Yes, I know Tuesday is supposed to be New Beastie Day. But I thought it might be fun to mix things up a little… Plus I just spent a sizeable chunk of last week moving all my crafting goodies in here:
Behold, the Beastie Towers CCC (Crafting Command Centre)! Everything is so tidy and organised – probably for the first time since about 2013, when I was working entirely out of that clear plastic tub in the bottom left of the photo! And it wasn’t long before the Beasties came over to have a poke around…
…It looks like they’ve given it their seal of approval, anyway!
Although I can’t help but feel that there has to be an easier way for them to check the calendar…
All this extra space means that my sewing machine has finally been liberated from storage! Check it out – it’s a Singer one from the late 1960s. Can you believe someone was going to throw this away?
It’s been a while, so I’ve had to spend a bit of time this week reminding myself how to use it! Well, once Explorer Beastie had checked it over for me, of course.
And now that my various boxes, tins and bags have a home in the CCC, it frees up my crafting table for stuff like this:
As it happens, I’ve been doing a lot of sketching lately. For every commission, I sketch out my ideas first so people know what their Beastie will look like before I reach for my knitting needles. Here’s my latest project, which entered the Design Phase last week…
I also got around to tackling Tammie Painter’s second Sketchbook Saturday prompt! The theme last week was “Home”, so I used some old photos and a liberal dose of imagination to do some sketches of my childhood home. I did get a bit carried away with it… but since it was either that or back up my list of Beastie ID numbers, you can probably understand why.
Oh, and while we’re poking around in the library – let’s take a peek inside those notebooks again, shall we?
I always have a knitting notebook on the go. I use them to record which yarns I’ve used for projects…
…Essential knitting know-how…
… Less essential non-knitting notes…
…Ideas and designs…
…And complete, total, unapologetic failures.
I really enjoyed looking back through my old notebooks – hopefully you did too! And if any of you keep notebooks or journals of your craft, art or interests, tell me all about it in the comments!
We’ll be back on Friday with more from Paddy and Plunkett… See you then!
I am sooo impressed with how organized your notebooks are! CCC looks great! Well done
Thank you! Although I should probably mention that Boyfriend did all the furniture assembly with no complaint and the bare minimum of cuss words… If it had been up to me, the stuff would probably still be in its packaging 😆 Thanks for your comment!
Wait a sec, excuse me? Did I see a Beastie rappelling? What is going on over there?
Well, they have to check the calendar somehow… How else will they know what Beastie shenanigans are on the cards? Don’t worry, Explorer Beastie considered all the angles and decided it was easier to abseil down than climb up.
The shenanigans are too cute for words. Good luck for Wednesday, Team Beastie!!!
Thank you 😀 I’m hoping for a quiet day of knitting, but anything can happen when there are Beasties about! Enjoy your Wednesday!
Your notebooks and journals look fascinating. Well done for organising everything so well, it must have been quite a job!
Thank you! Yes, it took waaaay longer than I expected… And you should have seen the chaos I created while trying to establish order! 😆 But I love how easy it is to find everything now!
Fantastic notebooks!
Thank you! I enjoyed looking back through them myself 😀
I had a knit journal once…I managed to put one entry in it. Okay, more like half an entry. Okay, shut up, I got out a notebook and wrote “Knit Journal” on the front and haven’t touched it since. Absolutely love the peek inside your sketch books (excellent job on the home prompt!). Also, if the Beasties have to keep checking the calendar, I think you’re going to have to design some rock climbing gear. Safety first, and all that!
You might be right there… The good news is that I made a Climber Beastie last year, so I can just look out the patterns I did up for his gear. Then again, trying to stop Explorer Beastie doing crazy dangerous things is… Uh… Something of a challenge. As for my knitting journals, normally mine would have gone the same way as yours! But when I started back into knitting about 8-9 years ago, I made up a lot of my projects as I went along, so I needed to keep track of what I’d done. Et voilà, knit journals were born! Oh, and thanks for noticing my sketch! It was a fun prompt 😀
I enjoyed getting a sneaky peak in the Beastie Towers HQ, and your notebooks too, they are just fabulous! I need to get better at keeping journals and sketches, most of mine are done on random bits of paper which then get forgotten about or thrown away. Ok, I’m going to do it, I’m going to start a proper sketchbook! 🙂
PS. I love your shopping list – butter, eggs, gin. That sounds like my kinda list, haha!
Thanks! I started my knitting notebooks because I was doing the same thing as you… It’s amazing how much easier everything becomes when you can look up old projects without having to dive into the recycling bin 😀 As for that shopping list, it always makes me laugh when I rediscover it!
