Yarn Tip 1
As I am purchasing yarn for amigurumi, I need a way to store it, use it, and keep it clean. I came up with this idea yesterday morning, but I’m sure I’m not the first person to ever think of it. This is a gallon ZipLoc bag, which fits the yarn nicely. I cut off one of the bottom corners, and thread the working yarn through the hole. Then I sealed it.
The wall of drawers is completed! I’m quite happy with the results. Before, all of the fabric was living in stacked bins on the floor. So every time I wanted a piece, I would have to unstack them and dig through the layers to find what I wanted. Now, all I have to do is pull open the drawer for the color I want! In each drawer, the fabric is folded and set on edge, so it’s like looking through a lateral file.
Even a snail gets to where it’s going eventually! All the drawer units are built and put into place. They’ve been cleaned, and there’s now room on the table to lay out the fabric so it can be organized and put into the drawers. Guess what I’ll be doing all day!
Progress. Two more to go.
Studio 1 was set up as a classroom… until the pandemic. Now, I am sewing and I need it set up differently to accommodate what I am currently doing. We did some work on it a while back, and rearranged the parts that I had. But I needed a way to store fabric. I did get it sorted out by color, but I ended up putting in in a variety of containers and stacked them up against the back wall.
Further Progress
A couple of weeks or so ago, there was a post about rearranging Studio One so that it would work better for wet media and teaching. I ordered some new storage from Ikea, which arrive on Friday. In this picture, you can see the Alex units all put together, and in place under the countertop. (Except one drawer bottom was missing, which I will deal with today.) I also now have the center tables set up for classes!
Bless the Mess!
Oh my! Studio One is somewhere under all this mess… I think! I am taking advantage of the 3-day weekend to reorganize the big studio. Since I’ve been working in the smaller studio/office since the beginning of the year, things have gotten out of control. I want to work on some larger paintings. It’s better to do wet media in the larger studio where there is a sink. So I want to set up all wet media in the big studio and dry media/paper projects in the smaller, office one.
No matter which tangle you choose, there are usually many different ways to draw it. Take Hollibaugh, for example. I’ve used curved, filled, flared, “holyhollibaugh”, coffered, wrapped, auraed, woven, swerved and mummy versions, to name a few. So I thought it might be good to have a way to keep track of these versions all in one place. That way, I would have a reference of styles to choose from.
I figured out, right away, when I first started drawing Zentangles that I would need a method for keeping track of how to draw specific tangles. After a bit of experimentation, I settled on testing the pattern in a small sketch book. I could draw it once or several times, just to see if I could do it, and if I would like working with a particular design. Then, I created “step-out” cards which illustrated each step in the process.
In this final installment of Marker Madness, I want to talk about storing all those markers I talked about. If you remember from the previous articles, almost all pens and markers should be stored horizontally. This is particularly important for double-ended markers to insure a good flow of ink to both nibs. The first option that is sometimes available is to store the markers in the container they came in.
I needed a way to both practice and to have some kind of encyclopedia of the tangles that I use. So now, I use these tangle trading cards. I‘m not sure exactly where this design came from, but I‘m sure if you look on the internet you can find something that will work for you. These are set up on an 8-1/2″ by 11″ format, 9 cards to the page, in a .