Thursday, October 14, 2021

Hello, My Name Is Kathy and I Am a Fabric Hoarder!

For well over 2 weeks I have worked diligently in my sewing room. I have measured and labeled over 500 yards of fabric. I have rolled up remnants and found all manner of things tucked away in that room. Yesterday, I sorted the last big rubbermaid bin from the closet in that room and congratulated myself on a job well done.

For over 8 hours every day, I have sorted and cleaned and stacked. Dust has been in my eyes and up my nose. This morning I was back at my seemingly endless task. I hit the notions today, bagging lengths of lace and ribbons and pricing them 25 cents a bag. I emptied box after box of saved treasures and was feeling pretty good about my big outdoor sale this Saturday. The weather is supposed to be perfect and I have posted it everywhere.

Just as I was about to stop to prepare dinner, I looked down, under my cutting table that is 3' X 5' and discoved FOUR MORE PLASTIC BINS. My neck aches along with my shoulders and my arthritic thumb is throbbing in protest. I want to cry.

I have been packing the things I want to keep in the empty bins and placing them in the empty closet, all the while wondering how I managed to cram this much stuff into such a small area! I have found fabric that I don't even remember buying!

Scraps that might be useful one day are the most time consuming. A lot of fabric and scraps were gifted to me from other hoarders, as they found themselves unable to toss them in the trash.

It would appear that I have a problem. I am a fabric hoarder.  

9 comments:

Angie said...

Literally laughed out loud!! From one fabric hoarder to another!! :D

Joanne Noragon said...

Reminds me of all the charity quilt tops I sewed for my sister to quilt. Her customers often dropped bags of their remnants behind my chair on the way out.

River said...

You fabric hoarders should all have a get together and find out who has the biggest stash and who has the smallest. You could give prizes of even more fabric :)

Val said...

Admitting you have a problem is the first step! I don't know the other steps. I might need to re-watch "28 Days," that Sandra Bullock movie where she's an alcoholic. Not a fabric hoarder.

Leslie U. said...

My 83 year old mother has been going through her craft/office room the past few weeks. She has managed to shred about 8 large garbage bags of old papers and also going through all the fabric she has stashed up there. She has always been a sewer and was making quilts for a while too. She wants to try to work on quilts again and is getting her room together so she has space to work again. She has dementia and I am seeing her happier since she has decided to do this again although she no longer remembers buying all the fabric or the twenty something sewing machines she has up there. Most are displayed on top of a wall of cabinets, not for use. She actually sews mostly on the same sewing machine she has had since before I was born and it still works great.

Anonymous said...

You are not alone. I even have two sewing machines (one is a Bernina just knew would be used every week of my life)! Two ironing boards, three irons, seven pairs of shears and two pairs of pinking shears . . .

f we are judged by our intentions . . . Our cups run over. :) We've been very blessed.

Allison said...

I feel your pain! I used to have a lot of fabric, although you have more than me. We moved which caused us to have to eject many things. Stout heart.

dkzody said...

From stories I am hearing, you are not alone. Two women recently told me of fabric they had to haul out of storage units of women who had died and left them with the responsiblity. Neither of my friends are sewers so this just seems crazy to them. I feel a similar sensation thinking about fabric, however, I love paper so I have a large collection of beautiful papers. We all have our foibles.

Linda O'Connell said...

Oh my goodness, you are a hoarder. But imagine how much $ your vice can produce. Won't it be hard to see it go? Some quilter sowewhere will love the opportunity to root through your treasures.