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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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Better Living Through Handymanlyness

July 31, 2014 2 Comments

In this year’s Reader Survey, a chunk of you awesome respondents said you want to see some more personal content, one reader wanted to see some upcycling ideas, and another suggested a series about creative space inspiration. So I’ll hit a few birds with one stone today by sharing one of the most creative spaces I could think of that’s personal for me – my dad’s basement workshop.

Better Living Through Handymanlyness / Creative Space Tour at handsoccupied.com Last summer I shared the story of how my dad built a log cabin out of reclaimed utility poles when I was little. A resourceful guy like that doesn’t get that way overnight. At first glance, some of you might be thinking hoarder alert! as you look at these photos, but I’m not so sure. Rather than spending money at the container store, my dad’s go-to source for organizing materials is most people’s recycling bins. For this guy, nothing is better at keeping things organized than an old nail, shoe box or cleaned out sour cream tub.

If you think about it, a lot of municipalities don’t even have the capacity to recycle many plastics, particularly lids to things, so why not try to extend their otherwise-landfilling life?

Better Living Through Handymanlyness / Creative Space Tour at handsoccupied.com

Being 6’4″ has a huge impact on how my dad uses his space. His shop organization is absolutely NOT limited to walls of shelving. See everything hanging from the rafters? There are rolls of duct and packing tape hanging from nails. There’s a level, old lanyards, keys, work masks, an army water bottle, pliers, and who knows what else up there too.

Better Living Through Handymanlyness / Creative Space Tour at handsoccupied.com

There are notes everywhere. On pieces of wood, taped to drawers, written on boxes used for storage. Yes, on the top shelf there the box reads “explod outhouse.” It’s a small replica of an outhouse that explodes when you touch it, scaring the pants off whoever you’re pranking. Gotta store that somewhere important – pranks are an important trick in every handyman’s arsenal.

Better Living Through Handymanlyness / Creative Space Tour at handsoccupied.com

A big outdoorsman in addition to handyman, my dad has a lot of gear to keep organized (not unlike most crafters I know). Part of his collection of fishing tackle and poles resides in his shop. He recycled styrofoam packaging into a clever, tiered storage system for organizing sharp fishing lures.

Better Living Through Handymanlyness / Creative Space Tour at handsoccupied.com

See the net in the photo below? I think it might most accurately depict how exactly my dad’s brain works. In addition to the fishing and hunting, he’s also a big tennis and racquetball lover, has been for years. The racquetball racquet pictured must have been broken at some point, so instead of giving it away, he attached the net from a fishing net (I assume the frame was broken or found discarded somewhere knowing my dad) to the stringless racquet, making a well-gripped net for catching smaller things.

PS: The two articles pinned to the wood shelf are a Guide to Paint & Varnish and Better Living Through Handymanlyness. Who needs Pinterest when you’ve got a shelf and a staple gun?

Better Living Through Handymanlyness / Creative Space Tour at handsoccupied.com

Looking for a storage system to keep small things organized? Look no further than an empty Cheez Whiz jar. Pro handymanlyness tip, folks. I joke, but I should really do something like this with yarn scraps. An empty jam jar for all of my wool scraps, another for acryllic, another for alpaca blends. Not the worst idea ever, yarn hoarders! ;)

Better Living Through Handymanlyness / Creative Space Tour at handsoccupied.com

His workshop also extends to the garage a bit, where he’s got a huge stash of flags left in the ground by cable company workers. What are they for? He keeps some in a holder taped to the lawn mower for literally flagging dog doo that needs cleaning up.

Better Living Through Handymanlyness / Creative Space Tour at handsoccupied.com

With low to no cost practical ideas like these, I can’t say the man’s a hoarder. Just an especially creative reuser. Remember – a lot of the stuff in that shop didn’t cost a dime.

Better Living Through Handymanlyness / Creative Space Tour at handsoccupied.com

Filed Under: Craft Fairs & Store Tours, Inspiration Tagged With: creative reuse, creative spaces, fishing, hunting, inspiration, shop tour, workshop

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is an artist, author and crafts designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame. In addition to running the Hands Occupied Blog and Pattern Shop, you can find her making videos & co-hosting the Very Serious Crafts podcast.

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Comments

  1. Peaches

    July 31, 2014 at 3:10 pm

    Whoa! Now THAT is a creative work space. Very cool!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      July 31, 2014 at 3:20 pm

      Haha, thanks! I was hoping someone would appreciate it for its pure weird- yet smart-ness. Probably not necessarily for design bloggers, but whaddyagonna do! :)

      Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

Professionally I’m most known for: advanced intarsia knitting design & modern latch hook design.

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Craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. / #latchhookbook out now!
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knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s ab There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s about how I’m going to take the next 2 weeks off to rest & recharge. ☺️🧶 No new content for y’all means I can also take a moment to zoom out & plan what’s next. Link is in bio. 
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A note on Very Serious Crafts: In the post I discuss stepping away from the @seriouscrafts podcast to give myself more time to devote to some minor medical issues. Don’t you worry - my health will be fine, & @molliejohanson @redhandledscissors and I are still pals, and after a short break of their own, the podcast will be back! Just sans moi. 💁🏼‍♀️😆 
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See you in a couple weeks! ✌🏻#handsoccupied #knitdesign #craftdesign #sofadedsweater
Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it shoul Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it should be. ☺️🎄The past few days have been filled with a lot of catching up on festive zoom calls & raising toasts to the camera. 🥂 Connecting with people has been a welcome change of pace! Now I’m feeling ready to meet my inevitable end-of-year deadlines. 😆
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Warmest wishes for the season, my friends! ❤️💛💙
Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker beh Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker behind Hands Occupied! 👋🏻 I’ve been enjoying making Reels a lot lately, but I wanted to bop in to share a regular photo & say hello. 🤓 
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rather than giving you my bio right now, I have a question. I just got this new sweater & I can’t stop imaging how funny it would be to wear this to a knitting class ... is that bad? 🤣🤣🤣
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Pictured: a blond woman with glasses wearing a sweater that reads “all your sweaters are ugly” standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is o Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is one of the most common methods for finishing a knitting project and helping ensure its final size and shape. Learn basic blocking for absolute beginners in an easy-to-follow (non-Reel!) video tutorial! Catch the tutorial on YouTube or the Hands Occupied Blog, link is in bio. 🧶 #handsoccupied #stopswatchandblockit #KPAmbassadorsDec20 #sponsored
Had to share this perfect capture of one of my fav Had to share this perfect capture of one of my favorite weird homemade Christmas ornaments: a simple macramé Santa face with beads for the eyes and nose! My Great-Grandma made it too. 🎄
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Might have to try making a quickie Reel tutorial for this guy - I think it’s the perfect project for it, don’t you? 🎅🏼 #handsoccupied #macrame
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