The High-Five Corner

[Anonymous]

Well, my high five moment is creating a blog aimed at reducing the clutter in my sewing room. And I managed to problem solve how to put photos into it!! I figure that if I blog about my sewing, then I might actually complete more of it…..that is, if I don’t spend so much time writing the blog that I run out of time to actually get down and sew something 🙄

Anyway, here ’tis, for those who are interested….

http://scatterkat.wordpress.com/

For now, It’s just a bit of background, but I plan to blog about my projects, including some “how to” posts.

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[Carrie]

Oh my goodness krazykat! You are amazing at sewing!! I cant even sew a basic… line with a needle and thread! My husband knows how to sew. I have saved some fabric I love from some old clothes and wanted to make a messenger bag! Do you know how to do that?? Have any thoughts for an absolute beginner? hahahaha

Well, last week I reorganized my room, closet, dresser and on top of my dresser. Put things I always get distracted with – old things Ive had forever – into a pile that I would reward myself taking my time to look through! hahaha Made a pile of garbage, garage sale stuff, and a few keepsakes! Went very well!

This week I organized the spare room that I took over as an office, which I just piled my stuff in! Once again, had a pile to look through and reminisce, garage sale, garbage, and keepsakes. I found 2 old journals of mine. One from when I was a teen, and one from 6 years ago! Wow! So much can happen in such a short time! I was about to throw them out, but then I decided to keep them to look back on and see who I once was, and who I am now and how my life changes. A little time lapse of my life I guess. I finally figured out what to do with the huge $80 canvas I bought 7 years ago to paint on… Im going to do a family portrait, caricature style! A made a list of things I want to do with my little art collection (clay, oil paints, hemp and beads). After that I organized my entire basement!

I saw the show Hoarders for the first time a couple days ago, and I think my husband is one! The only reason my house isnt quite as cluttered or upside down as theirs, because I HATE CLUTTER AND THROW EVERYTHING IN THE GARBAGE and he knows that, so he keeps it from me. But literally! He has a huge garage full of crap, a shed, under our deck, the other spare room, the old furnace room, and the wood stove room ALL FULL OF JUNK THAT HE MAY BE ABLE TO USE ONE DAY!! YEAH RIGHT! HES HAD IT SINCE BEFORE WE WERE TOGETHER 7 YES SEVEN!!!!! Years ago!! But now with my organizing everything and telling him we are moving in a year and he wont have room for his stuff, hes getting rid of it. That crap bugs me to NO END! CAN YOU TELL?? So recently I have told him to do his own laundry because the bulk of it is his and he wont let me get rid of it. So last night FINALLY he understood why as he was doing his own laundry.. “Oh I guess I wouldnt have to do so much laundry if I didnt have so much!” he had clothing from when he was 7 years old!!! Almost 20years ago!! Full of holes and stained! *sigh* But he now realizes it, and is getting rid of it! He still wont let me just haul it all to the dump… I told him it would save him the hassle hahahahaha (ok rant over!)

I must say I am feeling pretty good about getting all my things in order. Its quite awesome! Im even balancing all my time! Im getting things done, taking time for myself, taking up old interests and hobbies… I like it! Now I just need to conquer the whole “feeling so out of place with others” I just cant seem to connect with anyone. Yeah I get along with everyone, but I still feel quite alone and left out at work, kids school… meh. May be better off alone anyways with my family! Friends are too much work anyways hahahahaha

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[Anonymous]

wow, KK!

(may I call you KK?)

your work is incredible! where on earth did you learn to sew so well??

my boyfriend got me a sewing machine for my birthday, but, I don’t really know much about how to use it.

also, I want a blog! are you able to retain the publishing rights to your posts?

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[quizzical]

High five for organizing and clutter-busting! It’s my perpetual project

Carrie, it’s so funny you mentioned the Hoarders show since I just saw it for the first time a couple of months ago. My husband and I both tend to hang on to things, but of course my treasure is his junk and vice versa. What I found amazing/scary was that the folks were living in clutter situations thousands of times worse than my own, and yet they said the SAME kind of things I say when I’m trying to go through the piles: “Oh, that’s still good,” or “the ever-popular “that might come in handy some day.”

