Welcome to Fiber Space

Believe it or not, things have finally been moving along on the basement renovations (I know, we've been taking our pretty little time).  I'm getting to a final reveal point, but you'll have to wait just a little longer.  After my baby shower, we didn't clear out all the tables and chairs; they are sticking around until the end of October after the next baby shower. So, a reveal of a newly finished basement with seating for over 50 just doesn't seem right- so it will have to wait.

There is fortunately one corner of the basement set up that I have somehow been able to keep free of baby shower debris- and today is the day for a sneak peek!

That's right, I believe it is time for a stash-sharing photo!  I know, I know- I haven't even been blogging for a year yet, maybe it's too soon- maybe I'm moving too quickly in this online relationship, but sometimes its just hard to hold back. 

In this smaller cabinet (again, thanks IKEA... another great Expedit), you will find my plant fibers- cottons, bamboo, corn.  Although cotton is not my favorite to work with, it does make a nice baby gift fiber. 

And in the larger cabinet, you will find my knitting books/magazines and animal fiber.  I would like to say that this contains all of my wool, alpaca, bison, cashmere, etc- but that would be a lie.  There is also a whole closet filled with Paton's Classic Wool.  I got a ton on sale last year when we were actually manufacturing slippers. 

 Now I realize that I will never be able to knit through all of this, but one of the plans with the knitting studio basement is to teach knitting classes.  I suppose price of yarn will be included in the price of the class and I will have a good supply for a while!

And yes, you have probably guessed by now, but this is another IKEA Expedit bookshelf- perfect for housing yarn and books, a new knitting essential (In my opinion!). 

It may be hard to tell from the pictures, but the wall colors in this area are a soft gray.  Anything I'm leaving out? I am looking around at different posters/charts/frames for this area as well- suggestions?

Fiber Finds

As promised, here are the details of what I walked away with at STITCHES Midwest and the Michigan Fiber Festival:

With a new pattern soon to be released (that happens to utilize just one skein of Malabrigo Worsted), I couldn't pass up these lovely colors.  They are not all for me though.  One will go to my friend Melissa, one to my sister, Amanda, and I'll keep one for myself.  It never hurts to knit up a new pattern a few extra times!

I also acquired 4 free skeins of Malbrigo Worsted in what seems to be the new Garden Gate colorway.  Saturday night at the student fashion show, they ended the night by bringing out a big bag of yarn for each table.  Everyone left with a little something, and this was mine- I couldn't be happier. 

The three skeins above come from one of my favorite local yarn shops, Woven Art. Woven Art is located in East Lansing, MI and you can always count on finding a great source of hand-dyed yarn.  The owner, Nancy, has a variety of yarn she dyes herself, and I love her colorways!  Above is two skeins of superwash merino, along with an 8 ounce skein of merino.  I figure I have a boy color and a girl color, and will save these for after the baby comes.

And speaking of baby, I purchased a hard copy of the above pattern, Little Boy Blue by Heirloom Stitches.  I found it at the In The Making booth with a sample done up with a light blue yarn with bright red buttons.  I love the idea of heirloom knits for babies. 

These three skeins I picked up at the Michigan Fiber Festival from a company I am not familiar with out of Eaton Rapids, MI. It is Davidson's Old Mill yarn- anyone heard of them?  They had a beautiful fair isle sweater knit up out of their fingering weight Domy Heather- how could I resist?

This final purchase is obviously not fiber, but I figured I'd throw it in (and look, I even propped it up against fiber!).  This little guy is made in Cedar Falls, Iowa for Crazy Girl Yarn Shop.  There is a bathroom in our newly finished basement, and since it is my new knitting studio, I thought this sheep soap would be the perfect addition. 

And because I know many are wondering and have been asking, yes, the basement is coming along.  Right now I am working on furnishing and decorating, which in reality will probably happen over a long period of time. I promise an update in the near future.  

On Swatch Watch... Take Two

Three new colors- I think we finally have some winners. After some of the new floor went down, it seemed to completely change the look of every swatch we had put on the wall. Here were the original 9:

The color that was my favorite (the beige around the outlet on the right) began to look 'fleshy' against the tone of the wood.

Here is an update of the actual craft room/knitting studio area:

Now the trouble is just deciding what color should go where... it never ends!

Crafting Space... The Little Details

My new studio is moving right along. No, I still haven't chosen a color, but I have bought 3 more samples to try... unbelievable! We have made the decision to get the floor down first, then see how the samples look.

There is a new folder at the top of my internet browser that reads "Craft Room Inspiration". Today I want to share a few items that I love, and if I haven't purchased them already, I plan to before project completion.

Thanks so Country Living, I am totally convinced I need a vintage tobacco cabinet. Why, you ask? Just look...

{-via Country Living-}

This Letterpress Poster is great. I have not yet decided on what color to order, I'll wait until the end for that.

{-via hijirik's Etsy shop-}

I already have this clipboard, but I very well may be purchasing a few more once colors have been decided on. So many more colors, its very hard to choose!

{-via box64studios Etsy shop-}

I love the look of an old card catalog. I'm not exactly sure where to find them (I have seen a couple on Craigslist- but they were a little out of my price range), or where I would even put it, but if the space is available, I may be on the lookout!

{-via Apartment Therapy-}

Although my folder is very full, I will save some items for later. Anything you can't live without in your home office/ craft room? I'd love to see it!

On Swatch Watch

Last month we started our basement renovation with the main purpose of having a specific office/craft room area for French Press Knits.

We were moving right along but it has come time to pick out colors. You'd think that after painting 9 (yes, nine!) swatches on the wall we'd be closer to picking a color... not necessarily! We are leaning toward the light color around the outlet in the second picture (Cappuccino White by Glidden). The basement is a large area, so there may be a few different colors- but again, that is yet to be decided.

Any advice, any tips? Do you have any rooms that you *love* at the moment? Throw up a link, I would love some inspiration!