| Author |
Across the Fence:  why do you collect what you collect  |
|
|
sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 18 2006 : 1:47:28 PM
|
1. portugal rosters ( because I am portuges)
2. ruby glass ( because my grand mother did and it goes with so many holidays ( valentines, 4th of july, memorial day, flag day, christma) also like colbalt blue and anchor hocking forest green same reasons)
3. mother of pearl buttons ( to use as I like them they have a nice texture in the hand and pretty to lok at and I use a lot of them)
4. old chrochet thread boilfast ( tattting too) I use it to repair antiques and to make stuff)
5. crochet patterns earlier than 1950 This is what I use the antique thread for
6. lace making tools ( anytype) self explanitory I am a lace maker ( crochet , tatting, bobbin lace, teneriffe lace, reticella, bloomstick, hairpin etc any of those and more I actually still use these items)
7. wood spools tends to happen when you buy lots of old thread to repair old items and the thread is 100 % cotton More useful so then you get empty spools afterward probably have about 500 between two glass jars that have no thread on them and probably about 200 that have thread on them
8. vintage to antique hats got about 20 from my husband grandmother form 1920-1950 which started a collection been adding to ever since have about 20 hat boxes with 2-4 hats in each
9. blue china/ cranberry grew up with it in my grandmothers house just makes me feel at home
10. want to start collecting old aprons ( aunt george's fault I like hers think it is kind of neat)
11.cast iron biscut pans ( all shapes and sizes) ( my great aunt's fault she has about 60 haning on a brick wall in her house I just think it is quaint I have about 15)
12. paper dolls ( my grand mother started this when I was a little girl and I am still collecting old and new any type)
13 china dolls ( my grandmother started this as well I mainly collect china clowns perrots and the white faces clowns not hobo clowns all though I do have two of those too
have a lovely day |
|
|
brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Jun 18 2006 : 4:55:13 PM
|
1. Tiffin Glass - because I graduated from Heidelberg College in Tiffin the year the factory closed
2. Knitting machines - because I need them! And since they don't sell them anymore I might need parts
3. Amateur radio equipment - because I'm too timid to actually use it, so my husband calls me a radio collector
4. Old broken computers - because I used them so much they bring back memories, and maybe I'll someday get them working again
5. Pedestal cake stands - because they are pretty
6. Head vases - because there was one in my grandmother's china cabinet and she gave it to my oldest daughter, my daughter asked me to keep it while her children are small, I needed to find one for daughter number 2, and one for me, and three of anything makes a collection...
7. Thread on wooden spools - reminds me of the spool dolls my grandmother made for us when we were small, and I love the colors
8. Sock eggs - only have 3 but looking for more
9. Buttons - all types, the older the better. I love finding old sewing kits at auctions.
10. Yarn on cones - well, technically this is a "stash" not a "collection"
11. Crooksville china (un-named pattern) - I thought it was a family heirloom but turned out to be something my husband's uncle traded for at a farmer's market!
12. Homer Laughlin Golden Wheat china - the milkman brought it to my mother one piece at a time with her milk order, I remember how excited she got when each piece arrived...
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
 |
|
|
CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Jun 18 2006 : 5:07:42 PM
|
oh chile' .. i collect SO MANY things .. the list would take forever .. mostly, it can be summed up that i collect what makes my heart smile. xo
True Friends, Frannie
My KENTUCKY RAMBLINGS 'blog':
http://cabincreekfarm-kentucky.blogspot.com/ |
|
|
|
asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Jun 18 2006 : 6:44:04 PM
|
Old tins (because I like old style advertising and the tins are just down right cool to look at)
Coca Cola memorabila (same reason as the tins)
Perfume atomizers (I like the different colors and styles)
photo equipment (because I studied photography for many years, was a photo lab technician and hoped that someday I would be a professional photographer)
Old photographs (same reason as the equipment, also many are of family members, reminds me of a time when things were simpler)
Those are the main things I collect.
