30,000 Views Give Away!

ETA: Officially closed for entries. Winner will be announced some time tomorrow... once my seven year old (as of about 17 min ago) draws the winner! Stay tuned!

Wow! As of today, I have had 30,000 views of my Remembering Rowan Blog! To thank you all for visiting, and celebrate one year as a Crochet Designer, I have decided to have my FIRST EVER GIVE-AWAY!!!

What You Could Win:

• One copy of my first published design "I Love Baby" Blanket and Washcloth, a great introduction to the basics of my brand-new Reversible Intarsia Technique used to create my award winning Reversible Rowan Tree Vest.
• One Large Box FILLED with a surprise grab bag of all sorts of great yarns. Everything from entire cones of yarn, a little Novelty stuff, to probably some of my own Handspun Art Yarn!!! I am doing a major destashing this month, and will put together a great package custom picked for the winner.
• A One-of-a-Kind Hand-Carved Hook from my good friend Monica over at Craftwich Creations!!

To Enter Just Comment on this post, please include (so prize package can be customized to you):

• Your Favorite Thing(s) to Crochet
• Your Favorite Fiber(s) (for serious work, or just for fun)
• Your Favorite Weight of Yarn to Work With
  
• Your Favorite Color(s)

How to get Extra Entries!

• Follow This Blog
• Follow ReCrochetions on Twitter
  
• "Like" ReCrochetions on Facebook
• Post or Tweet about the Giveaway with a link back to this blog post
• Two Entries if you write a blog post that links back to the Remembering Rowan Blog
  

Don't forget to note in the comments any "Extra" Entries you have earned. I don't want to leave anyone out, so will ship anywhere in the world the winner lives.

You have almost TWO WEEKS to enter! Before Midnight PST on Wednesday, July 18th. The winner will be drawn on Thursday, July 19th, by my son Griffin who will be turning 7 that day. He thinks this is a great thing to do on his birthday!

Laurinda’s Craft Café

Creativity, Coffee, and Fun

After a couple years of organizing, rearranging, and decorating, I believe my craft studio is finally nearly complete. My studio space is the entire upstairs of the two bedroom apartment attached to the back of our house, including the kitchen/living room/dining room area, and even a huge closet in the bathroom and a large`attic for extra storage. I have struggled with how to organize and balance my variety of artistic interests and classes I host with the need to have plenty of creative activities for my busy five and a half year old. All while creating a safe space for my newly toddling and climbing one year old (and often some her friends) to explore as we create.

Every few weeks I try to tackle the mountain of bins and boxes which have accumulated over the years, as every item that does not have a home in the rest of the house gets dumped into my studio space, and I continually expand my stash of materials to try new and different techniques and mediums. I empty many boxes, but there always seems to be more. Then it is time for a class or a party and everything gets hidden once more in the attic, the closet, or even the bathtub.

But I have finally come to a crossroads. When I go in to sort through the few bins that are left, or collect items from the rest of the house that really do belong in the studio, I can picture exactly where they go and put them there immediately, instead of just another transitional container which may or may not ever find it’s home. Nearly everything finally has a place, or goes in the donation bin.

Just yesterday I pulled out my 2nd (okay, maybe 4th, but they are all different) rotary cutting mat, and Griffin grabbed it and said, “You have two of these, you need to donate this one. Let’s put it outside to donate!” He did not quite understand that I need different sized mats for different projects, and hosting quilting playdates. But I think it is a good sign that we are on the right track, both of us learning to give up what we do not need or use.

I have just two main categories to organize still: Miscellaneous Yarn and Paperwork (more than half of which will be recycled). Then just a few more items to complete the décor I have envisioned all these years, and I will feel that I am ready to submit “Laurinda’s Craft Café” to Studios Magazine, one of my new year’s resolutions.

Getting Organized in the New Year

My Mom picked up an interesting book called 4 Weeks to a Organized Life with AD/HD which I borrowed before she headed back to Canada, and will just have to mail her in about a month. My "homework" for Day One was to create a Calm Relaxed Space where I can go to practice using my "visual brain" to help me Visualize the steps to accomplish what I need to get done, without getting sidetracked by my typical distractions.

I finally finished moving into our New Bedroom, emptying Bins of prepregnancy clothes, and getting rid of the Changing Pad on my Dresser... all things I should have done about ten months ago when we moved in. I even put a Curtain (free hand-me-down from a friend) over my Closet to hide the remaining cluter. Since I spend at least an hour a day in my rocking chair getting baby down for naps, this is the perfect spot to practice the new skills I am learning as I work my way through this book.

