Tackling the Monster!

In my house there is a monster! Actually, it is part of the house..a room..the "sewing" room. This sewing room has long been used as a catchall for anything and everything that had no place of its own. When one hears the name "sewing room", immediate thoughts of walls lined with shelving that is stacked with neatly folded fabric, cute little racks full of threads and sewing notions tucked away in cabinets. Not so in this room! The mountain of stuff had far outgrown the limits of the area and was near bursting through the door. I jest not when I say that I feared for my safety each time I opened the door! The threat of an avalanche loomed from the moment I stepped inside. The area had not been used for sewing since my daughter moved out years ago. Since then, stuff accumulated..need I say more.

That said, I have decided to start a "What I found in the Sewing Room" segment. Occasionally, I will post a description and picture of some long lost item, some "why did I save this?", or even "what in the world is it?" There are items in this room that I did not even realize were in my house!

At first light this morning, I timidly opened the door and stared in at what seemed like a sleeping ogre. There stacked higher than my head, were boxes, bags and baskets each filled to the brim with whatevers. Who knew just what I might discover in this bleak place. I thought to myself, "What am I thinking?" and started to close the door again.."NO! I HAVE TO CLEAR THIS JUNK!" So, I called Son! Actually, he volunteered to lend a hand..little did he know what he was attempting. We started pulling stuff out and making neat (yeah, right!) piles in the living room. I was determined to go through each box and discard most of the saved treasures.

First box..well, this is not so bad. This box held sewing notions, something you would expect to find in a room designated for creating sewn projects. There were zippers, snaps, velcro, etc.. all stowed in a nice plastic box. There were little metal thingys that go on sewing machines. Things that I had no clue how were used. I did recognize the needles, pins and buttons! There really did not seem to be a need for me to sort through this box. Then Son pulled four more such boxes. They were all crammed with sewing notions of all sorts. He nonchalantly asked if I had planned to open a craft store or something. Ummm..No. He knows that I cannot sew. I told myself then and there..I need to learn! I have all of this lovely stuff on hand..what an inspiration! I will teach myself to sew and then all of these things will come in handy..err..whatever they are.

Next, a tote bag..it was filled with chenille stems left over from an elementary school project. Elementary school project? My kids have all graduated from college already..Wow! It really has been a while since I delved into this room! Ok? So do I need to keep approximately 5000 chenille stems? Does anyone need to keep approximately 5000 chenille stems? I do occasionally need a pipe cleaner for a project, but 5000? Son stared at me. I knew he was wondering just why I was even considering stashing the bag back into the room. Secretly, I am positive that someday I will need a whole slew of chenille stems. They will be the definitive factor in a most important craft project. Something I cannot do without, something I really should save! I mean..how many times have you asked yourself just why there are no pipe cleaners on hand? I slipped the bag around the side of the sofa..perhaps Son would not notice it there! I might just need approximately 5000 pipe cleaners some day and I would have them!

Son handed me another box. Hey! At least this box smelled nice! I opened it and peered inside. Wax! This box was one of three that held the wax remnants of scented candles and scented wax tarts. Oh..I remember! I had once thought of reusing these to make the wax-coated pine cones for Christmas decorations! My very talented sister-in-law makes these pine cones and they are really so nice to receive as gifts each year. They have a dual use as once they lose their scent, she informed me that I should use them as fire starters in the wood-burning stove. I really need to keep those! I promised myself that I would get started on those as soon as the pine cones fell this year. Son looked at me and shook his head. For some strange reason, I think he did not believe me!

Another box came out of the room and landed on the floor with a loud thud. Ok. So, I do not remember ever seeing this. It was actually a large suitcase. I unzipped it and it literally exploded, spewing fun fur pieces like confetti. Ahhh, yes! These pieces were from several years ago..(or longer)..when Dear Daughter made costumes for the local theater group. They were performing the musical "CATS" and she made the costumes! What fun we had when doing that! She did most of the work, I was her assistant! She sewed costumes and wigs! I snipped yarn. Lots of yarn was needed. I snipped yarn. To meet the opening night deadline, she and I stayed up day and night and worked ourselves silly. We still giggle about it whenever something jogs the memory of the wild goose chases she sent her dad on to find some strange material or paint, the coercing we had to do to get Son to be a mannequin for sizing and the endless pots of coffee! Oh! I cannot get rid of this box..I could make stuffed animals!

Son took a break to entertain Ezzy. She had been patient enough as we looked through the treasures. I sneaked into the room. Wow! I could actually walk in! It was amazing! Then I found them. Yes, them! Lots of them! Three drawers full of Barbi dolls! Not the prettily dressed Barbi dolls that Dear Daughter collected when she was a little girl, but..ahem..Barbi dolls that had a wardrobe malfunction. Undressed dolls that were in dire need of clothing. These dolls were another unfulfilled project. A huge box full of shall we say, bare (?) dolls, (68 to be exact) was donated to me one year and I had intentions of making clothes for each of them. I always wondered just where they had disappeared! Now I found them! I need to sew outfits for them!

I will continue cleaning and rediscovering treasures for the next few days! This is not going to be one of those easily done tasks. It will take a while, I am sure. Oh, did I mention that this was a sewing room? Did I mention that I actually found a sewing machine while in there? Did I mention that there is fabric? Yards and yards...and yards and yards of fabric???? And yes, I do see a trend here..I cannot seem to part with the treasures in this room. I might be able to use them......someday!