My Cozy Little Hand Stitching Retreat

                

Today I choose: calm over chaos, serenity over stress, peace over perfection,
grace over grit, faith over fear. 

          

Hey there from Nannyland,

I spent this past week piecing a lovely-tho-complicated quilt top using some of my treasured emotional support fat quarters.  My discombobulated brain needs a little rest before I do all the finishing touches and get it ready to bind,  so it's folded neatly on a hanger, languishing in a closet for now.  In the meantime, I took a breather from creating my journals and cards in Nannyland, and created a cozy little retreat where I can do my hand stitching projects.  My list of necessary trappings consisted of good lighting, comfortable chair, place to store projects and a big TV screen with cable. 

I found all of these things in a cozy corner in my roomy master bedroom.  I have loved lounging in my relaxing blue fabric recliner while reading a book or magazine, so it was easy to expand its use to hand sewing.  An Ottlight floor lamp bought at 40% off from Joann Fabrics creates excellent lighting for my projects and a lap desk bought at Barnes and Noble provides a convenient work space. 

 A large screen TV already exists opposite the chair, perfect for watching my favorite YouTube quilting and sewing videos while stitching. 

Colorful sewing boxes are the best for varied projects because they have a large compartment at the bottom and removable trays at the top for smaller supplies...and they look adorable. BTW, that amazing and pristine mid-century cedar chest is a gift I received for Christmas when I was 16 years old. No, you can't buy it!  

I keep my supplies for English paper piecing in a sewing box with small narrow trays at the bottom to store my fabric covered templates.  I have a bobbin box with multiple colored threads stored there also.  On the top layer I keep my smaller supplies such as needles, glue, thread, needle threader, magnets, scissors, etc. 

A pretty hand-made basket holds my yarn, the crochet needles I am using for my project, scissors and a large plastic needle to weave threads. My collection of smaller hooks and less used supplies are in a cute smaller sewing basket. 

I've noticed that Cross stitch has regained its popularity recently, especially among quilters.  I used to love needle point and embroidery and spent many hours doing some elaborate projects like family Christmas stockings, which we still have to this day.  I'm discovering that counted cross stitch is much less complicated and just as satisfying.  I also think it must be beneficial to my aging brain, because there's a lot of math, counting and trying to keep my place on a sometimes very intricate pattern.  Calisthenics  for the brain.    

I've seen some of the most adorable project bags made by my quilty friends and they seem like a very good way to use scraps and learn to navigate sewing a zipper, but for now I'm using some mesh bags I found at Staples and they work great.  I'm storing them in a cherished hand-made basket I bought in Charleston, SC from an amazing hand weaver.   Decorative and useful is my mantra.  

On the opposite side of my master bedroom is an equally tranquil space.  When we moved from our last  home, I very reluctantly had to give my piano away for lack of space in our new home.  As promised, the first thing my husband bought me was a high tech keyboard that feels and sounds amazingly like a piano.  And I have loved that it never goes out of tune.  I have the same Ottlight floor lamp here and a shelf above with room for books and a metronome.   

I love having a choice of cozy retreats in my home where I can choose a different blissful reverie, depending on my mood.  A cozy nest is just what we all need to wrap ourselves in when the stresses of life get a little overwhelming.  I hope you have such a space. 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

I'll just be here blissfully creating until your next visit.

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

My Shiny New Craft Room - Chillin' in My Happy Place

Crafting your heart out makes room for your soul to grow. 

Hey there,

I'm beyond thrilled to finally unveil my brand spanking new craft room.  It was certainly challenging to pack up my very substantial stash  and move it across hundreds of miles to a different state.  I swear over a third of the boxes came from my craft room. But now that it's done, I'm elated to be surrounded by my familiar panoply of crafting tools and treasures in another peaceful "happy place.".  It took a little inventiveness to fit three rooms worth of paper and fabric supplies into one space the size of my previous craft room, but in the end, everything fits just fine (with a little help from a nice roomy garage). 

I'm so excited that I was able to find a place for my cute secretary cabinet that holds my desk top computer.  I like blogging on a larger computer and find it much easier than my lap top.  I also love the way my  lovely stained glass butterfly looks with the light shining through it from my window. 