Definitely a cautionary tale, that show! And while I haven’t made what could be called major purges as a result, my grip on the everyday items has loosened; I’m throwing away more things, and taking time to congratulate myself when I do! For instance, this morning I tossed a shoebox’s worth of old lotions and potions; there was a bottle of cold cream so old the BOTTLE had yellowed; Lord knows how the cream inside must have looked (luckily the bottle was opaque, so we’ll never know).

Off to peek at KrazyKat’s blog now….

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[Anonymous]

Carrie, What’s a messenger bag? I’d probably have some idea of how to make one if I knew what on earth it looked like lol 😉

LSA, I learnt to sew as I grew up. Mum taught me some basics, and they were refined by my Nana (a seamstress) and a close friend. Books have helped too. And experience has been the biggest teacher of all. Just having a go is the best way to learn almost anything. And I have also learnt not to be so critical of my own work – I have discovered that my mistakes are the most obvious to me because I know they’re there, but other people never notice them unless I point them out. I realised how critical I was of myself when I was watching somebody and admiring their outfit, only to realise the outfit was my creation!! I suddenly thought “damn, I can sew much better than I thought I could”!!

As to the publishing rights to a blog….I don’t know. I am sure it’s somewhere in the fine print.

Crap!! Gotta fly. I need to pick up my daughter from school…….

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[Carrie]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messenger_bag

http://www.bagbliss.com/designer/other-designer-purse/vaja-messenger-bags-geek-chic/

Some examples! Its my next project I want to work on! Ive made a bunch of hemp necklaces for people, and made my self a hemp ID holder for my ID and swipe card at work! Just need a custom bag with all the right pockets for what I need! hahaha

My high-five today is calling and making an appointment to get winter tires put on… I dont know if it would qualify as a high five because I waited until it snowed and then I was sliding all over the road with my summer tires… took me an hour to get to work when normally it takes me 35mins! sheesh! Well I guess to be fair with myself, I didnt have the money until now! hahaha

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[Anonymous]

Ah, a satchel….now I know what you mean. I probably have a pattern for one somewhere…..in my book of bag patterns that I cannot understand because there are not enough pictures and too many complex instructions 😯 I’d love to make a backpack or satchel one day. I just never seem to find the time for the complex things (the stuff that’s both new/unfamiliar to me, and difficult or time consuming to make).

My high five was to make good use of my time at our costume hall today. The whole place is a mess, and needs a good sorting out and clean out, which a friend and I are attempting to do (we are the current heads of the wardrobe department for one of the scout shows in our city, so the mess is our responsibility for now). When we go to the hall, I often find myself fluffing around doing nothing much for a good chunk of the time, but today I feel like I accomplished a great deal while I was there. I folded and sorted the cupboards full of pants and shorts, and matched some pants up with their suit jackets while I was at it (as they had become separated over the years). It was a relief to finally feel like I have contributed something to the tidy up effort!!

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[quizzical]

Holiday High Fives!

Yesterday I sat down and typed up the Thanksgiving dinner menu and grocery shopping list while the details were fresh in my mind, and then I put a reminder note on the calendar for November 2012 with details about where the computer files are.

Today I seized a warm-day opportunity to put the lights up on our two holly bushes, even though I don’t plan to light the lights yet (too early for me). Usually this task is a major hassle, as I would put it off until it got crazy-cold, and end up standing on a tall stepladder in a howling wind, attempting to fling the light strands over the top branches with the brush end of a broom. Awkward and dangerous, especially since the ladder wasn’t always on level ground!

But this year I had a literal “light bulb” moment: I remembered we had a lightbulb-changer pole that extends to some ridiculously long length. I bent a wire coat hanger over the bulb-changing end to make a large hook and, Merry Christmas! The lights went up easily and without risk of personal injury! Best of all, I could place the strands exactly how I wanted them! I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner, but I’m so glad I thought of it at all!

