I would say that I'm more of a Craft Raccoon. Shiny shiny? Me likey! I have so many silly things that I've purchased on a whim at Michael's (wonder why..) that I'm on a permanent ban. I CANNOT walk out of that store empty handed. In the past, I've come away with latex ribbon, pipe cleaners, wicker baskets, beads, organizers and, of course, YARN. My favorites there are SWS (Soy Wool Stripes) and the Patons Classic Merino. I have also been known to get some Paton cotton Glace or Cookies and Cream.... just to take the edge off. So, until I make a dent in the mountain of goodies, I won't be going to Michael's... but I never said I'd stop going to Yarn Stores. I have limits!

How can do this because my english is o limited - but I like the Idea and wish al good luck
:-)))

Hahahaha. I can relate. Since moving to the Bay Area and discovering yarn and fiber in all its glory, not to mention my already very healthy love for all things fabric and sewing related, I have not said no to, bought, bartered and otherwise gotten my hands on: A full size floor loom (do I know the first thing about weaving? NO!), a Schacht double treadle spinning wheel, enough yarn and fiber that my husband had to build shelves over half a living room wall, and enough fabric to warrant me taking over a rather large closet as my "craft room". This room also contains paper for doing altered books, acrylic paints and brushes, modge podge, buttons, ric rac...well, you get the idea. :) Of course, I have no choice but to desperately hope that I win this giveaway. Have to feed the "craft room". Heehee.

Okay this is SOOOOOO fun and funny.
I am so beyond thrilled to have been part of the inspirado..

Timely too: Right now I am facing down a table of birdies and mushrooms that are all wooly and montessori-esque.
Another table of super modern japanese canvas zipper bags and utility obis.
Over in the suitcase (which i really need to go through before my craft show on the 16th) are the rather ornate victorian type soldered glass necklaces..
Then there are the 50- 60's kitchen kitsch smocks and vintage recipe book greeting cards?
How 'bout stuffies of any and all styles?

Dear craft goddess.. why can't I edit my constant crafty cravings? WHY? Why have I just I just bought Belle Armoire, Adorn, Blueprint and Mary Englebreit mags as well? Why am I still wild and wide freakin' open to craft input!?!

This stuff just can't "fit" onto one 6 foot table 'cohesively' or onto an Etsy page for that matter. (Lord knows it can't stay here either...)

And I am considering a trip to both Paper Source and The Golden Fleece.. I am down to one cabinet of paper and only half a tub of roving!

Hahahahahahaha. (maniacal) And of course I scroll over your pictures and i wonder how you could possibly part with any of those treasures.

I have said it before: My name is Bethany and i have a very real problem. I am addicted to craft and I am a craft spazz.

LOL I think the mere fact that I ooh-ed over this stuff says it all. I don't NEED any more stuff!

Hope you're doing well, Sonya. Maybe I won't send you this yarn I'm making after all. HAHAHA

oh lordy. I want one so bad that it hurts!! I am the craft spazz swapper who still has stuff to mail out from FEBRUARY. I wish it weren't true, but there you have it. that is why from this day forth I pledge never to do another swap again. (ha!)

My name is Jen and this morning at 2:16, after tucking my 2-year-old back in bed, I was unable to return to blissful sleep myownself because I was busy in my brain making an exhaustive list of the projects and gifts I intend to complete in the next... well, pretty much right now. There's an embroidered Chistmas pillow (for my dad!) that incorporates my son's artwork, silkscreened ultrasuede somethings for my sisters, two--or possibly three--quilted wall hangings for the aforementioned 2-year-old, the sweater I'm working on, the socks that I'm working on, a rainbow scarf for my 6-year-old, perhaps some new kilt socks for my husband... And then after 40 minutes of listing, I had to drag myself out of bed and go clean my "studio" because it was too messy to work in, and I need a place to work if I'm going to learn to quilt and silkscreen in the next little, uh, now. So once I finished cleaning, I started cutting and sewing. I did make it back to bed at 4:35, but that's not normal, is it? I was thinking that I might be a wee bit nuts, but if you want to call Craft Spazz, that works for me. It sounds friendly at least.

