I enjoy collecting Yixing teapots. However, I have long stopped because I ran out of proper place to display them.

I don't collect much any more, but I used to collect a lot of things....but some of the things I will still pick up.....vintage cooking utensils, marbles (I have literally thousands.....probably 30 large glass containers full of marbles, buttons...also in jars, dice....ditto, in jars. I like things that I can put in jars....cookie cutters, old scoops like for coffee, various odd bits of junk. I like old Pyrex bowls.....the colored ones, and yellow ware bowls. At times past I collected cookie jars....Shawnee, mainly, and I have a lot of tea pots but I don't consider it a collection, even tho I have a lot of them. I like old things...like what I grew up with. I have a lot of stuff. I have almost two dozen cupboards/cabinets and all of them are full. Oh, yeah...another thing I like and will still buy if the price is right....old Christmas ornaments.

i used to collect miniature floral arrangements. I also gave them to a friend and she gave them to me. But, we haven't exchanged in years. Mine are now in my China cabinet and in a small display case.

I love old Haviland Limoges pieces, but I just don't have room or a use for much of it. This china reminds me of the lovely old pieces that my grandmother had and used. But I drool when I see the pieces made in the late 1800s in a store or on a shelf.

When I read the opener to this thread I thought that I don't collect much. After rethinking, I realized that I collect lots of things. I love lighthouses, so I will buy l lighthouse related things. I have wooden ones, ceramic ones and a lighthouse cookie jar, which I love. I have a small collection of (25-30) Hummels. I haven't added to that collection since my husband passed away. He enjoyed giving them to me as gifts, it's just not fun anymore. I also like old metal boxes. Come to think about it, I haven't added to any of my collections in quite some time. I live in a small place and am bursting at the seams as it is.

Lets see.....a little box collection, turtles, Van Briggle pottery(black w/ a blue drip glaze), jewelry, live orchids...I have about 10. I used to collect plants out in the garden.....monarda, iris, roses, tall phlox and clematis. I've discontinued collecting.....except for the one new ring I purchased a month ago. First new piece in 10 years! :0)

Two moves ago I was a big book collector (more than 7,000 books with floor-to-ceiling oak shelves in a library to contain them), but I've donated the bulk of that to "worthy causes" (most of it was pre-WWI, the classics, cookbooks, and old children's books and old school text books. My almost 20-year old granddaughter grew up reading children's books that were 100-150 years old, and a large collection of Golden Books from the 1940's-50's). The neighborhood kids would come to our house to do research papers. I recently gave over 500 books to a small public library in a little town nearby, that was just getting organized, and I took a pick-up load to another small town public library just getting starter 15-years ago, but still have several thousand books (aka "friends").

I also had a nice collection of tea pots and tea related items (tins, infusers, cups/saucers, books about tea) but I only have about 10 of my "best" left because I don't have enough display space in our current home.

The odd collections -- 5 cast iron Scotty Dog door stops, 4 McCoy Cookie Jars, 3 Animal Cracker Tins (once had 15 of them). Years ago I had an interesting collection of Jell-O items (both new and old) that decorated a corner of my kitchen. Before that I had a bunch of chicken-related things.

I have a lot of baskets, but truly do not collect them. Mine are all in use. Honestly, I am not a collector. As a daughter of a hoarder, I just can't. But I do collect friends. I made friends in all the towns I have lived in, except one.... just could not get warm with anyone, and then we moved pretty quick again. I LOVE having friends... and visit often. ;)

Moni

Socks, love those talented musical bunnies. They would have come home with me too.

nitt_hou, had to look up your teapots. Love the simplicity of the designs.

Marilyn, well I wish I could surround myself with animals as you have. Just take them in and love them. All your other collections and where to put it all does boggle my mind. Would love to see it all.

ellendi6161, mini floral arrangements, the ceramic kind? My sis has a small collection of them. Keeping them dusted is a real challenge.

sheliajoyce, years ago I became acquainted with the Limoges boxes. At that time they were too pricey for my budget. Good thing, cause by now I would be in up to my eyebrows with them.

Mare_wpa, I am getting a start on lighthouses because a neighbor who vacations at the ocean has now given me 3 small ceramic ones and a set of lighthouse coasters as a thank you for looking after her house and garden when she is away each year. The Hummels are another thing that my budget wouldn't allow years ago when I first became aware of them.

Nicloe, I am resisting all those current little box things depicting all kinds of animals. I MUST NOT INDULGE MYSELF, I keep telling myself. In the past I was a collector of plants, but now gardening is pretty much in my past. Would love to do orchids.

grainlady, I can't imagine giving away all those treasured books, as you say, books are old friends. There was a Scotty Dog door stop among the treasures that came from my Grandmothers house when she passed.