Anne
"Second star to the right, straight on till morning" Peter Pan
|
|
|
|
rabbithorns
True Blue Farmgirl
544 Posts
Allison
Fort Scott
KS
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - Jun 18 2006 : 6:55:05 PM
|
tins and enamelware that I can actually use and because when my first husband left we switched to camp plates and bowls so the kids could do dishes without breaking everything. now I got in the habit of using it. it's light to hold and I like it.
vintage fabric pieces for crafts
gnomes and jackalopes (if the rabbits don't have antlers yet, I just add them like Max on the Grinch Who Stole Christmas) because it makes me happy and dh groan.
and anything useful from the thrift stores because I like to find things other people need. simply using my addiction for good and not evil.
http://www.rabbithorns.etsy.com |
|
|
|
Whimsy_girl
True Blue Farmgirl
576 Posts
USA
576 Posts |
Posted - Jun 18 2006 : 8:28:40 PM
|
I'm into turtles.. don't know why. I have one real one and lots of figurines and things with turtles on them
I collect shotglasses from places I visit so far I have a pretty good collection, and I also collect books by Stephan King because I enjoy reading them over and over.
I guess I also collect arts and crafts supplies, but mostly to feed my crafting addiction :)
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
|
|
|
Mumof3
True Blue Farmgirl
3890 Posts
Karin
Ellenwood
GA
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - Jun 19 2006 : 04:30:27 AM
|
I can sum the answer to this question up in one word- Genetics!!
I come from a long,long,long,long,line of collectors of all sorts. It's just in my blood. (Ew, that sounds kind of creepy, doesn't it?)
So, my collections are comprised of whatever suits my fancy at any given time, mingled in with the collections that have come my way from my family.
Karin |
|
|
|
ByHzGrace
True Blue Farmgirl
348 Posts
348 Posts |
Posted - Jun 19 2006 : 05:04:18 AM
|
I collect yo yos! yup I did say YoYos
The why it's because I'm addicted to throwing things away that come back. and I'm pretty good at it and that is a smile
Anybody finds a yoyo please please throw me an email... I'll pay! |
|
|
|
sillyfoulks
True Blue Farmgirl
164 Posts
Elizabeth
Illinois
USA
164 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2006 : 3:31:30 PM
|
I have to agree with Frannie. I collect so many things! Among which is birds eggs, rocks, platt books, and really anything that makes may heart sing. Birds eggs I think remind me of the fagile-ness of it all, rocks remind me of the power as well as connection to a memory. My soapstone for example reminds me of my childhood when my sister and I would spend hours carving things out of bits of the stone. I am a nostalgic person, and love all things old. I have a passion for genealogy (it doesn't have to be my own), and I think it goes hand in hand. When I hold an item think of who used it, who held it, who loved it. Old things are my connection to my history, they remind me where we all come from. A few years ago, when I was homeschooling my children, I found a perfect description of how I feel. It went something like this, In history books, you read of famous people like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Boone, Lewis & Clarke, Benjamin Franklin, and many others. However, in reality our country was made by everyone else. The Farmers, the traders, the explorers, the shop keeps, the soldiers, the pioneers. They are the ones that had fortitude, tenacity, courage, and love. This is what I think of when I hold my things. I think of these people who lived, loved, and lost. There are 3 things in this world that make my heart weep. The site of an old abandoned home, building, or farm. I see the old barn, and thing of what memories that family must have had. An old lonely picture lost in a rumage sale, flea market, antique store. I think to myself this person was somebody's brother, sister, daughter, or son, they were loved, and now they have been tossed aside, like nobody. I can't bare to see run-down tombstones, and cemeteries for the same exact reason. These people deserve honor.
I collect what I do not just for my own memories, but also for the memories of those who where here before me, who held it before me. And like Frannie said,It makes my heart sing.
Elizabeth
Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.
http://livingcountrystyle.blogspot.com/ |
|
|
|
blueroses
True Blue Farmgirl
1323 Posts
Debbie
in the Pandhandle of
Idaho
USA
1323 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2006 : 3:40:54 PM
|
I collect old things because I treasure their past and try to imagine who has owned these things before me. As both Elizabeth and Frannie noted. It's hard to describe, but I treasure things that have been used and useful to others that came before me.
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
|
|
|
santa_gertrudis_gal
True Blue Farmgirl
198 Posts
Kim
Groesbeck
Texas
USA
198 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 09:50:24 AM
|
My collections:
1) as a child US Stamps
2) as a child Beyer Horses
3) just started my first adult collection: American Home magazine, during the years my grandmother was Equipment Editior.
Kim
Heaven is a day at the ranch with my Santa Gertrudis! |
|
|
|
verbina
True Blue Farmgirl
231 Posts
randi
n.j
USA
231 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 4:35:39 PM
|
| i agree with franni, what ever makes my heart smile. randi |
|
|
|
CityCat
True Blue Farmgirl
198 Posts
Catherine
Toronto
Ontario
Canada
198 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2006 : 5:36:23 PM
|
Well, I guess the main thing I collect are bug related, although I steer clear of butterflies. It's a complicated story... I'm an entomologist by trade so I guess I like to surround myself with what I love. :) Other invertebrate stuff is good too. I love my jellyfish painting and I've got a stuffed sleeping sickness!
