When Space Bags first came out, I thought they would be terrific for storing my stash. Unfortunately, after packing a jumbo bag and vacuuming out the air as directed, it split down the side when I tried to move it, spilling the contents everywhere!
Yesterday I decided to try it again. I purchased a "combo pack" at Big Lots, which contained a jumbo, extra large, large, medium, and two travel bags for $15.
I started with the jumbo again, this time filling it with unwound hanks. I untied them and laid the twisted loop along the bottom of the bag. Although still huge (a little smaller than a baby mattress), at least this time it stayed intact. Encouraged, I filled the extra large one the same way. It's nice that they now have a "fill line" marked on the bag - I guess that little extra room at the top is required so it doesn't explode.
I found that wound skeins fit perfectly in the medium bag. I stacked 3 skeins across and about 6 skeins up - 18 skeins now the size of a standard pillow - yeah! If I had the time, I think that the large bags would do just as well and be much more uniform if filled with wound skeins.
I like the travel bag as it appears to be large enough for a full sweater project, yet small enough to fit in a tote bag. I think those will be used to keep my work in progress clean.
I believe an investment in the medium or large space bags is my next step. I was impressed by the amount of yarn I could fit in one bag, and how well the bag filled with skeins stacked in the closet. The jumbo bag, filled with hanks, is incredibly lumpy with no flat edges, but I can easily see every color that is in there.
I consider Space Bags to be a viable alternative to clear plastic bins. They are less expensive and more pliable, thus can fit in an area a bin cannot. Space Bags keep the yarn clean and fresh until you are ready to use it.
Showing posts with label organize. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organize. Show all posts
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Plan For Fall Craft Shows
Even though it is not quite yet Memorial Day, now is the time to schedule your fall craft fairs if you haven't already. Most fairs are organized 2-3 months in advance, but many require even more time.
Start with what you know. What craft fairs do you see every year in your area? Where are they held? Which would you like to be part of? Find the coordinator of each, and call or write for the vendor guidelines and application. Pencil them into you calendar.
You may find that a fair you are interested in is juried. This means that in order to set up at that fair, you must apply and show your intended items for sale to a group of people, or jury, for judging. If your items meet the criteria they have set, you will be invited to their fair. There is usually a charge to be juried and another charge for the booth should you be selected. This is an excellent choice if you are looking for feedback from craft enthusiasts about your work. Juries are held anywhere from 1-3 months before the fair.
Remember that craft fairs are a lot of work. Many will require that you bring your own table and chairs, in addition to your display(s) and your product. They usually allow 2 hours for set up. Do you have the energy to schedule a fair every weekend? Do you have enough inventory to sell? Can you fit everything into your vehicle?
Crocheted items that are not starched to maintain their shape usually do not take up lot of space, but you do not want your items to look like they've been used as packing material. I find that plastic bins work well for both packing items for transport to and from the fair as well as organization at the fair.
Plan out your craft fair season well in advance. This will give you the time to adequately prepare for each show. When you are prepared, it's easier to relax and concentrate on the task at hand. Craft fairs should be both enjoyable and profitable.
Start with what you know. What craft fairs do you see every year in your area? Where are they held? Which would you like to be part of? Find the coordinator of each, and call or write for the vendor guidelines and application. Pencil them into you calendar.
You may find that a fair you are interested in is juried. This means that in order to set up at that fair, you must apply and show your intended items for sale to a group of people, or jury, for judging. If your items meet the criteria they have set, you will be invited to their fair. There is usually a charge to be juried and another charge for the booth should you be selected. This is an excellent choice if you are looking for feedback from craft enthusiasts about your work. Juries are held anywhere from 1-3 months before the fair.
Remember that craft fairs are a lot of work. Many will require that you bring your own table and chairs, in addition to your display(s) and your product. They usually allow 2 hours for set up. Do you have the energy to schedule a fair every weekend? Do you have enough inventory to sell? Can you fit everything into your vehicle?
Crocheted items that are not starched to maintain their shape usually do not take up lot of space, but you do not want your items to look like they've been used as packing material. I find that plastic bins work well for both packing items for transport to and from the fair as well as organization at the fair.
Plan out your craft fair season well in advance. This will give you the time to adequately prepare for each show. When you are prepared, it's easier to relax and concentrate on the task at hand. Craft fairs should be both enjoyable and profitable.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
One Idea For What To Do With Leftover Yarn
We've all been there - completed a project with a partial skein leftover that had no purpose. There's too much to simply throw away, and you don't want to be wasteful. Try this trick I learned a long time ago: ball it.