Moni, I so envy your collection of friends. The most rewarding collection I have ever heard of! You are blessed.

Lgmd, you have up to an hour to change, omit, add on to any thread that YOU start. I'm pretty sure that you're stuck with it after that.

Any of us can edit our own comments at any time....forever! I was just reading a seven year old thread in which I had made a contribution and saw that I had misspelled something. With a click, I corrected it!

I have collected hallmark mini Christmas ornaments since the mid 80's. Since what they make the last few years are not as mini I am selective now what I buy. As I get older my buying days are just about over and now I'm thinking who will I give them too. I have many family members who want some of my ornaments and will enjoy them for years to come.

rhizo, where on a thread that I start is the option to edit? or do I just click where I want to make a change and do it? I know I have seen this come up before, but don't remember a solution.

grandmamary, I am trying very hard to put a stop to adding to my collections, but I have been known to give something away telling myself that I can then add something new. I am asking friends who visit to tell me what they would like to have and then putting their name on it. I am willing to give away right now many things that I personally have bought, but I can't give away anything that was a gift to me. That wouldn't feel right. I recently gave an elephant figurine to a young checkout girl at a near store. I don't even know the girls name, but for some reason I really like her and when I admired an elephant necklace she was wearing she told me about her love of elephants, so I gave her one of my many on my next trip to the store.

I too find it hard to stop adding to my collection. But it has to be done. Though my grandchildren have enjoyed them over the years they don't want then. I think this sad. Even my sons aren't interested. So when someone says they love them I put their name on them and when I am gone it will be theirs. I don't want them going in the trash. I love your gift of the elephant to someone you knew appreciated elephants. That is special.

I use to collect "Peanuts" Hallmark ornaments, but quit buying them a few years ago. I also have a small collection of bird earrings.

Grainlady, I was interested in reading about your book collection, especially since I volunteer in a library's used bookstore. All our books are donated, and funds from sales go to the library. It's good to read that you passed many books on in a responsible way to places where they will get use.

I was curious, how do you have the remaining books organized?

lgmd, in the upper right corner of any posting you make, there is an "Edit" button with a little pencil. Just click where you want to make a correction. There is also a "Delete" button.

Although I haven't added to it in a few years, I have an assortment of geocoins. Some are out traveling the world, and the special ones are safe at home in a wooden box that used to hold stationery.

Igmd_gaz.....I wish I had one dog, maybe two cats. two donkeys and maybe two horses. Having all these animals is an enormous expense and it takes me hours a day to just take care of them. I don't have time to do much of anything else. I used to collect waterlilies. I had 200 varieties. I also had 150 Louisiana irises and about as many daylilies. I had 75 antique roses....all grown from cuttings. I have always had interests that end up being a lot of work for me. I also raised fancy goldfish in aquariums.....22 of them and had six mud bottomed ponds where I raised koi. It is hard to keep up with everything now.....but it is hard to give any of it up because I enjoyed them so much. I still have waterlilies, irises and daylilies and roses but not so many now. Also koi and goldfish. I guess the good side is I can say I have never been bored and I can't understand the concept.

Like Moni, I find that the best collection is the friends that I have been able to make throughout my life. They are one of the very best forms of enjoyment that I have--and you don't have to make room for them in your house. Then again there are my plants--everywhere.

Marilyn, you must work all day every day! You are so kind to take in the lost and homeless. I have 3 pets and even they take a lot of time to properly care for.

You probably don't have time for TV, but there was a program on the other night about people who rescue and care for special baby animals. They showed a baby wallaby, koala, and a sloth. You would have enjoyed it because you do that sort of thing too. Take care.

I used to collect lighthouses and cottages but not anymore. The only thing I seem to be collecting these days are printable coloring pages on Pinterest or in my pictures. Like someone told me in that thread I am a collector and she was so right, I would rather collect the pictures then color them. If your looking for any let me know. I also like to collect graphics. (at lease its a free hobby)

gyr_falcon, I had to look up geocoins. Sounds like an interesting and fun thing to collect. Are all geocoins trackable?

Marilyn, I can understand that too many animals might be overwhelming, but think of the love you get in return. I think even flowers love you back.

sweet_betsy, I have many old friends that I cherish, but we are separated by too many miles to keep a daily dialog going on our lives. Still, knowing that they are there for me to call on anytime Is a comfort. Just a few new or near friends in this place I have been for 17 years. People don't neighbor and since I am not mobile on my own, it has been hard to develop fast friendships. A once a month outing with a small group of oldsters from my DH's cardiac rehab class is a highlight of that month for all of us. We laugh for 3 or more hours over lunch.

socks, I saw that show about the care of baby animals. Made me want to adopt a sloth to take care of. It and I would move at about the same sped.

