Every Monday I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words (click here for details).
This week, I’m pleased to feature Heidi J. I just love this story of how she decluttered a former creative pursuit! Check out her blog, knithappiness, to read more.
Heidi writes:
Inspired by Real Life Minimalist Robert Hickman.
I started reading Miss Minimalist last June, after devouring Francine’s book, “The Joy of Less.” Reading the blog weekly, helped me move along on my journey of reducing the unnecessary from my life. I found pure simple joy in decluttering room by room, reducing my wardrobe to 30 pieces of well fitting clothing, and wading through unused kitchen gadgets.
Once my house was clean and well-organized, I knew I still had a huge task looming on the horizon: removing the many unfinished quilts from the back bedroom closet. I had abandoned quilting several years ago and moved on to my new love: knitting. I didn’t know how to go about getting rid of all the unfinished quilts. My perfectionist personality is such that I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied unless I finished the quilts before purging them from my home. I pulled out my sewing machine and got to work. As I pulled each quilt from it’s neat little box, I found that many of them were quite beautiful. I was no longer in love with them, but they were beautiful all the same.
In July, Miss Minimalist featured “Real Life Minimalist Robert Hickman.” Robert’s story of being a “creator” really spoke to me. Robert said, “I came to realise that I didn’t need everything I had ever created. My ability is in me, constantly improving. But my creations are static, quickly losing their relevance. Now, if you think purging excess clothing is difficult, try separating from the truly irreplaceable. Things which reflect hundreds of hours of your life and represent many happy memories.” That’s exactly where I was at with my quilts. But. .. if Robert could do it and was happier for it, then I could too!
With help from some of my friends at work, I coordinated a Tea Party/Quilt Show. The party was in honor of my Grandmother who had passed away in 2007. Grandma was always working with her hands and had taught each of her granddaughters the value of being creative. I am blessed and thankful for that gift that Grandma passed on, as my life would never be complete without my hands moving and my mind mulling over my creative fiber pursuits.
This past Saturday all 24 ladies arrived at my door step for the quilt show and tea party. We had a sentimental toast to Grandma, enjoyed some delicious scones with devonshire cream, and looked at the kaleidoscope of quilts hanging on my living room/dining room walls. Each guest picked an envelope that contained a single scrap of fabric. Then the scavenger hunt began. Each person quickly matched her little fabric square to the corresponding quilt. After each quilt was matched with a guest, I announced that as an aspiring minimalist, each guest could take home the quilt that she had “found.” Everyone squealed with delight!
I giggled as they traipsed down the steps with their quilts and my walls were once again empty. The empty walls are a reminder of the smiles on each of my guest’s face, and a promise to myself that it’s best to let go of the past and that which stifles our never ending creativity.
{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider reading my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
Heidi, what a fantastic idea! That would have been so much fun for you, and what a great gift you gave them. There is something very satisfying about seeing your things go to a new loving home and being given a second lease of life.
Wow! if you can give something as precious as that up I guess I can give up the rest of my handbag collection
No! Not the handbag collection!!!
So funny you should mention handbags. I just sold one of my very last on eBay today! So happy to be rid of it.
My sisters are MUCH MUCH stronger than me….I’m taking baby steps though, by not buying any new ones….
This is an incredibly inspiring post. I love the way you chose to make parting with the quilts a celebration of friendship.
Wow, great job! Quilts take a long time! I am not that creative, but I can appreciate all the hours and hours of effort. The idea to give them to friends is really great. It is hard to separate from something that is so precious. Thanks so much for sharing.
Wow, very inspiring heidi! And what nice gifts for your friends :)
Oh, how beautiful. I love how you honored your grandmother, delighted your friends, and cleared your space all in one brilliant move. Bravo.
You’re an inspiration Heidi, what a wonderful thing to do and I bet your friends will treasure them. It’s so difficult to give up things you once loved, I’ll remember your story next time I’m faced with a difficult decluttering decision! Thank you.
simplelivingchina.blogspot.com
Impressive on so many levels … making the decision, finishing the quilts and then gifting the quilts. Very inspiring!
As a lover of vintage quilts, I am so moved. You’ve modeled something creative, super-generous, thought-filled … and oh-so-inspiring!
How blessed your friends are to have you in their lives. I love that those deeply valued quilts have made their journey into loving homes. I’m thinking that your grandmother would be so delighted.
What a great story … thanks for sharing
Heidi-What a fabulous idea! I love that you were able to give your creations away to those who you knew would adore them. If you need a bit more inspiration into how to use your creativity effectively, here is a post I just wrote about the reason we even have creativity: http://minimalistmommi.com/creativity-conundrum/418
What a lovely gift to your friends. Great idea!
What a wonderful thing to share with your guests. A handmade quilt is made with so much time and love. What a beautiful expression of love and kindness as you have minimized the things in your home. They will never forget your kindness.
Wow! Your creativity is so inspiring :) It’s so nice to see people minimising in such a nice way by gifting them away :) Your kindness is uplifting! Keep up the good work!
This is one of my favourite Real Life Minimalist posts to date! The decision (and action) to finish before you purged, the method chosen, honouring your grandmother, gifting your “extra”. So inspiring!
Glad your creativity has a new outlet with knitting – some people just have to create!
Karen
I second all the remarks above: well done! I am also a quilter (and knitter and crocheter) and an aspiring minimalist. I give away 90% of what I make either to family, friends and the wider community. This way I have the pleasure of making and giving. I have also stopped buying fabric (except occasional sheets from opshops for backings) and am using what I have. I have a small stash, but it is incredible how much I can make, it doesn’t seem to go down much. I am also using up other supplies, eg threads till I only have black and cream. This way I feel I can reconcile minimalism with creativity.
