Even though I am considered a “housewife”, I don’t really do much (or enough) “housekeeping”. Or cleaning. Or whatever it is you call it. But now that the holidays are fast approaching, I find myself with alot of house guests and friends coming to stay with us. We are booked every weekend! Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love hosting and having people over (and cooking for everyone!), but it IS a swift kick in the pants to get the house somewhat presentable and “clean” (see how I put that word in quotations?). =)

I’ve been dreading cleaning the craft room for a year. The closest picture I have to a “before” shot would be this one (while viewing it, imagine the mess to be 3 times worse, and that you can’t even see the floor).

Now here are the “after” shots! (Click on each of the photos, and you’ll be directed to the same Flickr photo where you can mouse-over and see all the tags I made for where everything is organized in its place.)

Doesn’t that give you an “ahhhhhh” feeling of satisfaction in your soul? When things are set in their proper place, I have to admit, there is some psychological comfort there (at least for me). Especially when the cleaning/organizing process took nearly two full days!!

And so, while I was cleaning/organizing, I found 7-8 other WIPs I had completely forgotten about. A few of them were socks. Which is sad, because I suppose I can never finish the second sock because I had no idea what I did with the first, and left no notes, or any indication on where I left off last. So I ripped out a couple of them. That was sad at flrst (the letting go part), but then relieving (relief that I have less projects on my “to-do” list to finish). And then I found this little fun thing I made a year ago:

Coasters!! I must have been trying to use up all my leftover Rowan Cotton Glace. 

What a treat, to find a fun thing amidst the yucky mess. =)

What I’ve been up to:

Pattern: Adult Mary Jane “Skimmers”, by Sylvia Schuchardt
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease, various colors
Hook: 5.5 mm (I)

I made a couple more than the ones posted above; they were fast, and they were fun. But it was even more fun to watch my friends’ faces as they excitedly tried on their new MJs. They make great house slippers or anytime you want to keep your feet warm and comfy. And best of all, they are machine washable! The pattern comes in various sizes, and are pretty true to size. My first one, though, was a bit messed up because I didn’t read the directions correctly; for the body of the shoe – I doubled the yarn when I shouldn’t have. If you don’t make stupid mistakes like that, you should come out with exactly what the pattern says it ought to be – a great pair of Mary Janes! =)

*Last picture courtesy of Christy & Marin – Thanks Christy for the camera pic, and thanks Marin for being a lovely foot/leg model! =)

My brain is all over the place. My house is in complete disarray as well (often times, they go hand in hand for me). Now that weddings and showers are no longer on my calendar this summer, I’m determined to clean up. Laundry, clutter, sanity, etc.

I feel all over the place with my crafts too. It’s like my brain is going to explode. There are only 24 hours in a day, and I don’t have enough internal capacity to pursue all the interesting things out there! I have just recently signed up for a photography class this fall. I’m combining my wirework interests with newfound interests in metalwork (see my new favorite toy below). Firing up this baby is SO MUCH FUN. I never knew there was an inner pyro in me. After my first torch class, I want to fire up EVERYTHING!

I’ve also been playing around with jewelry. It’s been a year since I’ve been addicted, and the beading obsession is still growing strong. Here’s a little peek:

Lastly, how could I not mention any fiber crafts? After all those squeal-licious booties, I got to doing an adult-sized version (yes, there’s a pattern for this too).

The stupid thing is, I wasn’t paying attention to the pattern, and I made it slightly too big for my own foot (I crocheted with a double strand of yarn rather than a single strand). I wear a size 8.5, and I think this will fit a 9 or 10. I’ll be throwing this in the washer and dryer to block it anyways (I’m using Cotton Ease) so we’ll see how it turns out and whether it changes the fit or not.

Ok, off to cleaning the kitchen and doing laundry! Whoopee! (Can you hear the sarcasm through your computer screen?)