I’m fascinated by the show Hoarders on A&E. Once Trena found the episodes online, she too couldn’t stop watching. It’s really a cautionary tale, isn’t it?
I think of this because I started cutting the Michael Kors-ish dress today. The dress has a belt component. Now, I do in fact have buckle / belt kits. I bought yards of belting at PR Weekend in Portland and buy up every single one of those Dritz Buckle-to-Cover whenever and wherever I can find them.
Really, I kind of hoard them. I think they’ve been discontinued and I’m always worried I won’t be able to find more. And, you know Burda is with all their ‘self covered belt’ nonsense. I hoard them to the point that I’ve only let myself use one once. And I’m mad about that because I don’t even have that dress anymore!
So, is there anything sewing related that you hoard? That you you’re worried will be discontinued?
It’s totally baby making weather in Baltimore and right now I’m trying to remember why I’m not in Panama for Christmas. But, I am using the best birth control of all. My sewing machine. So far I’ve been out three times to shovel and suspect I’m in for another trip or two before the day is over. We are getting one to two feet by tomorrow. Definitely at 12 inches already. The good thing is that the manual labor finally made me open up something else I’ve been hoarding. New Zealand Cream liqueur from Redwood Cellars in New Zealand that I bought five years ago when I spent two weeks driving on the wrong side of the road. Delicious with coffee.
Miss Celie's Pants 
Arggh, Hoarders!! I have it set to record on my DVR every week. DF would say that I’m a fabric hoarder, but I figure it’s not so bad as long as it’s organized. Patterns are a bit the same way.
The small bits of it I’ve seen actually make me physically sick. Does that mean I have some sort of issue? I don’t think so because I can discard and dispose with abandon when I’m in the mood. Even sewing stuff, when pushed to the edge.
There are still a few people who make belts, I think, so if I need one, I’m hoping I can send it out 🙂
Our precip in NC is over so I’m off to start/finish shopping. It’s amazing how easy the whole “holiday experience” is with the limited resources left by the sucky economy. Again, goodbye 2009. Ooh! And I got BWOF for January 2010. Not much in there that interested me, but it must be some sort of good omen. On to next year!
OMG, this is too-too deja vu weird. My husband JUST said something about hoarding when we were eating pizza lunch 15 minutes ago. He said he wouldn’t want, when we’re gone, someone to be cleaning up 1970s bottle caps like some people have that they can’t throw out. Now we don’t have bottle caps, but I do have 24 boxes of fabric. This year I forced myself *mostly* to sew gifts with fabric already hoarded in those boxes, although you can bet I was online putting new ideas together. And placed a few orders. You know how it is, unique stuff, won’t be available again … And just before lunch, I searched for and pulled out a cool zipper pull for a pull-over for my dad. Because I almost bought that same zipper pull at JoAnn last night. Then I put it back and didn’t buy it. I figured, I previously bought it to use it, I don’t need to buy another one, just so that I still have one after I use the one I have. (follow?) But then, once I use the one I have, what if I need it again in the future… agh …
I would (OK, do) hoard things like unique zipper pulls.
That show is mandatory viewing. Just can’t look away. It’s so sad, but we can’t tsk tsk too much, can we? A lot of us who make things have (ahem, mild) hoarding tendencies. What Deb said. Sometimes I buy stuff IN CASE I use the stuff I already have. And what do I hoard, that I worry will be discontinued? Um, sewing machines?
To top it off, I love tchotchkes, which is just asking for more trouble. “Hoarders” has helped me to embrace the idea of rotating things.
Good booze on a snowy day. I knew I liked you.
You’re absolutely right. We do have some mild tendencies don’t we? If you saw how many zippers I have. And bias tape. Whew do I ever have a lot of bias tape!
I know these hoarding tendencies run in my family – my grandmother was the worst! She saved newspapers, magazines, books, you name it. So I try to fight these impulses in myself. I have not bought fabric in two YEARS and you know what? Not once in those two years did I run out when I wanted to make something. I think I might have enough to last two more years!
I could sew something for the next two years and not run out of material. Maybe not the project I want to work on. But, I could definitely sew something.
I love the picture out of your window. I always love snow days. We make a fire, I sew, everybody reads. It’s great. We’re waiting for your storm to make it up the coast. I understand it’s starting to slam New York right now. We’re supposed to get it tonight.
My mom brings that show up to in relation to me & sewing, I think, but I am not a hoarder, I just don’t get enough time to fully purge and clean with 4 small kids. I just need some good blocks of time to get in and straighten. I do purge and/or use, especially clothes (kids), I don’t have much, I purged alot of mine years ago. I have a lot of kids clothes, having the 4, but I purge and giveaway alot.
We only got about an inch where I am in Ohio, but I love the shot out your front door! And I am laughing my head off. My favorite form of birth control-the 4 kids we already have!!! But I love them anyway!
I watch Hoarders and it is a fascinating show. I just moved into a new apartment a few months ago and purged a lot of things. Hoarding becomes a problem when a tramatic event occurs such as a death in the family. It is a mental illness under OCD umbrella. It can be crippling whether you hoard or always cleaning two extremes. Although I do have fabric and patterns, and make efforts to buy what I want to make and not hope to make.
