Hello, friends! I have a guest post for 'national craft and crochet month' up over on Donna's Decembers, today! It was a rad chance to photograph all the secret stashes I have of yarn all over my living room (literally!) - and share a few ideas on how to store those pesky, bulky work-in-progresses!
Pop by Donna's Decembers to check it out, too!
I've recently begun a love affair with all things yarn! I learned to crochet last Spring and have been hooked, since! My mind seems to work faster than my hands, too, so - coupled with the newfound love of yarn and an ever-growing stash of it, this means I have tons of projects on the go at any given time! Usually, that's not such a bad thing - it's nice to hop & skip from project to project when one gets mundane or a new idea strikes! :)
However, the problem is that I live in a very small 600 square foot apartment with my husband, and my 'craft room' is actually a corner of our living room - much like some of you, I'm sure! This means storage is always kind of an issue - especially when you're making room for *another* craft in your home, and these temporary, bulky piles of yarn need someplace to go! lol.
I've had to come up with some sneaky ideas to get them all hidden away - or to 'store' them in a pretty, visible-in-the-living-room kind of way. Here are some ideas that I've used lately for project storage from around my couch/desk - if your work-in-progress projects are scattered all over the place, look for little nooks or open spaces to utilize these ideas, yourself:
I have an Ikea coffee table (about 3 feet from my workspace) in my apartment, and it has this handy-dandy ledge underneath it, so it can double as a storage space, as well. I snuck a little bin under there the other day to hold a crochet baby sweater I'm working on - not only is it hidden, but when I slump down on the couch, it's within my reach to work on! My plan is to keep it filling it with new things when I finish what it's currently holding.
The thing about work-in-progresses is that they're only around temporarily - so you have to make space for them while you're working on them, and then it'll be empty (at least for a little bit) once you're done! It's a good idea to save any pretty empty bins or containers you come across (especially when purging your craft space, next time!), and use them to store these temporary projects around your workspace in a pleasant way.
I have an old yellow bin (or a 'trash can' for a few bucks at Ikea - never used as a trash bin, of course) that I used to use to store large rolls of paper. It almost went to the thrift shop as a donation, but then I realized it would be the perfect crochet blanket-in-progress holder!
An empty rolling bin with a lid is handy for bigger projects - like this work in progress granny square blanket of mine. It keeps all the little bits in one place, and when the lid is on you can roll it right under your desk or coffee table or even stack things on top of it easily until you have a chance to get back to it!
And my favorite little work-in-progress holder to use, mostly because it's the prettiest - is a large flat plastic serving tray that I picked up at Ikea a few years ago. I pile whatever I'm working on at the moment on it, and then it easily moves with me to where I'm working, or to store away when we need the coffee tabletop for drinks or food - I've used it to hold quicker projects like crochet garlands, granny squares, and other smaller projects - and I can hide it on my desk or on top of my shelves when I'm not working on these things quickly!
I hope I've inspired you to keep your projects tidy & open (or closed & hidden!) - but, either way, organized and useful while you're chugging away on them!
Thanks so much for having me guest-post, Liz! :)
