? Stash ?

Today I read a post by Mary Corbet at Needle'n Thread about Stash, and it got me thinking...

I often ponder why crafters have so much stash

1. Be ready at a moment's notice
2. Always have anything one needs without having to leave the house
3. To quote a friend, "because we love it!"

I have more of everything related to any needle art than I'll ever use in three lifetimes, but I love it! And I can be pretty much prepared at a moment's notice without leaving the house ;-).

For example -- while stenciling the carpet (see previous post) in which directions said I could use any implement for applying, the foam brush was just not suiting my fancy. Then I remembered from my former figurine painting days, I had stencil brushes. I went to the closet and found the jar holding brushes, and there were two sets! Prepared! When I wanted to detail some fine lines on the table I'm refinishing I thought, there are some small brushes with my lace painting/dying stuff ~~yep, there they were. Of course you notice a couple of words that are key to the use of stash...remember and find. This is without doubt just as important as acquiring space to house said stash!!

Now the next question: When does one go from Stash Collecting ( A person who makes a collection, as of stamps) to Pack Rat ( collector or accumulator of miscellaneous objects) status?

The little 'serving size' containers that I can't stand to toss. Sure, I could put them in the recycle bin along with the soda cans, but they make excellent receptacles for seed disposal while eating fruit and are perfect for paint trays as are plastic lids for resting the paint brush and coffee cans for holding the supplies in route. Is this not a form of recycling...

And larger containers? Well the old vinegar bottle in great for mixing hummingbird food, and the old coffee creamer bottle or any big mouth container (especially if it has a flip top lid) is wonderful to put your ball of yarn while knitting, tatting, or embroidering!! Keeps it from distracting fur babies by rolling around on the floor, and from gathering dust bunnies.

Hum...according to Houghton Mifflin (and proven by above examples), I've achieved Pack Rat status! But in my mind the things will be of use/value to me at some point. And if not... Well, DS will one day probably back a dump truck up to the the door and head straight for the dump ~ or the recycling center?? But this will be an excellent excuse for haunting him for the rest of his days!!

Boo!

Making Progress

It's slow going, but I'm making progress...

Bathroom Before

Bathroom After

Guest Bedroom - This is the one that was still 'builder's white', but no more -- would you call this green? Oh, yes -- it did take two full coats to get this covered!

I really would love to replace the carpet in here, but just can't do it right now, so decided to do a bit of 'technique' on the old carpet. I found a stencil that I thought would be pretty, so...

but the first attempt wasn't the right color - there just wasn't enough contrast with the carpet, so I think the second attempt is a lot better.

What do you think? Time to get in there and finish this so it will be dry to finish this room!

Still working on the sofa cover, too.

Catching Up

I'm on vacation!! Like everyone else, you'll ask, "Where are you going?" Well, most likely, home! Oh, I may go to the beach for a day or two, but no reservations or real plans for that, yet. I LOVE being at home, and doing projects around the house, when there's time. I don't particularly care for doing 'weekend' projects that have to be done in a rush to get all cleaned up before going back to work on Monday.

Yesterday I worked on my latest cross stitch project. It's the cutest Halloween graph I think I've seen... Monster March by Glendon Place. Did I make a mistake deciding to do it on black? Maybe - it's quite hard to see, but I do think it's going to be great! I'm not the fastest stitcher, but it's coming along. Want to see the progress I've made? Here are my DMC threads...

... and here is the fabric on a scroll that my DF, Cora's (who taught me to cross stitch) hubby made for us many years ago!

As you can see, it's just started, but hopefully before Halloween it will be finished. If I had to guess, I'd say it's about 1/4 finished.

The last time I went blogging, I learned about Orts. Some people say they're Old Ratty Thread, but the other definition is small bit or leftover scrap. I suppose it's a bit of both, but I knew I had to have one. With some of the clearing out, I found a bowl that would be just right for my Ort.


What else? I saw the cutest pillow the other day that I thought would go with my new decorating plans, but didn't want to pay what they were asking (trying to be frugal with the new decor), so I picked up some fabric while Hancock's was having their sale, pulled some from my stash, and it turned out like this... No, it's not exactly like the one I saw, but it is unique! I'm still working on the slipcovers, as you see a little here, as the urge strikes ;-) I also recovered a bolster to match the base cover ...

and am working on another one. I wasn't quite sure what color fabric I wanted to use, so I went to the closet to find a form, but all I had were square and rectangles. There was an old pillow there that had been used for sham stuffing at some time, so pulled it out and rolled it up, took the quilting baster and pinned it together ...

Voila - a bolster. Isn't it nasty looking? I was working on putting a muslin cover on it, and the thought struck -- why not use the muslin as it is 'intended' and make a Crazy Quilt cover?

This was at about 3:00 a.m. this morning, and it was time to stop.

Did I show you how the sofa started out?

...and here's how it's coming along

How about the stool that goes with the vanity?

... I have some ric-rac to go around the seam line, but I'm not sure it's the right color ...

Here's the end table that I've refinished...

It's one that I got at the Re-Habitat store. It has a glass top that fits into the opening on the top, but it's not in there now. And the coffee table? It's the next refinish project.

And so... you see where my vacation leads. Hopefully it will get done, but still here I sit. And I'm going back to BlogLines to finish seeing what you've been up to.

I took a few shots of the vacated bedroom and my craft room, but I'll wait until progress is made before I show them. Yuck!!

Say hello when you have a chance! I know summer is a busy time for all.

August Bride's Tree

Finished the Bride's Tree ornament for August early, but am just getting around to posting it. This month is the Rose for Affection. This has been a fun SAL challenge. The pieces are nice, but small enough to finish and do other things during the month.