Trying to Do the Impossible

It’s good to dream. It’s good to have goals in life. It’s also important to be realistic. Remember those resolutions we made in the New Year? How’s it been going? We spoke about Organising Craft Supplies in that post. We’ve also spoken about your Stashes, and what can be done with them. I think both of those resolutions can be achieved. But this time we are talking about something that I personally think is an impossible dream – only buying something new to replace something that has been used.

When I put together the Crafting Resolutions, I really didn’t think this one would fly. But like I said, it’s good to dream. Why don’t I think it is possible? There are many reasons, and here are some.

Crafting is a creative pursuit, and the things you work on are to a certain extent dictated by how you are feeling at the time, and you can’t simply force yourself to only work on things for which you have all the components already. If you really want to make that bag made out of recycled denim that you saw on Pinterest, you will not be happy making the baby bibs for which you already have everything you need. In fact, you won’t be happy until you’ve been to the charity shop, sourced those denim jeans, then been to the craft shop to get the matching thread, and while you are at it, bought some bling to jazz up the bag, and added to your collection of buttons with some that called to you while you were looking for the bling.

Made with leftover wool scraps

Trying to force yourself to work on things you don’t want to work on will only end in tears. I swear my sewing machine knows, and that is when the thread gets all knotted up under the bobbin, the needle breaks, and it starts making weird noises.

Another reason I think the “nothing new” resolution won’t work is because there are new things coming out all the time, and if you only buy to replace things used, you will never get a chance to try these new things. Taking this to the extreme, if we only ever replaced existing, we would all be sewing by hand as we wouldn’t have sewing machines! Yes, that is way too extreme. But everyone knows that trying new things is essential for our mental health, and we would all be bored, doing the same old thing.

If I only ever bought to replace, I would never have discovered the pleasure and meditation of doing cross-stitch. I would never have learned that I really don’t like scrapbooking. And I wouldn’t have the choices I do now to satisfy my crafting cravings – what do I feel like doing today?

My current “lust after” item

So I suppose the main aim is to not just buy things without really thinking about it. I think this resolution should be re-worded. Instead of “Only buy something new to replace something that has been used”, maybe it should be “Only buy something new when you need it, or really, really, really want it, and have already checked that you don’t already have it".

I can live with that. Can you?