Hobbyists, do you get overwhelmed?

{{{{ jeremysgirl }}}}} huge big hugs!!!! that is amazing... good for you...

see all the more reason you should feel no guilt over the supplies you do have...

you couldve put that all in your lungs and YOU MADE THE CHOICE NOT TOO!!!!

I am proud of you

jeremysgirl what is the grinch fabric thing? Like a quilt or wall hanging?? Its cute..


I dont sew and I refuse to start.. lol.. i will say i have been tempted by the punch needle thing that is starting to trend...

Haha. I bought punch needle stuff- it was going to be great!!! I gave it a go… and it ain’t turning out like a thought. And all the stuff sits. Do I need a more expensive needle, better canvas…. Or just need it to let that dream go. Sigh. I also don’t sew or quilt. But damn it, I have four boxes of baby/toddler clothes all three girls wore (cough cough 26-30 years ago) that I am just sure I’ll turn into a quilt someday. I even KNOW it’s not true but I can’t part with that dream. 🤣

Congrats on the not smoking.  I know it is really difficult to stop. 

However, that pic is not gross, that pic is heavenly! I see positive, your reward for doing something really hard!

Sending love and jumbo hugs to you Becki!  xox

I am a multi-craft SABLE crafter, sitting right there on that bench with you, jeremysgirl . I have (some) guilt, but not much. I haven't made a SB page or a card in at least 3 years, so all those purchases / supplies are just sitting there, staring me in the face. I am going to box them up and set them aside for at least another year or so, before I decide if I want to keep or donate them. Yes, there was an obscene amount of $$ paid for all of it. But it's spent now, and we had it to spend when I bought it, so...

Since I stopped paper-crafting, I've gotten back into cross-stitching, so I have accumulated a pretty sizeable collection of charts, fabrics including hand-dyed linens, etc., hand-dyed flosses, some silk floss... you get the idea. AND I have two huge multi-year cross-stitch projects in process. When I buy the chart / fabric / etc., it's because I like it and I do have every intention of stitching it, someday. Right now I have at least 15-20 projects in-process (probably more), from large 19th century reproduction samplers, to small ornaments.  I get distracted easily, lol.

I've also recently gotten back into sewing with a machine (and quilting, specifically), so I'm now collecting / accumulating fabric and quilt related patterns. I started with my mom's fabric, which I got after she passed away, and I've bought more supplies and fabric from estate sales, thrift stores, JoAnn's, and specialty quilt stores, to buying cotton shirts from Goodwill specifically to cut them apart for fabric. Since I started the 'quilting' kick, I've made a total of TWO quilt blocks- one 6x6 inches, and one 10.5 x 10.5 inches. HAHA.


So, in a nutshell, my thinking is this:  

• I see 'collecting' and 'creating' as two separate things; they trip different places in my brain, for different reasons.
  The collecting is a treasure hunt, and I get a high from finding things I like / want. The 'creating' process is like meditation, putting me in a flow state while I'm doing it.  I like looking through my cross-stitch pattern collection, or looking through my growing collection of books and magazines about quilting.
    
• I am totally FINE with being a 'process' person.  It's not so much about the finished product for me as it is the flow state / zen feeling I get while I'm in the process of doing the activity.  (Although my intention for the quilts I hope to make is for them to go to the quilt guild program for finishing / donating to whatever organization needs them. And I do hope to complete a number of cross-stitch samplers and get them framed to display in our house.)  Not every activity has to have a 'purpose' or an 'end' goal... sometimes the activity IS the purpose.
  
  
• I'm starting to think more about retirement... I'd love to retire within the next 10 years, and I will have plenty of things to do with my time, lol.  (that's kind of in jest, but also sort of serious- we have the $$ now, so I'm buying things now.  If they wait till I'm retired to get worked on, that's fine with me.)

and, in a bit of a different light... I live in the St Louis area, and see SOOOO many motor homes, RVs, and campers of all sizes sitting around in storage lots.  MULTIPLE tens of thousands of dollars, just sitting there.  Waiting for their owners to go on vacation with them... maybe 2-3 weeks out of the year, at best.  Do you think those owners all have huge amounts of guilt over that 'stash' of camper?  Probably not.  They probably think:  "It's there so I can use it when I want to; what's the big deal?"  

I've always had space constraints for my belongings, so that keeps my hobby purchases a bit more manageable.

Now, my MIL, oh the other hand, is in her 80s and has an entire walk-in-closet---maybe 4' by 6'---that is floor to ceiling yarn. And she keeps buying more yarn.

So yeah, that seems more than she will likely ever use.  But, she can afford it, and she does have the space to keep shoving in more, LOL, and it makes her happy and there's no real harm.  She tends to buy most of it second-hand, too, so that helps out in the face of any environmental concerns from consuming, kwim?  And then she donates the items she makes.  

But even my own hobbies, for which I do buy new product, and for which I don't donate anything, still makes me happy.  We all deserve something that makes us happy in life. 

My over stuffed scrap room was the first thing I thought of when reading the thread about elderly parents and hanging on to stuff. I do not want my daughter to be stuck with a room full of paper and stamps and glitter that she will have to get rid of. Someone remind me in 20 years or so to downsize it all!

Yes! I decided to hit the pause button on my crochet projects. I have a scrap project that I will pick up again in the fall. Then I think I need to work on using up my stash of leftover yarn for practical things like blankets to keep in the car during winter months. I made a bunch of little dog cowls to give to my friends’ dogs this past winter, but I barely made a dent in it. 

I have stamps, scrapbook stuff and other art supplies , beads and other jewelry making stuff, cameras and lenses, sewing machines, and tons of watercolor paints and paper. I would have no problem with the amount if I had room for it all. But I have one bedroom in my son and DIL’s house, for my bed, clothes, everything. I’m always trying to make room.

But DIL and my granddaughter love that I have so many fun things for crafts and art projects.