Take your first partial skein of a particular weight and fiber and wind it into a ball. Now, every time you finish a project using the same weight and fiber add it to your ball. Eventually you will have enough there to make something with.
It is very important that you keep the fiber content and weight of the yarn consistent in your ball. You don't want to finish an item, only to have part of it shrink or felt or otherwise get ruined in the wash.
Worsted weight acrylics and acrylic blends make wonderful scrap yarn afghans. A friend calls them, "so ugly they are beautiful". Usually these are on a bed, so they will not be display pieces, but still warm and functional.
Worsted weight cottons can be used to make unique handbags and tote bags. Many commercial versions of these products are of various color and print, so your crochet version is not likely to be considered an eye sore.
Worsted weight and sport weight wools can create wonderfully eclectic sweaters or set the tone of a room as a rug. Baby yarns tend to have the same color tone, so you can create more baby items with them. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination!
In the long run you will be saving money as well. Once, when I had just started a new job and had nothing extra to purchase yarn with and Christmas fast approaching, I made a rainbow afghan entirely out of scrap. I had a bin full of partial skeins of worsted weight acrylic. I took each one, balled it, and then lined them up on the table in the order of a rainbow. Various shades of the same color were put in order of what I thought looked nice. Starting with the purples (violet is the last shade of the rainbow) I rolled a ball in reverse order - violets, indigo, blues, greens, yellows, oranges, and finally reds. Upon crocheting it in rows of double crochet, the color effect was simply stunning. Small amounts of one color and larger amounts of another, added with the various shades of each, really did mimic that of a rainbow. I don't think I would have put all of those colors together if I had gone out and purchased the yarn. I had made an absolutely beautiful, one of a kind afghan without spending a cent AND I cleaned up my yarn closet in the process!
Give it a try, and share what you come up with!
Take your first partial skein of a particular weight and fiber and wind it into a ball. Now, every time you finish a project using the same weight and fiber add it to your ball. Eventually you will have enough there to make something with.
It is very important that you keep the fiber content and weight of the yarn consistent in your ball. You don't want to finish an item, only to have part of it shrink or felt or otherwise get ruined in the wash.
Worsted weight acrylics and acrylic blends make wonderful scrap yarn afghans. A friend calls them, "so ugly they are beautiful". Usually these are on a bed, so they will not be display pieces, but still warm and functional.
Worsted weight cottons can be used to make unique handbags and tote bags. Many commercial versions of these products are of various color and print, so your crochet version is not likely to be considered an eye sore.
Worsted weight and sport weight wools can create wonderfully eclectic sweaters or set the tone of a room as a rug. Baby yarns tend to have the same color tone, so you can create more baby items with them. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination!
In the long run you will be saving money as well. Once, when I had just started a new job and had nothing extra to purchase yarn with and Christmas fast approaching, I made a rainbow afghan entirely out of scrap. I had a bin full of partial skeins of worsted weight acrylic. I took each one, balled it, and then lined them up on the table in the order of a rainbow. Various shades of the same color were put in order of what I thought looked nice. Starting with the purples (violet is the last shade of the rainbow) I rolled a ball in reverse order - violets, indigo, blues, greens, yellows, oranges, and finally reds. Upon crocheting it in rows of double crochet, the color effect was simply stunning. Small amounts of one color and larger amounts of another, added with the various shades of each, really did mimic that of a rainbow. I don't think I would have put all of those colors together if I had gone out and purchased the yarn. I had made an absolutely beautiful, one of a kind afghan without spending a cent AND I cleaned up my yarn closet in the process!
Give it a try, and share what you come up with!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Yarn Stash Control
As any crochet, knit, or yarn enthusiast is well aware, their stash of yarn can easily take over the entire house. My breaking point, that point at which I knew I had a problem I had to figure out how to control, was when I went looking for a particular yarn in my closet, my daughter's room, the hallway closet AND my yarn closet without finding what I was looking for. I did, however, find that the space bags I had so carefully packed with precious yarn had split open.
That experience, coupled with the decline in the economy, led to stash control rule #1:
ONLY PURCHASE YARN FOR A SPECIFIC PROJECT
Since I have so much yarn around the house already, rule #2:
LOOK THROUGH WHAT YOU HAVE ON HAND BEFORE BUYING ANYTHING! USE IT IF YOU HAVE IT!
