My love of magazines...............

My love of magazines began when I started working.  I was bored at lunch so would walk around Old Montreal where I worked and got hooked on Woman's Day and Family Circle. They were something like 79 CENTS at the time. Both offered recipes, home decorating, human interest, crafts - YOU KNOW - women's stuff!!!!  

I became hooked on those magazines and would anxiously await the arrival of the next issue. I read them from cover to cover.

I think I ripped out articles and recipes and wouldn't be surprised if I find some of those recipes when I get to the recipe drawer!!!  But the magazines never stuck around - when I was finished with them - they were gone. Probably in the garbage because we didn't have recycling then. This is WAY BACK in the early 80s.

Then I got a few more interests - computers and computer gaming, and puzzles. I remember VERY SPECIFICALLY the day when I had TOO MANY MAGAZINES. I couldn't keep up with reading them cover to cover and there was a NICE NEAT stack on my coffee table shelf. Not sure why that moment stuck in my head, but it does. There was about 10 magazines there.

Well - I have NEVER stopped buying the darn things. My interests changed but I always found a magazine related to my interests. I have thrown/given so many of them away WITHOUT reading them. Someone said to me that they hate to get rid of things that they paid good money for, but never used. Oh yes - I hear you!!!!!   I don't even want to calculate how much I haven't gotten rid of. The big issue here is WHAT IS THE PRICE of keeping them????   They take up room in your house, they take up room in your brain, they become an issue - GET RID OF THEM.

And then I got interested in quilting and well - you all know that story. I do not know how many quilting magazines I have, but there are a LOT. My interests have changed and the magazines that I buy have changed, but I keep buying them. I CANNOT HELP MYSELF. But at least I browse MOST of them first before buying.

Where did this love of magazines come from?  Who knows but how can you resist the covers - they PROMISE so much. Great patterns to make, great people to meet, beautiful new fabrics/tools/techniques - I mean - I could be a WORLD FAMOUS QUILTING GURU if I read "this" magazine. The pull is just too strong and I fork over money. At least I am not as bad as one of the people portrayed in STUFF by Randy O. Frost. It got to the point where this woman bought THREE copies of the same magazine - one remained untouched (sandwiched between the other two) and the other two she could read or cut up which she never did.

Now most people will read the magazine and then rip out the article they want or pass the magazine to a friend. Me  (and there are those of you out there - just like me)  - I just quickly browse the magazine or NOT and then it goes on the shelf. I DO NOT READ THEM. I know - it is just such a waste.

The more I read about OCD, COMPULSIVE HOARDING and PERFECTIONISM, I am seeing myself portrayed over and over again. I do NOT have a problem with any of the above, but HUGE tendencies.  My goal right now is to STOP those and get this mess in order.

Just a couple more thoughts before I get to THE TEST. OH and you are NOT allowed to judge me on this.

My feelings towards magazines................
1. If I am going to read it - I MUST read it cover to cover. Reading one article is NOT ENOUGH. I mean someone took the time to write those articles and edit and assemble the magazine. Someone (ME) has to read it.
2. I like to support CANADIAN magazines - well the quilting ones. If I don't buy them (whether they are good or bad) they will disappear.
3. It is a BAD thing to rip up a magazine (where did this come from?)
4. I like the magazine to be pristine - NO RIPS! (who wants a magazine with a torn cover - ICK ICK ICK)
5. There is so MUCH information in the magazine - they all hope GREAT PROMISE  (you too can be just like the quilt gurus)
6. The magazine becomes part of ME - if I get rid of the magazine - I get rid of the PROMISE it holds  (I am NOTHING without my magazines)
7. SOMEONE needs to preserve these magazines or they will be gone forever!  (I mean really - who else has an almost complete collection of Quilter's Newsletter????)



I am sure there are other things, but let's get on with the test.


In Christmas Club this past weekend, Kristin brought in some magazines because she is getting ready to move. I will take NONE of them home with me. Oh - one can't hurt, well I could just take two - hey - I will take what is left over and it will be a TEST.

Here is what I did with the magazines...................


Step ONE - sorted the magazines by Publication and then sorted them by date (I know - that is an OCD thing and I can't help it!)

The stack of magazines (there were about 10)

 Step TWO - check my magazines to see if I already had the issue. If I already had the issue, the duplicate went in the RECYCLING. I know - I threw them out!!!!!

Mostly The Quilter magazines

 Step THREE - I went through the magazines and ripped out anything that I deemed of interest to me. I DID NOT read anything - well a few small things. OK - so I read everything that I didn't rip out - no - I do not read ads. I can't help myself, but at least I didn't get bogged down with the articles - I just ripped them out. And sorted them into piles - those I will keep - those that I saved for someone else and those for an upcoming project.

The sorted articles

I determined that MOST of the patterns in this magazine just do NOT appeal to me. Most are made with floral fabrics and while you can change the fabric - there are so many other ones that I want to make - these just do not fit my style. 

See - the recycling boxes with the NEWSPAPERS and the MAGAZINES (all three boxes are currently at the curb!!)

 STEP FOUR - the articles I am keeping went into page protectors and into a binding with labelled indexes.

THE BINDER

Now that the articles are sorted - they will be easier to read. OK - you are thinking - she will NEVER go back and read those articles. I may not, but NOW I know that they exist and if I want to find them - I can easily find them. If I never even knew they existed - it would be tough to find them.

And it is a start and this binder takes up less room than the 10 magazines.


Then I got this BRILLIANT idea. If I don't really like this publication  (often I buy for one article - not for the patterns), why know go through the issues of this publication that I own and do the same thing.

My stack of The Quilter

Yes - I sorted them by year

Look some of the earlier ones even have STICKIES on them - articles/patterns that I thought were great. 

Even found a duplicate

All sorted by date and there are a few specialty magazines published by this publication

 My goal - go through ONE year every day (or whenever I get a chance to sit down). It is HARDER since these are MINE. But I went through the first year - 1997 (OK -so there was only magazine in that year)

Articles like this get me into trouble. An article about a current (at that time) author. Hmmm - this is great. BUT

I have the book they talk about - so DO NOT NEED the article. Since the gist of the article is to get you to buy the book (more or less) and I had already done that. 

When I picked up Kristin's extra magazines, she said she didn't think she should allow me to bring them home. I said it would be a test!!!   Well - how do you think I did?????

I think I passed. The hard thing will be to keep at this. I have attempted this before with some other publications and I get bogged down EVERY TIME. This time - I MUST MUST MUST complete the task. Getting more information on the OCD, compulsive hoarding, etc.  has definitely made an impact on how I look at things. I am starting to be able to get rid of stuff - more readily than before. Mostly because I know that I am not alone, I am not crazy and I know why I have been keeping the stuff.

If I could just find the time to get through everything I want to, but let's just do a bit at a time. Just do not want to lose momentum.

Now wasn't that more than you wanted to know about magazines. There are some that I know I will NOT be able to throw away, rip up and hopefully we can keep those to a minimum.

As I go through and categorize things - I will share bits and pieces of it.

Hey - if you have The Quilter magazines - (or any other one for that matter) - play along with me. Get yours sorted and get them out. We will read/rip/file together!!!!!    NO - I am NOT passing these on to anyone when I am done - they are NOT going to a guild to resell (they will not be complete). I am RECYCLING them.  I need the therapy and no one I know needs the aggravation of going through these magazines.



And that is it for me. I did get the bulk of that quilt done, but it will have to wait as I am off to a class today and hopefully will be inspired to finish the quilting when I get home.


Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!