Monday, April 7, 2008

Welcome to my mess

I've been telling you for ages about my mess upstairs.  For lack of better things to post about, today I've decided to share it with you.  Here we go.



First...up the stair case (this is north).  Upstairs
Note the bi-fold door part way up.  It was added after we discovered that Bob has a penchant for eating all things fibery.  See the hand spun yarns hanging along the wall at the top of the stairs?  There used to be lots more.  The entire bottom row had to leave because Bob (pre-door), had happily chewed his way across the bottoms of each skein and left me with hanks of two yard lengths of yarn.



Next...when you get to the top of the stairs and turn around, here's what you see.  Soviewyw
It's the south wall, which holds some of my colored hand spun yarns and my stash of Malabrigo that's still in reeled skeins.  See the wool drying in the foreground?  That's resting on the chicken wire top we had to build over the staircase, so you know who couldn't find a way around the door.  Yes, it's true...despite his 20 lb. girth, he can still fly through the air with the greatest of ease.  As it turns out, this is a great place to dry wool, especially in the winter when I can't do it outdoors.



From this same spot, looking to the left (or north east),Necornerstash
these cubbies and humungous bags hold my commercial yarns, along with my handspun yarns that have been wound into balls.  My theory:  if you keep the floor covered in bags, you don't have to guilt about vacuuming.  Also if you don't see what you have, you forget to use it or be inspired by it.  Once I put all my stuff in those big green plastic containers, and once it was out of sight, well...I went and bought more because I forgot what I had.  Sound familiar?



The southeast view:  Secorner
these are dyed fibers I use for carding batts and other spinning fun.  There's lots more in big bags all over the floor, not easy to get in the photo with the lens I was using.  Much of this stuff came from my friends HollyEQQ and Sandy Ryan.  I love their stuff and Sandy's farm is animal friendly.  Check it out.



Here's my Rio Grande wheel Rgwheel
and the current wool I'm spinning.  These are roving scraps I purchased during the Circle the Wagons for Holly auction on Sandy Ryan's website.  There's still some great stuff left...go take a peek.  I love my Rio Grande the best of all my wheels...my stash upstairs (in the spirit of sharing) of wheels includes a Louet (S10 I think it is), a couple of antique wheels, and a Jensen D30 production wheel.  I love them all for different reasons.  You don't have just one tool in your tool box, right?



My carder is one of the best investments I've ever made...it is from Louet.  Carderview
I have a Patrick Green Fanci-Carder I bought when they were first on the market (it is the first one they made...bought it from Paula after she demonstrated it at SOAR that year).  It lays fallow somewhere, because after taking Lexi's Pluckyfluff workshop, the Louet is my new passion because you can shove all means of stuff through it and make the most fun batts.  Oh...see the row of wire drawers in the background behind the carding table?  They hold my collection of soon to be extinct (I hope) novelty yarns.  I am debating cutting them all up and using them in fiber blends or saving them in the garage until my kids find them in my estate sale and wonder what the heck was going on when I bought them (temporary lapse of sanity?  well...some of them are nice, but then some of them are...well...I'll stop here).



The south wall yarn from a different perspective.  Novangogh
Painting and easel represent some fun I had a few years ago, when I mistakenly thought I had time to study oil painting instead of running my shop.  I keep this up to remind me to get back to it before I die.  I loved this brief period of fun and have almost as many paints and canvases as I do yarns and fleeces.  Color me compulsive.



And now, I'm off to go upstairs and spin for the rest of the day.  Thanks for coming along on my tour!





14 comments:

Kay said...

LMAO is all I can say. What truth lies behind "studio" doors. Why be neat when you can have fun????

Martie said...

I have always harbored a feeling that it is impossible to be creative AND organized...please back me up on this...

RuthieJ said...

Wow, Martie, looks pretty organized to me.....I envy all your space just for your yarn and all that goes along with it!

ann-marie said...

...just tell the Bobster that "it's OKAY." He has friends who understand his slight abberations and who love him none the less. And after all, isn't there a "yarn suckers" support group on ravelry????
hugs,

Danni S said...

What a wonderful mess! I love it.

Bennie said...

the picture of you Rio in the light is really lovely, it would make a nice card...thanks for sharing........even looking at other peoples fiber and studios is exciting...luv, b

Martie said...

Thanks, Ruthie...just remember all the mess on the floor you didn't see...but as I plow onward today, like an icebreaker, I'll remember your kind words...

Martie said...

Yarn suckers on Ravelry!!! I LOVE it! Perhaps, if only he had more time, Bob should form his own Ravelry support group and see how other felines get away with terrorizing their mom or dads' stashes...hmmm...

Connie said...

Great photos! It's always so fun to see other people's stash.
About the 2 yard lengths of yarn - I've seen a project where multiple colors in short lengths were used together, the colors chosen randomly, the ends secured with a square or overhand knot and the tails chopped off to 1/2" after the knot - and left to show! It looked great!

Martie said...

Great idea! I won't tell Bob about this good idea...
Yes, it's fun to see other stashes...it's often a good way to get good ideas and new inspiration, isn't it?

margo said...

I explain to my husband on a regular basis that it's near impossible to be fully engaged in a project if I need to worry simultaneously about what falls on the floor.
On the other hand, my cat can felt a batt in no time with his sweaty little paws.

Martie said...

That's hysterical! Tell me more about your cat! Maybe he and Bob need a support group?

HollyEQQ said...

Please send me the south wall. Asap.
Thank you very much.
YJAP
hehhehehhe

Martie said...

Part of it is on its way!