Hoarding - Springing Ahead

thriftwizard

Well, you & me both! Some of my happiest childhood memories are of sitting under the table sorting buttons, listening to the whirr of my mother's old hand-cranked Jones. It was a very calm & peaceful place to be, in a busy & noisy household. I've never quite forgiven her for sending that one off to Africa & replacing it with a zig-zag machine, which she hated. She went through 3 of those in short order, then gave up sewing altogether.

It's interesting how many of my neighbours have thrown out their plastic machines & gone back to handcranks. They may be slow, heavy & not very flexible, but they are also reliable & capable. I have a very expensive Pfaff computer-that-sews (a lucky secondhand find) a lovely old Jones treadle, and a tiny old German handcrank that I've even been known to take camping! There are several other machines in the house - 2 modern Berninas & a beautiful Singer 48K IIRC - and a couple in the garage too! But in my defence there are also 3 other stitchers living here, two of them selling stuff they make, and occasional visiting crafters too.

GreyQueen

I kinda wish I hadn't sent my lovely immaculate Singer handcrank to Africa 25 years ago, but I try to tell myself that it has done someone in need a good turn. My 1970s electric Singer finally died the death a few years ago and I have an Elna which has more bells and whistles and which I don't like nearly as much........... I could work that older model in my sleep, it was so intuitive.

Mum has a Singer treadle, the centenary model in a cabinet, from 1951. I was given to her by a man she worked with, after his wife died. He'd bought it for her new, on terms, as it was such an expensive piece of kit back in its day. He wanted it to go to someone careful and appreciative.

Sadly, it's presently inaccesible due to clutter, and her electric which has even more bells and whistles than mine, is malfunctioning, so I'm taking some sewing gigs back to my flat.

Interesting that women who have had electric sewing machines for decades are getting exasperated by them, isn't it?

Aaleigha

I love my sewing machine as I have so few memories I do hold on to those I have and as for buttons shall I admit to having more buttons than all the clothes in new look put together in my defence I went through a spell of changing buttons on garments to customise things but they really should go but I am not in that room yet

GQ it is so interesting how people are returning to old machines for me it is not just the memories but the doing the hands on and the more me dative nature and you realise you are sewing with love it's not a race it should be a joy no fabric craft is cheap we don't save money so we must be using it for something else

Now I am still in bed the bipolar sometimes means I don't sleep well -so off for a bath then sorting shoes today
H x

thriftwizard

it is not just the memories but the doing the hands on and the more meditative nature and you realise you are sewing with love it's not a race it should be a joy

Hear hear! I feel the same about crocheting, spinning & weaving, too - I'm no expert at any of it, but there is something deeply calming & connecting about using your hands, head & heart to create (or repair) something - even just a pair of curtains or a dishcloth!

BUT the "creative clutter" in this house has got quite out of hand, and is now actively suppressing creativity, as our own equipment & supplies are all over the place. I think I'd like to go & make something in a free moment or two - even just a lavender bag, say - then I realise the machine is in one room, the fabric in another, the box of threads is buried under the spare bedding, and Heaven only knows where the fabric scissors have got to - I have found them in the garden before now!

Aaleigha

thriftwizard wrote: »

BUT the "creative clutter" in this house has got quite out of hand, and is now actively suppressing creativity, as our own equipment & supplies are all over the place. I think I'd like to go & make something in a free moment or two - even just a lavender bag, say - then I realise the machine is in one room, the fabric in another, the box of threads is buried under the spare bedding, and Heaven only knows where the fabric scissors have got to - I have found them in the garden before now!