Janetta,
I’m a quilter too, and I also do it for the simple love of the process. I make them for friends and family, and make some for charity raffles and silent auctions that I like to support. The greatest gift is seeing the joy on someone’s face when you give them a quilt that you made just for them! I haven’t had to buy any fabric in a few years, and I just continue to work from my stash. Like you said, it is amazing how small of a dent each quilt makes in the stash. I have cleared out probably 60% of my other possessions, but the fabric stash stays. My fabric & books are my priority, not clothes, gadgets, or electronics. Minimalism has led me to a place where I am surrounded by just those things that I truly love and use. I was really inspired by this week’s RLM. I want to go make some more quilts to give away:)
WOW!!!This is beautiful. :)
I feel so inspired by your post!!! That was a lovely idea and a great reminder of the pleasure giving can be. Instead of your quilts being stored away they are now having a 2nd chance at life being useful and beautiful to someone else. Love this post!
What a beautiful way to share your beautiful quilts with those around you!
My grandmother (who also passed away some years ago) taught me to (hand) quilt, so I can relate to how special this is in your life. (The wonderful thing about hand-stitching every quilt is that it is so time consuming I have only ever completed 1 quilt, for my daughter!)
Your story is so inspiring and I love that you honored your grandmother.
Aww!!! How kind of you to do that, considering the amount of time you spent in creating those quilts. And what a beautiful gift to give! It’s always the best to give something that you have worked hard on. Thanks for the inspiration!
As an artist and creator, I understand the gravity of being at peace with giving away the things you have made. I like what you said about thinking they are still beautiful but no longer being in love with them. Thanks for sharing your story.
What a beautiful story! This is definitely one of my real life minimalist favourites.
Heidi, how beautiful and inspiring is your story!
this is my favorite story ever!! How generous and creative!
honoring, creating, giving…………..what we should all be doing!
Thank you all so much for your generous and supportive comments. They are truly humbling. This journey into “Living with Less” has really been joy-filled. It’s amazing how the journey brings us into contact with like-minded people and helps us to nurture those things that are most important — relationships!!
Thank you all — and thank you to Francine for creating such an inspiring website and book!
I agree with everyone else, that this is an inspiring story of giving away things that are not only valued possessions, but took so much of your time and energy to create. I love quilting and sewing, and find that sewing projects are particularly difficult to part with because of the time (and neck aches) it takes to create them. 24 quilts – Bravo!
Thank you so much for sharing, Heidi. Your story brought tears to my eyes! What joy we can receive from spreading the love around – I’m sure your friends were honored to have something precious like a quilt from you. And you felt good blessing them with that – as well as clearing out some space to live your life! Thank you for the inspiration!
What a creative and generous approach. This is definitely my favorite minimalist story. A warm and joyous tale.
What a happy story! I love the image of a group of women giggling with happiness, clutching quilts. Thank you for sharing. :)
Probably one of the best “Real Life Minimalist” postings ever. Props!
What a wonderful idea! I would love to link this to my blog.
Inspiring!! I am on the minimilist path and I came across my unfinished knitting projects. I set a goal to finish these projects before starting anything new. In the process, I have found great joy in knitting again and look forward to giving these completed projects to loved ones. I love your tea party!!!
I attended and received one of the works of art. It was an amazing day.. Heidi is amazing!
What an inspiring sotry!!
I became a serious knitter during one of the most minimalist periods of my life, and my three rules have always been 1) knit everything with someone in mind (even if the someone is a charity), 2) only buy yarn if you have a knitting project in mind (this rule can be broken on certain occations, like when I went to a charity bazar and bought hand dyed yarn to the benefit of a school for diabled children in the Ukraine) and 3) only have 2 projects going on at the same time unless you realize you have forgotten someones birthday or similar. I like to have one easier and one more complicated project going at any time, that way I can knit something easy when I’m really tired, travelling or being social and something really difficult for when I’m in the mood for a challenge or need to destress. I find that totally immersing in a complicated knitting pattern the best form of meditation as it forces me to let go of everything but the work at hand, and the focus seems to bring clarity to my mind for hours afterwards. There is also something soothing about repetitivity of the movement, the softness of the wool and the smoothness of the needles.
I really liked this post. I beaded some necklaces and gave them away. I enjoy the color combinations and the beauty of the beads I pick up at thrift shops and rummage sales. I would never be able to wear all the necklaces I’ve made.
I am now ready to look in the boxes at the far back of my closet. That will fill this week’s bag for Goodwill.
I have the earrings I’ve gotten for gifts put away. There are some I haven’t worn in years. But at least they don’t take up much room. Today, I am wearing a ring my son gave me when he was in high school. I like how the lady gave away her quilts. I have a small bag of fabric and I will use it to make something for my grandsons. I made them placemats but that was years ago.
I only buy craft materials at thrift shops, rummage sales and garage sales. I give the papers or fabrics I won’t use to the park district, the kids’ programs at the library, or nursing homes. I’ve made some beautiful scrap books and collages and I only have 2 small bins of crafting supplies. There are always certain colors or patterns in each assortment that someone else might like. I’ve never used pastels, for example.
I took a big bag of craft supplies to the YMCA. They wanted stuff for their summer camp. Tomorrow, I am giving my friend a bag of books and another friend a bunch of cuttings from my houseplants. I pot up the cuttings and give them away every spring and fall because that’s when other people give me new plants. I just put some out on the balcony for the summer.
People give me craft supplies. I pass on what I can’t use. My friend makes greeting cards for people in a local nursing home. She gets the stickers and pretty paper. Yarn in bright colors goes to the local food pantry, like the soap, pads of paper, and school supplies. Sticky notes and other office supplies to to the library volunteers. I am emptying cupboards on a continuing basis.