I'm drooling. Actually drooling. Just thinking of what I could make with one of those baskets of goodies is making my eyes twinkle and the corners of my mouth twitch into a maniac grin. Even the baskets that you have the treasures bundled in are making me squirm with desire. And it's not for lack of supplies, let me assure you. I have supplies all over the house. But nothing sparks creativity in me like a basket full of untapped resources.

My name is Sarah and I'm a Craft Spazz.

Uh, so, um i guess i can't unload some of my 'spare' crafts material on you anytime soon, huh?

i too have the problem that i have great ideas--but don't always follow through and make all the stuff i imagine i could!

(and then even when i do make it, i have a hard time parting with it! No amount of money is enough... i can only give stuff away!)

I am a Craft Spaz. I have yet to try a craft I didn't like. Sewing, quilting, knitting, crochet, rubber stamping, beading, paper making, embroidery, and the list goes on. I have made myself not try new crafts for fear of liking them, spinning for example. I don't have enough time for everything I like already. It might be a wee bit easier if I could stick to one genre, like Japanese or vintage, but I can't. My fingers like to dabble in it all. I don't really have room for more crafty goodness (trust me I'll find some if I need to though), but those green swirly buttons are making my heart go pitter-patter.

I'm such a Craft Spaz that I have unfinished projects from when I was 10 years old! (A needlepoint lion witha turkey-work mane. I just need to finish the background...) I knit, I crochet, I swap, I buy fabrict like an addict. I. Just. Can't. Stop.

PPPPPPuuuuuhlease enable me!

Craft spaz? let's see...

I have every time of spiral scrapbooking paper there is and have never scrapbooked in my life. I know there's something to be done with them. I once bough 350 baseball card sleeves because I was sure that I was going to convince all the kids in the school where I teach that we need to make ATC's (Art Trading Cards) I bought 25 bags of bamboo skewers (about 100 in each) and clipped the skewer part off of them so that we could make shadow puppets at school. (skewers still in closet minus some that were attached to nutcrackers and mouse kings.) A shadow puppet theater constructed of foam presentation board and a shower curtain. One hinged shadow puppet made after the workshop. A complete set of watercolor paints, brushes and paper (all of the best quality) and gesso that I may reveal my inner artist any time now, Let's not even talk about the crafting books (jewelry-making-drawing-painting-collage-homemade cards-paper airplane making-knitting- crocheting- cross stitch-clay-) that collapsed the bookshelf. The 5 yards of crushed velvet that I'm sure will be a beautiful skirt one day? The material from South Africa that has been cut into quilt pieces but not yet assembled. All of the "top of the line" quilting supplies that sit unused? The spinning wheel I bought at 11:30 pm one night on e-bay shipped from New Zealand? And lets not even talk about yarn and knitting books. Enough details? I have more. I am a Crafting Spazz of Global Proportions. The only thing I haven't tried is "stamping" because that crap costs a fortune and it will make you crazy.

I too am a craft spaz. I'm not just a crafty hoarder though, I make stuff. I really do use it all...eventually. No, really! I'll use it! Someday... At least this is how I explain the craft overflow to my husband and any new crafty purchases.

I'm an eclectic crafter and fickle too. One day it is sewing and the next it is painting then felting then woodworking then... You get the picture. I lay in bed each night and go over all running projects and "must start soon" projects, this is how I fall asleep! If only I didn't have to sleep at night I'd get so much more done.