Then yesterday I discovered A Bowl Full Of Lemons' 21 Day Challenge and jumped right in. I decided to count the top of my Dresser as my Desk for Challenge #2. Today's Tupperware Cabinets challenge was already on my to do list, and my cabinets look great now (though my husband reminds me I still have to finish recycling the mismatched lids, etc.).

Tomorrow's Challenge is the Linen Closet, which I don't have. I am already down to only two sets of sheets per bed, and finally got rid of the last of the Full sized Sheets last year. Have not had a full size bed in our house in several years! But I am sure I can purge a few more old Towels and organize all those towel cabinets.

It's not too late to join the 21 Day Challenge! I am loving having someone else tell me what to focus on each day. I have already tackled two of the areas I have been looking at for months, but never know where to start. It's all the stuff we keep meaning to do, but never get to. Check it out!

New Years Resolutions

Every January we begin with the best of intentions, filled with aspirations for change in the new year. This year I am simply going to list the things I hoped to do last year, and hope I will manage to accomplish a few of them in 2011. So far I have already made progress on each of these goals in just the first three days of the year. Here goes...

1. Blog an average of one time per week. My previous goal was once every two weeks, but I really enjoyed writing more often this fall, until my laptop ended up in the shop for weeks at a time. With my cute new netbook for Christmas (thanks Honey!), should be much easier to juggle with a wiggly baby.

2. Get Organized! I just discovered A Bowl Full Of Lemons Blog, and signed up for her 21 Day Challenge. I have a couple challenges to catch up on, but more on that soon. I see what I want to get done every day around my house, but never know where to start. I just get overwhelmed.

3. Learn more about ADD and how to not get too overwhelmed to get anything done. I have always known I have tendencies toward ADD. But between sleep deprivation with a new baby, and the grief that never quite goes away from losing one, I do not think they are just "tendencies" anymore. I just cannot seem to focus.

4. Lose weight. I have gone back on Weight Watchers this month, which has worked well for me in the past. With my husband joining me in tracking points this month, we are filling the kitchen with yummy, healthy foods to help me stay on track. Maybe I will finally get back to my pre-Griffin weight, or lower, or at least out of my early/post pregnancy clothes.

5. Submit my craftroom to Studios Magazine. Every time I get a new issue of this magazine I am inspired to finish organizing and decorating my craftroom, and try to get it featured in a future issue. This past week I have spent a little time almost every day working on it during Willow's afternoon nap. I am so lucky to have the space I do to create arts and crafts with my friends and our kids.

33 Finished Projects Has September!

(if you count all the balls of yarn I have spun in the past 2 weeks)

I set myself the challenge last month to complete 30 crochet projects in 30 days. I came very close, but got a little sidetracked with rediscovering spinning yarn at Camp Pluckyfluff. So if you count all of the skeins of yarn I spun by hand this month, I am well over 30 projects!

I finished up quite a few UFOs (UnFinished Objects), and with the exception of 1 ball of gold wool for the felted crowns, all of the new projects used up some of my overflowing stash of yarn.

So here is the final list...

Crochet Projects Completed in September:
1. Teal Granny Square Head Scarf
2. Harvest Cocoon (Inner Hooker Pattern)
3. Blue Chenille Large Baby Cocoon (IH Pattern)
4. Waterfall Fringed Blanket (IH Pattern)
5. Angel White Mohair Cocoon
6. Blue Boucle Cocoon
7. Brown Alpaca Newborn Nest
8. Natural Wool Newborn Nest
9. Gold Felted Doll Crown (may add needle felting)
10. Small Felted Doll Crown (may add needle felting)
11. Scrap Cat Blanket
12. Blue Boucle Hat (UFO)
13. Chemo Cap for 6 year old girl (UFO)
14. Gold Child's Felted Crown
15. Gold Child's Felted Crown
16. Natural Multicolored Cotton Cocoon
17. Brown Wool Millend Cat House
18. Handspun Multicolored Wool Hat (with my 1st art yarn)
19. Tan Fuzzy Cat Hat(UFO)
20. Pink/Grey Fuzzy Cat Hat (UFO)
21. Green Chenille Hat (UFO)
22. Brown Cat Ear Hat
23. Blues Skinny Scarf (UFO)
24. Baby Bib with Crocheted edge (UFO)

