Winter is a time to refocus

The first couple of weeks of the new year is a time of reflection for me.  I usually take a break from the busy things in life and try to refocus on what is important to me.  That is why I haven’t posted in a couple weeks.  I don’t usually set specific goals at this time of year.  I do take the time to think about what is important to me and try to refocus our time to reflect those activities.  This year, I want to focus on more time doing things I enjoy.  Crafting, playing games with friends, and writing.  The hubby and I want to focus on moving forward with the goal of building a new house or remodeling this one.

 

I have spent time working on knitting my cardigan.  I’m at the last inch of the front.  It seems like a never ending portion of the sweater.  I cannot wait to cast off and try it on!  The sleeves, of course will also take me forever to do with their endless stockinette stitch.
warmcirclecardigan

We have been trying to get out and spend more time playing games with friends.  I’ve discovered a few new ones that I would love to add to our collection.  Splendor and Tsuro were quite fun and at the top of my list for new games to purchase.

Splendorgame

The hubby and I have spent time looking at shiny new cars and pretty new houses.  Long term goals and all that.  For the here and now, we have been cleaning and organizing in our home.  Clearing clutter and making time to rearrange for a fresh new look.

I have a few projects that I would like to complete in the new year.  I would like to complete the cardigan before my birthday in February.  (40!  eek!)  I have a new series in the works for this blog and involves starting up a YouTube channel.  I’ve been busy writing posts for DIYcraftz.  At work I have two student teachers observing in my classroom each week.  Their excitement for the career has me looking at my classroom with a fresh set of eyes.  I am glad to have their inspiration this time of year.

What have you been focusing on so far in 2018?  What projects (craft or otherwise) have you been working on?  What do you want to complete?  Did you set New Years goals?  How are they going?  

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winter refocus

Knitting Necessities: Notions Boxes

Over the last decade I have knitted my way across the western United States.  Every road trip, weekend get away, and even just a drive for the day my knitting goes along.  My knitting notions boxes make it so I can knit everywhere while on the go without worry I’m missing a vital tool.  When you knit so many different projects like I do, you never know when you will need an extra stitch marker or a cable needle.  Finishing a project while out and about without a tapestry needle is pure torture for me because I can’t stitch in the loose ends.  Don’t even ask how many times I have been caught without a notions box and in need of scissors.  I have chewed my way through yarn more times than I can count.

I keep all my projects separated in large plastic zipper bags.  These bags have the yarn, needles (or hooks), and the paper pattern (or name of pattern on my kindle) in them.  Basically, my project is all packed and ready for me.  When I am ready to work on one of the projects, I simply grab the project that catches my attention, drop a notions box in the bag, and I am ready to craft on the go.

A notions box is a small container that holds all those little tools that make knitting or crocheting easier.  I have a couple of notions boxes that I thought I would share with you in this post.  One I put together myself with bits and pieces out of my collection.  One I purchased pre-made on Etsy.

knitting necessities blue notions box

My blue notions box was put together out of my own supplies.  It has a flexible measuring tape, fold-able scissors, three different tapestry needles, a handful of stitch markers, and a stubby little pencil for paper pattern notes.  This is my go to notions box when I am working on a simple project that will not have need of cables, row counting, or held stitches.

knitting necessities alpaca notions box

I recently purchased this little notions box on Etsy.  The seller is The Sexy Knitter ,she has a whole slew of different designs for these little notions boxes in her store.  You can purchase just the tin, a partially stocked tin, or the fully stocked notions box.  I purchased the fully stocked notions box.  It came with a cable needle, an adorable retractable sheep measuring tape, a wooden needle gauge, a tiny double ended crochet hook, a stitch holder, tiny scissors, a row counter, three tapestry needles, five paper origami star stitch markers, and five plastic safety pin stitch markers. The lid also has a surprisingly strong magnet in the lid to hold the needles.  I was so impressed with this little notions box!  I really didn’t have much faith for those tiny green scissors.  I honestly expected them to not be able to cut very well.  Boy was I wrong!!  Those little things are amazing!

Whether you put a notions box together out of the supplies in your knitting stash, or purchase a pre-made one, a notions box is definitely a knitting necessity!

knittingnecessitiesTitle

Organizing My Yarn Stash

yarn stash title

This weekend I decided it was time to try and organize my yarn stash.  As an avid knitter and crocheter, I have my fair share of yarn.  Some new and soft still in it’s lovely paper wrapper.  Some old and vintage of questionable ingredients.  Some still in tight skeins, some random small hand wound balls, some half used falling apart skeins.

craft roomMy craft area isn’t very large, and lacks storage.  Most of my yarn stash lives in totes stacked against the wall.  As I use my yarn in projects, I tend to leave the remains all around my house.  Stuffing them into one over full dresser drawer in the craft room when I clean up.

Every few months, I take the time to pull out my totes and try to make some semblance of the yarn stash and WIPs (Works In Process).

yarn stash

This year I discovered a wonderful new tool for organizing my yarn stash!  The YazyCraft Ball Winder turned out to be a real lifesaver!  For under $15 with my prime membership, I had an amazing little tool to help me organize my yarn stash.

Not only was it super easy to use, it quickly made yarn cakes that stored nicely and didn’t make my hand cramp from rolling all the yarn balls!

yazycraft 1

I had a couple of complete skeins that had been damaged in storage that needed to be rewound.  Before the ball winder, I would have spent a good amount of time hand winding the yarn into manageable yarn balls.  With the ball winder, I was able to wind an entire skein into four lovely cakes in less than ten minutes.

yazy one skein

A gallon zipper baggy holds the cakes nice and neat with their band so I know what I have and can match if needed.  Larger batches of yarn or in progress projects fit nicely in 2 gallon zipper bags.

Have you seen the multi-color yarn cakes in the stores?  Such pretty combinations just ready to go for a crafty project.  With my ball winder and my scrap yarns, I can make my own multi-color cakes.  I was so excited to see how this one came out!

multicolor yarn ball

I am excited to use all those tiny balls of scrap yarn to make my own multi-color yarn cakes.    Nothing goes to waste!

Plus, is there anything prettier than a freshly wound yarn cake?

yarnball

*This post contains sponsored links from www.amazon.com.  I was not paid to do this post or review of the YazyCraft Ball Winder .  However, if you use the link to purchase I will receive a small compensation.  Thanks for checking it out and helping to support my bloggy habits!*