I’m cleaning the studio. There is only one reason really I ever clean the studio. I can’t find something.

I have a small missing quilt. This happens from time to time. Most of the time they’re in a nice safe pile. Somewhere. Except when they’re not.

So one goes through those piles All of them. All 5,378 of them. And that has brought me to several considerations.

You can’t keep everything. You really can’t. The whole idea that you would use every scrap of every fabric is….. monumental at a certain point. At a certain point, drowning in scraps goes from a possibility to an invitability.

There’s a theory out there somewhere if you haven’t used something within a year you should chuck it. I’ve found that silly.. So much of what I do is cyclical. I may very well take ten years to find a purpose for something. I almost never throw out an embroidery, even one I consider unsuccessful. It’s too much work to lose. And I never know when they will fit somewhere.

Tools. I’ve had very odd experiences with useless tools I’ve bought that somehow came in useful years later. I’m hesitant to toss those without long thought. Unless they just don’t work well.

Books. I have given up books. At least once I think. They’re books. Throwing away knowledge just seems wrong.

But scraps? They do pile up. I have fancy scraps of sheers and brocades, hand dyed scraps and quilting cotton. And the occasional leftover dress scraps.

For some while, I’ve sorted scraps by size and type. There’s the rock pile, pieces of hand dye that make rocks. On a bad day, I’ll cut rocks all day with Steam a Seam attached, so I have rocks to hand when I need them.

But what about strings? Raggy patches? Snips? Thread ends?

Useful, maybe. But in mountanous proportions? I know someone uses them. But am I drowning? Um, yes. A nice pile of them went to my last class as sample pieces. That worked. But they had to be big enough. So it’s a question of size. I can use a 3″ x 2″ piece but probably not a 1″ anything.

Where can it go? In a land filled with landfills, how do you find them a home? It’s like finding homes for well-deserving kittens. They need to go to the right place. They need rehoming.

Of course, schools, other crafters, church groups, nursing homes all accept donations. Other artists always need supplies and sharing supplies is a glorious thing to do. But in the same way you’ve found wonderful things at the thrift store, it’s a good place to give them wonderful things. Except that it’s mixed in with household goods and sports equipment.

We have a new store in Galesburg called Yours 2 Create that I am in love with. It’s a thrift store for artists and crafters. Not only can you find all kinds of arts and crafts supplies, but you can also donate all kinds of things for other artists that you no longer want to work with. The range is astonishing. Crayons, paints, fabrics, tools, broken jewelry, trims, silk flowers. I’ve always gone in there on a mission for a particular thing, but they have almost everything from time to time.

I wonder how many of these stores exist. This is the first one I’ve ever seen. But it’s an astonishment. What an incredibly smart idea! What a great resource!

Yours 2 Create is located at 2188 Veterans Drive, Galesburg, IL, United States, Illinois, They’re getting a big bag of goodies from me next week. And I may be able to walk through the studio without creating a landslide.

I’m also hoping I find my lost quilt. There may be a few more piles to go through.