Today is the Man’s first day back to work after our big move. Miss O woke up just in time to have her picture taken with Daddy, but Big G was sound asleep (and an hour later is STILL sound asleep).

Maybe I should say it again. So. Much. Stuff.

I’ll be honest. I’m getting a little nervous watching these piles of supplies tottering around the edges (and let’s face it, all over the middle, too) of this room. It’s starting to feel like maybe… maybe I have a problem. I listed a few more things today on ebay, but in the end I may just start giving this stuff away to my local thrift stores. I say storeSSSS because I’m not sure the volunteers would appreciate me showing up with my truck bed FULL of bags and boxes of books, patterns, fabric, yarn, clothes, linens, and other foolishness.

Ack! I’m drowning in clutter!

The rest of the house is pretty much unpacked–at least enough that we’re comfortable, can find the stuff we need on a day-to-day, and aren’t tripping over boxes or bags of anything–so it’s time for me to start settling into my sewing room. Yes… SEWING ROOM! No more hot dark garage for me! I get my very own room! There is, of course, a catch. The deal was that if I could fit ALL of my craft stuff in the room, then I could have it. I can’t store it in the garage, bedroom, kitchen cupboards, or anywhere else in the house.

No problem, right?

Well. I can get all my stuff in there, alright. The problem is actually getting myself in there, getting some manner of sewing table in there, and still being able to find stuff. Oh, my. I have. so. much. stuff.

So. That’s right folks, it’s time to clean out my craft supplies. Books, fabric, yarn, tools–I’m going through everything, and paring way back. Last night I hauled all my yarn into the living room and decided to keep less than half of what I own. I’ll be putting tons (possibly literally) of stuff on ebay over the next couple weeks. Check out the cool supplies I’m selling. If that link doesn’t work, just look for username "Bramblestitches" at www.ebay.com.

With a little luck I’ll having things fairly well cleared out in a couple weeks. As soon as I can start crafting again, I’ll be making up a bunch of cool new tutorials for you that I’ve been promising for ages, like how to make the lined zippered pouches from waaay back, and my pattern for the double-thick crocheted pot holders.

Hello! It’s been a long time–y’all still remember me? I’ve missed you!

Well we made it all the way from the desert to beautiful North Carolina. It took four and a half days of driving and lots of Subway sandwiches and Carls Junior/Hardee’s burgers. Now we’re settling into our lovely little neighborhood in a great house and getting to know the area a bit.

The trip itself was actually pretty easy–at least as easy as a five day trip can be. The kids are incredible travelers, and even the Man behaved himself tolerably well. Actually, he did ALL the driving. Like, I didn’t drive. At all. Not even a mile. He get’s bored when he’s not driving, and he gets sick if he tries to read or do anything else. So I got a ton of knitting done. It was very exciting to watch the landscape change from bleak tan desert, where we started in California to the healthy and flourishing desert of Northern Arizona and New Mexico, to the cattle grazing lands of Texas and Oklahoma, the farms and crops of Arkansas and Tennessee (lots of corn and tobacco), and finally the forested, misty-rivered Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. Here in Jacksonville, a city of about 60,000, there are trees everywhere. Even in our backyard we have three large pine trees that rival any of the trees on my dad’s property.

There’s so much more to tell, and I’ll have to post several more times before I’m all caught up to today, but that’s all I have time for now. I promise to be back again soon!