My sewing area is a little shorter than before, but in this arrangement I have room to expand it when I need to.  The baskets on top of the shelves are full of ribbons..  They are lighter to take down and more manageable to access than my previous glass jars.  I can easily display my current cards on the shelves below the cabinets and the bottom shelf keeps my Nuvo Drops, Stickles and spray mists close at hand.  I chose to put my Gemini and Cricut Maker on my desk because I use them in almost every paper project I create.  

My Ikea roll out drawers fit under my desk, just as before.  My husband built some shelves in my closet where I have some more drawers with my printer and other supplies.

I hung some fun new artwork (from Home Goods) on my wall next to my favorite sign.  The shelf holds my Pink Panoply card, a picture of Doug and I in Canada on our 50th wedding anniversary, and a fancy beaded nesting doll my daughter brought me from Russia. 

Privacy is very important to the creative process. :)

                             

Yes, please be awesome every day. 

I'll be resuming my creative frenzy as soon as I remember were I have stored everything.

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and play with your toys, whatever they might me.

Nancy

Tidying Up my Craft Room - Sparking Some Joy in My Happy Place

 The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living in that environment.  

Marie Kondo

Does everything surrounding you in your craft room "spark joy"?  According to the KonMari method of "Tidying Up" that's the question we should be asking ourselves.  I got on this bandwagon recently and the results have been epic. In my modified craft room version, I gathered like items together and looked at each one to determine if I really loved (or needed) it.  The result was a car load of items carted off to Good Will.  It's so liberating to know what I have and be able to easily find it.

Now that my happy place is purged, I decided to take some pictures of my mini makeover. I haven't changed the layout much, but I have made things more efficient. This is the view of my room from outside the hallway shutters.  I love being able to open the shutters and hear what everyone (my hubby) is up to. But they are closed most of the time because I like the solitude and no one is allowed in my magic space without an invitation.  😁

I try to keep my main work area open and clear of clutter, but when I'm actually working I end up with a tiny work space about the size of a postage stamp.  I love the Tim Holtz mat because it is raised and actually helps to define my working space.  The glass surface is also good for working with different mediums.  My lap top is to the left and I can slide my chair around to use it and still have room for my gangly legs.

Copic coloring is my passion and I keep my markers close at all times. It's very convenient to roll this cart back and forth to my work area.  My colored pencils are in the cart also  because I often use them with my copics. Die cuts come in as a close second to my copic obsession, so my Gemini is on my table at the ready.   

Quilting is my other addiction and I spend a lot of time on this side of my room in my sewing area.  All my sewing supplies are in the drawers below my machine and my cherished embroidery machine is to the left. My fabric is stored in another room...or two. Those are ribbon embellishments on the shelf above.  I'll post some of my storage ideas in a future blog.

This sign says it all.    I feel so blessed to have my little creative retreat.

Most of the images I color are beautiful women.  Even when I was very young, my favorite thing to do was draw pretty ladies and color them.  When I was arranging the things that bring me joy in my craft room, I remembered these gorgeous Gene dolls I had tucked away in a chest.  I brought them out so I could admire them and dress them for every season.  They really do make me happy.  And I love my sign that tells everyone who enters my space how lovely they look.  I think it's because my happy place  makes them smile. 

Thanks for visiting,

Go forth and create something fabulous.

Nancy

My Cozy Craft Room Retreat

One of my life's greatest blessings is this little place of my own that is lovingly referred to as my "cave."   We built this room over our dining room over fifteen years ago and it's still one of my favorite places to hide. Except everyone always knows where to find me!

The red and white color scheme just sort of evolved from my red obsession. I like how bright and cheery it makes my room and the Martha Stewart-ish appearance makes my hoard look kind of  legit. I don't like a lot of clutter because it messes with my creative mojo, but I keep the things I use most at my finger tips. 

A lot of my storage comes from Ikea because it's not expensive and works great for my purposes...and it comes in red.

The pretty stained glass tulip in the window was made by a dear friend for my daughter when she was born 37 years ago.  I kept (stole) it when she left home and I love how it catches the light in this little window.

These Ikea narrow drawer units fit perfectly under my desk and make fabulous storage.

After all these years of organizing and reorganizing, I think I have some great tips on storing my stash.  I'd love to share some of these with you and I plan to do just that in future blogs.  Say tuned.

Thanks for visiting.
Go forth and be fabulous.
Nancy