Handspun Art Yarn:
1.Nobbly Green/Blue/Black/Rust Plied with Cotton Thread
2.Crazy Carded Reds Navajo Plied "Yarn Puke"
3.Green & Turquoise Corespun Mohair (59 yards)
4.Felt Nubby Teal Plied with Black Chenille (58 yards)
5.Teal & Blue Tailspun Mohair Locks (27 yards)
6.Dark Blues Crazy Carded plied with Dark Blue Mohair (79 yards)
7.Merino Navajo Plied (39 yards)
8.Bright Green & Blues Merino Corespun on Mohair (127 yards)
9.Kelly Green Merino with Green Firestar & Silk Noils (86 yards)

**I promise to post pictures just as soon as I figure out my new laptop, just needed to get these posted before the next week of crafty goodness begins.... Monster Making Workshop on Monday & Candle Decorating for Infant Loss and Remembrance Day on October 15th.

30 Completed Projects in 30 Days?

In my quest to concor the UFOs (UnFinished Objects) which have overtaken my craftroom, and open my Etsy Store in the next month, I am trying to finish one crochet project every day in the month of September. So far so good. But if I post the list, I am making more of a comitment to following through.

Some are new projects (like my new obsession with cocoons), some UFOs in various stages of completion. Most of the new projects are using yarn already in my stash, also helping clear the clutter. I will keep adding to this note as the month progresses, let's see if I can reach 30. Wish me luck!

Crochet Projects Completed in September:
1. Teal Granny Square Head Scarf
2. Harvest Cocoon (Inner Hooker Pattern)
3. Blue Chenille Large Baby Cocoon (IH Pattern)
4. Waterfall Fringed Blanket (IH Pattern)
5. Angel White Mohair Cocoon
6. Blue Boucle Cocoon
7. Brown Alpaca Newborn Nest
8. Natural Wool Newborn Nest
9. Gold Felted Doll Crown (may add needle felting)
10. Small Felted Doll Crown (may add needle felting)
11. Scrap Cat Blanket

In My Work Basket:
1. Blue Boucle Hat (UFO)
2. Chemo Cap for 6 year old girl (UFO)
3. Child's Felted Crown (in the washer getting felted)
4. Natural Multicolored Cotton Cocoon
5. Bulky Green Cotton Large Baby Cocoon (IH Pattern plus leaves)

I Dream of The Simple Life...

I just delivered a full van load of stuff to be sold at my MOMS Club's annual garage sale as I do every year. All the proceeds go to support our service project activities throughout the year, including the Remembering Rowan Project. I felt really good driving home without all that stuff we no longer have a use for.

For inspiration, about this time every year I pull out my collection of audiobooks on organization and simplification*, and start watching episodes of Clean Sweep and Clean House. The first year was easy, most of our belongings had been in storage for the first 5 months we lived in Washington, so it was easy to give up those things we did not even miss. Even after our own yard sale, we still filled both the van and forrester (twice!) with the contents of all those boxes we had paid good money to store for months, including the 10 year old wedding presents we had only used a few times.

But this year was harder. After four years, I have gone through the kitchen, the bedroom, and even the craftroom, and gotten rid of most of what I am willing to give up. MOMS Club also had a book drive a few months ago, so I had already purged every bookshelf in the house. I did finally dig out the fondue pot (which I dreamed of using each year), the last of the full size sheets (have not owned that sized bed in years), and curtains that came with the house.

Now it is just a matter of the items we have outgrown. On another organizational show called Neat, they have people sort into boxes simply labeled "PAST" and "PRESENT". Not that I am getting rid of everything from my past, but I like this way of looking at things.

We do not plan to have any more children, so I guess we are done with an entire phase of life, and all the junk that goes with it. Unlike with our first baby, there is no reason to save clothes Willow outgrows. Not to mention all of the big bulky baby containers that have been taking up space in the attic. Now that my 6 1/2 month old has learned she can sit & stand & even jump (all with support), she has no use for the boring vibrating chairs & swings that do not allow her to move around. Besides, without all those bins of tiny baby clothes and big bulky items in the attic, there's much more room for yarn! Wait, I am sure there is something wrong with that logic, but I choose to ignore it.

My Inspirational Audio Library:
*Simplify Your Life, Living the Simple Life, and Inner Simplicity by Elaine St. James
How to Organize Your Life and Get Rid of Clutter by Ab Jackson (most useful)
Stop Clutter from Stealing Your Life by Mike Nelson (more focused on hoarders)

UFOs, UnFinished Objects

Help! My Craftroom has been invaded by UFOs! I suspect it is my mother's fault. She taught me to sew, latch hook rugs, and start tons of other crafty projects. But not so much to finish them. I wonder how many I.O.U.s we gave family members for handmade Christmas gifts which we started together but probably never quite finished. Although she only had a small set of drawers filled with her various and sundry craft supplies, it was mostly filled with UFOs. She often points out that I actually finish a LOT more projects than she ever does...but that's only because I have drawers and bins filled with UFOs.

