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I'm glad you were able to get a few things. Too bad they sold most of the fabric to a quilt store when there are so many quilters who need more fabric. :P
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Hoarding is a mental illness. We had a problem with my MIL several years ago. I looked it up on the internet and, sure enough, it was listed as a mental illness and they need to get professional help for it.
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I don't have near the fabric most people have, but I do enjoy creating, looking and buying. I am trying to use a lot of what I already have on hand to make some scrap quilts (which I love by the way). When my children would ask me why I buy all of this fabric I just tell them so I will have something to do when I retire. (Like that will ever happen).
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How sad. I am still trying to organize my house from all the items I have from my parents - My mom lived with us for 2 years before she passed.
I think I will spend tomorrow trying to clean out one section of my "sewingroom" |
I get a lot of pleasure from my stash and my plans of what to do with it. I have told my daughter and husband that if I die, they are to contact "XXXX" and let them sell/get what they can for my stash and machines (if daughter doesn't want anything) and put the money up for my grandkids' college fund. I can't worry about what happens after I die. I do think I have a touch of hoarding because our small house is full but if my kids would get all of their stuff out (and they have been gone for years) there would be more room. Maybe one day...LOL!
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I went to an estate sale once and the upstairs bonus room was filled with supplies for every craft imaginable. But this lady actively crafted, no new or unopened packages of anything. Everything had pretty much been gone through by the time my girlfriend and I got there, or so we thought. The lady's son was there and he said we could have whatever we could stuff into one of those big moving boxes for $5 so I just randomly took boxes that looked like they had anything fabric related in them and dumped the contents into a big box until it was full. I figured I could find a home for anything I couldn't use.
What I found when I got home were tons and tons of quilting projects and panels and good fabric that apparently were buried in these boxes and no one had noticed them. There was so much I ended up dispersing them to local groups who did a lot of charity quilting. Even though I didn't know the lady, it was obvious she was a crafter who enjoyed every craft imaginable, she was probably the first one to try out any new craft on the market. I made sure all the things I took from her home were not abandoned or wasted. |
Originally Posted by katmom54
I don't think it is sad that she had all that stuff...I like to shop for fabric...do I use all that I by? Not even close! But I truly enjoy the hunt and the time spent planning and coordinating is as satisfying as the actual sewing (which I hardly have time for right now) ...Maybe she got great pleasure out of buying the fabric and craft stuff and had dreams of some day making something with it all....
When I die, I hope that my family looks at the piles of stuff I leave behind and say "I remember when she got this - she really liked it at the time"....instead of feeling bad for me. |
I have a lot of stuff, and some crafts I don't do anymore and probably won't take up again so I keep an eye on Craiglist for people that need items for something specific. This summer a mom was looking for craft projects for her girls to do during the summer. They didn't have a lot of money and I had a surplus of some of the things they were asking for. They were thrilled to get the stuff and I was thrilled it went to someone who needed it. And my sewing guild has a garage sale every year for scholarships and I participate in that. That's how I get rid of fabric I no longer want or notions I never use.
Ever look at your fabric and wonder what in the heck possessed you to buy that?? Yuk!! |
I also went to a sale where a woman had been killed in an accident and her husband was selling her quilting. Her sisters and sisters-in-law were in charge of the cutting and selling and did a very good job. They had taken what they wanted and were selling the rest. It was an incredible stash and tools and took up a whole basement. It was cabinet after cabinet of fabric and crafting supplies. I got about 150 yards for $1 a yard; got rulers for a dollar. Apparently she had so many plans for when she retired but died shortly before retirement. There's no telling how many thousands of yards were sold. Her magazines were given away. I think she would have been pleased that her crafts would be living on with others who love her fabric and tools.
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I wish I had seen that ad. My son lives in Orange County. I would have sent him to the sale to buy stuff for me.
