Snowed In

The sky is dark but the snow is white, beautiful and falling rapidly. I took these photos earlier today in hopes you would enjoy them as much as I do.

I was trying to capture the snow flakes falling but you can really only see that if you look are the dark tree stump in the back ground or near the fence rails.

Naturally my co-workers are fast at work building a snowman.  I wish I could be out them with them but my mobility is still limited with my ankle.

Sometimes I sit with my foot up and drink a cup of joe...in my new coffee mug.  Do you recognize the pattern?  I adore these coffee mugs and you can get your very own HERE.

I find it very difficult to get much done because I can't be on my feet too long because of my healing ankle.  I want a team of worker bees to show up here and get things done for me....know any giant swarms of worker bees that are bored?

photo credit

Problem is, I may need more like 25 - 30 who are all excellent at cleaning and organizing.  Since breaking my ankle back on Oct. 12, 2013 it has been very difficult to get things to their final destinations.  Playing catch-up is still a slow process and I'm doing my best to have patience. 

ORGANIZATION

Organization....now that sure is a word that means many things to many people.  I think of organization as having things in their place and knowing where that place is....consistently.   My problem has been and continues to be the time I spend organizing is typically wasted because how I decided to organize things didn't work out so well. 

About 3 or 4 years ago I went and bought large clear bins thinking my fabrics would not get dust on them and I'd be able to see through the bins and know what is inside.  That didn't work so well because they bins are heavy and I'm always sorting through them and that makes a huge mess.  My energy is drained not by creating but by sorting.

Next came these rolling bins from IKEA.  They work pretty well but they don't protect from dust and I can't always see the color ranges I'm looking for.

I've used Google um-teen times to find a solution for organizing my fabrics that works for me.  I have to say it all depends on the space you have, your preferred style (by color/yardage/project etc), and your budget.  I've spent so much money on organizing already and I'm concerned that if I try something else that I'll be out more money and more energy.  

I may have found a method that works well and is within my budget....I'm not saying its the end all and be all just yet...time will tell.

I purchased the acid free comic book cardboard and I've begun making mini bolts.

This is as far as I've gotten and there certainly is plenty more to go....however....I really do like being able to see the fabrics once they are shelved.  Next comes the shelving....that comes later :)  My girlfriend Jean has all of her fabrics stored similarly in a shelved closet and I fell in love when she opened the closet.  It is a huge task to re-organize....however I can do it an hour or two at a time while sitting with my foot up.

I also have an issue with thread (I have so many issues I could start a blog entitled: I Have Issues).  I have several of the Mega Rack Wooden Thread Racks and they work well for most all of my thread.  Now I'm doing more machine embroidery I find I'm wanting a better system for storing my Floriani Threads. 

When doing machine embroidery the patterns give numbers and then I have to see if I have the color in my "private stash" (we know I have every color they make and several of each well within reach :) will call for certain colors.  At the present time I have to use my Floriani Thread Guide .  I circle each of the threads I have in my "private stash" and they are numbered (wildly I might add) My issue is how to sort them.  Do you sort by color?  Number? 

I've decided to sort by number regardless of the color so I will save time looking up which number is what color.  I like my energy used in creating not in searching for small numbers written on spools.  This does not mean I always use the colors suggested....but I do want to know the hue and range before I head off into my own creations given I'm not an artist. 

I've only gotten as far as taking all the thread off the table and putting them into a drawer....soon I'll organize them by number.

The decision to use my Presencia Cotton Thread drawers for personal use may be a win-fall for some of you.  Why?  Because I'm going over to IHAN® now and begin adding each color, solids and variegated, and I'm marking them 1/2 off.  I'll need some time to get them all loaded, but if you love Presencia 10 gram 16 weight thread....act fast because I'm certain it will sell out fast.  If you already know you want to stock up, you can e-mail me and I'll put those aside for you (IHaveANotion dot com).

So that's what I do when there is a Level 3 Snow Storm Warning issued....what do you do?

Smiles,
Kelly