Last night, my husband was wondering aloud how many UFOs I actually have tucked away in my craftroom (an entire desk & a couple bins filled with 1/2 finished crochet projects, another bin of just 1/2 finished hats, and we won't even talk about the crossstitches, some of which just need to be framed, did I mention I used to be a framer?). A good friend who heard his comment pointed out that the number of unfinished objects an individual has is in direct correlation to the number of projects they have finished. I just finish more projects than the average person.

I love this idea. It explains so much. But it is not an excuse to keep all those UFOs. Last year when I started making Griffin Playscapes, I used mostly recycled parts of UFOs. It was fun to go through those drawers and bins of projects and try to reimagine them as something else. The start of a tweed green sweater sleeve made a perfect field for his farm yard. A long test swatch made a fun & funky path for his fantasy world. Now if I can just make myself admit that I will never finish most of these. My tastes and priorities have changed. It is time to reuse or release those UFOs to move on to another world.

Help! I'm a Craft Hoarder!!

The other night I was watching Hoarders, Buried Alive on TLC. I saw these hoarders climbing over piles of their belongings, jumbled into a useless mess. I realized that's just how I often feel in my craftroom, especially when I get up into the attic above the Craft Room. In order to have any floorspace in the room to work, the room and attic are full of shelves and piles of boxes, bags, and bins full of more craft supplies than I can ever use in my lifetime.

My do I LOVE being able to complete just about any project I dream up without having to run to the store. But it is time to make a change, time to reassess. My Husband calls my Craft Room the "Crap Room", and he's probably right. I read somewhere that your stash should reflect the crafter or artist that you are today, not who you were 5 or 10 years ago. I still have unfinished projects, including my first quilt and my wedding scrapbook, which were started the year I got married - 14 years next month. Time to finish it or pitch it. I have an entire closet filled with scrapbook supplies, but I'm switching over to mostly digital scrapbooks. With 2 small children I will never find the time or place or energy to finish all the scrapbooks I have started. If I don't use it, give it to someone who will.

Inspired by a book called Organizing Your Craft Space and Studios Magazine, I am now in the process of reorganizing and purging, whenever baby is napping or Griffin is playing in the yard nearby. My goal is to submit my Craft Studio to be featured in Studios Magazine by the end of the year. Anyone willing to spend some time helping me organize the Craft Room can have first dibs on all the goodies I am getting rid of. My dear friend Carissa spent a lot of time helping me last year, and has taken home yarn and sewing projects galore.

Nesting!... It's about time.

In my first two pregnancies, I went through the usual "nesting" phase. For me it does not kick in until the last two weeks or so. In the two weeks leading up to Griffin's due date, with my Mom & Sister there on baby watch, we tried to CLEAN SWEEP my craftroom. We dragged everything out to the back patio, purged, sorted, and organized all that yarn and craft supplies (note: the craftroom now is about 1/3 the size of the entire house back in LA). Two weeks before Rowan's due date I was in charge of the MOMS Club garage sale. So I madly purged bin after bin of craft supplies, yarn, books, and cleared out quite a bit. Then the week before her due date, I found myself sitting on the floor of the bathroom one evening, surrounded by bags and bins of bathroom detritus that had never been unpacked when we moved in three years ago.

So, naturally I expected to eventually have the urge to purge come upon me at some point during Willow's pregnancy. It never did. I would look around, and know I wanted to do something, but could not get motivated or figure out where to start. I finally concluded that after losing our last baby, I would have no nesting instict.

Now, with a healthy six week old baby, I am finally nesting, literally. Today I bought 15 baskets, 8 decorative storage boxes, and new clothes hamper. Enough containers to build myself an actual nest. Not to mention the bucket with tons of pockets for all my gardening tools I picked up yesterday. I really do have a specific use for each of the baskets (and most of the boxes).

I know, I know, I should get rid of more stuff rather than buy more places to store it. But I really do need containers for those places which always accumulate clutter (which is everywhere at this point). Since we have not actually decorated our house since we moved in, I decided to start with boxes and baskets to coordinate with the wall colors, furniture, and new blinds.