My cousin lives in Baltimore. Today was supposed to be the Christmas celebration with her oldest daughter, but of course that fell through. Better to stay home in that kind of weather-I hear many travelers are stranded.
Hoard? I’ll have to think a bit-there are many things I hoard in the fear that they will be discontinued. I try to keep the studio organized, but during peak sewing times like now it’s a huge mess!
We have a few inches of snow here now but will get more tonight. I’m snug as a bug with my new issues of BurdaStyle and US Weekly. Haven’t seen Hoarders yet but think viewing it could be in my future. I am not a hoarder of anything, come to think of it. I may overbuy stuff, but there’s nothing I feel the need to hoard. Does that mean there’s something wrong with me, like I wasn’t hugged enough as a child?
We are watching some local news and they say we have 17 inches of snow here. I believe it! It’s so nice to be safe and warm and sewing today.
And I do not hoard. I organize. It is pretty ridiculous.
I do not like to hang onto things I am not using. I like it better to have what I need and no more than that.
Having said that, I do have a lot of fabric, notions and sewing stuff.
I’m deeply guilty of hoarding certain things sewing and keeping it all obsessively organized so I can find stuff – but the surge and purge button is close at hand lest things get ridiculous. I’ve seen the hoarders on TV, man, this is something else entirely, really a sickness, and yet the stories should still lend us all a cautionary note – things do not make us whole nor should they provide a physical touchstone for every memory of a lifetime. As long as we can laugh at our little or not so little collections and keep them in healthy perspective when others poke fun at them, then our reality meters are probably still working 🙂
PS. we had the heaviest snowstorm in 15 years last winter so we’re taking just a little bitty break right now…
My husband will not let me watch Hoarders because it completely freaks him out. I also come from a family of hoarders and I purposely do not collect anything because of it. Ok, I may a few more pairs of shoes than the average bear but I actually use them! My aunt owns every non-makeup item that Avon has ever made.
I don’t know that I’ve over accumulated anything sewing but I’ve been known to buy out a store of an item I love because I’ve heard it might be discontinued. Case in point, deodorant and Reynolds Wrap Release (they just changed the name).
Annie
I bought gobs of hair stuff once because I heard the formula in Nexxus Humectress was changing.
My darling husband is the only thing standing between me and a life as a crazy cat lady.
It appears I am hoarding fabric and patterns! I wish I could hoard some extra time to go with them!!!
I’ve never been able to watch. I had a relative with a hoarding problem and, believe me, it was a problem getting rid of all the stuff after he died.
Sewing stuff I hoard: only the piece of genuine lambs wool I purchased many years ago. I use it for sleeve heads in jackets and I’m afraid I’ll never be able to buy any of the same quality again. But I’m not in New York. Maybe I could actually find some there?
waving furiously from New Zealand…Wellington to be precise. I spent today slathering on the sunscreen trying not to get sunburnt while at bbq following big training swim in the harbour. have spent last few months decluttering, selling the now-teenagers childhood toys. well, many of them anyway. Am trying not to be a hoarder, but after 15 years in the same house….well, it’s a battle. Merry xmas from way down here.
I can’t watch Hoarders. Watching episodes of Clean House’s Messiest Home in America made me physically ill. The closest of cat poop still haunts me.
I think I hoard fabrics. I see a nice fabric for a bargain and say to myself, 2 yards for a nice shirt. What if I love it and they run out of it? 2 more yards, just in case. They only have 6 yards, well why not buy all 6 yards.
You see where this is going. I generally purchase too many yards with all my solid fabrics. I made a deal with DH. I wouldn’t purchase any more fabrics UNLESS I needed it to finish a project (linings, etc.). He was starting to panic when he last saw my fabric stash.
I think everyone experiences a moment of panic when you use something up from your stash (fabric, notions, etc.). Bottom line, you loved it enough to buy it. Actually using it would be better than letting it sit in your closet for years.
Wow, that is some serious snow outside of your house. At least you’re getting some good exercise shoveling snow! We’ve watched a couple of episodes of Hoarders — it is tough to watch at times. I think many of us have hoarding tendencies. I tend to hoard fabric, yarn and buttons. Many, many buttons. Thank goodness they are small!
Hoarding sewing supplies is a way of life for me! With quality and accessibility deteriorating at a rapid pace what choice do we have?
LOOOVE the snow – granted I don’t have to go to work in it! We’ve had 19 inches of rain in the past week which is much less pretty.
Just started watching Hoarders and I too couldn’t look away but it also makes me a little uneasy because I see some um….. familiar tendencies. After each show I make myself throw a few things away – I know a weird reaction. I have too much fabric and way too many patterns. I think I could clothe my family of 4 for a year or two.
No crazy cat lady or just a touch of snow on the ground here…but I’m alone with my sewing machine: I need to start sewing Christmas here
Trying not to acquire so much sewing stuff. It needs to stay in the bins I have. A college friend’s mother was a hoarder, and it was truly awful.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and stay safe.