What a fun way to clear out some crafty clutter to people who will appreciate it!

o.muh.gawd...
Hello, My name is ...er... Kimchi. and I am a Craft Spazz. :o)
I mother taught me how to crochet and I did that off and on until a college friend taught me to knit 2 years ago. Shortly before this, I had to go to the optometrist bc i was doing too much beading (making jewelry with semi-precious stones and freshwater pearls) in the dark! I was all hunched over, dry-eyed, needed distance glasses to drive at night, and reading glasses to knit and bead!
After my first Stitches West shortly thereafter, I realized that I had gotten myself into something HUGE.
BMFA? STR? WEBS? YARN BARN? HABU? omg. i almost fell over from all the woolie fumes.
it is now 2 years later and I am the proud owner of a dresser full of (mostly) wool yarn and roving, 2 drop spindles, 2 huge ziploc bags full of bamboo, cotton, and alpaca yarn, 2 plastic roller chests full of fabric and scrapbook supplies (including stamps too)-- scrapbooking was during highschool and college-- and my first sewing machine, carefully selected sewing, knitting, crocheting, and crafty magazines and books, as well as vintage knitting needles, crochet hooks, and my auntie's old embroidered room divider.
I have tons of stationary from JapanTown, KoreaTown, and as many asian stores as i can get myself to. Ichiban Kan? Daiso? Morning Glory? Sanrio? I'm THERE!!!
My (first) craft room is close enough to the top-loading washer (**heart**) that i can hear when it is going thru the spin-cycle, so i can take out my felted items before they get spun too much...
and there's also the bag of Ecuadorian wool yarn i got from a family member that still has the lanolin in it...
stamping? yup. cross-stitching? yup. embroidery? i think so... you name it, i've tried it! right now i'm in the process of dipping my toes into the spinning world (looking to get my first spinning wheel) and perhaps needle-felting too...i dunno...we'll see what happens...

"I just can't get enough, I just can't get enough..." --refrain from an 80's song...
:o)ek.

I am of the craft genra, before I even realized where all my art schooling really was going to. When I was shouting "and Crafts!" with my fellow CCAC grads how could I realize that I would become a craft specialist. We moved out of a 4 bedroom place so that the roommate wouldn't be so desturbed by "and Crafts!" all over the livingroom, and kitchen, and 2 of the spare bedrooms, and yes the basement too.
I am a craft specialist in weaving, spinning, knitting, crotcheting (punny!), millinery (yes tiny hats are my latest love), and always looking for the latest but most antiquated cameras. I've been known to glues things to things, and to dress wig heads in the oddest of odd hats, ie the hop head hat~what was I thinking. The house is filled with milk bottles of bottle caps, for the just in case I finally figure something to do with them.
My poor poor gocco sits in it's box, the inks wait for the next inspiration, and all I can think is that those shelves could really use some beautifuying, non.
Perhaps the coup de gras is that I conspired to get a "his and hers" oxycetaline torch (welding!) unit as a wedding pressie! Really now, I can't even weld.
But in reality it's not that bad, and I wouldn't give any of it up, not even for all my husbeasts computer crap in the world. Actually I call it a fleet, as it takes up a van's length in the garage!

So, I have a shed that I want to make into a craft shed. I have had this shed for two years, and all that needs to be done still is painting the ceiling and the window frame. And then I can go through my craft stuff, organize, and start making tea cozies and aprons, like I want to. Somehow, the unfinished state of the craft shed keeps me from DOING anything. Except hope, and decide, and dream. Totally spastic.

Hmmm, I don't think I can compete with all these Craft Spazztastic Folk. I have a studio full to the brim with paper, fabric, paint, yarn, a loom (yeah I don't really weave either--anybody want a loom?), books for altering, books about bookmaking, thread--with, I just noticed, cobwebs on it, patterns, dyes, aprons and much more that I haven't done much with since I started school for a degree in social work--I am kind of Degree Spaztastic too. The baskets are lovely, each with an item that is drool worthy that I totally.....don't......need. That all being said I still intend to make all my Christmas presents this year, cuz i have so much free time and I want to try a small run of handmade books for my family---thinkng about using that Gocco that I bought extra supplies for (because they might run out and I need enough to get a good assortment of fine original art out of) and have only done a test run on since I bought it almost a year ago. But this all sounds hauntingly familiar. Hiya Sonya how are you?

