MAGPIE'S MUMBLINGS

A blog about my interests, which include fabric landscapes and various and assorted other artsy pursuits and sometimes known to contain mumblings of a random nature.

Monday, November 11, 2024

Well, who knew?

 After spending the better part of nearly two days scouring the internet for a Canadian source for the  requested-themes for flannel PJ makings I think I've finally done it.  Who knew that finding Spiderman flannel would be so danged hard?!!  The other requests  for something Harry Potter, something with outer space or wolves, and rainbows weren't too difficult to source.  Of course the entire process was complicated by also wanting to find plain ol' cotton in the requested themes for making pillowcases.  Now I await the pleasure of the mail system and keep my fingers crossed we won't have the looming postal strike to deal with.  Serves me right for not getting on this sooner!  Once the fodder arrives I'll be firing up the sewing machine.

In the meantime - the downsizing continues and next 'up' on my dance card is my landscape fabrics that are currently overflowing the storage system I have.   DONE!!! 


Speaking of which...I'm a huge fan of Dana White who advocates choosing an appropriate container to hold specific items and once the container is full, you can't have any more of whatever 'it' is unless you get rid of something.  The container can be anything from a shoebox to a drawer (or whatever size you decide upon).  If you're interested in learning more about her, check out her web site HERE.  I follow her blog and have read her 'Decluttering At the Speed of Life' book (excellent!).  I've read a ton of organization books and that one is the best I've found.

- All of this downsizing and organizing led me to read THIS article with interest.  The main thing I took away was from the very first picture in the article - I was searching for some sort of 'system' to store my spools of Sulky Petites threads and had a 'duh' moment when I saw those jars!

- Have a look at the creations of THIS incredible artist!

- Sometimes the simplest things are the best as THIS will attest

- THIS caught my eye - would you believe the base is a hula hoop?  If you scroll down you can see some other fun ideas.

Today the quote is from Pablo Casals...."It takes courage for people to listen to their own goodness and act on it"  



19 comments:

  1. Those organizing ideas are great. I like the ones which organize but keep in sight, so the artist is reminded of their possibilities. That's a great twofer. You're facing another postal strike???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I use glass jars to organize my button collection (which is something else I really need to downsize but not right now).
      Yes...they're threatening another strike. Hopefully saner heads will prevail but in these times who knows.

      Delete
  2. It is becoming more and more obvious to me that my handworking days are coming to an end. ;((((
    My hands just won't allow it. That and rotary work of any kind...And here I have a room full of all that stuff..
    .I am going to have a real, big time purge after the holidays...your post gave me some really good links to research how best to do this...thanks hugs, Julierose

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I live in constant fear that my hands are going to tell me the same thing. Applications of Absorbine Senior (NOT Junior!) and occasionally taking Advil For Arthritis seem to help so I'll keep on keeping on for as long as I'm allowed.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous10:05 AM

    Hello MaryAnn: The pjs sound like a sweet idea, especially in the patterns they all want, did you find the spiderman fabric? I know some designs are easy and some not so.
    Please let me know if you found the spiderman fabric, we have a discount house here that sell all kinds of fabric with logos on them, I can send a photo when I go to the warehouse if you like, thank-you for the great links, I looked at the Christmas section of the one site so many great ideas.
    Have an amazing day.

    Catherine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the kind offer Catherine - I truly appreciate it. I did manage to find a Canadian source for some Spiderman flannel but it was for the 'kiddy version' of SM - hopefully it will do. It was far easier to find cotton to make his pillowcase. Luckily the requests from the other three grandies were easy to fulfill.

      Delete
  4. Congratulations for getting TWO things checked off your To-Do list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The only problem with marking thinks off the to-do list is the fact that I check two things off and add three more.

      Delete
  5. I am making headway in using up fabric in my stash. I am slowly but surely whittling it down. Now if I could just say the same thing about my yarn stash, though it is getting slowly used up.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One thing about using up and not buying new is being forced to be creative with what you already have. The only things I buy now are fabrics to make things for my grandies and perhaps a bit of yarn for the same purpose.

      Delete
  6. When you said Dana White I thought you were talking about the MMA guy! LOL! But I follow that container advice with my clothes. One new thing coming in means one old thing goes out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've done that process with clothing for quite awhile but somehow the rest of the apartment had gotten a little out of hand. Oddly enough, now that we're done we look around and nothing looks any different. Behind the closed doors and in the drawers is a different story though.

      Delete
  7. Dana White's container concept has transformed how I think about what I keep. I still have too much stuff, but when I sort, I come back to her ideas every time.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I totally get all the tips, tricks, and hacks for decluttering but sometimes the rut I'm in is more comfortable than digging out . . . as I observe the accumulation around me..........Meanwhile, you find the coolest artwork sites. That idea for the copper ornaments is -- wow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're comfortable in that rut aren't we! Believe me, we wouldn't have gone through all this if it hadn't more or less been forced on us.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous1:00 PM

    Sherry of createology: Congratulations on completing your purging! Thank you for the Dana White link as I think I can learn some things. I have always been guilty of cramming 10 pounds into a five pound bag. Hubby hates it and I ambeginnning to not like it either. I want easy access and a minimum of STUFF! Very cold here today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dana's container suggestion is rather brilliant and really so easy to maintain once you downsize enough. Love her!

      Delete

Thank you so much for leaving comments! I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy life to talk to me. It's wonderful to know that someone is actually reading my mumblings and even more fun if I can connect with you and visit your blog.