I did that on purpose... No really!

[Annchen]

How organised are you when starting a project? Like do you have enough yarn + a spare skein, a whole bunch of different needles just in case, pattern, carefully measured and cut pieces, matching thread, every possible thing you might need or do you just... freeform?

I tend to impulse-craft a lot, using things from my stash for most of the things and buying new stuff only when I need to. I've got more useful stuff than I think at home and I've inherited some crafting tools, thread and stuff from my grandmother and great grandmother.

So... I'm currently making a knitting needle roll for my sister since it was her birthday a few days ago. I already had fabric from the time I made her a shoulder bag and another piece that I never got around to using for a bag.

I found a roll of orange thread in a hue that looked ok with the orange fabric for the pockets and started sewing. Lots of pockets... Well, eventually the thread started running low and I realised it wasn't going to be enough to sew everything. After some panicking I carefully planned wich seams I'd leave and then used black thread for those pockets. It created a nice contrast and actually looks like I did it on purpose. Yay!

I only sew when I get crazy ideas like that, and my work area is not that great. The table is too small to lay out bigger projects and I'm a pretty messy person so it gets cluttered quickly.

Have you had any near misses like this?
Any suggestions to become more organised?
Want a tutorial when the needle roll of doom is finished and I've uploaded photos? wink  

[selenitrope]

I do things like that a lot. I'll start embroidering on something then when I'm halfway through I'll go, "Oh, crap, I'm almost out of purple ribbon!" or something like that. The problem is, I generally don't plan what I'm doing perfectly before I start, I just sort of make it up as I go along. I've been pretty lucky so far, though.  

[Annchen]

I'm glad I'm not the only impulsive crafter here. Sure, I try to plan ahead and I usually have some kind of plan, but I keep coming up with new details. I guess it's good to be flexible when mistakes happen...

 

[Blue-eyes-green]

What sort of crafter I am depends mostly on my current budget. If I'm broke, and the craftin' bug hits, I'll dig through my stash, going "Okay, what can I make with X?" Which usually results in felt trinket boxes, embroidered bookmarks, doll quilts, Christmas ornaments, or knit butterflies.

But if I'm starting in on something big, like a quilt, or a sweater, or the like, then I plan it like an engineer- but no matter how much you plan, there's always something- and that something is often what makes it special or unique. And a seam ripper is always my best friend.