living room rearrangement

I took a break from knitting this afternoon to give my living room a much needed dusting and rearrangement.

I’m very happy with the outcome because everything has its own place, even if that means it was thrown away or tucked in a bag and thrown into the basement. What’s left is a tidy relaxing workspace. I work at home when I’m not traveling, so it’s important that I’m surrounded by an inspiring colorful environment.

My couch is where I park myself almost everyday to work on new designs while I catch up with emails and tv episodes. It’s very important to have a bunch of comfy pillows nearby to support the back, neck and arms while knitting…

and several woolly blankets to keep warm…

You can see a lot more photos of the found object mural I made with my friend Hyland here.

Next to my couch, I have a little table equipped with a swift and ball winder.

The pom pom garland I made last year has been moving all over my apartment. If you haven’t made pom pom garland, I highly recommend it. It adds the perfect festive touch no matter what time of year it is.

Also on the table is a kitchen scale used for measuring leftover bits of yarn. It’s one of most handy knitting tools I have. I also keep multiple scissors, needle gauges, measuring tapes, and tapestry needles all over my apartment.

Next to the winding station is my Schacht Sidekick spinning wheel and a little cabinet stuffed to the max with roving.

Above that is a big painting by my favorite artist Amanda Marie.

Her work is taking over my apartment almost as much as the wool! Across from the winding station and spinning supplies is my little library, mostly knitting books of course and a lot more Amanda Marie.

The above knit cabled cozy is an unfinished hat that I decided to finish early by simply binding off before the crown shaping. Now it’s a functional decorative cozy that adds a punch of yellow. On the bottoms shelves, I have my knitting needle cases and Addi Click interchangeable sets next to some works in progress.

Moving along this wall and across from the couch is my tv station. I often watch DVDs while I knit. Surrounding the tv are little storage boxes that Hyland helped me install.

I store my favorite odds and ends in these boxes like wooden and stuffed animals, notecards, and some favorite photos (some from this amazing artist and friend, Alexandra Feo). The knit doll below was a birthday present 2 years ago made by my Finnish friend, Laura. She didn’t follow any pattern, just made it up as she knit, brilliant!

Next to the tv station is my desk where I do most of my pattern editing, emailing, and blogging right now! And of course there’s more yarn on top of that light box.

My straight knitting needles are stored in a ceramic vase that sits on a vintage doily.

I also use the window ledge above my desktop to store frequently used crochet hooks.

Nearby, is a metal cart that stores my button stash, some fabric, a couple other WIPs, and a basket full of smaller yarn scraps that are too dear to throw away.

Finally, we have my pride and joy, which is none other than my yarn cabinet! This isn’t all the stash of course. There are stragglers stuffed into bags and nooks through my apartment, but this cabinet is filled with my favorite yarns and colors. I work from stash yarn most of the time so it’s important to have a variety to choose from. You never know when inspiration will strike and you need that perfect shade of yellow or blue to knit pronto.

Well, there you have it. Believe me, it did not look this tidy earlier today, but after a lot of cleaning and rearranging I now I have a fresh clean space ready to inspire some more design work.