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My Compulsion Written 9-18-96

I love to crochet and knit. I guess if I had nothing else to do, I could keep myself busy doing those two things. I don't like to do other crafts, and I am not one to attend craft shows. But I do have one compulsion. That is to USE UP what I have. Using up is not an easy thing for me to do, when all my life I have been unable to resist buying yarn and crochet cotton. I have had enough of both of these, plus yard goods, to start up a store of my own. Even now, when I go to estate sales, (which is one of the things I like to do), I look for yarn and crochet cotton. I don't WANT to buy any, but just want to see if they HAVE some. If they do, and it's the kind I might use, I usually end up buying some. So my piles of materials to use up become larger, rather than smaller.

Back in about 1942, during the war years, these materials (especially the crochet cotton), were hard to get. The fact that there was a shortage made it all the more appealing to me. At one time, I drove to Elizabethtown, Kentucky with my sister Norma, to visit her husband who was in the service in Kentucky. As we drove through Louisville, we decided to stop and check if they had any crochet cotton. They did have some and the two of us bought all that we were allowed to buy. I don't know what Norma ever did with hers, but mine stayed in a big box and never got used. Life got too busy to sit and crochet. Now that I am retired, I decided to look into the matter and find a way to use up all this thread.

I started making doilies, using all my old pattern books. Then I started borrowing books from friends, and the crocheting became more interesting. Finally, after checking around, I discovered that some stores had pattern books in their craft department. So I bought some new ones, and as I pursued newer and more difficult patterns, my crocheting became even more interesting. The "bug" had bitten me! So I proceeded to a greater degree. Every moment I had free during the day, I would crochet, as well as late into the evening. I now have 14 doilies waiting to be pinned and starched, besides the ones in the picture, plus stacks in my drawers. Besides, there are doilies all over in my house, wherever I can find a spot for them, even though they are NOT in style now.

I have also discovered that beautiful doilies can be made out of yarn, so I made many of them. I have a set of 3 matching doilies that I made out of some really fine woolen yarn that I once used

to knit a sweater for my mom. She wore it for many years. After she passed away, I ripped it up and made the doilies. For me it is a nice remembrance, and means a lot since I knit (and ripped

many times) the original sweater.

I find that it is almost impossible to buy fine crochet cotton today. Having checked in many stores, I find that most of the thread is the heavier weight. Size 40 is the finest I have found.

Even though my box is pretty empty by now, I still have some size 60 and 100 to use up. So my compulsion has paid off and I can continue with other things, like maybe yarn, or yard goods?

I need to do more of this using up, like in the grocery cupboard, medicine cabinet, closet, freezer, basement, etc. Maybe in due time I'll attempt these too. It's not the worst compulsion to have !