:26:00.003-05:00

Batter bowls from my kitchen.

As I go through the stuff that clutters up my house, I remember why I bought that item in the first place; whether it be something I actually needed or something I thought I needed. A lot of the time, it's something I found too cheap to pass up, but those $4 items add up after a while. And anything that comes into this house has to be dusted, or cared for, or dealt with in one way or another.

Some of that stuff I use all the time, like the batter bowls you see above. Other things are there for decorative purposes only, since I'm very unlikely to ever have a dinner party, say, that seats twelve. (It would really be an "over my dead body" sort of thing.)

But where do you draw the line? I've said before that I always wonder who buys the newest line of dishes or the latest in tablecloths. Doesn't everyone have dishes already? Aren't they perfectly good dishes to begin with? I mean, I have my great-grandmother's dishes in my china cabinet, and she sure as heck didn't discard them for a newer set. (And yes, I realize that if no one got rid of what they had, there would be no commerce. But I digress.)

I bought a bunch of cookbooks over the summer, and then another two boxes a few weeks ago. While sorting through them, I realized that I really didn't have room for the ones I wanted to keep, much less the ones I already have. Does that mean I shouldn't buy any more cookbooks? I use quite a few of the ones I have; not all of them (who does?) but I like to read them and get new ideas for breakfast or lunch or dinner or dessert (or bread! I can't pass up bread recipes.) Or does that mean I need to weed what I have or rework where they're kept one more time so I can fit them all in?

Clutter makes it difficult to do this, of course; I see the clutter and not the potential; my eyes glaze when I look at piles and not the table underneath. Or, I'll end up not having any room for whatever it is that needs to be put away, which means that item sits out of place for even longer, which does not help anything at all.

I once said that I could sell 25% of the stuff I own and not even miss it. I'm beginning to think that's actually true.

Plans

2010-01-21T21:04:00.001-05:00

I have a 22-month plan to pay off my credit cards.

In 11 months, my car will be paid off, which will help a lot.

I have decided to post auctions on ebay on Sundays and Wednesdays. Goal is $100/week.

I have decided to post something on Etsy on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Even if it's only one thing. I have a bin full of stuff from the craft shows to post. It's time to do so.

2010-01-20T06:00:00.002-05:00

I've decided that I'm going to post auctions twice a week--Wednesdays and Sundays. Otherwise, I will be doing this for the rest of the year and into next year--even if I don't buy anything else to sell. I have that much stuff.

So, Wednesdays and Sundays. I will be posting the weaving books this evening, if all goes well. I have pictures already and everything.

I am also going to post stuff on etsy once a week (at least) just to keep it going. We'll see how I do with that. I have this idea for a scarf I didn't get to last weekend, so hopefully I'll get to it this weekend.

And maybe I can make some headway on paying off some of the credit cards.

Possibilities

2010-01-18T12:30:00.001-05:00

I think I am being defeated by the possibilities.

"But what if I do decide to do that?"

"But what if I sell that and then need it someday in the future?"

"But what if..."

or maybe I should call them the 'whatifs'.

They are not helping me get rid of excess stuff!

Looms

2010-01-16T15:02:00.005-05:00

I've decided to sell my LeClerc Bergere rigid heddle loom. It was either that or sell Ester, and I don't really want to do that. It seems silly to have three looms with weaving widths within two inches of each other. (Lisbet is a 22" weaving width, Ester a 26" weaving width, and Francois a 24" weaving width.)

I definitely didn't want to sell Junior or my Emilia; I definitely didn't want to sell Lisbet, since I really enjoy weaving on her. Elizabeth, the big Union Loom, was another possibility, but I really just need to get over my reluctance to finish warping her and just do it, dammit. And, I'm still not sure I won't want to weave rugs. (Or the other thing I am thinking about--dog/cat beds.)

If I would want to make Ester into a two-harness loom instead of a four-harness loom (since that is what Francois is, essentially) that wouldn't be difficult at all.

So. That will free up a bit of room, although I'll have the stand still, because I'm not going to sell Francois with the stand. But that's foldable, at least, and I can potentially use it elsewhere if I need to.

And that will leave me with the following:

Elizabeth--Union #36 floor loom
Lisbet--Harrisville 4h/4t 22" floor loom
Ester--Glimakra Pysslingen 4-harness 26" table loom
Nigel--Structo two-harness 4" table loom
Emilia--Glimakra Emilia 13" rigid heddle loom
Junior--Anders Lervad 8" rigid heddle loom
_____________--J. Seidel tape loom

and my project loom, which is a small but very heavy 12" table loom that I really need to take apart and get cracking on restoring.

I think that's enough, don't you?