Obsessive Hobbying

Okay, I'm not going to lie. I have a problem. I don't know if it's related to OCD - I tend to think of it as both compulsive and obsessive behavior. When I have a hobby, no matter what it is, I *immerse* myself in it. When I cross-stitched, I needed all the fabric, all the threads (cotton, metallic, overdyed, silk, and rayon), all the beads, and all the charts (the more complicated, the better, naturally). Anyone want to make me an offer on several lifetime's worth of cross-stitch supplies? I switched to knitting when I had young children in activities because the way I cross-stitched, that hobby was anything but portable! Of course, I chose lace knitting on tiny needles with tiny yarn (I always have to do the hardest thing - it's probably the only reason I have a Ph.D.). Now I have several lifetime's worth of knitting supplies (as in, tubs and tubs worth of yarn - and remember, this is skinny, tiny yarn, so we're talking *a lot* of yarn). For anyone familiar with the term, and if you're not, you'll thank me - it's SABLE in the extreme (that's Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy).

(omitted sections where we don't talk about my amazing makeup collection which is an ever-evolving work in progress and my crossword puzzle obsession which my children are still benefiting from constantly)

Now, I still love knitting (although my eyes are degenerating rapidly and I am temporarily knitting, gulp, worsted weight scarves. I'm almost embarrassed), but my creative side has been screaming for a little while now, and I started really wanting to junk/art/alter journal. I always say I'm not creative, but I think I sell myself short (What? Stop the Presses!!!). I have trouble coloring outside the lines sometimes because of my rigid personality, but anyone who knew me a long time ago knows that there is a girl inside me who once upon a time refused to color inside the lines. She's still in there. Anyway, I have always loved pens and paper and stickers and such. Maybe I have even collected them. I have been afraid to enter the world of art journaling/junk journaling/whatever, though, because I don't want to mess up (perfectionism, you suck). What I always forget, though, is that I actually used to "do" altered art all the time back in high school. I just don't think the term had been invented yet! Back then, I didn't care if it was right or perfect or pretty. I just used to have fun with it. I didn't even know it technically had a name. It was probably because there weren't YouTube channels, IG stories, and Pinterest boards dedicated to it that I didn't care. I need to get back there. It made me happy.

Oh, and I come by my obsessive hoarding collecting nature honestly. My mom's craft rooms (yep - that was plural on purpose) are a thing of envy for anyone who does any kind of paper crafting. Any time I'm looking at something online or in a craft store, Mary-Catherine tells me, "Grammy has all of those!" (you can fill in the blank with an entire product line). Unlike me, though, my mom is the very definition of an artist. She can draw, sketch, paint, play the piano, write poetry - you name it, she does it. I have reflected on the fact that she didn't really have the kind of life where she could "do" her art. Six kids, a couple of them very difficult (no, I wasn't one of them), not a lot of free time, not a lot of extra money. In her retirement, though, she has found her outlet with paper crafting and she is making up for lost time. That makes me happy for her.

Is there a point to this post? Call it a set up for the one that is coming later this week. I'm going to post some of the great sites that I have found for collecting the kinds of things I am putting in my journals. Realize that vintage is my vibe, so if that doesn't interest you, you probably won't get much out of the links. Here's a teaser, though: 1943 Sears Christmas Wish Book.