Yesterday

I began to organize the bookcase. This is the large bookcase that when we rearranged the office this fall, began the repository for all my stitching books, all my patterns arranged in binders, all papercrafting books, and overflow cookbooks and cooking magazines that need to be gone through and then passed on to someone else.

I organized by category. Found a duplicate magazine and duplicate pattern - I don't feel badly about the pattern as I bought the second one at 75% off. Somewhere at a yard sale I managed to find a first year issue of SANQ (for 25 cents!) and replaced my black and white version. Seriously. The first two years of this magazine just sold on EBay $300. That's $25 per issue. Wow. Once again highlighting my foolish decision years ago to downsize my magazines during a move. I have since re-created those first two years. But I still have 3 issues in black and white. Who knew I'd come around to loving samplers? Certainly not me.

But organizing by categories was as far as I got. Just didn't have it in me to go any further. I need to be in the "tossing" mood. Don't worry. By tossing, I am just referring to moving this out of my possession. Everything will be appropriately recycled.

I am wondering why I felt the need to keep a sampler calendar from 1988, complete with patterns. These aren't particularly attractive samplers. Well, I like the birds for December. But I'm never going to stitch them. They are far too simplistic. Then there's all those books of design elements. This collection is highlighted by my Dale Burdett books on designing alphabets, etc. Last time I seriously used these was maybe a decade ago.

I guess that means I can probably reduce the contents of this bookcase by 50%. That sounds about right. Of course, as I do this, my collection of hardcover books on needlework grows. Blame it on used bookstores.