JoAnn, I have been collecting coloring books, not just pages. However I still don't have what I think I need to get serious about doing any coloring. My set of cheap pencils don't do well enough to go to the trouble. And as rhizo says, they make my hands cramp and hurt.

Jilted women.

igmd_gaz I can't say I have gotten serious about it either. I see all the amazing works of art and know I can't do that good so I don't get started. Maybe one day, I am still setting up my projects. I bought a blender tool today, then maybe some pastels tomorrow.

I did buy some of colored pencils from Walmart CraZart brand and they are pretty good. I have some of the good ones and they compare to them. You can get 24 for about $2.00 and the felt tip pens at Dollar Tree for $1.00 work well too.

ignd_gaz, No not all geocoins are trackable, but most of them are. Many of the non-trackable ones are personal coins, with the cacher's name or an interest depicted. They are usually traded, or sold, among cachers or left in caches as trade items. Some of the old geocoins are rare and highly sought after items.

I collect tableware and vintage bedding. I have a few English porcelain paperweights shaped like buildings.

I've been downsizing. Being in a smaller house, still with boxes in the basement filled with "stuff" unopened since 2009, had me thinking "What was I thinking!"

My latest obsession is sewing machine feet and attachments, mostly short shank, vintage, USA-made, Singer presser feet. They are small, easily stored, and I use them! I have FOUR sewing machines, through very little fault of my own, LOL.

From FreeCycle, I received a pristine, German-made, 1952 Pfaff 130-6, complete with nearly all the feet and attachments made by Pfaff at the time; AND it was in a beautiful Singer 42 cabinet (art deco style). No sewist could say "No!" to that deal.

Not long after that I found an black iron and gold decal, electric 1954 Singer 15-91, in a small cabinet, for next-to-nothing at a thrift store. It came bare bones and that's what started my quest for vintage Singer feet and attachments. Just last week I received a Singer Ruffler foot from a lady in California. It fits the 15-91, the Pfaff, and my old, kept-for-sentimental-reasons-only 1975 Singer Fashion Mate 252.

Does anyone want to rehome a Singer "Penguin" walking foot for a reasonable price! LOL

My fourth machine, a real fancy-pants, is a Bernina Activa 230PE. It was a birthday gift from DH and was the first "new" machine I've ever owned. It came with seven feet and does everything except the supper dishes! Thanks to a great 90% discount - yes ninety! -"Going out of Business Sale," I've added nearly every foot and accessory available for the 200 series.

Maybe books. Not much else. I used to collect David Winter cottages but haven't bought any since I moved back to the states from Germany over 20 years ago. I also used to collect miniatures and had a couple shadow boxes. I still have them but don't put them up. It's funny but they seem old-ladyish to me now that I am an old lady. I do kind of collect seeds or used to, old heirloom ones. I don't have a big garden anymore so I don't grow under grow lights anymore. I kind of miss it.

Caroline, I just saw your sewing machine post. I wish I sewed but I don't. My mom did and I still have her old Brother, in the case from the 1940s or 50s? It's all metal and heavy. I thought about selling it, then I hoped Lauren would get into sewing but she didn't. I only keep it because it belonged to my mom.

Caroline, how interesting! All those little feet, good thing they don't require shoes! I do know how important the right foot is to do a job well. I used to sew a lot. Did a few down filled jackets and slippers. They were kits from a catalog called Frostline Kits. Working with the down packets was fun. Days later there would be little feathers pop out of cabinet doors and drawers when opened. Even in rooms away from where the down baggies were opened.

kathsgrdn, who you callin' an old lady!? lol. I have 2 shadow boxes and they are on the wall! I remember the David Winter cottages. Haven't seen them anywhere in years.

Caroline....I'm drooling over your Pfaff! I own a Brother and a Bernina. Neither was free or a great deal, just needed them. Neither works like it should either. :0)

You bad, jim, you verra verra bad.

I didn't intend to, but it seems that I collect old ceramic & pottery vases, & lately I've picked up some nice vintage china plates;

I have a sentimental spot for the ones that commemorate historic sites (White House, caves, mountains, etc) & churches.

I really like the ones from little bitty churches in small towns.

I had a collection (and still have a little left) of chickens until I found out my DH's ex wife collects them. I do love hummingbirds so I may start collecting them. I also have paperweights. I just love them. My DH collects hotwheels. When you walk in his computer room all you see is a dazzling of light from his glass cases hung around the walls. He collects them for his son and grandsons.