I can so relate to this
I have sewing machines in three rooms in this house at the moment I cant even reach my spinning stuff
I really really want to make an eye spy quilt for a baby due in september but can even get to the table in the spare room to cut it and the dinning room table is covered - its my husband I feel for - I need to really try to get my head around all this and attempt to move stuff out sooner rather than later - perhaps I should not think about it so hard but just grab a pile sit on the bed with it with bags in front of me and just go for it - but as you know its not the easiest thing to do - I have been working on my clothes this morning and filled on bag for the cs taken three really nice things for ebay
and now I feel so depressed and low why can I never find a more normal balance for my emotions - but I am off up and will spend some time looking at my shoes I will try to move four pairs on - more will be brilliant but four will be a good starting point
off to do the shoes

thriftwizard

I've just taken about a third of my tops to the tip, bagged up another third for car booting at 50p each, and rolled the remainder neatly & replaced them end-up in the drawer. Suddenly the Marie Kondo advice has "clicked" and I can see the point of only keeping things that spark joy! Rest of wardrobe tomorrow, shoes after that. Then the fabric stash. It's amazing what a bit of sunshine can do!

And I've worked out that there is actually room for all my craft stuff. What's happened is that some of the shelves it should be on are currently occupied by "dead" items; things I collected up for one project or another & haven't used. The best thing to do with them is move them onwards; someone else out there probably can use them. If I ever need more, I'm sure they'll turn up when they're needed. Then the things I am currently using will have a home of their own to be put straight back into after use - as things should be.

Happygreen

DD1 is home to visit for her break and she aksed if I had a cardigan I didn't want. She'd been looking in CSs for weeks without success. I gave her a choice and I'm so pleased that one really suits her and she can take some of the others home, too, lol. Some more space in my wardrobe!

thriftwizard

And some money saved for your DD too, Happygreen. A win-win situation, if ever there was one. I woke up this morning realising I could do something similar; a friend is coming round this morning to borrow my computer to complete an urgent transaction, as her teenage son has managed to fill hers up with pop-ups and viruses & she can't load the final payment page without strange little windows appearing. She's a single mother of 5, one of them in hospital long term, so life is far from easy for her and there's no way she can afford a second computer that he can use, clog up & sort out for himself.

But I've been wondering what the heck to do with DS1's old computer... it's a good, fast games & music machine, albeit 5 years old now, with a non-windows "zone" that DS2 was unaware of when he left it online whilst he went off & ran one of his tough mudder races, then spent the rest of the day in the pub. Needless to say, it was so virus-ridden when he got back, that it's virtually unusable, for his purposes at least; he gets "paid" for gaming in his spare time. So he just bought himself another one! No wonder he's always broke... and DS1 has had to "go over" to Macs as that's what they use in the music industry. So I shall ask my friend today if she'd like me to get this one sorted out for her son; it's faster & more capable than hers, and if I can't sort it out myself, it'll cost me just £30 to get it done professionally.

Which would get me the space back, and move the thing on to somewhere where it may be rather more useful than it currently is!

Aaleigha

What a lovely gesture - she might even prefere that to her own
tell her to try to run housecall - its from trend micro and you run it from online - I have trend micro paid for anti virus its one of the business ones so not that well known about in home circles - but I knew someone who worked for them so was asked to test if for home use - its ease etc - I got 10 years free but now I have to pay for it
then she might have to go into programs and delete bits of programs

today I have sorted some shoes - and some more clothes I am going to have to put my winter boots shoes in the loft but that will be fine it will be easier really

I have used food from larder and freezer so not spent a penny today which is really good

I am seriously considering painting the bedroom furniture as I dont like the colour now the walls are done but cant afford new especially as there is nothing wrong with what I have - but that might be a job for later in the year - I really want to get all the money together for Norfolk then I can think of doing other things

spent much of the day in the garden watching the blackbirds feeding the babies on the nest nice to sit in the sun - it didnt get rid of any of the hoard of stuff I have but I did do a little - DH is going to take the two bags I have sorted to cs on the way to work in the morning before I am tempted to whip things back out again - if I take them I am likely to spend some money in town

thriftwizard

I've been planting all day (I've probably been hoarding seeds - we have far too many!) but I did manage to take a carload of garden rubbish to the dump and only came back with 12 small jamjars - my friend is currently making wild garlic pesto & has put out an appeal for small jamjars, so that's allowable.

I went into the porch at one stage, intending to haul a load of stuff out, give it a cursory inspection & remove anything of real value, and Freecycle or dump the rest. But I couldn't face it, and shut the door on it again. Try again tomorrow...