I really enjoyed having this peek into your notebooks. Your beastie sketchbook is a work of art in and of itself. Completely wonderful. I am impressed with how organised and methodical you are in your approach to being an artisan. I keep notebooks for lists and things. I have one by my bedside for when I have brain waves in the middle of the night so that I can get the thoughts out and then hopefully get back to sleep. I also keep an art journal for short bursts of creativity and experimentation. I always used to keep a sketchbook for my art but time pressures mean that has fallen by the wayside and I now find I enjoy the spontaneity of translating my thoughts directly onto the paper with no sketchbook middle man. Now I only use my sketchbook for when I am working on a commission.
Thanks for your comment! (Especially the bit where you say I’m organised and methodical… I reckon that will last until my next deadline, and then it’ll be Bedlam in here again 😆) I’m always interested to hear how other people use their notebooks and sketchbooks… And how that can change over time. With 4 kids at home, I’m not surprised you had to let some things go! Cheers for sharing this little insight into how you work 😀
WO CCC looks very good and well stocked up 🙂 I love your knitting notebooks… do you put swatches in them too??
Why thank you! And yes, I do… Also the yarn label, if I finish the ball, and a note of the colour and dyelot if I don’t. It’s really handy if I need to repair something, because I know what I need to go hunting for in my stash!
I have recently started to swatch first instead of just diving in head first… And I can’t just store my swatches… I just want to sew them together and make a blanket with them, or a pillow case … I know it makes sense to just put them with my notes and keep them there, but it feels like a waste… 😦 maybe I should make two swatches every time, one for the book and one for the big blanket idea… I’d like to know what are the Beasties thoughts on swatching…
Beastie confession #1 – we don’t do swatches! I don’t know whether it’s my poor arithmetic skills, or maybe I get “stage fright” and knit swatches with a different tension to my regular knitting, but they in no way help me to plan my projects. When I started knitting again a few years ago, I tried. I really did. But it seemed like I was wasting my time! On the rare occasions when I DO do a swatch though, I don’t snip the yarn after I cast off. I count up the stitches, measure the size, write it all down and then unravel the swatch. Then I make a start on the project. Taaa-daaah! No wasted yarn or swatch storage problems! Then again, I do like your blanket idea… It would be a fun reminder of old projects 😀
I have only started swatching recently because I thought that I would be a better knitter for it… But then… I don’t know… I’m always good with gauge… And then I have this cute little woolly square that is calling my name, looking at me in the eyes with her cute little eyes… And I keep her and then… Then what? A blanket, a pillow case…. ….???
Awww, now I feel mean for destroying my swatches and making them part of my knitting! I like the idea of a pillow… It’ll look cool if all your squares are slightly different sizes and textures 😀
True… But the colours have to work though… Imagine if you like one side of the pillow and not the other? So you ll have to be careful when you arrange the squares… Drink wine when you do it.
Wise words indeed 😀 🍷I imagine it would look kind of like a game of Tetris when it’s done… Because surely all the squares will be different sizes? Only one way to find out, I suppose… I think you’d better get knitting 😀
I know… I have tried to count how many projects I currently have on the go… I think it s around 10ish or something … I once swore I would be a one project at a time kind of knitter… Well that one is out of the window… 😦
I think we all have that problem! I know for a fact that I have a mostly-made bag and pencil case among my projects somewhere… Started 2008, finished – um – sometime never 😆
I do really admire your organisation skills 🙂
Hahaha! You’re the second person to say how organised I am… I’m stunned, I think I’ll print these comments off and frame them!
Having such a well organised space for your projects is very tidy of you 🙂 time organisation is a different matter… For me, procrastination is a part of the creative process… And creativity emerges from confusion and chaos. So even when I’m organised, it has to fall apart and explode and be a mess. 😀 that s my excuse for making a mess anyway 😉
Oh yeah, THAT sounds familiar! I procrastinate about everything – getting up, going to bed, getting started, finishing things, going to work! I’m glad I’m not the only one 😀 I’m also interested to see how the tidiness and organisation holds up next time I have a looming deadline… That’s when the mess really takes hold!
I like what you have done with the sketching prompt. Lovely sketch ! This event is quite fun ! I am glad to be a part of this event too 🙂
Thank you! Tammie’s had some great ideas for prompts so far… I just wish I’d had more time this week to sketch! I really liked your idea for “Anomaly”, by the way 😀
I would really love to see your sketch for the same prompt by the way. Please.. Please do it if you have a little time free ! 🙂
I’m hoping I might get around to it this week… Last week ended up being surprisingly busy! Maybe I might be able to do a two-for-one sketching day and combine it with this week’s prompt…😀
Waiting to see and comment ! Do pingback 🙂
Love your little beasties! Scary but CUTE all in the right ways! X) ⚡
Heehee, thank you! I’ve always been a big fan of the creepily cute 😀 Thanks for your comment!