Project #18: Small Crochet Basket

As you have probably seen in my previous post, I made a little basket to hold some of the bits'n'pieces I need on my desk. I don't like having too much stuff lying around on my desk and this basket helps me keep the small things together.

It is made after a really easy pattern. I used a super bulky yarn in colours matching our living room and the rest of my desk. The whole basket is made with double crochets. The base is crocheted in rounds increasing until I thought it's big enough. 

I followed (once again) the pattern from the book "Crochet with One Sheepish Girl" but made only the first 3 rounds for the bottom. Otherwise it would have become too big. 

The sides are made from 3 rounds of double crochet (changing colour inbetween) and ended with a round of back post single crochets. This finish is my own idea and makes the rim more stable.

I'm quite fond of crochet baskets and have already made few, e. g. this one. They are really handy. Have you ever made a crochet basket? What are you keeping in it?

Home Office Makover

Spending more time working at home during the last few months I became a bit dissatisfied by my desk situation. So far I used a secretary desk (or escritoire) which I thought was ok. But given the circumstances that I'm writing my phd thesis and the most intense phase just began, I now have to work at home more. Since I spread lots of books and dokuments while working, the seretary surface turned out way too small for REALLY working. 

It took us quite a while to figure out a good solution as our flat is quite small and there is only a tiny space in the living room for squeezing in a desk. So we put in this dark tabletop you see in the photo. 

In small spaces you have to see that there is as little stuff as possible on your desk. So we hung up my computer screen on the wall and installed a shelf for my laptop above. There is room for notes on the pinboard or under my clear writing pad. Books and bigger things can be kept in the shelf under the desk. However it was still a very small desk and probably not big enough for spreading all my stuff while working but we didn't want to change the furniture in our living room.

So my husband came up with the great idea to build a variable tabletop inside the cabinet on the right. The doors on the outside remained and he added a wooden panel from the inside. The doors are now linked and can't be opened the usual way but have to be folded out. You can see the result in the next photo. This way I've got a lot of desk space for spreading all my working stuff. When I'm done for the day I just fold it back up and it looks like an ordinary cabinet (with just the slit in the door but I don't mind). Isn't it fantastic?

Of course I had to add some nice little decorative things to make myself feel even more comfortable when sitting at my desk. I put some photos of my family and friends onto the walls because I like having them around. 

My pinboard became nicer by sticking washi tape all over its wooden frame and adding some pompom pushpins (see onesheepishgirl.com). 

I made a little crochet basket to hold the little bit'sn'pieces I essentially need on my desk which is going to be in the next post. And one last thing I just had to do is pimping the handles of the cupboard hanging above my desk (just didn't like them). A super bulky yarn and a simple crochet stitch around them did the trick. 

So, how do you like the ideas of my home office makover? Any more ideas for small office spaces? Love, Kerstine.