And looking at my large collection, I apparently collect music cd's. Lots of everything. Same with books. LOVE books. I'm on a cookbook kick right now.
I used to collect lots of things (beads, stickers, buttons, yarn, anime, pencils, tea, to name just a few!) but really, it's like what franni said, whatever makes me smile!
-Cat |
|
|
|
theoanne
True Blue Farmgirl
282 Posts
teddie
CARROLLTON
GA
282 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2006 : 7:48:24 PM
|
A stuffed sleeping sickness.. now I like that. You are a person with a dry sense of humor right.
I collected china horses in my youth but gave it up when the boys came along. We have too many things so I deciede to collect some thing small and that would meansomething maybe only to me.
It is china thimbles. I started on my honeymmon 2 yrs ago. Every time we travel I buy a thimble from our trip. Since I love to sew they are in display in my sewing room. So far there are Washington DC., Disney World,Biltmore mansion NC, and San Antonio Tx. In Sept I'll add the grand canyon. There is a cute little one I found in the old Machine my MIL had.
Teddie |
|
|
|
Buttercup
True Blue Farmgirl
1433 Posts
Talitha
Vermont
USA
1433 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2006 : 4:55:45 PM
|
As several of you already mentioned, I love to collect things that make me smile or remind me of something wonderful. I am sure the number of collections I have will grow but for now...
1. Teddy Bears (ones that "speak to me")-because they seem comforting and homey and seem to envoke a safe, secure, and simple time
2. Dolls -because I loved dolls as a girl but was too poor to really have many. so now being able to buy cute ones or ones I remember my little friends having brings such joy to my heart like it is Christmas time!
3. Toys from the 70s & 80s -because we were too poor for me to have them then and the little girl inside me still loves them!
4. Precious Moments Figurines -I love their simple and childlike charm and the messages they have. I dont collect them just to collect them they are ones I have recieved as gifts with special messages ment for me, or messages that I love.
5. Books (and tons of them!! LOVE books!!)-because I think books are the most wonderful thing there is. You can learn so much with them or travel or be anything you want to be or learn anything you want to learn. I have mostly non-fiction.
6. Kaleidoscopes - because they are pretty and unique and they remind me it is all how you look at things in this life!
7. Tea Sets -cuz someday when I have my farmette and set down some roots I want to have tea parties with my friends (wanna come? )and they remind me of an English garden tea party which I think is lovely!
8. Unique Serving Pieces/Dishes -I love to entertain!
9. Old Sports Things -for my hubbie, he loves sports and I thought there should be a collection in the house for him to enjoy!
10. Games from Around the World (for Hubbie too so ditto)
11. Antique Toys and/or Foreign Toys -because toys bring out the inner child and make me smile!
12. Pins (from anywhere and every where)-because it is something small that I can collect from my travels and easy for friends to get as a momento. One day I hope to have a fabric world map framed on the wall with all my pins placed in the area they came from!
13 Musical instruments -because I find them intriguing and I believe music is transcultural and a language of the world (love being the first and most important one of course!)
I guess that is it for now... but who knows what might strike my fancy next! 
It is so neat to read about what everyone else collects...thanks for sharing!!
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
Edited by - Buttercup on Jun 28 2006 5:16:32 PM |
|
|
|
KJD
True Blue Farmgirl
402 Posts
402 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2006 : 7:01:36 PM
|
Lifelong collection - books, because...hello...BOOKS!
New collection in mind - blankets, such as Pendleton type Indian blankets. My first was aquired 23 years ago on honeymoon in Mexico. Plan to add on each trip from now on, and to save up spare cash to buy from Sundance catalog or Pendleton, etc. |
|
|
|
katiedid
True Blue Farmgirl
601 Posts
Kate
West Jordan
Utah
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2006 : 8:12:35 PM
|
well...aside from junk, erm, junque,
I like to collect salt and pepper shakers, Granny Lula started this intrest, she had hundreds.