How many times have you come across a yarn that you had purchased because it was beautiful and you would find a use for it someday? Then, when you have found that use, you realize you don't have enough of the yarn to complete the project? Thus, rule #3:
PURCHASE ENOUGH YARN TO COMPLETE THE SPECIFIC PROJECT AND LABEL IT WHEN YOU GET HOME
I use 2 1/2 gallon zip lock bags and write on them with a Sharpie what project I have in mind for it. I know I can find the pattern directions in my Crochet Calender Binder (see previous post) which I take out and place a check mark next to the materials just purchased. All of these zip lock bags are in the same location, so I know exactly where to look to find it.
Following these three rules has taken a dent out of my stash, thus making it much more manageable. It has also saved tons of time looking for yarn, giving me more time to crochet it!
That experience, coupled with the decline in the economy, led to stash control rule #1:
ONLY PURCHASE YARN FOR A SPECIFIC PROJECT
Since I have so much yarn around the house already, rule #2:
LOOK THROUGH WHAT YOU HAVE ON HAND BEFORE BUYING ANYTHING! USE IT IF YOU HAVE IT!
How many times have you come across a yarn that you had purchased because it was beautiful and you would find a use for it someday? Then, when you have found that use, you realize you don't have enough of the yarn to complete the project? Thus, rule #3:
PURCHASE ENOUGH YARN TO COMPLETE THE SPECIFIC PROJECT AND LABEL IT WHEN YOU GET HOME
I use 2 1/2 gallon zip lock bags and write on them with a Sharpie what project I have in mind for it. I know I can find the pattern directions in my Crochet Calender Binder (see previous post) which I take out and place a check mark next to the materials just purchased. All of these zip lock bags are in the same location, so I know exactly where to look to find it.
Following these three rules has taken a dent out of my stash, thus making it much more manageable. It has also saved tons of time looking for yarn, giving me more time to crochet it!
What's Next? Check Your Crochet Calendar!
Organization does not come easily, but over the years I have put together a way of managing my crochet projects. It has become an invaluable tool for me, and it can for you too!
Materials Required:
May 8, Mother's Day: mom, Equestrian Sweater, Crochet Today! Jan/Feb 2011 p.35
RH Mystic, 154 yd/ball x 9 balls, (3) 1" buttons
You may want to do the math before you go shopping if you think you might end up using a different yarn (remember those extra lines you left in-between entries?)
154 yd/ball x 9 balls = 1,386 yards
Some patterns do not give the yd/ball on the material list; in this case, look the product up online to find the yardage. If math is not your thing, you can take your best guess and add one skein. Most yarn stores will allow you to return unused skeins.
When you plan on going shopping for yarn, simply take out your calendar page so you will know at a glance exactly how much you need of what kind. I took mine to my local fiber festival and came home with about 90% of my project materials ready to use!
Your crochet calendar also allows you the option of recording your project start and completion dates. This will give you a good idea how long to allow for certain projects assisting your time management.
What are you waiting for? Go get organized!
Materials Required:
- 3 ring binder
- lined filler paper
- binder ready report covers or pocket folders
- pencil
- Put the filler paper in front and the report covers or pocket folders in the back of your binder.
- Consult a calendar and write in all important dates in chronological order.
- Leave space (at least 2 lines) between entries.
- As you come across a pattern that is just perfect for someone on your list, write in the name of the publication (magazine, book, etc.), name of the design, page number, and materials required. This way you can find your material list for your next project right away, without referencing the pattern.
- Fill the report covers or pocket folders with copies of the pattern, or the print of a pattern found online. This will become your working pattern that you can make notes on and check off rows as they are completed.
- Keep your binder in a book bag with the books and magazines that contain the patterns to be used.
- Use the filler pages behind your calendar to list the things you would really like to make. You can have a page for every person (including yourself) that you make things for and/or category pages for home decor, teacher gifts, etc.
May 8, Mother's Day: mom, Equestrian Sweater, Crochet Today! Jan/Feb 2011 p.35
RH Mystic, 154 yd/ball x 9 balls, (3) 1" buttons
You may want to do the math before you go shopping if you think you might end up using a different yarn (remember those extra lines you left in-between entries?)
154 yd/ball x 9 balls = 1,386 yards
Some patterns do not give the yd/ball on the material list; in this case, look the product up online to find the yardage. If math is not your thing, you can take your best guess and add one skein. Most yarn stores will allow you to return unused skeins.
When you plan on going shopping for yarn, simply take out your calendar page so you will know at a glance exactly how much you need of what kind. I took mine to my local fiber festival and came home with about 90% of my project materials ready to use!
Your crochet calendar also allows you the option of recording your project start and completion dates. This will give you a good idea how long to allow for certain projects assisting your time management.
What are you waiting for? Go get organized!
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