The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Food & crafts => Crafts => Topic started by: Fleecewife on January 07, 2017, 03:59:52 pm
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Where do you store all your equipment? I know I'm not the only one on here who has more than one wheel, more than one drum carder, looms, blending boards, stash, WIPs, fleece, ball winders, box of knitting needles in every size and shape, loom stool, sewing machine and so on. It's mainly the big stuff I struggle to find adequate storage for. I think I've reached capacity :tired: but I have now had my scoured and carded Heb back from NFCo, in a giant sack. It will take me ages to spin it all, even on the Lendrum Saxony which is back in the living room for the duration, so it has to be stored somewhere. Our bedroom is full, my woolshed has some stuff in but isn't totally dry, the spare bedroom has loads, the attic has mice and the granny flat is stuffed :spin: :knit:
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Pest control? or Ebay?For unwanted stuff? JK :innocent: :coat: No seriously have you got any family members who could take some stuff for you? We generally store most in the garage and the attic. With the amount of stuff getting nicked these days am sure outbuildings are out of the question?
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I'm like you FW. Too much equipment and too little space. There is an upstairs in the garage where I have a little craft room but the new loom has taken up residence in the living room. Mmm nice and warm
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I have a smallish work room where I keep my wheels, loom, sewing machine etc. BH built me floor to ceiling shelves an I invested in several 74 litre Really Useful Boxes that sit on my shelves and contain stash, materials etc, but I also have several bags made out of old duvet covers with clean fleece in ready for preparation of some sort. They have spiller over into the downstairs shower room (we don't use it as a shower). The boxes are excellent as they will stack if I don't have them on the shelves. Storage is a real problem, every time I want to see or weave everything has to move around to give me space on my work bench. My goal for 2017 is to use up the stuff I have before acquiring any more, but it remains to be seen how well I manage this!
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Hi, get some of those storage bags that you vacuum the air out of. I have my carded batts in those and it takes up about a quarter of the space, it comes out a bit squashed, but you can easily fluff it back up with your hands or once through the carder.
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Hi Cheviot :wave: I'm rationalising (ie having an ongoing major chuck-out of) fibre. It's more all the big equipment which doesn't fit into boxes or on shelves, just takes up floor space which is bugging...well...him more than me. But he has two huge workshops for all his tools and equipment and lathes and sawbenches and and and.
I like those vacuum bags for storing jumpers and other woollies away from moths. I've decided though that any fibre stash I haven't used in the last couple of years, or is needed for a WIP, is a candidate for the bonfire. It's very liberating :roflanim:
WBF - ebay :o no this is all stuff I use for craftwork so I'm not looking to get rid of it. It just seems to grow exponentially. I wouldn't dream of dumping stuff on family, even if they had room. It would take a major expedition to fetch it back - my family lives in far-flung places.
If only I could hang stuff from the ceilings, but they're too low, or vacuum pack the wheels. One of the looms does fold but it still takes up major space. At least it's a generally crafty problem, not just me :relief:
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Talking of hanging stuff from ceilings.... I haven't got round to doing anything with the fleece from the last couple of years but each one is stored in a polypropylene bag with the ewes name on it and hung from the rafters in the stable :-)
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I used to do that too, hanging them in the barn, but he kept banging his head on them (I fit underneath). Then some Scots Greys went feral and would spend the night roosting on the hanging rails, and swallows nested in the barn so the bags rapidly turned into poop catchers :o
So now I have a load of unsorted fleece on my huge sorting board, waiting to be dealt with. Trouble is, there's no room left to spread each one out while I sort it :thinking: I think I have some refinements to make ;D
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I have a small craft room which has all my equipment apart from spinning wheels which are in the sitting room, wool, tops and books. Fleeces are in the attic in fabric bags all labelled with print lables and ones that can be read with a speaking gadget as OH has to get them down for me. I keep a list on my computer of what is up there.
I work in the sitting room as there's no longer any room to work upstairs in the craft room.
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You need a craft shed/garage/workshop/den whatever your OH calls his workshop/shed space. ;D
Of course it would have to be well insulated and heated so the equipment didn't suffer damp.
I think it is a problem with any hobby, one thing leads to another, there's always one more piece of equipment you just have to have. I've accumulated loads the last two years, I could never afford it before so had to make do.
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You need a craft shed/garage/workshop/den whatever your OH calls his workshop/shed space. ;D
Of course it would have to be well insulated and heated so the equipment didn't suffer damp.
I think it is a problem with any hobby, one thing leads to another, there's always one more piece of equipment you just have to have. I've accumulated loads the last two years, I could never afford it before so had to make do.
That's my woolshed, except it's proved impossible to keep totally dry and vermin proof. it does though have a heater which helps a bit. OH built it, much bigger than I wanted, but he now has 2/5ths of it and I have the rest. He also has the old stone barn but that is definitely damp to the point that when it's cold and wet condensation forms on things. The new wool shed is a palace and I do have the big Dryas rug loom up there and one wheel, but mainly it's the sorting board and endless fleece. The idea is to sort it straight after shearing but I haven't quite finished from last year. There is a loft but I can't get up there yet - it's a wobbly ladder tied on with rope, and I don't do heights, especially wobbly ones. One day he might get round to steps.
