Putting to good use

To all you tatters and other thread and/or yarn artists out there, I have a question: what do you do with left-overs? Here’s what I do…

 

 

Compulsive hoarding, perhaps “characterized by the persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of the value others may attribute to these possessions,” you think? No need to worry, I have it all under control, I think!

 

But there was a time not too long ago when I had to question myself as to why I keep hanging onto these seemingly useless bits and pieces.

Maybe I thought they would be commemorations of all the projects I completed?

Maybe I felt sorry for letting them down by not being able to use them in a project?

Maybe I believed they would somehow become useful somewhere sometime in the future?

Or maybe I really am a pathologic hoarder in the making?!

 

Well, the first “maybe” I can eliminate as the reason, because I either keep my completed projects in a tin can or take photos before I send them off to their new owners. And the second “maybe” I know is not true, because I am a lean mean throw-away machine with other things! (maybe I will scribble about my fits of discarding some other time…)

 

So that leaves me with just the third “maybe” before my visit to the shrink… but when will that somehow, somewhere, sometime happen? Will I keep hoarding until then, or should I start throwing some out when I reach a certain point, wherever that may be?

 

Then, the day finally came when I realized why I had kept all these scraps – I finally had use for them! They may not have appeared in the final product, but they surely contributed a whole lot in the development of a new dimension in me as a tatter.

 

 

And today, I have found yet another good use for them. I had some snippets of threads that were perfect in colour and length for this project. You would never guess they were leftovers, would you?

 

 

We are in the midst of graduation season in my homeland right now. The young minds are celebrating the completion of a certain amount of study, much of which may seem useless in real life. But I hope they will think of their newly acquired knowledge and skills like my leftover threads – there will come a day when they can be put to good use, if you keep an up-to-date inventory of them and always be on the look-out for how you may apply them to your benefit. And I truly wish that they will not take for granted what they have been instilled with, because it is still a luxury many cannot afford around the world. What you make of it is all up to you… don’t let it go to waste!

 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone who is celebrating, and congratulations to all the young minds in my homeland who have reached a milestone in their lives. I wish you all good luck!