Guilt And The Craft Stash!

Another 'WIP'!

This week I discovered that despite my denial, I'm a serial buyer and hoarder of crafting materials, I got an email inviting me to purchase more wool on 'special offer', but I have a 'stash' of wool, material, cross stitching thread, rubber stamping goodies and enough card making supplies to sink a ship! To add to my list of materials, I have a selection of works in progress known amongst crafter's as WIP's, it really is getting silly now. I discovered the above wizardly bear in a box, all he needs to finish him is a little back stitching and some 'bubbles' coming out of the cauldron, I think it was going to be a birthday card for someone when the first Harry Potter movie came out, a quick google tells me that was in 2001!!! OMG! 12 years and the project still isn't finished?! Before I ordered more wool, it was suggested by my hubby that I look at what I already have in my stash, I was shocked! I'll post some photos at some point of said stash, its scary, least it scared me!

I opened another box and discovered several small festive cross stitch pieces, teddies and angels intended to make cards and gift tags, but they're still in a box and not put to use. There was a bag complete with pattern and all the wool required to make an authentic Dr Who scarf for my hubby, which I promised to make for him ummm 2 years ago! It still hadn't got on the needles! There's a hat that was intended for one of the menfolk of the family that is 2/3rd's complete and wool to make several other hats for the menfolk. A set of bits for making small knitted witches, wizards and snowmen toys and a part knitted pumpkin which was to be stuffed with coffee grounds and cloves to help keep pins sharp and rust free, why did I never finish it? I started knitting what was to be a set of 2 knitted fluffy cushions to give as a gift, 1 is knitted but not sewn up or stuffed, the other sits in a bag waiting to be started.

I have a scarf and hat set that was intended to be a gift for my niece, it's all fluffy and in candy strip colours, which when I started knitting it in 2008 when she was 5 would have been ideal, she is now a 10 year old Tom boy that would go a whiter shade of pale if I presented her with such a girlie looking gift!

The scarf is complete and the hat needed about 20 rows which included the decrease and sewing up and it would have been done! In another box I discovered some designs for homemade yule cards, a set of bags that I'd stitched intending to turn them in to herbal bath bags and tie with ribbon for gifts. All they needed was the herbal filling and tying with the ribbon!?

How hard could it have been to finish that project off? It's not all bad, at the beginning of the year I used up some of the material stash to make a door stop that is filled with rice and lentils for weight and has a bag of lavender sewn in to the top of the bag which releases a sweet aroma when the bag is moved about. I also made a matching draught excluder and a lavender filled heart to hang over the doorknob so when the door is open and closed, the scent is released. These projects were all started and finished on the same day and were put to use that very evening, and have been in use ever since! I knitted several 'ruffle' scarves that were donated to the local Cat's Protection and some scarves out of eyelash yarn that are in my 'present' stash.

Why are they in the stash? Because I was worried that given as homemade gifts they'd go down like lead balloons! As I look at the array of items part made, its beginning to look more and more like I bottle out at giving my homemade gift because I feel like they're not good enough and something shop bought would be better. I'm not the worlds best knitter, seamstress or stitcher but really what I produce isn't that bad is it? Suck it up women and get these projects finished, if you can't finish projects and use up your craft stash, stop bloody adding to it!