marguerida's Profile

I keep my rotary cutter rulers and thread on hooks on the back wall of my coat closet. They're thin enough that the clothes and hangers don't knock them down.

I also spent a lot of time sorting and labeling everything. Beading supplies are in one decorative box, and there are other boxes for cross stitch/embroidery,patterns, plain sewing notions, quilt fabric, and other fabric. That way I can find the specific thing I want quickly without making a huge mess digging through boxes.

$725 for a 700 sq/ft one-bedroom with a balcony and off-street parking in St. Paul, MN, with a half-month free when I moved in. It's not perfect and I'm probably moving once I get a new job, but it's certainly good value. A year and a half ago I was paying $550 for a 500 sq/ft alcove studio without parking in a better neighborhood.

The old favorites I go back to are Patricia Wrede, Susan Cooper, Tamora Pierce, and Robin McKinley (who has a new book coming out this summer!!!).

Terry Pratchett has some young adult books that I like: Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky, and Wintersmith. Another one is coming out this year, I Shall Wear Midnight. There are also fantastic audiobooks of those.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate was good, as were The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. I'm looking forward to Mockingjay.

I started reading adult sci fi around 10, so I feel like I should share some of those too. Age-appropriate (and fun summer reading, some slightly trashy) favorites: Zelazney's Amber books, David Eddings, Riddle-Master of Hed, and the rest of Terry Pratchett's books.

I'm absolutely a pre-packer. When I moved into my current apartment, I handed my brother a diagram of where every piece of furniture was going. I'm contemplating another in town move right now (between a possible new job on the other side of the city and new neighbors who smoke, my apartment isn't quite as attractive as before) and it doesn't sound nearly as overwhelming as a year ago. Of course I'm paying him back for my last move next week by packing his kitchen.

If you know someone who works there, Starbucks boxes are fantastic for moving. For hanging clothes, wardrobe boxes if cross country, one of those bars that hangs across the back seat of a car if in town.

I ate at Tartine a couple weeks ago on vacation and now I'm in love with the cookbook. The recipes are a lot of work but absolutely worth the effort.

It depends on what the filler is and how tightly the cushions are filled. If it's fiberfill (likely on the back pillows), you can take it out and put it back after without much hassle. One trick to keep it looking better is to put it back in small pieces, i.e. less than a handful at a time, and fluff each piece as it goes into the pillowcase. When I did that it made rather a mess and it took two tall kitchen bags per back cushion to contain the fiberfill.

The seat cushions are probably filled with some kind of foam. If they're tight it'll be hard to get them back on straight. If there's a little give it shouldn't be too hard. You can also add fiberfill after if you want to make corners sharper.

You could also recover a shade with stitched aida cloth. You can buy it by the yard at Joann's.