Piles and piles of paper patterns. Small balls of yarn of every imaginable color on every horizontal surface…including the floor! Empty packages that once contained knitting needles (or crochet hooks). Hmmm…..where are all these needles anyway?
A couple of weeks of working like crazy on a few creative projects, and this is what my world looks like. In short, it’s a mess! And it gets that way FAST.
Cleaning up the clutter and keeping all the bits and pieces organized is probably my biggest challenge.
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Anyone who crafts knows that there are so many little odds and ends to doing what we do. So. Much. Stuff.
I live in a pretty small house and my work space is limited. Really limited. I thought it might be fun to show you where I create all this work I do, even though It’s not a pinterest worthy space.
I look at all those bright, light filled spaces decorated with Martha Stewart furniture, and frankly, I just wanna slap someone.
Who are these people that can dedicate that much space to glue guns and glitter?
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And how do they come up with a budget that affords all that beautiful office space and expensive furniture?
Here’s a spoiler. My stuff isn’t fancy. I’m not fancy. Nothing about this is fancy.
I hope that didn’t pop your bubble.
Maybe that’s why my knitting design and concept for teaching is so minimal. Maybe that’s why my pieces are constructed to be clean lines and always serve a purpose. Nothing is purely decorative for decoration’s sake alone. I’m totally thinking out loud.
So, on with the show.
I invested in cubby storage from Bed Bath and Beyond for my office. I like these pieces, because they had options for drawers and small dividers as well as the colorful baskets. I needed that to have them be part of a functional office space.
The piece on the wall is my most expensive part. I bought it from Pottery Barn, and it’s beautiful. The wicker basket holds my knitting needle collection, and the big basket on the floor holds yarn I’m currently working with. It looks like Wool and the Gang fiber is hanging out there.
I love my cubbies! Very helpful in getting space organized and usable. This is where I store my modest pattern and book library. The books on top of the organizer are my Creative Live notebooks (classes from April Bowles-Olin including the Creative Live class I attended), my Tara Swiger marketing workbook and my notebook collection I use to keep lists and get myself organized. Those pull out drawers are great for organizing the little bits and pieces for an office.
This is my main office. It’s a 10×10 room that is really designed to be the bedroom for the youngest child. But it’s all mine, and it’s a dedicated space. I’m grateful to have it!
One of the big projects I completed last year was cleaning out and organizing my garage. It was monumental. I donated and threw out so much stuff.
When you have a small space, being ruthless about what you keep and what you toss is critical.
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I have to be honest with you. I really didn’t want to show you this.
I didn’t want you to know that I do a lot of my work in the garage.
It just doesn’t sound as successful and important as the Pinterest styled rooms.
But then I thought, Steve Jobs started out in his garage.
If it's good enough for, Steve Jobs, then certainly it's good enough for me.
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So, welcome to my garage! It’s truly a lady’s garage, and I’ve made it pretty nice. I put down a carpet I had from my last (huge) house and utilized some leftover scraps from what went in my current home.
The furniture pictured was made for me by my dad. He made these pieces for me when I moved into my first apartment and had nothing. The furniture has been with me for over 25 years now.
The hutch stores my assortment of photography props….books and baskets and whatever else I take for my models to hold. It also has my small craft supplies neatly stashed in small storage containers.
My garage had a really nice workbench already in place when we bought this house. Recently, we had the electric panel upgraded and I had them add electric outlets for me in the garage. I had one installed right there on the work bench to make using the glue gun easier. Also I can plug in my craft light so I can see at night to work on projects.
Before this I had to run extension cords all over the place. Not pretty and not exactly convenient. The first thing I made with the new setup is the holly berry and antlers headpiece that I photographed in December. Yeah. I like antlers on my headpieces.
Plus, more of those plastic storage containers. I get those at Michael’s on sale. Good way to store your stuff so it stays clean. All the pictures are mine and from different trips or of models from over the years.
This portable closet is a great way to store my yarn stash. I still use plastic tubs, but this way, it’s mostly covered up. It looks neater that way. I’m determined to knit and design my way through what I already have before buying too much more.
And yes, that’s an iMac sitting next to the closet. It’s about 8 years old now, but it still works! I was able to get it on the network right away, so the internet works out there. I typically stream Creative Live while I’m working on projects out there. I like to listen to classes while I’m knitting or cleaning up. I also have a table set up, so I can work through my workbooks while I watch classes out there.
So it’s not fancy, but as you can see, you really can do a lot with a little. The best thing about the garage space is the fantastic light I get when the door is up. I also like feeling like I’m outside even though I’m still in a covered space. The weather is pretty temperate here, so I can use my garage like this most of the year. I also use it as my photo studio, and it’s where I photograph all my styled setups. But that’s a topic for a different day!
I hope it inspires you to make the most of what you have.
Where ever you are, just start there.
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Grow and build your skills and utilize the resources available to you right now.
And for heaven’s sake, stop comparing yourself to Pinterest.
If you want to learn more about the items I stash and store for my knitting work, then sign up to receive my free Knitbox Guide. I’ll show you just what you need to get started building your very own tool box for knitting. Get it? Knitbox is a Toolbox for knitters?