Letting Go of Stuff (literally)

Today's thing to torture myself with Not Buying are the lovely very brightly colored 'punk' stitch markers in Orange, Chartreuse and Hot Pink from MeowingDog.net. I totally need, say, 4 of each. Just can't get 'em yet. *Sigh.* I am being good, but I'm going to whine about it a wee bit.

I'm also becoming a Lace Knitter. As in, I don't find myself planning to knit anything but lace in the forseeable future.

I'm also coming to realize that there are some projects (mostly cross-stitch) that just never may get finished. For example: TW's Castle Sampler. I started it in 1991 (1993?), back when I crossed my X's the "other way" from the way I do now. I think I *am* going to finish it, but not according to pattern. I'm going to throw a couple of dragons in the "bottom" (where the people are), and some of her crosses... and then I'm buttonholing the entire center, and turning it into a picture frame. Because there's just no way I'm ever going to finish it as is, and then I'll have a nice mat for a photo of, say, me and my husband, or our whole family, or whatever. Another example: There's a "Welcome Friends" that I started long, long ago as well - same issue on the "x"s, and, quite honestly, it doesn't go with my house now. The words are done, most of the flower is done, and the ribbon can be truncated. It's never going to be done according to pattern, so I'm going to figure out how to finish it fast... and the next of my friends that gets a nice, new, elegant home gets it. Yet another example: I started making a quilt of tiny blue triangles when I started quilting a few years back. I didn't measure particularly well, I didn't mark the seams particularly well... and as much fun as I had cutting up the little triangles and hand-piecing them together, it's never going to be anything usable. Or even salvageable, at this point. I think I've got one piece that's almost 18"x18"; I think it'll become a pillow-top, and that will be that.

See, a lot of stitching, knitting... crafting in general, is knowing when to let go. I'm not good at letting go; I've got thirteen generations (or more) of pack-rats behind me, and, being an Army brat, "home" was where my stuff was. I get very attached to stuff. I am slowly learning to let stuff go (I donated BOOKS to the library last week!), and eventually, I will get my stuff under control.

At least, as evidenced by the stitch markers referenced above, I'm getting new stuff that's markedly *smaller* than the old stuff it'll be replacing. It's a start.