Downsizing: stage three.

January 18, 20154 Comments

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

–William Morris, a textile designer from the 1800s

In the first stage of downsizing, we moved into a two-bedroom apartment. The second stage was emptying the storage unit we rented when we moved into the apartment. I’m now in the midst of the third stage of downsizing.

It’s no longer about storage or efficiency. Everything fits nicely in our apartment. I feel this need, probably thanks to Pinterest, to create spaces which are more minimal. I want to appreciate every item I have around me.

I started with the kitchen:

I got rid of everything that was on top of the upper cabinets. I stored the cookbooks in the bottom cabinets. I kept the plates on the walls because I love them for their simplicity, but also because they belonged to my mother and grandmother. They have good memories attached to them. I know my mother touched them, and even though I’m not a very good cook I hope her things will channel a little good grace my way. The refrigerator still has photos and artwork on it, but it’s a start.

That’s where I am: in the middle. Just the little bit I’ve done makes me feel more calm. I’m struggling with finding a medium between minimalism and a comfortable home. Combining both beautiful and useful means balance between those two things.

Bagettes and Project Pouches.

June 15, 2014April 30, 20153 Comments

Using Bridget’s Bagettes’ pattern by Atkinson Designs, purchased at Quilting Adventures, I made this bagette to carry supplies to my Liberated Quilting Group, which I attend at a different quilt shop, Blue Crab Quilt Co.

The back fabric wraps around to make the front binding.

I couldn’t stop there. I bought a yard of vinyl ($5.50 a yard) and some more zippers. I made a Project Pouch to store my improv blocks and “parts” for the Liberated Quilting Group:

I’m using a charm pack called Sphere. There is one completed block in the pouch.

The back was made with scraps.

I had an idea for more storage — pouches in every color for my small scraps:

I attached them to my design wall with pins:

I like how they look on the wall –instant art.

WHAT I LEARNED MAKING THESE:

1. Don’t forget to pull the zipper into the middle before you cut off the ends. I did this twice.
2. You don’t need a walking foot but the seams might be a little wonky if you don’t.
3. I didn’t have fusible woven interfacing and used two layers of batting instead. This worked fine.

Stitch Fix and Project 333.

June 4, 2014Leave a comment

STITCH FIX:

Stitch Fix is not a quilting website. It’s a fashion site where a stylist picks clothes for you. For a $20 styling fee, the stylist picks 5 items of clothing and/or accessories and Stitch Fix ships them to you. Before that, you answer some questions and give them your sizes. You also give them your budget range for each type of clothing. You then schedule your fix. When it arrives, keep what you want and send back what you don’t in the postage-paid envelope via U.S. Postal Service. If you keep at least one item, you deduct the $20 styling fee from the total. If you keep all 5 pieces, you get a 25% discount.

When my first fix arrived, I was so excited to see what the stylist had picked for me. I got 5 shirts/sweaters, and I liked them all. I sent 2 of them back because they didn’t fit.

The fix comes with 5 styling cards like this one:

What does this have to do with Project 333?

PROJECT 333:
During this experience, I saw this site, featured on Freshly Pressed: The ExtraOrdinary Simple Life, about simple living which referred to The Project 333. The crux is that you create a clothes capsule of 33 items (clothes, shoes and accessories) and wear that capsule for 3 months. I gave that a try, and I couldn’t do it. After letting go of many things, I had about 45 items not including shoes, accessories and jewelry. The Project 333 does not include workout clothes, underwear, socks or pajamas in the total, but I still couldn’t do it.

I went back to the Stitch Fix cards and counted the items they used to make 10 different outfits.

There were 55 items in all. I could create a STITCH FIX 55 SPRING WARDROBE and feel minimalist. 33 or 55 –they were both arbitrary.

MY SPRING WARDROBE:
Tops: 14
Jeans/Pants/Shorts: 7
Jackets: 3
Shoes: 7
Earrings: 4 pairs
Necklaces: 8
Bracelets: 1
Dresses: 1
Skirts: 2
Scarves: 2
Belts: 2
Pocketbooks: 6
Total: 55

MY BOUTIQUE LOOKING CLOSET:

I scheduled a second fix and this is what I kept:

Carissa Striped Fit & Flair Dress

Blue Chevron Textured Tie-Neck Blouse. This is so versatile. I love the color.

The style card with the Bell Chevron Textured Tie-Neck Blouse.

I sent back the Callafia Short-Sleeve Wrap Dress. I didn’t like how it fit me — too much fabric and low cut:

I also sent back the Harper 3/4 Sleeve Jacket. It was not that fabulous and one of the buttons came off before I even tried it on:

I also sent back this bracelet. I thought it looked cheap for the price of $88:

Even though I sent back 3 out of 5 items, I’m excited about incorporating the dress and the tie-neck blouse into my 55-piece wardrobe (now that it is hot here I won’t be wearing those sweaters, and maybe I don’t need 8 necklaces).