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Journal

I Was Still Hoarding

A few weeks ago I filmed a full read-through of Flora Klickmann’s The Modern Knitting Book for Studio members, thinking of it as the start of a proper virtual library. I asked for feedback on pace and clarity. What came back, more than once, was: this should be on YouTube.

That sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole about hoarding and scarcity, and what I’d been quietly holding back without any good reason. It also led me back into fourteen boxes of textiles I’d forgotten I owned, stored in my parents’ attic since I was a teenager.

Here’s the film.

The Klickmann read-throughs mentioned in this one are on their own playlist here, and if you’d like to know when the next Studio places open, there’s no-obligation sign-up here.

 

 

 

 

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Comments: 3 (Add)

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Freda Beston

Hi Jane, what a great deal of food for thought in your film. I loved it. Personally, I would love to see any of the garments modelled and/or displayed in your garden moving in the Scottish sunny breezes. Many thanks.

Michelle Moore

I've always been what my mother described as a hoarder and which, more recently, I have reframed into being a collector, as while I may have many interests, not all of them lead to collecting / hoarding, and those that do, are curated. The fact that your collection has been stored so carefully means that you now have a wonderful resource to do with as you please. If not sharing that resource is considered hoarding by those who would love a peak (me included!), then that's a different angle.
I do acknowledge having a scarcity mindset at times - borne out of childhood experiences, of course, and I have been terribly acquisitive in the (increasingly distant) past, mostly for things which I deemed had value, but were destined for the bin or the dump. Less so these days, but people know I have a passion for old stuff.....Even yesterday, I received a wonderful box of antique linens and lace from a colleague following a forgotten conversation last year, when he had told me that he was clearing his mother's house and didn't know what to do with them, and I had mentioned my plans for what I already had. Lovely!
I am about to find out whether I am a collector or really still a hoarder as I begin down-sizing before I move in with my son and daughter in law in a mutually beneficial multi-generational household. Can I be clear-headed about the value of these things, both generally and personally, or will simple sentimentality overwhelm me?!

Jane, I love how you approach things - you always offer a different way of looking at things, which I find both refreshing and incredibly helpful to ponder. Thank you!

Michelle Moore

In reply to Michelle Moore
Oh, and just to add - I would love to have you make videos where you do slow passes over all the garments, hats, scraps etc, so that we can see the construction, stitching and so forth, and the same for the books, as you have done with the Flora Klickman books. With commentary on why each piece is important to you, what's remarkable (or not, except that it still exists), and how you came by it. That would gradually build an absolutely stunning library and help shift the YT algorithm towards real value.
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