One of my first goals as a new retiree is to work on the knitting room and make it into a studio where I will really enjoy working. It was probably in the worst possible condition after last year. I was overwhelmed at work, helping hire and train a new person, while very busy. I also traveled and taught five seminars. It was a wonderful year, but I didn't even unpack right away after some of the trips, and plenty of times, I just tossed bags and boxes into the knitting room.

For starters, I put together some wire cubbies for yarn. These things are simply banged together using plastic connectors and a rubber-tipped hammer. They're about one foot square, and I put them up along most of the longest wall in the room. I started with 10 units long by 5 units tall, but John looked at it and suggested I go one unit higher, so now I have a 10x6 array.

I put bulky yarn in the left end of the rack, then mid-gauge yarn in the middle, and standard gauge yarn is on the right end. I am embarrassed to say that this isn't all of my yarn. There are also two cone trees in my bedroom and some boxes downstairs. Friends have generously given me yarn, and yarn has been included with machines I purchased. It's time to do another yarn destash. I went through a period where I gave away ridiculous amounts of yarn. It even sold it for $1 a cone at a garage sale, and a customer told me I was crazy to sell it that cheap. Well, my friends didn't want any more yarn, my house was groaning with it, and it had to go!
It took me a while to learn that I don't love collecting yarn and machines. It's knitting, designing knits, and teaching that gives me joy.
One task I didn't realize would be fun was putting yarn and tools into the rack. I had forgotten some of the yarn I had. Having pretty stuff on shelves at eye level makes me want to knit - big time!
I had read about a financial challenge a while back that suggested one buy nothing in January. Give the credit card a post-holiday rest and "shop" in your home, said the article. I wasn't doing it deliberately, but this project had me shopping in my own home, and there were some great finds.
Most of the rest of these photos are things that have been in the room for ages; it's my attempt to organize the miscellany that comes with a passion for machine knitting. Since I like to see how things can be stored, maybe you'll pick up an idea or two from my storage.


Starting at the door and going clockwise around the room, and with all the machines uncovered so you can see how I work, here's some my functional but messy room. On the back of the door I have a clear shoe bag. I've had this for ages and find it works great for keeping and being able to quickly find small KM items.
After you walk in, there's a small closet with bi-fold doors, and in front of that there's a little wooden stand with my electric cone winder and my jumbo yarn winder. These need to be out all the time. I very seldom use a small winder anymore! I don't believe in knitting without rewinding the yarn. There's a trash can right there, between the winders and the mid-gauge Studio 860. It's so handy to have a trash can by each machine.

To the right of the mid-gauge is a sturdy music stand. I've tried different ways of keeping the current pattern and notes handy, for instance, clipping them to the yarn mast, but this works best for me. A music stand is one more thing cluttering the room, but it has lots of room. In addition to my pattern, I have a spiral notebook, a pen, and another pattern or two I'm thinking about working up.
If I'm working and get an idea or think of a task I don't want to forget, I'll write it down right away with that handy paper and pen.

This is a special computer, configured for editing video, and I am very grateful for it, because it saves me hours of time on each video project. I needed a special video card and lots of memory (we went with 36 GB) to handle high-definition video files. I'm thrifty, but my husband has tried to teach me how important it is to have the right tool for the job. This is a great example of how much having the right tool pays off. It's due for a tune-up, a new hard drive and some software installation.
I have two rolling office chairs I move around the room. I prefer the adjustable office chairs, because they're padded and I'll move them up and down just to change my body position as I work.

This 270 is the machine I usually go to first if I'm playing around with swatches, trying out ideas and solving problems. I purchased three sets of these cheap plastic drawers about 20 year ago, and they're still just fine. This one is on wheels and filled with bulky tools. I have ribber covers in place all the time unless I'm using the ribber. I will also remove the ribber entirely if my project is on the main bed and I need better access. This one's on a tilt stand, so I can easily go from main bed work to ribber work and back again.

With the extension cords, I can easily move the camera and work light all over the room. The plastic drawers are filled with standard gauge tools and weights, and then on top is a carrying tote overflowing with ribber items.


There's also a cardboard box, which is filled with ribber combs. I really don't have a smart way to store ribber combs. I tried hanging them Command brand hooks, but they're a bit heavy for the hooks and tend to hit the floor. Also, the combs are also unbalanced and hang crookedly if you use the weight holes. I suppose the solution would be to drill a hole in a spot that balances, polish the hole's rough edges, and then pound nails in the wall, but I hate to drill a new hole in any of my combs. Anybody got a great idea for storing ribber combs?
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