Knitting Needle Carrier & Simplifying!

I selected a word to live by for 2011 - that word is "simplify". That means that I will try to reduce clutter in my life by using what I already have on hand, being creative about finding substitutions rather than buying new, and changing what I eat to more simplistic (not processed) fare. There are other things I plan to do to simplify but those are the biggies.

Some changes I've already made include using a clothesline instead of my dryer most of the time. Sometimes the weather makes the decision for me, but most items I dry on the outside or inside clothesline. Since it's just me at the burrow, I hand wash my dishes. I have not used my dishwasher since my son left for college in August. I don't miss it one bit.

This philosophy also extends into my crafting life. Yesterday I decided to make a carrying case for my knitting needles and knitting supplies. I should have taken a before photo - they were all in their original packaging but then just tossed haphazardly into a plastic bag. I found a large piece of yellow fabric leftover from a quilt backing, made a rectangle, sewed up some channels, and viola! A knitting needle case is born. I made the channels different sizes to accommodate supplies and circular needles - there's even room to expand my needle collection ;-). I also made some fun and blingy stitch markers with beads and jewelry making supplies I already had on hand.

Now if I could just figure out how to neatly store my yarn stash ...