Taking stock or stocktaking?

I had been thinking over our family holiday that I have not got as much time as I used to have when I did snippets of work and mostly stayed at home with afternoon-napping-children. I have made the transition to working four days (some of them longer than others) and I have come to terms with what I can and can't do in the hours of the day. It takes time to work this sort of stuff out. So I had a stock take on Monday after I had taken stock, as it were. It was so liberating.

My next door neighbour is having a new kitchen and I commandeered one of her old kitchen cabinets before it went in the skip. I said to myself 'if it can't fit in this cabinet then I can't have it.' because there is not enough time to let craft stuff just fester around the house that I can't use but keep having to tidy away. It is not good for my mind, it gives me heavy thoughts.

The joy this cupboard gave me on Monday can not be explained in bloggy words. It is perfect and I thank my marvellous man for screwing it to the wall knowing it would be happily filled the next day.

So this is it folks, this is the limit of what my head can deal with - a sort of peek inside my brain if you like.

On top: one CD box size of crochet thread and the same is teeny patchwork fabric pieces, a sort of memory collection I've made over time. Next to it, my vintage pattern collection. 

Middle shelf: Hugely pared down dress fabrics that I would actually wear, Kilner jars with the usual buttons, zips, elastic, threads and jeans gubbings.

Bottom shelf: Patterns sorted into crochet, sewing, knitting and machine manuals alongside my craft book collection (which was bigger than I thought when it was all in one place)

From top to bottom, right to left:

Top shelf: A sewing box, Silk dupion fabric bagged up with a cocktail dress pattern ready for a party invitation - not received one yet! Lining fabric, then craft fabric. (fabric for bags, felt and hessian, that type of thing) 

Middle shelf: My very pared down knitting yarn including donated boodles, donated Sirdar snuggly 4ply, Navy DK cotton, Brown Rico cotton, sponsored King Cole aran, Sirdar man yarn and chunky merino. Four of those sets are already WIPS.

On the bottom all boxed: interfacing, yarny equipment, embroidery threads, parred down patchwork box, donated tapestry wool, felt bits for toys eyes.

I rifled through my scrapbook paper. Don't judge me, papercraft all lives in the office and found these:

Great for labelling up the boxes, files and jars.

I am really happy with what I have chosen to keep. There is now room on shelves in the office, there is room on our bookshelves downstairs, the living room is devoid of crafty piled up corners. All the little boxes, pots and baskets from all over the house have been divvied up into the jars - I am totally thrilled and secretly everyone else in this house is very happy too.

My first project in the spare room wall of magic is drumroll please... a summer dress with huge pockets and currently a bust that is in a different place to mine!

Thanks for indulging in my stash with me, I realise I am a very lucky person. Jo xx