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[Carrie]

HELLO OUT THERE!! ANYBODY IN HERE

Ive been in a bit of a slump again! *le sigh* BUT BUT BUT!!! KRAZY KAT!! IVE BEEN WORKING ON MY MESSENGER BAG!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! YOU SHOULD SEE IT!!!! ITS SOOOOOOOOOO AMAZING!! Honestly, the first thing ive made in my life I am truly proud of. I do a lot of different art forms from animation, to painting, drawing, sculpting, beadwork etc etc but NOTHING I am truly satisfied with being a perfectionist…. But this bag, is soooooooooo far from perfect! Its crooked, uneven… all over the map.. But I LOVE IT!! I call it my adventure bag!! I have been taking my time, not rushing to get it done like with everything else. When I get frustrated I walk away and leave it until another day. For that I am very proud too! I have learned a lot about life while making this bag, and how its okay that its not perfect! My oh my!! I will take A MILLION photos to show you!! Every pocket is a different adventure!! I LOVE DETAILS so there are A LOT of them!! IM SO STOKED!! AND ITS ALMOST FINISHED! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! WOOO WOOOOO kasj dlkasjhd lakjs hdlakjshd laksdh alhdalksjdhaslkd theres my brain excitement overload hahahahahahaha Im excited CAN YOU TELL???

Anyways… besides that… I FINALLY got my dishes done. At times it seems like such a big mountain, and it only takes like 10mins the most hahaha goodness. Also got my whole house cleaned in about an hour. After I broke a needle on the sewing machine and didnt know how to put a new one on and had a rage fit hahahaha I rushed to get the house done before the kids got home. I havent rushed like that in AGES felt good! Felt REAL good! I miss rushing around before deadlines. It is a good rush…

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[Anonymous]

high five carrie! can you come over and do my house? 😉

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[Anonymous]

Wow!! Congratulations Carrie! My week has been spent making my daughter a dress for her primary school graduation ceremony. Had a few hiccups, but we got there in the end. I am now onto a quilt, but that will take me a lot longer to finish.

We have been rearranging the house, so I ended up filling a heap of my days off with painting (gee, thanks hubby!), and furniture moving. Ugh!! It’s been good all round though. I have a bigger room for my sewing, though I have lost the good lighting my old room had, and I now have to move shelving. I am waiting to see how things go before I go that far though, as my daughter has the smaller room now, and is not sure if she likes it or not yet (even though she has been asking for it for ages now). It was a big job, and I seemed to get stuck with the crappy parts – once hubby had his bit sorted, then all he did was rearrange his things and buy new stuff, but I moved the kids’ things around as well as my own. Typical. My sewing stuff is still in upheaval, as I am waiting to see if my daughter wants to change back to her old room. Oh well, time will tell…..

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[Anonymous]

Krazy, my husband is investigating the new lighting that’s out called OTT (full spectrum sunligh) – he’s getting back to painting and wants to be able to work in artificial light. So it’s something you might want to look into, either replacing bulbs you have, or adding new lighting units or lamps.

This is a link that talks a bit more about it http://www.ottlite.com/t-full-spectrum-lighting.aspx

We saw some OTT products at our local Canadian Tire store and Costco.

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[Anonymous]

I got a new job after being unemployed for about 6 months. I am a social worker/county case manager for a small county in AZ. I am excited but nervous about starting it related to my add and anxiety. I am sure I will do great.

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[Anonymous]

Congratulations! A new job is nearly always something to celebrate. Best of luck.

Carrie, I had a decent light globe in my room for ages, which was suggested by a photographer who needed to ensure colours matched (which the standard yellowish light bulb will distort). It was great when it was dark/dim outside, but I haven’t got around to getting another one. The lighting in the new room isn’t really bad anyway, just not as good as the old room.

My current high five moment……I had planned to make a bag for each of my two co-workers, just as a small thank you, as they each do things for me (bring baked goods to munch on while at work, listen to me tell my woes, share their DVDs with me, and all sorts of other things) and I wanted to return the favour somehow. Well, I actually finished one in time to give it as a Christmas present. And not only that, I made it using quilting blocks for each square, instead of just cutting squares from fabric – for those who don’t “get it”, it means I made each square of the bag from lots of bits of fabric that I sewed together to make a pattern. It made for a very special bag, and also meant I could use up my scraps of fabric instead of buying some. The second one is underway, but it doesn’t have to be finished as fast, as my other co-worker is on holidays for a few more weeks. I am feeling really pleased with myself over it all (I will just try and forget that I am supposed to be fixing a tile in the bathroom, instead of sewing!!).

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[Scattybird]

Hey Annie – congratulations. Fantastic news to start off the New Year.

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[Author]

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