I also like old buttons, turqoise jewelry, farm and blacksmithing tools, and knives.
|
|
|
|
Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2006 : 8:35:51 PM
|
I just have to add that during yesterday's Utah/Illinois farmgirl "tea and shopping" day, Kate found the greatest thing! It was a round metal box with ALL SORTS of neat sewing things in it - a darning egg, needle cards, buttons - it was such a find!!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
|
|
|
berries
True Blue Farmgirl
475 Posts
gloria g
Florida
USA
475 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2006 : 8:49:34 PM
|
I too have the addiction! For over thirty years I have collected:
Strawberry Cookie Jars, only strawberries, different colors, and shapes, but always strawberry.
Everything strawberry, dishes, plates, serving pieces.
I love Johnson Brothers Strawberry Fair China.
I try to make strawberry quilts, every other year.
Strawberry tins,
old embroidery with strawberries,
vintage strawberry tablecloths,
lot's of strawberry fabric - since I'm a quilter! Yes, I have lot's of other collections, but I would say Strawberries.
Oh did I say I have 56 Cookie Jars! :>) And one on the way - from eBay!
thanks, for listening,
happy piecing, sewing, quilting, or whatever makes YOU happy!
gloria g.
Richards, Tx
strawberry fields forever and ever! |
|
|
|
Nance in France
True Blue Farmgirl
1438 Posts
Nancy
St. Laurent de la Salanque
France
1438 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2006 : 03:29:27 AM
|
| Bonjour, gals! Have been scrolling down the emails this morning enjoying (and comparing) the neat things we all collect. I collect things from nature like abandoned birdnests, rocks, moss.... I love but don't get the chance often, to browse antique and junk shops, searching for old clay pots, gardening tools, books, flower frogs, embroidery and crochet, knitting tools. Pansies are my favorite outdoor flower and I love to find old dishes, prints, etc. featuring them. I agree with you all, part of the pleasure of treasuring old things is to know that they were useful to others before us, and to wonder who loved and used them before we found them. I think if there was a huge empty farmhouse and it was furnished with a few treasures from each of us, what a cozy spot it would be. My hometown of Norfolk, VA has lots of places to look, and now that I live part of the year in southern France with my new husband, I am looking forward to discovering some "sure bet" spots where I know I can always find a little goody to make my heart zing! Happy hunting everybody! |
|
|
|
Buttercup
True Blue Farmgirl
1433 Posts
Talitha
Vermont
USA
1433 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2006 : 3:53:56 PM
|
How neat Nancy!!!
And apparently a farmgirl welcome is in order? So glad you found us!! I LOVE Europe! If we do not find a great job someplace we would like ot settle in the States, we most likely will take one in Europe next! I love to hunt for treasures there!!!
Til Next Time...
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
|
|
|
Buttercup
True Blue Farmgirl
1433 Posts
Talitha
Vermont
USA
1433 Posts |
Posted - Apr 22 2007 : 08:26:35 AM
|
BUMP!!!
Ok everyone that didnt get to post on Sunshine's cool thread..now is your chance!!Can't wait to read all the new posts!
Hugz!
Talitha
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
|
|
|
pinkroses
True Blue Farmgirl
2350 Posts
Sheila
Virginia
USA
2350 Posts |
Posted - Apr 22 2007 : 12:40:47 PM
|
I collect Noah's ark things. Teddy bears. dolls sometimes.
Teapots. Thimbles that are old and have been used.
Anything that is pink and roses . I love hearts, sewing things. I collect cookbooks. too many it seems. especially gooseberries. Ha.
Needlework books and quilting books. Too many of those too.
Hymanals. I like old ones. I have to stop this madness I am running out of room and hubby is complaining. Ha.
I love calico material. for my quilts.
I collect them because I am drawn to these things. Pinkroses
Also things that are country in nature. and victoran country |
|
|
|
Tracey
True Blue Farmgirl
766 Posts
Tracey
State of Confusion
USA
766 Posts |
|
|
Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Apr 22 2007 : 6:20:57 PM
|
I collect brown cow things..hmmmm..(cuzy I have a brown cow and love her) and 1940's kitchen stuff cuz it reminds me of my grandma who I miss so much.I even have a cow of hers from her kitchen from when I was little
I collect John Deere stuff...green is my favorite color and I have always liked the farmgirlishness of JD in the kitchen
I love old sewing things, neat notepaper and wooden needlecraft tools of all kinds..and then there are the books...whew...I just love books. Fabric...yep....a whole lot of that too.
And Tracey..I can really relate to collecting dust bunnies..I do too.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
|
|
| |
Across the Fence: why do you collect what you collect |
|
why do you collect what you collect