Well, first I wanted to make jewelry, but put that on the back burner while I made dream pillows, but then I thought it might be fun to crochet, so I made one blanket that my husband thought was a poncho because of the big holes in it. I decided to try painting, but when I was at the store I felt compelled to buy pastels instead which got me thinking about a greeting card line, but then it seemed like too much trouble, so I got into stained glass and made a mushroom that didn't exactly look like a mushroom and my husband said it looked like some kind of symbol I'd hang in the window when he was gone so weirdos would know it was ok to come in. I tried paints again, stamping, cake decorating and paper crafts. I love it all...Do I sound like a craft spaz yet? Because I could go on about my two uncompleted but much enjoyed fairy and mermaid doll houses, concrete leave, mosaics and metal work!!! What a great give-away!!!! Thanks to Bitter Betty for mentioning your blog on hers...It's my first time here!

I'm right there spazzing with you. For me it becomes obvious when I can't find my scissors because they are buried under a pile including pretty paper, a half-filled scrapbook, a jar of mod podge, embroidery floss, fabric, and who knows what else. It's a sickness for sure.

Hey--one girl's craft spazz is another's treasure--I'd love to go digging through those baskets! I have a bit of craft ADD as well that I've been cultivating since I was a small child. Just about every year, I started a new craft hobby--from cross-stitch to making worry dolls to book binding to mosaics, and more recently knitting and sewing clothing. I have cabinets and drawers full of supplies for various things. Not to mention boxes of glass shards (is that weird?) But I love it, and I'm always convinced that one day I'll have enough time to go back to all these projects and perfect them. My other goal is to be completely self-sufficient, and able to make absolutely anything by the time I'm in my 60s or so. We'll see.

Oh-My-Golly-gosh!!! Can this be for real?!! You must be a fairy or something!! Just think of the possibilities of one of your gorgeous bags of crafting glory with my Kindergarteners?!! Just this little peek inside reveals mounds of possibilities! I just took a tiny look and got soooo excited about all the lovelies -- yarn, pink glittery fabric, sequins, buttons and so many wonders. That's partly why I love teaching Kinders because I get to be a craft spaazz everyday!! I was thinking that my kids could create a mini theater to put on puppet shows and design various puppets to accompany stories that we read from around the world. They could make up scenery, props and the puppets too of course. They could also make their own individual versions to take home using tissue boxes and some of your goodies. What do you think? So many ideas...I just know I'm going to be coming up with more. ANd then of course there's all the fabulous projects taht I'd love to do too -- like making some shrines, memory books, pressies for my best friend who is due her first any day now!! etc etc etc I'll keep my fingers crossed :-) Thanks for inspiring!

My name is Lisa and I'm a craft spazz. Are we here for a twelve step program?
My Mom started me on the hard stuff early. I was cleaning and spinning wool straight from the sheep before I was 8, and I learned to sew, knit and crochet at 5 (yes I still have the first dolly that I ever made). I'm now 37. You do the math on the accumulated stash.
Growing up we learned to do every handcraft going, and I would often wear or carry my spazz creations to school - a real popularity booster! I can tat, do bobbin lace, origami, macrame (shudder) and all manner of bead and wire work. Right now? I've just bought a knitting machine...
I quilt professionally, design for publication and fill the rest of my time with fun things that get my hands dirty.
I'm a hopeless spazz. Whew! I feel better.
:)

So the good thing about this affliction, this Craft-Spazzness, is that it gives you your own sense of super-hero-like powers. You look at everything you see that you like (expect for stuff like real airplanes or toasters or maybe even livestock) and you think, "WELL, I could MAKE that!" So you see, you think you are all-powerful and somewhat invincible. YOU can MAKE that. Woo-hoo. This is my story. So then, sure, yeah, I could make that, but I'd better buy some more (felt, yarn, glue, floss, equipment, glitter, pens -- this list is literally endless) first. So then, OK, I've got the goods. Do I have the time? That cuts a lot of projects off right at the knees. OK, I've made the time, so now I sit down with the stuff, and gee, I *thought* I knew how to (read a knitting pattern, draft a pattern, embroider a skeleton, bead jewelry, sew a skirt, craft a panda, collage a scene from CHarlotte's Web, quilt a queen-sized quilt).... And so I end up with glitter in my hair and glue in the carpet and sometimes with something really, truly, amazing. That I made. Crafted. Super!

