clean desk

this is my old desk. my used-to-be, very messy creative space. it was not very conducive to creativity as you can imagine. my master's degree has really taken a toll on my cleanliness (much to my husbands chagrin plus i was not the tidiest of people to begin with...). as i look at these photos i feel like one of the people on the british show how clean is your house. i watch and i wonder how people can let their house get so out of control messy. well now i know. firsthand.

here is my desk now:

beautiful, huh? i have already sewn a few things and kept it clean. i tried to label everything so that every 'thing' has a place. (i was very inspired by the office of my friends kelly + jen).

i feel so lucky to have a sewing space that can be a permanent space (in our old apartments i always took over the dining room table and had to pack up everything after a project was complete or when we wanted to eat dinner, ugh) so i am determined to keep it tidy. maybe i will try to post a monthly picture here so that i am accountable to you for keeping it straighted up. maybe that is too much commitment. i do believe that creativity leads to a messy desk, but also creating needs space, clean organized space. okay, i will keep it clean. at least for today.

and the winner is...

sorry this took so long...

the winner of the 'make it yourself'' book is...dadadadadadada...(that's a drum roll)... jessica. congratulations jess! i am looking forward to seeing the macrame bag that you make!

make it yourself and a give-away

i first saw this set of books here and i was instantly smitten. i found the entire set on ebay for $4.99. these books are dated, but filled with how-to's for everything that involves fabric, yarn, embroidery, beads, rug making, and other assorted crafts.

i am in the middle of deciding what to make first. with 20 volumes i have been doing a lot of perusing and page flipping.

this is volume 2 and it can be yours. post a comment to this post between now and friday may 16th and i will randomly pick a winner.

it includes directions for making this "gay bedcover" (i am in love with that cradle bed!) and house slippers you can knit for the man of the house. awesome. happy commenting!

on a different note, i got a postcard today from a friend that sends lots of postcards. it was hilarious and made me laugh just when i needed a laugh. i love postcards. there is something about them that email could never replace. i love that they only have a bit of space to write so one has to carefully think about which details to include and which to leave out. don't get me wrong... i love technology, but there is something special about a postcard.

mother's day

i woke up this morning (after sleeping in until 8:15! which was my one mother's day request) and found homemade waffles, strawberries, some delicious chocolates, a sweet note and a share in a local csa. sam and i have been talking about do this for awhile and i am super excited to get my first box! it was a perfect mother's day surprise.

later on calvin and i planted some sunflowers that will hopefully bloom in august. they are the super giant kind of sunflowers which will be fun to watch grow. hopefully they will grow. i never have confidence in these types of things. if nothing happens at least calvin very much enjoyed playing in the dirt.

this is a picture of my mother, my sister and me. maybe on christmas. she was so young when she had us, i have no idea how she did it. being a mom is one of the most wonderful and rewarding jobs, but it is also tiring and never-ending. it must have been so tough doing it on her own. i admire her strength. we are far apart this year but thinking of each other. i am looking forward to june when she visits with my sister and nephew. woo hoo! happy mother's day mom!