rryder

Happy New Year everyone! Here's the new thread for 2024. Please remember to post here rather than on the 2023 thread!

So, to start- has anyone started organizing this year? LOL.
I haven't, but I'm busy planning what I'm going to organize and if I want to downsize some of my other arts and crafts hobbies. Here's a list:

1. Spinning- I've got lots of hand spun yarn that I'm not using and probably never will. Also I have a ton of roving that has accumulated over the 40+ years I've been handspinning. Not to mention my spinning wheel that is made of pvc pipe needs to be re-glued. There are also a number of drop spindles that I made out of CDs and dowel years ago for a workshop I held.
It might be time to let this hobby go, or maybe just keep some roving a a drop spindle.

2. Knitting and Crochet- lots of odds and ends of yarn left over from projects I made years ago. Not to mention all my hand spun yarn. Tons of knitting needles and crochet hooks. In reality the only things I've knitted in years are socks and I only need one set of double points to knit those. Maybe it's time to purge everything but the double points and some sock yarn.

3. Jewelry and metal fabrication- tons of tools related to fabrication, including torches, a jewelers bench, rolling mill, dapping tools, chasing tools, lots of scrap copper and silver, beads, etc. I still sell some jewelry at two galleries in town, but have slowed way down on making jewelry. In reality, I could let go of a bunch of tools and send the scrap silver to our local refinery for some pocket money and I'd still be able to make the earrings that sell the best at the two galleries in town.

4. Junk journal supplies- tons of scrap paper, old calendars and some decorative items that I'd been saving to put in junk journals. This is a hobby that I got interested in a few years ago and I made a number of junk journals and gave them away as Christmas presents to folks who have enjoyed them. However, I don't do that kind of journalling and aside from binding the scraps into useable journals, I found all the other parts of junk journalling to be rather tedious.. I could just bind all the excess papers into some journals and use them for sketchbooks and get rid of the rest of the supplies.

5. I also have materials for painting, drawing. print making and doing mixed media art. I think these are all things I'll keep for now, though I may go through them later after I've downsized the other areas.

6. quilting- I have one sewing machine that I'm thinking of donating as I've never bonded with it, but other than that, I think for now I'll hang on to everything in my studio. I'm sure that if I looked hard enough I'd find some rulers, etc. that could go. I also have a load of retired show quilts that are taking up storage space. It might be time to find a new home for some of these.

7. Books- I've still got my professional library that I brought home with me when I retired. It may be time to let go of these. I've also got a ton of books related to the various creative hobbies I've enjoyed over the years. On several occasions I've tried the trick of finding 5 books every week to donate, and that's helped some while being relatively stress free, but there's still a lot of books that realistically I'll never look at again. So time to do some more 5 book a week sessions.

I'm also going to print out this list to help me get going LOL

Rob