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Victory Is Mine, Sayeth the Packrat
Dec. 3rd, 2008 08:33 pmI am a packrat - I always have been. While I've been forced, occasionally, to declutter over the course of my several moves over the past several years, I have a seriously hard time throwing almost anything away if it isn't clearly identifiable as garbage. My dressers and closets are full of favorite barrettes from second grade, letters from high-school pen pals, a little ceramic owl that my kindergarten teacher gave me, Christmas cards from over a decade ago, and box upon box of similar detritus.
I am also a crafter, and an easily fascinated one at that. I have yet to find an art form that doesn't appeal to me, at least in theory, and I'm willing to try almost anything once. Some hobbies stick more than others do, and at this point most of my creative efforts are directed towards crochet and counted cross stitch, but I've dabbled in almost everything else that has crossed my radar.
These two traits combined explain why the room which we laughingly refer to as our guest room spends most of its time functioning as an oversized crafts closet, full of shelves and boxes and Rubbermaid bins stuffed to bursting with old half-skeins of novelty yarn, jars of craft glue, Ziploc bags of odd-colored embroidery floss, fake wampum beads, tissue paper, glitter, mismatched buttons, and God only knows what else.
Occasionally I feel a little bit ashamed at hoarding this junk. I know that I'll never find a use for most of it, and that it's taking up space that could be used for... I don't know, more bookshelves. Artwork. Making the room look more grownup and tidy. Actually setting up my sewing machine, instead of having it wedged into a corner between hemp bracelet kits, sticker rolls, and a half-made Lavender & Lace cross-stitch project.
On the other hand, it also means that when a friend pokes me online and asks if I could, perhaps, make a costume item that represents the core of my LARP character's soul from scratch on 24 hours' notice... I can. Without leaving the house.
Six hours, one spool of crochet cotton, a stray goose feather, some copper wire and glass beads, a handful of turquoise and agate chips, and some gratuitous Fun Fur, and I think I've got what I need. And I have, at least for the time being, validated the existence of my miscellaneous craft hoard....
I am also a crafter, and an easily fascinated one at that. I have yet to find an art form that doesn't appeal to me, at least in theory, and I'm willing to try almost anything once. Some hobbies stick more than others do, and at this point most of my creative efforts are directed towards crochet and counted cross stitch, but I've dabbled in almost everything else that has crossed my radar.
These two traits combined explain why the room which we laughingly refer to as our guest room spends most of its time functioning as an oversized crafts closet, full of shelves and boxes and Rubbermaid bins stuffed to bursting with old half-skeins of novelty yarn, jars of craft glue, Ziploc bags of odd-colored embroidery floss, fake wampum beads, tissue paper, glitter, mismatched buttons, and God only knows what else.
Occasionally I feel a little bit ashamed at hoarding this junk. I know that I'll never find a use for most of it, and that it's taking up space that could be used for... I don't know, more bookshelves. Artwork. Making the room look more grownup and tidy. Actually setting up my sewing machine, instead of having it wedged into a corner between hemp bracelet kits, sticker rolls, and a half-made Lavender & Lace cross-stitch project.
On the other hand, it also means that when a friend pokes me online and asks if I could, perhaps, make a costume item that represents the core of my LARP character's soul from scratch on 24 hours' notice... I can. Without leaving the house.
Six hours, one spool of crochet cotton, a stray goose feather, some copper wire and glass beads, a handful of turquoise and agate chips, and some gratuitous Fun Fur, and I think I've got what I need. And I have, at least for the time being, validated the existence of my miscellaneous craft hoard....