I tried to start a new topic to show photos of three of my machines, but I can't seem to post. Is there a new secret?

Anyway...

lgmd-Gaz - You cracked me up with your comment on my acquisition of sewing machine feet and the luck of them not needing shoes! Yes, the right foot can make some sewing jobs so much easier, or nicer, or just plain "funner." (And to think I'd fuss at my nephew when he used that word.)

KathsGrdn - I have joined a vQuilting Board for vintage sewing machines. If you could send me the serial number of your Mom's Brother machine I'll try to find it's date of manufacture and a PDF copy of the original owner's manual for you. It sounds very, very interesting. Do you have any of the feet and attachments that would have come with it?

Nicole - Keep checking FreeCycle and Craig's List. You can probably find a real good deal. Also, the larger Sewing Centers often take older machines in on trade and offer them for sale. A good solid, all metal, pre-1970s machine will outlast many of the ones made today.

I forgot to mention in my earlier comment on this thread that I also have a small collection of nested wooden dolls. Some are Matryoshkas. I like lots of different things.

Kathsgrdn, books don't qualify as collection items--they are necessities. ;-) I once went through my shelves of non-fiction books to donate some. Out of 774 books, I managed to set aside 5 to donate, and then managed to only part with 2 when the time came. That was 12 years ago, and the incoming to outgoing ratio hasn't changed nearly as much as it probably should. I moved to a larger house, and bought additional shelves instead. lol

I don't collect much. I used to collect books, but I had to get rid of a lot when we moved. I like carved wooden Santas, the exaggerated stretched-out kind with the loooonnngggg faces and hats. But they are hard to find now. My favorite is my Santa-of-color.

sylviatexas1, my Mom had several of the commerative plates. Don't know what happened to them when her effects went to auction.

linda_6, I have just 2 chickens in my collection. Dh has a large collection of diecast cars, trucks and construction equipment.

mare_wbpa, I have bought several of the nesting types like the dolls, but as animals and inexpensive. I have given them away to kids who always love them.

gry_falcon, you are so right, books don't qualify as 'collections'. I just got 3 new books yesterday. Seems that the Edward R. Hamilton Bookseller catalog has caught on that I am an easy sell. In the last catalog I couldn't resist Shel Silverstein's "Everything On It", a memoir by Helen Peppe, "Pigs Can't Swim" and Smithsonian Natural History: The Ultimate Guide To Everything on Earth, It weighs a ton, I can't pick it up.

lgmd_gaz, you are an enabler! (Now I wander off to look up Smithsonian Natural History: The Ultimate Guide To Everything on Earth, because who doesn't need a book to heavy to pick up? Or two. I already own a Hortus Third, after all...)

gyr_falcon, I paid 19.95 for it by mail from the above named catalog. It is a fantastic book. I can manage to pick it up, but there is no way I can carry it even a couple steps. I'll have to nab DH when he walks by me to weigh it for me.

Weighed the Smithsonian book. Don't have a digital scale to do it, but it weighs between 7 1/2 and 8 pounds.

Wow, that is a great price for such a hefty book! Sounds interesting; will have to check it out at the store. It will probably be one to go on my gift wish list.

Funny about weight of books. Sometimes when I'm working at the Friends of the Library shop I'll jokingly tell customers who buy heavy books that he's lucky; we aren't charging by the pound today.

I've never been a real collector of things. I don't care for little do-dads that I've have to dust. I once heard someone say that if you had more than three of something it was a collection. I'd guess you'd say that I have a collection of samovars, I think I have six now. Mostly are Russian, but not all. The problem is that I live in a garden home and it's a bit hard to find a place for them. I suspect I'll have to find homes for them soon.

maxmom96, I do know what a samovar is, thanks to doing crossword puzzles. Don't know that I have ever seen one, at least not one of the very ornate ones. Some are works of art.

Besides my collection of figurines and wall art, I also have a collection of pins in the wildlife theme. I have another collection that I should be embarrassed to admit to. That would be my collection of 8 LL Bean corduroy big shirts..and I am about to order # 9. Actually I have recently lost enough weight that 5 or 6 of the shirts are now too big and need a new home. I love these shirts.

Can you wear them as jackets?

Money! LOL!

Hippos (in dining room) and ducks in living room.

Sylvia, when I bought the shirts, I meant them to be light jackets.

Lindyluwho, , hmmmmnnn I never thought of collecting money!

Amy Dala, hippos and ducks works for me. I think I only have one of each.

Old cigarette boxes, paper weights, tea pots, Christmas tree pins, flo blue plates and Wedgwood