I am at the very PINNACLE of my spazziness right at the is very moment! There are four little dead dolls in varying states of completion, two WIP recon projects and two half-done bags on my worktable, as well as three skirts that have been cut out and await assemblage, and a pile of soaps to be tagged and candles to be decoupaged, and and and and and! :D (I won't even SPEAK of the mess in my studio-space that REALLY needs to be attended to....le sigh....)
I could tell a big fat fib and blame it all on the upcoming craft fair i am attending, but the truth is that this chaos is only very SLIGHTLY worse than normal! I have terrible craft ADD and hop between projects like a butterfly in a sunflower patch! I get completely overstimulated and sometimes i overwhelm my OWN self. But, it would seem that this is all part of the creative process for me, so i roll with it and try not to drown in WIP pile! LOL! And when i finish a project, the joy of my celebration knows no boundaries :) Being a spazz is FUN! teehee!

I am a craft Spaz, too! I just taught myself to knit. I crochet, carve rubber stamps, quilt, sew clothing and toys, cross stitch, embroider, polymerclay, Chip carv(wood), tole paint, Beading, and scrapbook. I have a huge stash of stuff, but always add too it. I have been trying to reorganize and cut back. I have bunches of buttons, a box of keyboard keys I know I will find a use for, ans a four drwaer filing cabinet full of Ideas I want to try. And one selving unit full of UFO's.But your stack of goodies is so alluring. I can't resist leaving a comment.

What wonderful spazziness you have on offer, but that looks a little too much like my house at the moment, so please leave me out of the drawing, but know I feel your pain!

I'm just a general spazz, but since I am crafty, I guess that makes me a craft spazz too. My spazziest form of craftspazzing comes in the way of buying stuff. My favorite part of crafting is BY FAR all the supplies. Books, yarn (oh the yarn), paper, glue, pens, crayons, glitter, notebooks, colored pencils, fabic, stuffing, threads, embroidery floss, wool felt, containers to keep it all in...I don't have nearly as much free time as I used to, but what I lack in time, I make up for in crafty consumerism. I can't wait until June is a little older and I can start to share all this with her (and oh man, I don't know what that multicolored handspunny looking yarn is at the top of the first basket, but I want it!)

Ok, total craft spaz here. Why? Uh, well, let's start with my craft room. It's half painted, because when it came time to finish it, I got side-tracked and started another crafting project. That was 2 years ago. Ahem.

And speaking of that room, at the moment it is covered in debris from 6 different projects in various stages of "complete"... none of which are actually "complete" because that would require medication on my part to keep me "focused."

I can't go into a thrift store and come out with nothing. Instead, I come out with arms full of "craft stuff". That I stash. And sometimes use.

I recently cleaned out my kitchen "clutter" drawers and organized them. Now, half the contents of the drawers are sitting in organized piles on the counter: stuff for kid crafts, stuff for holiday crafts, stuff I can't bear to throw out because I'm pretty sure I can make something with it.

I sleep in vintage sheets: that I made into sleeping pants. I've even sold them online to some other crafting spaz.

I once simultaneously cleaned my apartment (after being neglected through finals at grad school) decorated my apartment for Christmas, and whipped up cookies for the holiday. Not exactly craftiness... but points to my general spazziness.

That's enough, right? You don't need more, do you? :D

I liken myself to a half-assed Martha Stewart. I see something in the store and think "I can totally make that" and buy supplies but then run out of time/energy/motivation/knowledge to actually complete the project. Sigh...

O.K. here's the deal. If you must know, I buy craft supplies and DISPLAY them...as if I had my own little craft store. I read about a neat idea and I buy the supplies, but...sometimes that's as far as it gets...So, if only the idea of shopping at MY HOUSE would catch on with you bloggers...I'd have more money for new things to update the shop...er..craft room...

