I'm convinced that all crafters share one worry: that we will run out of that critical item and chaos will take over. But, we don't know what that critical item will be so we hoard a little bit of this and a lot of that. You know, just in case...
Well, yesterday my worry was realized when I ran out of stuff for my laminating gadget. Sadly, I"m sorry to report that chaos did not take over. I just shrugged my shoulders and said "oh well" and went on to another task.
Oh my, what am I to do now that I know there is no need to hoard stuff? Life still goes on even if you use that last bit of adhesive or that last swatch of favorite card stock. This will certainly take some time to process.
So while I process, I"m going to share with you some memories of two of my most loved hoarders: my mom and my grandmother.
Mom wasn't into paper crafting like I am. (Now some of that is probably due to the fact that paper crafting hadn't reached her crafter's radar back in the mid 1980s) Nope, she was a thread chick. It didn't matter: yarn, fabric, cross stitch, she loved it all. And she stashed it all! Towards the end of her battle with cancer, she did a fair amount of retail therapy even if she didn't have the strength to keep on stitchin'. When she passed away, my dad discovered her stash. A true blessing for any crafter: to have your stash discovered by your spouse AFTER you've passed away. Less confrontation I'm sure! :) But Dad took it all in stride: he gave some of the stash to my sister and I (yes, we're passing down the hoarded stuff. I"ve purged some of the stuff but some I am keeping just for sentimental reasons. How about you, Laura?) and some of the stuff he took back to the store where they issued him a refund (yep, you are right, it WASN"T a Michaels she writes with a sarcastic grin).
And then there was my maternal grandmother, Irene. She was mostly a knitter with some occasional sewing. Whenever you would visit, she'd ask "which one do you like" as she'd shuffle off to her hall closet where she kept her stash of patterns. Oh how I loved that closet: it was probably my first experience in FEELING the thrill that comes with looking through you stash. You see all the crafting projects just sitting there, waiting to be put to use. Bliss, I tell you, pure bliss!
So, maybe it isn't just worry that leads us to hoarding our stuff. I know I get a warm and cozy feeling when I sort through my stashed stuff as I imagine all the awesome things I can create with these treasured items. Not that I actually will, but the fact that I could is very comforting to me.
But first, I gotta get a refill for my xyron...and while I"m there, I bet I buy TWO just in case I run out again...
2 comments:
ahhh, it reminds me of my grandmother....i have a quilt made by her, she made it out of my granddad's old polyester suits, it's really neat. I'm keeping baby clothes of the boys in hopes I will one day go from quilting pictures together in a scrapbook to quilting cloth together. it would be great to give the boys a quilt of their baby clothes on the day they have their own children...
thanks for your story!
2 separate basement floods took care of any notions I had of hoarding stuff! I too had been hanging on to a variety of items but what wasn't destroyed by sewage water found it's way to a garage sale or goodwill as I just couldn't bear to trek it all back downstairs AGAIN.
The one thing that seems to multiply like rabbits around here is books. I find warmth and comfort from a well stocked bookshelf and just can't resist a trip into Barnes & Noble. Talk about bliss...I had so much fun perusing Aunt Phyllis's used book collection. I may never get to read all the books I've collected but I sure find it comforting to just hold one in my hand.
Post a Comment