Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Not spring, but cleaning anyway - ribbon edition

One big thing that's been keeping me from completing more projects lately (other than the fact that it's summer, and really, really warm, which makes me want to do pretty much nothing other than nap on the couch downstairs with a book) is that my workshop is a mess.

Several in-progress things, crap that hasn't been put away, filing that needs to be done, and new supplies that haven't been put away yet are overtaking the space.  Also, every few years, I really should pull out whole categories of stuff (ribbon, quilting fabric, other fabric, paints, etc.) and re-organize, and I haven't done any of that in quite a while. 

So today, I re-organized and put away all the dye equipment, since it was all sitting out after doing tie-dye onesies for a baby shower a couple of weeks ago.  I don't, unfortunately, have a photo of them (SO CUTE!!!), but will post one once I get it from the cousin who had the camera that day. 

Also today, I did the ribbon.  A large portion of it was still in a Rubbermaid tub from a workshop I did last November (!!!), and a bunch of the rest was just stacked on the floor.  Not good.  Here's what it looks like now that I've whipped it back into shape:

 
 
Why so much ribbon?  I have a problem.  I just can't resist ribbon for some reason.  And over the last few years, Costco has been my main enabler.  Those bottom two rows are pretty much all Costco.
 
What on earth do I do with so much ribbon?  Mostly, I make woven ribbon Christmas stockings:
 
 
I've sold a bunch of these, and given even more away as gifts.  I'd estimate I've made nearly a hundred of them over the years.  I really like working in the non-traditional colors.  Some of my favorites have been black and white, or bright pink, or caramel. 
 
 
 
What else do I make out of ribbon?  I do the same weaving technique on pillow covers sometimes, and one time, I made a messenger bag for my younger sister, the Hello Kitty fan:
 

 
I've been toying with the idea of making a laptop bag for myself, or perhaps a purse, but that will have to wait for another day.  At least now, the ribbon is tidy, and perhaps soon I can get back on top of the four or five other fairly urgent projects that I'd really like to get done soon.



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