"Craft Spazz" would be an appropriate way to describe me ... or "craft compulsive" ... or "polycraftous" ... or "girl who loves to start projects but abandons them when they cease to be fun and/or challenging and puts them in a ziploc bag under the ironing board and feels guilty every time she sees them gathering dust under there so months later she pull them out and, while muttering under her breath about how much she just wants this project to be DONE, she finished the project, if only to feed the blog."

My side of the couch is swamped with crochet projects. And I've resorted to physically tying my craft books closed to encourage me to finish projects and not start new ones (it worked!).

And the very last thing I need is a basket full of wonderful, new-to-me, inspiring craft supplies, which is exactly the reason I really really hope I get one. :)

My craft spazziness came to the forefront a week or so ago as I was preparing for a small class I was teaching on hand embroidery and came up with 12 pairs of small embroidery scissors for the class to use. Yup - twelve - who needs that many pairs of embroidery sissors except for the person that packs away scissors with every WIP, be it knitting, crocheting, sewing, or embroidering. Add on to that the three swaps I am currently trying to get out this week that include match box ornaments, a crafty swap and sewing swap AND the fact that I spent most of last week at the International Quilt Festival picking up dyes, fibers, quilt kits and fabrics..... I guess I can honestly say I am at least approching spazziness.

I'm new to your blog,(many thanks to Bitter Betty for directing me here). Oh, it is sooooooo nice to find myself in good company.

Hi, my name is Katherine and I guess by your definition I am also a Craft Spazz. There are not enough hours in the day for all that I indulge in creatively. I love to try my hand at so many crafty pursuits. To give you an idea of how bad my addiction to making things is... my dining room has become my sewing room, I keep more sewing supplies and yarn stashed on shelves in the home office and patterns crammed into the file cabinet, and then there are the large rubbermaid tubs of fabric that reside in my bedroom, my candlemaking, soapmaking and dried floral supplies are shelved in the laundry room.... and yet, despite my considerable stash of goods spread throughout our house; I look at the goodies you're giving away and find myself all twitchy to welcome them into my home. My current works in progress include: needlepoint, embroidery, handknit socks, candlemaking, a dress, totes, some beadwork and a quilt. Ahem. Sound spazzy enough for you? ;o)

Yes, I am a Craft Spaz and proud! of it :) Why? Because a pic or two on a blog can make me feel I have to have it, I'll get instantaneous bouts of gotta do something like that. And seeing color combos like pink, red and blue - inspirational!

Um, this post alone should say I am a craft spaz.
http://monkeyporkbun.typepad.com/monkeyporkbun/2007/10/pillowcase.html

And I am getting more and more organized. Yesterday, however, you should have seen my spazness. I was looking for my inks so that my daughter and I could do up some lino Christmas cards, but I couldn't find my ink or brayer or anything. When I finally found it I was completely lacking in energy over looking for supplies that I was just satisfied to find it. After all this time, it was neatly organized in an old makeup case and put into the coat closet. Because I wouldn't forget that I had put my newly organized inks and stuff "in the coat closet" - right?

That said, I love your idea and how beautiful it looks in your post, but I fear if I win it will wind up looking like the post in the link above!

Good luck!
xo. Gena

wow, you generous woman! or maybe a crazy hoarder? Yup I can relate to that.

It started with a knitted stockinette jumper for my barbie (cheap imitiation barbie, not the real thing, sigh.) It went through to a couple of boyfriend's jumpers (the kiss of death of any relationship... sigh). Then it moved to cross stitched and my mum got the bug too. She's still doing it (i have the most gorgeous unfinished sampler in a box... sigh). Then it moved into quilting and nestled comfortably for a long time... (too many ideas in my head, not enough time ... sigh_

And in between all this there was the stamping period (I stamped all my Christmas wrappings one year... never again), the beading, the attempts at embroidery...

And then again back to knitting and crochet and now felting everything and everyone...

How much more proof do you want? I need a craft spazz badge.

