SORTING IT OUT

Granddaughter and I spent a good portion of this afternoon sorting fabric, old spools, buttons, and sewing notions. We found so many packets of needles we'll probably never use them all. I hadn't intentionally purchased all those needles. Most were included in boxes or tins of old notions I'd found at thrift shops. We placed all the needle packets into a round decorative box for safe-keeping and Granddaughter filled vintage jars with buttons and old wooden spools. I'm amazed at how much fabric and how many sewing supplies I have. To those who might suggest I'm a fabric and notions hoarder, I'd say I hadn't intended to collect all of those things, but rather, I would store supplies in an attempt to organize, then completely forget I had them. I apparently purchased more when I couldn't find what I needed for a project. I think that's called senility (or insanity), not hoarding. One day I will most assuredly let go of those vintage notions and I'll either use all the fabric or eventually pass it along to someone else. Right now, everything has a home so any further purging and sorting of sewing needfuls can wait until after I have dealt with the totes stacked in the barn. 

One of the reasons there is so much to sort is the fact I had three areas from which to gather sewing/crafting supplies at the former residence. I sewed in the guest room and kept fabric and thread in there. I also crafted in a small room in the lower level of the house until my fostered mama cats and kittens needed it for their nursery. When the grandkids no longer played in the cabin, I turned that space into a sewing haven. We're still taking things out of the cabin and sometimes it seems as if this process will never end. Is it possible I simply have too much? Of course! 

We had planned to begin a sewing project once things were organized, but after finishing our tasks, we were hot and in dire need of an ice cream break. It's stifling in the upstairs rooms and I don't know why the AC doesn't cool them. That's one of those charming things that goes along with an older home. We had a fan running but it wasn't helping much, so we quit for the day.

(YOU CAN CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM)

 MY GRANDDAUGHTER, A MASTER AT SORTING

 OLD BOOK SHELF AND CHANGING TABLE FOR FABRIC STORAGE  

 HOLDING ORPHAN ANNIE DOLL I'D MADE FOR HER MOM 

 I THINK I MIGHT HAVE ENOUGH OLD JARS

 MORE FABRIC STORAGE

- ANOTHER CORNER OF THE SEWING ROOM -

THE ARCHETECT TABLE WAS A TREASURE FOUND

AT A LOCAL CONSIGNMENT SHOP

We managed to work in time today to take Twigs outside and let him stretch his wings. Within seconds of being placed in the grass, he made a run for it and found refuge under that big old sticky pine tree just as he'd done yesterday. One would think we had learned to not take him near it (senility again on my part), but the shade we found for him apparently was not to his liking so he took flight. Actually, he sort of flew and hopped. He "flopped" over to the tree and sat chirping to the other birds, and they seemed to answer him. Once again, he came out from under the tree when I called him. He pecked the ground a bit as ants and other insects crawled over his feet but he didn't even glance at them. I don't think he's quite ready to be on his own. A few more days though, and he'll have his freedom. It's going to be hard to tell him goodbye.