I am awestruck with every episode of Hoarders I watch. It’s just like adult illiteracy…you would be amazed at the extent people go to hide the condition.
There are two things I’ve recently learned: Once you’ve had to clean up the home of a hoarder (alone), you swear upon everything holy you will never become one. I had to clean up my mother’s home fighting her all the way. Not too fun….
Secondly, once you’ve had to pack your entire household, you get a clear picture of what you have accumulated and swear you’ll change your ways. When I packed my fabric to move back to California to care for my mother, I hate to tell you how many 6 yard hunks of fabric I stored. It was a very bad habit I picked up from working a parttime job at a fabric store.
I’ve now gotten into a better habit of buying fabric only when I have a specific project in mind, and only after I have purchased (or decided) on the pattern.
I love reading about all the snow back east. Reminds me of my Nebraska childhood….
I tend to hoard sewing supplies so I have on hand what I need when I need it. And I’ve got some of those belt buckle kits in my sewing stash too…for much the same reason as you *LOL*
I was a little alarmed when I read the title of this post! Have I mentioned that it’s been 40 plus degrees for weeks here (and that’s celsius) and we’re in the driest wet season on record? I’m going to post a picture of my crispy brown lawn. I am a hoarder, too. You should see the buttons and zips I have but never use because I might need them sometime.
Oh my gosh . . . I went to Redwood Cellars when I visited the south island of New Zealand several years ago. Yummy stuff, lots of great wineries there! Driving in New Zealand is a bit of a challenge!
Snow doesn’t bother me at all, but lucky for me I park in a garage at home *and* at work! Have not dug out a car in years and I plan to keep it that way. I spent all of yesterday cooking and baking, it was the perfect day for it.
This show hits really close to home for me (literally), my mom is a total hoarder and my grandma and great-grandma were “pack rats”, just the term they used before “hoarding”. I really have to fight my tendency to squirrel stuff away and either use it or throw it away. Whenever I need to clean I put on that show and it makes me chuck things out with a vengence.
Funny thing about snow is, it’s perfect for crafting. We dare not get that much in my part of NC, but when they start shutting down everything (and I do mean everything), I grab my crochet hooks or sewing machine and go to town.
* Note: In reference to your comment about having enough fabric to last two years, I recently put myself on a diet. More specifically a yarn diet. For six months. And before that, I said to myself “no more random fabric buying!” Sigh.
Yeah, that show is nuts. It is impossible to look away. It certainly serves as a cautionary tale for me. I watch it online, and do dishes while it’s running. It is certainly a cleaning motivator, as Edris said.
So upset that I am missing the big snow!!!!!
Funny thing is that I don’t hoard anything else but fabric and sewing bits and pieces. I can’t go past a fabric shop without stopping and especially those blasted remnants bins – they call out … buy me, buy me – this is your last chance before I’m sold out forever… and I keep buying …
The good news is – its not my fault :=) I found out recently that my Grandmother was exactly the same. In my hoard(?) I still have some pieces that she sent me as a child from Holland. Pity I only got to meet her twice. These would be +40yrs old now.
If you ever get back to NZ I will happily show you my ‘collection’ and take you on a tour of some of our fabric shops and replenish your liqueur stock 🙂 for cold snowy days – thanks for the pictures.
Well, I only wish you a happy Christmas to you and yours best wishes for the new year.
Hugs for you Cidell….!!!!
The snow makes your neighborhood look like a postcard!
I’ve never made a belt. Maybe some day…
Merry Christmas…enjoy your snow!
I’d take your snow over the freezing rain/sleet in my area! As far as hoarding, I guess I have a book problem. And it’s gotten worse since I’ve been reading blogs and seeing recommendations of older out-of-print books! On the bright side, I have pretty much quit buying cookbooks and gardening books. I’ve been weeding out items (college books, kitchen items not used in years, etc), but sometimes I look around my sewing room and….I’m overwhelmed. While I’m happy I now have a space of my own for sewing, I’m not really happy with it. I think it’s time for a clean-up/out of projects and hobbies that I am no longer interested in. Thanks for posting this, I did not know Hoarders was online. I’ll have to see if I can watch it over our (often slow) internet connection and catch up on the ones I’ve missed. Perhaps it will give me some inspiration and courage to make some tough decisions.
I don’t hoard, I collect! A lot! Except for one thing I’m hoarding right now…Max Factor clear mascara. I use it as a brow groomer. I read online that it will no longer be available in the US. I bought a bunch at drugstore.com. I love this stuff and don’t want to live without it.
So *that’s* where all the belt kits are going! LOL. I collect them too, for my vintage projects. I’m sure there’s enough for us to share!
I have found the motherlode of Dritz Buckle-to-Cover notions. No kidding! Not to be a tease, but just e-mail me and I’ll give you the details. I just found hundreds of them. I purchased five of them (the 3/4 and 1 1/2 inch ones) for twenty cents each. I’m sure you will get your fill them. Miss Celie, I’m assuming you can get my e-mail address directly?