Sunday 27 February 2011

A friend of ours has a serious case of

SABLE. This is the knitting acronym for "stash advancement beyond life expectancy". There are also the patchwork supplies, the dressmaking supplies, the card-making supplies, the spinning and felting supplies etc. She has a "work room" which is filled with such supplies along with her sewing machine, over-locker, knitting machines (2) and spinning wheels (4).
What was once the spare bedroom is stacked to the ceiling with plastic boxes crammed with all sorts of "supplies".
She 'phoned me last week.
"Cat, I am sorting some stuff out. I know you won't use it but do you know anyone who could use..."
What? She is going to relinquish some of her "supplies"?
"Some of this stuff belonged to my mother. She has been gone twenty-eight years. It really is time I got rid of it. I am not going to use it."
I suggest her church's Thursday Craft group or the local charity shop which is run by her church.
Yes, good ideas.
I mentioned what she was doing to my father. We both wonder whether the friend in question will actually part with anything. She has said this sort of thing before. Her daughters, who do none of these thing, despair of her. There was a "major clear out" a couple of years ago. She reorganised the spare room and gave a small cardboard box of materials to the local school.
This friend is by no means selfish. She makes wonderful quilts for her family and charity. She knits AIDS jumpers, beanies, blankets etc for other charities. Her handmade birthday cards are a delight to all who receive them.
But somehow her stash never seems to get any smaller. I think I can understand why this is so.
She 'phoned me again last night asking me whether I had any patterns for a certain type of yarn."You see Cat someone has just given me..."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What do I have Cat - MABLE - material acquisition beyond life expectancy? Ros

Rachel Fenton said...

SABLE - love it! I had that in the UK but gave it all away (and now wish I had kept some of it).

Been knitting a scarf for months!