Hmmm does it mean I'm a craft Spazz if that when we moved last time it took 2 pick up trucks to move my stuff. I mean just my craft stuff. And that was 3 years ago and now it might take 5. i swear I make or work on SOMETHING everyday. And still the stash grows!!! So...Craft Spazz???

I am a craft spazz who refuses to recover because, I have a bowl of glue with a giant bursh in it sitting in the middle of my studio table. The glue is beige now, it is my "Starter" of all glues (14 months old). It gets water added to it and fresh glue twice a week. Yes, I am growing glue. Glue for putting glitter on birds and glitter on fake gowns, glitter on crowns, and glitter on clowns. There is paper stuck all around to this spastic glue bowl, paper for paper dresses and paper for paper hats... There is paper stuck to the floor, there are beads stuck to the paper stuck to the floor. There is always something for making something, which is under construction and will be a masterpice if I can get my spastic hand unglued from my forhead and scrape the glitter off Mr. Lovee's eyebrows away, so we can wrap this project up and start another... So you see, this is only the tip of the iceberg.. and I love it. Craft Spazz is not a description it is a way of life. .. My Life.... xoxoxo

You got paragraphs of readers, Sonya! Wow.
I will not throw my hat into the ring on this one, because more than a craft spazz, I am an anal retentive spazz, and I will start convulsing if I bring anything else into our little apartment. But hot damn, this is one good giveaway!

You got paragraphs out of your readers, Sonya! Wow. Way to make 'em work. I love it.
I will not throw my hat into the ring on this one, because more than a craft spazz, I am an anal retentive spazz, and I will start convulsing if I bring anything else into our little apartment. But hot damn, this is one good giveaway!

I'm a craft spazz because even though I have this: http://flickr.com/photos/greenkitchen/115423715/ I still want your stuff.

oh geez!! what tantilizing bundles of wonderment you are willing to dole out to the rest of us craft spazz-matics.

well, i know i'm a craft spazz because:

1. i get all twitchy if i haven't had a project in my hands for a while.

2. everytime i start a new knitting project, i need to buy new knitting needles because most likely the size i need is already occupied by some unfinished project from months/years ago.

3. i have needlepoint/cross-stitch/embroidery projects waiting to be finished from 8+ years ago

4. i have craft ADD. if something new comes along that catches my eye, i'll drop what i'm working on to try that something new

5. like Alice i have multiples of most craft supplies...my reason for having several is i usually can't find the glue/thread/yarn paper/stamp buried in my stash to finish the project and out of frustration just buy it again.

and

6. (although i have many more reasons) i, like Michelle, have loads of supplies yet still pine after one of your baskets of goodies.

happy 100th minus 16 and three months Sonya! glad to have made a friend in a craft-spazz like you!! xo

My name is Sara. I am a Craft Spazz.

Two days ago I was looking for a specific bit of quilting fabric in my stash…nothing else would do! My sister-in-law held the baby while I dug through the HUGE Rubbermaid bin for said fabric.

I pulled out these UNFINISHED projects:

-4 knitted baby sweaters from the past 8 years, most just missing their buttons;

-1 miniature quilt, with hand-appliqued petroglyphs on hand-painted fabric (I made it to look like sandstone). It lacks merely a binding. Even the label is ready and embroidered (and dated September 2000 through 2006);

-13 hand-appliqued blocks for a camping-themed quilt in dusty autumn flannels and plaids;

-2 balls roving (teal and green) and several small spools of unplyed yarn. Knitsonya may remember my purchase of said roving and my fledgling attempts to spin in her living room 2.5 years ago;

-6 extra-large quilt blocks, plain brown (ok—not plain but café-au-lait, espresso, mocha, callebaut dark, ganache, and cinnamon truffle) with hand-appliquéd giant turquoise bubbles;

-1 toddler-sized knitted hoodie in hot purples and pinks, lacking only a hood-tie and buttons (whose intended owner is now age 4 1/2);

-1 hooked wool rug depicting Kristin’s fine little Welsh corgi, Angus. Not latch-hooking, but the real deal: 1/4-inch cut strips of woolens and over-dyed gabardines (did I dye them?-why yes I did!) on burlap; and

-100 pre-cut squares of ugly fabrics (a gift from my mother to make a Cruel and Unusual Quilt).

