Destashing -  Or the 'Great cull!'

earlier this year i realised that I was spread too thin with all the things I wanted to do, and all the clutter around making it hard to focus. I had this mantra going around in my head - 

"I can do may things - but EVERYTHING!!! - isn't one of them!!!

So I decided to be harsh and only keep what really resonated with me, that I HAD to do.

My laces for selling and my own work

I took many hours/days as I really had a lot of crap.  

Just a small sample of all the beads I have

On the end wall are  some of the craft boxes with embellishments,
and the purple boxes have fabric in them 

Then I made a firm plan on what size works I was going to do, and made templates for them. 

Templates. Now I don't have to keep measuring, and can make them
into books.

I am going to make and sell a few clutch purses, and handbags. I have larger sizes and I need to cover them with clear contact to protect them

Now I am making a lot of bases, setting up work and designs etc

Some of the small bases I will be using for
 'Creative Embroidery' etc

For lace applique and embroidery

Larger bases for meditative stitching and embroidery

Bases for Crazy Quilting samples 

So with winter roughly half way through, I can snuggle up, turn on my audio books and just relax and embroider and/or embellish to my hearts content, knowing that I will at least know what I have - WHEN I ACTUALLY REMEMBER WHERE I PUT IT!!!!

Oh well....

THINGS ARE GETTING DONE... EVEN IF IT IS SLOWLY

While I haven't posted for a bit, I have been busy. I have to work around my back and shoulder, and sometimes they just won't co-operate!

On these days I read, look through my downloaded picture gallery and work out how to do something. I have also been tidying up pieces of paper lying around everywhere. I write notes and they are all over the place.

Now I have books that have specific roles. ie, Gardening, where I put all the notes, handouts, research etc.

Also practicing drawing again. I have heaps of art books lying around and have been trying to consolidate them into one or two books. This of course means I have to stick them in or redraw the work. It usually depends on if I have drawn out a 'scene' or something for a textile art project, Art Quilt or embroidery. If I don't really like it then I redraw it. 

 Practicing small designs to embroider

Different scenes for either Art Quilts, Textile art projects or embroidery

Also my shelves are up in the lounge so I have better access to everything. I still need to put labels on the cane baskets but everything has to be gone through first.

I have also made templates for drawing zentangles etc. And am using the pieces cut out of the center as templates for different Fabric Mosaics I want to do

Each day I try to get at least one small task done if I am not having a good day, and then when I am having a good day I focus on the larger tasks, having breaks in between.  

I have also been spending some time using the embroidery machines, but find that I can't do a full day without being in a lot of pain, but I have been sorting the ones already done and have many ideas for their use, 

So now that winter is nearly here it is time to snuggle up and start hand sewing, drawing and planning for the warmer weather

ROUTINES and ORGANIZATION

I hate routines, I really do. But one thing I have learnt over the years is that if I want to achieve anything, I have to follow one. Even if it is a rough one.

2018 started out ok, but things piled on top of each other, I couldn't get myself organised. I had all these things I wanted to do, but because I wasn't organised, didn't focus, didn't have a routine, I didn't achieve as much as I wanted to and I got overwhelmed with family and health problems.

Towards the end of last year things started to settle down and I realized that I was just too unorganized to achieve what I wanted.

So I got my garden redesigned, and mostly finished, having to stop after hurting my back - again. Then I got onto my computer, organizing and resizing embroidery files, not just for me but for selling laces. 

I made a list of things I wanted to do, found designs, chose sizes for different projects and then wrote it out in a rough plan. 

I then went through different ideas and projects I wanted to do and chose what size to do them.  I have no idea why but choosing what size to do a project seems to be a real stumbling block. Now I just look at what it is I want to do and I decide what size would look good.

I now have 'Postcard', A5, Fabric Book, Scrapbook, and My 'Coffee Table Book' as sizes to work on. And these will all be made into Fabric Books.

I also have a set size for the other projects I am involved in. TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday/ and Beyond), Joyful Embellishing, Kathy Shaw's Crazy Quilt Embellishing. Now I have fabric pages set up and ready to sew out and I don't have to worry about what size.

Such a small thing, but it really makes a difference.

 The front cover of my 'Coffee Table Book'

 Using my own 'rusted fabric' for the cover of my fabric book 'Postcards from Down Under' which just needs to be embroidered and stitched together. Below is the 'Postcard' that will be on the bottom of the 'page'

 This was the inspiration for my 'Postcards' fabric book, the buttons on the right are in the form of the Southern Cross. 

 And below are two of my 'Under The Sea' (UTS) pieces

Using 'Washaway' as part of my creating

 I put some washaway on a small frame and simple drew a grid across.

I did running stitch around the outside and along the straight lines, and did a long blanket stitch up to the line, and a knot type blanket stitch at the bottom to hold it firm after washing. 

This is how it turned out. 

Postcards from the Southern Cross

I have wanted to do many different styles of embroidery, Textile Arts etc for awhile, but have always thought 'big'. this put me off quite a bit as I felt I needed to 'have' lots of things and 'have' lots of time.

This year I am going to think 'smaller'.

My daughter has been patiently!! teaching me how to use Photoshop for simple things, which is all I want at the moment, and I have been sizing many designs and colouring pages of Pinterest, Dover etc to use in this way.

I have also decided to do a lot of my work as 'Postcards', this way I get to do some of the things I want to try, and not be overwhelmed by anything to big.

I find it easier to create things if I already have the size in mind. So by setting sizes, it takes the pressure off - silly, but my idiosyncrasy.

 This will be the front cover of my 'Postcards book. It is on fabric that I 'rusted' up

And this is the 'Postcard' that gave me the title of my Fabric Book. I have soooo many scraps that part of this years challenge is to use the scraps in as many different ways as I can. I had started by placing buttons around and realized that the right side reminded me of something. Then I realized that it was in the shape of the 'Southern Cross' if I positioned the smaller button to the right. And so the book was named.

  I have also been playing around with making Suffork Puffs, and plan on using them in different embellishments.  Again using all scrap fabric, this time most of it being my hand dyed fabric.

Again using scrap fabric and my own laces, I plan on doing a lot of embellishing this year as well.

2018, The year that was Pt 2

I spent quite a bit of time at the end of the year, planning, designing and making raised garden beds and shelves for plants. I figured that if I still wanted to garden I had to make it 'back' friendly. I used all types of structures to make it easy to saw, nail etc. And when I couldn't I resorted to kneeling on the ground. I got quite a bit before a pinched nerve and the heat stopped me, but it a start, and as autumn and winter approaches in Perth, I hope to get going again and have my yard ready for spring

Everything is made out of recycled pallets and frames 

2018 - THE YEAR THAT WAS

I had a busy year but just didn't blog so much, it was an up and down year, as my back pain came and went, my daughter struggled with anxiety and depression and I tried to set up a small lace selling gig.

Some of what I did this year

Printing on Washaway and using it for designs to embroider

I will try harder to blog this year as I have so many ideas running round in my head that I plan to take pictures of and share.