It's a Wrap!

After nearly two years, I'm finally posting something!  We made one resolution this year: to reduce our stuff by 1/3.  As part of the stuff reduction plan, I've been tackling the mess making issues around the house, one of which was wrapping paper and related items.

Behold: wrapping paper under control! 

Neat, orderly and kind of fun to look at too.  And, it works!


How I did it:

1.  I started with two sheets of 2' x 4' pegboard and mounted them to the wall of my sewing room at right angles to each other. This particular pegboard is vinyl and came with 1/2" plastic spacers mounted behind the pegboard to provide the space needed between the pegboard and the wall.

2. I added various pegboard hooks to meet my needs, which were:

     a. someplace to store wrapping paper rolls that would keep them under control but still allow easy access;
     b. ribbon storage;
     c. tape and scissor storage .

Wrapping paper storage:
     I liked these multi-tool hooks and thought they could be used for wrapping paper storage, if I placed two of them vertically on the pegboard and inserted dowels through them.

It worked terrifically well. I used 5/8" dowels and added pre-drilled balls to the top as stops.  


Ribbon storage:
     I have several large spools of ribbon and several small rolls of ribbon. I used 6" long pegs for the rolls and found these great wire baskets from Ikea.  I hung the baskets from two small pegboard hooks.  They turned out to be ideal for the small rolls of ribbon, as well a tape storage.

 

 For scissors and other supplies, I found hooks and more small tool storage hooks.

I mounted all the hooks, spacing them as needed, and then started adding the wrapping supplies.

 Ribbons, tape and scissors.

I spray painted the dowels and balls to look pretty.  The balls were not glued to the dowels: they fit snug enough and I only needed to push them on.  Then I added the wrapping paper.

 Originally, I also wanted card, tissue paper and box storage on the same wall, but since I also needed to hang quilting supplies somewhere, I compromised by storing those items in 2" tall boxes in a storage cabinet next to the wall storage.

Sampler Quilt

My project for this month is a quilt I made for Don.  After I finished Talara's quilt, Don asked if he could have one too.  This top was almost pieced from large green plaid squares, so it was easy to promise the next quilt to him. 
This was my favorite quilt so far because I just practiced on it.  I found a bunch of different quilt patterns and tried something new in each square.  By the end of the quilt my method had improved a lot and I gained a lot of confidence in what I can do with the machine.  I used a solid color for the back so the patterns would show up. 

The completed quilt. The colors aren't very true here, but you get the idea. And you can even see some of the pattern

Closer look at the patterns.

You can see meandering, paisleys, leaves, water, stars, hearts, and much more.

This a design just for Don. I call it fish hooks on a line.

I can't wait to start my next quilt, which may be this weekend!

What's in a Name?

I'm sometimes amazed at the things we never learn because we never ask. And, I'm as guilty of this as anyone else.  For example, I've had my name for 53 years and never thought to ask my mom how or why I was named Jeri Lynn, which is certainly not a traditional girl's name.

But last night we had a Relief Society event at which we were to relate the story of our names.  So, I called my mom and asked her.  The condensed version of the conversation follows:

Mom picked her favorite name for her first daughter when she was just a little girl and looked forward to the time when she could actually call her daughter by her chosen name.  But the year before I was born, mom's best friend, Jolene, had a daughter and used mom's pet name for her.  Mom was pretty upset about this and tried to talk Jolene out of using the name, but with no success.

So, mom and dad had to come up with another name. Mom decided on Lynn, as it was the last syllable in her own name, Carolyn.  She had a friend named Jeri, and mom loved that name and mom's brother's name is Gerald, of which Jeri is a derivative.  So, I was named for Uncle Gerald and mom, which I never knew before.

As to the stolen pet name?  Mom and dad realized once I was born that I was a Jeri Lynn and not a . . .

CINDY LOU!   

I will be forever grateful to Jolene for naming her daughter Cindy Lou, and sparing me.

Disclaimer: Sorry if I offended all you Cindy Lou's. If you know me, you understand.