I think my main problem is that I want to keep so much immediately to hand. Certainly my two main wheels live in the house, one in the living room the other in our bedroom. The Ashford loom is in the granny flat, plus storage boxes of fibre and small equipment - to get there though means going outside and along a path - not too nice when it's snowing or pouring so I prefer keeping stuff in the house. The hall gets used for storage boxes and the little Kromski loom, blending boards, combs, hackle, lazy kates, etc etc. Oh and all my spindles are in the dresser amongst the crockery. The house is just too small to have a whole room dedicated to my craft stuff. I think the ultimate solution is for me to stop buying equipment - I've surely got more than I can use in one lifetime. I might sell the art yarn drum carder, which I don't use very much. Now that would clear a huge space[size=78%] [/size] :roflanim:
I'm one of those people who can fill any space with stuff, but I don't suppose I'll change now. It does sound as if I have more of a problem that most, so it has to be me. Okay I'll admit I'm a hoarder :innocent:
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Sounds like the only option is extending the house ;D
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Sounds like the only option is extending the house ;D
Umm.....we just did that :roflanim: Not very much though, and no suitable bits for putting extra crafty things :o :o :o . I did manage to sneak some gardening stuff into the new front porch though :garden:
Another upside is that I'll never be bored :thumbsup:
Guess what....I just sent off for an embroidery frame. It's only 5" diameter though and is so I can do a little embroidery kit I've had sitting around for nearly 30 years, so of course I HAD to have it :innocent:
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I think my main problem is that I want to keep so much immediately to hand. Certainly my two main wheels live in the house, one in the living room the other in our bedroom. The Ashford loom is in the granny flat, plus storage boxes of fibre and small equipment - to get there though means going outside and along a path - not too nice when it's snowing or pouring so I prefer keeping stuff in the house. The hall gets used for storage boxes and the little Kromski loom, blending boards, combs, hackle, lazy kates, etc etc. Oh and all my spindles are in the dresser amongst the crockery. The house is just too small to have a whole room dedicated to my craft stuff. I think the ultimate solution is for me to stop buying equipment - I've surely got more
I'm one of those people who can fill any space with stuff, but I don't suppose I'll change now. It does sound as if I have more of a problem that most, so it has to be me. Okay I'll admit I'm a hoarder :innocent:
I don't think you're alone, far from it. But by definition, those of us with the same problem don't have any solution!
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Well I'm right there with you all - living in an old Shetland crofthouse (it was extended in the 70's) which is really quite small. We bought a second hand portacabin a few years to stand next to the house so I could use it as a craft room and yep its now a store room for all my craft equipment and of course no room for me! Although I have 4 wheels I'm only using one and thats in the bedroom at the end of our bed, I keep the carder inside too as it goes funny if its not kept somewhere warm. So I usually have to drag in big storage boxes and bin liners full of whatever I'm working on at the time to fill the house and only clear it all away if family come to stay ;D
Fleecewife you mention a damp shed? Could you possibly put the equipment into large clear (so you can see at a glance whats inside) bin liners and definitely use the vacuum bags for any fleece. We've just bought a load of them for that purpose.
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Good idea Polyanna. I have some good shelving units up there, so the small equipment would work bagged up.
Where did you get your vacuum packs? None of the ones I have are all that satisfactory or very large. The other thing with them is the slither factor - can't stack them high.
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There you go FleeceWife //www.amazon.co.uk/Vacuum-Storage-Bags-Viridescent-GUARANTEE/dp/B015ZI1RHG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484219739&sr=8-1&keywords=VIRIDESCENT - The large bags really are quite big and as regards stacking how about a bit of sellotape or blue tack in between the bags or even tying then with a pair of old tights - not that I've done that - I don't wear tights these days ::)
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Looks good to me. Well do e
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I can't actually see it in the first picture. Whereabouts is the mend?
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Sorry yes, the pic has come out larger than a screen. Go down to the bottom of the post, below the second pic, and move the whole thing along to the right with the arrows. It does magnify the original pic so much you can see every wrong stitch :roflanim: The second pic is obviously the underside.
Actually I've taken the pics off now as they're in the wrong place.
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Just spent five minutes looking at both posts, wondering why I couldn't find the pictures. THEN I saw your last sentence. ::)
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Oh sorry MGM - you must have missed it by about 30 seconds. It wasn't very exciting anyway ;D
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Shame I missed it too - was it the mending or the jumper?
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Shame I missed it too - was it the mending or the jumper?
The jumper is ancient. No it was the mending - just the first time I'd tried the knitting a patch method instead of darning, and although it didn't turn out all that neatly at the grafting, I was chuffed with myself for doing it. Shows we never stop learning :thumbsup:
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We don't do we, think thats what keeps us young ;) Love your sheep, just had a peek at your website - I thought your avatar was a Jacob but no its He.bridean - I've seen 4 horned Shetland sheep on the island
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Interesting. What's the island view of multihorned Shetlands? Down here they are greatly frowned upon and often their existence is denied, although there is one breeder down in England I know of. It would be wonderful if someone in Shetland decided to save the type, which are an ancient part of the breed, just as our Ancient Type Hebs are a part of the Hebridean breed.
Thank for looking at our website. I keep meaning to update the craft and environment bits, which are way out of date. I could even put a pic of my mending on there 8)
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Hah hah - well I've not updated ours since early last spring - such a busy year and not enough time. I'm not entirely sure what the general consensus on four horned sheep is here - but there are a good few crofters who are very serious about keeping the old native breeds alive and well, whether its poultry, sheep or cattle. Whenever we've kept any livestock (apart from weaners) we've always gone for the native breeds.
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We don't do we, think thats what keeps us young ;) Love your sheep, just had a peek at your website - I thought your avatar was a Jacob but no its He.bridean - I've seen 4 horned Shetland sheep on the island
I read this as you had seen four Shetland sheep with horns and I was puzzling over it as I carried on reading, only to discover that you had seen four-horned sheep. :roflanim:
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:roflanim: