Who's up for a fabric cleanse?

Ok, so I have a lot of patchwork items rolling around in my head lately. Dresses, skirts, pillows, maybe even a quilt. I was looking through my fabric stash and, though I have a decent number of prints, I don't have near the variety I want. Anyone want to do some patchwork squares swap? Like, I cut out 5 4" squares from 5 different fabrics (25 squares), and you do the same? Or 2 4" squares from 10 different fabrics, or whatever. Oh, and yeah I realize no one really reads this thing, so I'm mostly just begging the universe for some fun fabric squares.

Pay It Forward

I first saw this idea on The Bon's blog, but I was too late to sign up. Still, I think it is a fantastic idea so I am going to do it anyway.

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days. That is my promise. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

If you don't think you're crafty, still sign up. You'd be amazed at what you can think of. And besides, the gift doesn't have to be huge. It's just a way to brighten someone's day. When you comment to sign up, make sure you include your email address so that I can contact you for your address and whatnot.

This is going to be great!

Home, Home on the Peaks

So lately I have been on a mission to declutter, reorganize, and generally turn my apartment into a cozy home. Winter is coming on, the nights are getting cold, and I've had this major house-to-home nesting instinct. I think it has something to do with being newly married and having started a new job. I feel I finally have the time and (almost) the money to actually do something with this place. We got a lovely bedroom set for a wedding gift, and I want to make the rest of the house not feel so college-y.

My first move was to get my dad to put up some wall shelves in the office. It fills up the blank, boring wall and gives each of us a place to put stuff. We haven't organized the shelves yet, but as soon as they're done I'll post a photo. I'm also organizing my craft supplies due to two swaps I've got coming up. The bedroom is doing well, if you don't count the laundry on the floor. Otherwise it's fairly uncluttered.

My kitchen scares me. I am thinking of ditching all the old tupperware I have for these FlatOut! ones:
Until then, I'm going to measure my cabinets and buy plastic bins to control the deluge of containers. I also have a lot of unused space in the corner under the countertop, as well as the cabinet over the fridge. Mom's coming in a week, so maybe she'll help me. I also want to organize my pantry. I know I could be using that space more efficiently (or possibly get rid of the pantry and use the cabinet for crafts??).

The living room needs the most work, I think. I am tempted to get rid of the coffee table since it is a receptacle for all our crap. The DVD's in shelves is annoying me, and I think I'd rather have bins or baskets for them. The bookshelves are a disaster, as is the coat rack and shoe rack. Oh, and the rat cage is in here. I don't like that, but currently we have no other place for it.

So yeah, wish me luck. I'll probably be swearing a lot by the end of this project. But it will be SOOOOOOOO worth it.