My sister-in-law declared me “Sick” at this point and stated, unequivocally, that I have a “Problem”.

When I didn’t find the fabric I was seeking, I was forced to open the chest of drawers at the top of the stairs, where I hold the fabrics I have had time to sort by color. Still no special scrap! Moving on now to the extra-large neon picnic basket in the guest room…no scrap, but there are my missing Crystal Palace No. 6 Double-Points! Ooh, now I can start on that fair-isle baby hat with corner pom-poms!

Frantic now, I start to dig through the four cardboard boxes stacked in the corner of my bedroom.

Oh, look! Precious little acorn-people patterns, with a whole box of half-completed bodies and hundreds of real oak acorn caps...I really must finish those! Hmm. Birdhouses. A dozen plain wooden birdhouses waiting to be modge-podged...really, I have no interest in those at all!

Oh! there’s my bag of real shell sequins with a lavender sheen, too heavy for the skirt I’d planned, maybe a pillow? Not unless I reupholster that sofa. Feel that gauzy botanical print I’ve been intending to make into curtains or a breezy overskirt.

Well, look at that, it’s my rubber stamps and embossing tools (my sister once told me it’s shameful to own stamps when one CAN DRAW). Lustrous floss, all organized by color number on little cards, and the little denim squares I’m intending to embroider with squirrels and mushrooms and blackberries and pine trees, a la 1975. (no, really, I have plenty of old jeans, but thanks for offering!).

AHA…I found my jumbo crochet hook and the strips of plastic shopping bags to crochet that ultra-durable recycled handbag (it’s the one project I’ve given up on...I remembered how that made my arm-hair stand up with static electricity...*shudder*).

Oops, heavy...that's 3 pounds of buttons, no two alike (I've given every little darling a name!)...But how to show off each one's sparkling personality? The altered book supplies weigh nearly as much, and I don't even have the books, yet.

Still looking for that scrap, though. It could have somehow gotten into the garage with the 15 bins of boring fabric I got off Freecycle.

The scrap’s absence eats away at my brain, but right now I’m on my way to the yarn shop to pick up a melt-in-your-hands alpaca I’ve had my eye on. Thank god I’ve never gotten into scrapbooking. I think those people have some kind of Addiction.

So why do I need a basket full of goodness? Because obtaining new raw materials for crafting makes my mouth water. Yummy new supplies fill me with hope for the future...allow me to believe that I WILL make (read: Finish) gorgeous things...that I WILL hear the words "you are so talented, when do you find the time?!".... that I WILL make my friend the Perfect Gift...and that I WILL, someday, create something inspired.

My first real craft was a little girl by the name of Brittany. Pre-B, I didn't do much, unless you count a semester in my high school pottery class (which I probably skipped out on at least once every other week). Post-B, the joys of creation infected me. I started with sewing cute little dresses and overalls for her. Since then, I've learned to crochet and knit. Nothing quite so fancy as my dear friend Sonya.

I looked up the dictionary definition of craft: "an occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill". So, I think I can legitimately say that in the last few years I have discovered that the craft nearest and dearest to my heart is baking. There's something special about the smell of freshly baked cookies, the feel of my hands kneading dough, the sight of an (almost perfectly) frosted cake, the sound of friends and family enjoying my creation. Nothing else quite makes me swell with the same pride.

Am I a Craft Spazz? If that means gathering countless tools and supplies just because they're SO COOL!.... then, yes. If that means staying up until 2:00a.m. (or later) to finish a project (and enjoying it!).... then, yes. If that means that I hunger to learn more, share more of my creations, and continue krafting for the sake of it.... then, yes. So, although I would have never thought to do it myself, go ahead Sonya, call me a Spazz! ;-)