My mother was a “saver.” She saved pieces of paper that were blank so that she could write notes to herself, or jot down something she heard on TV or radio that she thought was funny, or write down a useful tip about cooking. She saved clothes … forever … whether they fit or did not fit. Anything that came into the house rarely left again. The consequence is that we lived in a house full of clutter. She had lived through the Great Depression and knew what it was like to go without. She lived through WWII and understood the feeling of hunger in the pit of her stomach, a result of food rationing. Consequently, she “saved” everything. The word “hoard” might better apply. She even saved cartons that eggs came in, just in case a neighbor who raised chickens might need them. She saved pieces of aluminum foil, re-used plastic utensils, and used paper plates more than once, if the plate was not too “bad.”

As I look around my house, I see a similar problem happening. I keep promising myself that I will “get organized,” but that really is a standing joke. My bookcases are full, and at the moment, I even have piles of books stacked on the floor in front of them. Having subscribed to many quilt titles since becoming a quilter in 1984, you can only imagine the number of magazines I have accumulated. Every time I look through any of them, I’ll spot a reason why I can’t part with it – a great article, a story about someone I admire, a terrific design … and so it goes back into the pile.

I have loose ephemera crammed into file cabinets that are so overloaded, they are busting at the seams! Yet, all of the paperwork is important to me, for one reason or another. What I really need to do is to remove the most important pieces of ephemera and store them separately.

Finally, fabric! I guess I have not known when to quit when it came to “building a stash.” In addition, people give me fabrics, and it would be rude, after all, not to take them, wouldn’t it? Some of these supplies would be great for making Quilts for the Homeless as they are various weights and would generate warmth. I have yet to connect with such a group that makes that kind of quilt, in my local area, that needs fabrics and leftover pieces of batting. I would gladly part with same.

My overflowing scrap bag tells me that it is time to make a scrap quilt! I love the old-fashioned Spider Web quilt design and have made a total of five quilts in that style, from small ones to queen size. The scrappy star design is another favorite, a block of which is shown in my latest Sampler quilt that was featured here a short time ago.

Right now, I am overwhelmed by the number of books, pieces of paper, fabrics and fabric scraps in my possession. In fact, they are stifling my creativity. I have no place to work in my studio, without moving something else. You are my witness. I need to downsize! As I get to it, I think I’ll post some used books for sale on amazon. Perhaps, Goodwill might take some of the excess fabrics I’ve accumulated. I just can’t continue to live in clutter!

Has this happened to anyone else, or am I a lone voice, crying in the wilderness? I look wistfully at the photos of my studio, that we created in 1994, as published in a magazine, and I want my “space” back again. Wish me luck!

Patricia Cummings

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