Alexa: Gourmet Crafter

Craftacular Organization: The Knitting Edition

January 14, 2008 at 7:37 pm (Uncategorized) (Knitting, organization)

So it’s time to get my knitting paraphernalia organized! I need to find places for all of my yarn, needles, buttons, and other accessories that look neat and tidy. This new and improved knitting corner needs to be functional and pretty since it is going in my living/dining room. I began this knitting organization last year but I feel that it has begun to unravel. It’s time to spruce up the old and bring in the new. All of my knitting stuff (books included) need to fit into one bookcase so here goes nothing.

One of my favorite new ways to organize my straight needles is in a vase. When I got married this past summer my center pieces were these funky vases with lots of eclectic flower arrangements. I like the look of the needles in the vases so I don’t mind them on the window sill in the living room. Circular needles present more of a problem as they are less pleasing to the eye. So, I decided to hide them in a basket. Seems kinda disorganized but really, it’s not like they get knotted or anything.

Since I have decided to organized my knitting stuff in a bookshelf, the books pretty much take care of themselves. The yarn, however, takes up a lot of space and I am also slightly concerned about moths (I’ve never seen one in my house, or any evidence of them but I’ve read a couple of articles and now I’m totally paranoid). I decided to put my yarn in some jars that seal to keep all the yarn for a specific project together or to group the same type of yarn together. This way the yarn doesn’t become too unwieldy or knotted together (provided you are careful when you put them in the jar unknotted).

I put all of my buttons in a smaller jar to keep with the sort of jar theme. My friend Robin and I are a sucker for a cool button. We love to check out our local button store, Button Button in Vancouver, on an increasingly regular basis (can you believe there is a store just for buttons?!). But I digress. For stitch counters, stitch markers, measuring tape, cable needles, needle gauge and other little odds and ends that are frequently required I put them in a cute little makeup bag since they need to be taken off the shelf so often.

My last touches were to put some colorful yarn in a vintage cake stand and a mug. The cake stand keeps the yarn out of harms way and also makes a nice quick and colorful center piece, should I need one at the last minute. I like the look of the chunky yarn in a little mug, it’s different and kinda cool. I can’t explain, I just like it the way it combines my love of yarn and coffee somehow!Now that my yarn is all good to go, it’s time to tackle my fabric!