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I learned a big lesson this year about owning 'stuff'. My life demanded that I downsize from a big 4-bedroom house to a studio with living quarters. I organized every thing into 3 piles, 1 for trash, 1 for yard sales and 1 pile I wanted to keep. I learned that people collect way too much 'stuff' whether it is fabric, dishes, or whatever. I have now had 4-yard sales and they have been liberating. I'm so happy to own as little as I do. We all face passing at some point and I never want to put the burden of disposing of my quilting stash or any thing else I might own on a relative or a friend. I will now challenge a series of scrap quilts to downsize my own fabric stash. A good lesson learned.
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Yes...it's sad, but others don't think so.Maybe just having all her "stuff" was what it was about.She may never have planned on using it. I had a freind who was the same with clothes,with closets full of unworn clothes,shoes etc.
At my age, it's past time,someday is now.Cutting way way back on buying works best for me, & I've also started using fabrics for backings,to use as a base for strip quilting etc.I even used a couple yds to make a kitchen curtain.This is my yr to use it up or do without!
Originally Posted by mimee4
the words that are sad, to me, are "had never been opened" and "covered with dust". She just had the stuff and didn't know what was there. Each year I vow to use my stash and each year I add more. My daughter will love it - eventually.
This thread is an eye opener, though. I'm 70 and better get busy making quilts to give away and even give away some of the fabric I have. Thanks for sharing. |
Well, I hope this old lady got joy out of HAVING these things. Personally, I have to USE them to enjoy them. Glad you found yourself a few things.
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I don't have a lot, and I'm going through things now, WANTING granddaughter to take an interest in sewing lol. I do feel sorry for those who have money to buy and don't use what they have. Guess we are all different. Who knows maybe I would be like her if I had the money. :)
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I used to stockpile all sorts of craft stuff for "when I retire." Then I was diagnosed biipolar and put on meds that control it. Now I stockpile just quilt stuff. I made a pact with my DDs that my craft plans are just down to 3 things and I am sticking to it. The rest of the retirement stuff went bye-bye in yard sales. I'm not saying I'm perfect yet, but I am much, much better--and my children don't mind being around me now. the pity is that it took until I was 50 yrs old to get diagnosed. I can never undo the h---I put my family through before that.
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None of us can make up for yrs gone by, but sounds like you're doing great now.Good for you.
Originally Posted by Rann
I used to stockpile all sorts of craft stuff for "when I retire." Then I was diagnosed biipolar and put on meds that control it. Now I stockpile just quilt stuff. I made a pact with my DDs that my craft plans are just down to 3 things and I am sticking to it. The rest of the retirement stuff went bye-bye in yard sales. I'm not saying I'm perfect yet, but I am much, much better--and my children don't mind being around me now. the pity is that it took until I was 50 yrs old to get diagnosed. I can never undo the h---I put my family through before that.
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I jokingly told friends that when I pass away, my stash will be delivered to the funeral home, and there will be a cutting table at my wake. No one will go home empty handed. Bet there will be a great turnout.
Really though, I told my dh to let my guild friends come in and handle the workroom stash. they know what it is, what it's worth, and they will put it to good use. |
Originally Posted by rivka
So I went to this, early this morning:
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/art/2167969724.html The woman who passed had to have been some sort of hoarder; just tons and tons of crafting stuff that had never been opened -- of every imaginable kind (and covered in dust). There was yarn for knitting, cross stitch patterns, quilt patterns and kits, scrapbooking stuff, paper making stuff -- seriously, every kind of craft you could think of was represented. I even saw a woodworking kit. I found about 15 yards of decent fabric, some rulers, and a couple of quilting books that looked interesting. Unfortunately, most of the quilting fabric had already been sold to a local quilt shop, so there wasn't a ton of that left; the daughter that was there at the house was selling it at $1 a yard; and she gave me a ton of fat quarters for free, because she wanted to just get the stuff out of there. My husband said, "Boy, I hope this house isn't a preview of what you're going to be like someday!" I assured him that I was completely in control of my fabric purchases, and that he had nothing to worry about! But the whole thing made me a little sad, though -- all those items that she had bought and never even opened... |
Told my DH and when I go my sister Carol gets my Pfaff and her and my best quilting pal Elaine get first choice of my stash and supplies, rest should be donated to my quild that has a big stash room. May in Jersey
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