Collecting Patterns?

[new2woodwrk]

First off, let me say how appreciative I am of everyone who shares their patterns free of charge. It really is very generous of you all and I am very grateful!

Now that's out of the way, I think I've turned into a Pattern collector and Hoarder!

Whenever I see a pattern I like, I grab it. I've only cut a few patterns overall, but figure someday I will get to do more.

Am I the only one who collects these things?

I feel so dirty LOL

Edited June 1, 2019 by new2woodwrk

[Chunkthekid]

You are far from the only one. I've got folders full of them and I can never decide what I want to cut next. Even multiple patterns I've paid for that I haven't gotten around to cutting yet.

I like to have a big selection because I gravitate towards looking at a piece of wood and finding out what pattern would look best on it, instead of picking a pattern and then trying to find a good piece of wood to work with it.

 

I definitely collect them faster than I cut them.

[Rockytime]

I'm a hoarder of patterns. When I first started scrolling a couple of years ago or so I downloaded everything I saw. I think I spent more on printer ink than wood. I have thre huge D-ring binders full plus a stack of patterns. I have since been pretty selective. I can be pretty sure of patterns I won't cut. The other day I started going through my patterns to sort them according to type. Portraits, word art, animals etc. A daunting task which I've barely made a dent. You are not alone.

[Frank Pellow]

I too, have collected many many patterns, some free, some I have paid for.  I don't consider this to be a problem.  I eventually get around to cutting a lot of them and I get pleasure just browsing through those that I have not cut some which, I realize,  that I will never cut.

[wombatie]

I have hundreds of patterns and at least 50 books (not sure, not counted) plus the patterns I have on my computer.  Oh and I have every magazine from 2000 of Scroll Saw woodworking and Craft.  So to answer your question, no you are not the only one. 

Marg

Edited May 30, 2019 by wombatie

[don watson]

I have folders of patterns. Some I have asked for and been given freely on this site. Many I have purchased and even many more I have collected on the way.

I believe I have too many and will never get to make them all into proper finished pieces BUT I STILL COLLECT THEM. Will I never learn ???

[kmmcrafts]

Years ago when I first started scroll sawing and started finding all these websites, clubs, groups etc. I was definitely a hoarder I saved every pattern I can across.. Did this for about 6-7 years.. Then my external drive that I saved them to crashed.. There was over 30,000 designs on that drive.. LOL... I had them all organized by category etc too.. These days.. I save a few that interest me but the thing is I probably will never cut them all.. Many are even purchased patterns.. I love my patterns.. and the ones I buy... I like buying complete sets of designs... Sheila and Keith Landry put pattern sets together and also sell individual..  I almost always buy as a sets.. sometimes I get tricked into buying sets because it's a deal but I really only wanted the one design.. LOL I bought a complete set of the woodimal puzzle patterns from Fox chapel a couple years ago.. I asked Iggy ( Scott ) once if they offered any sets or a complete design package..  So if you're a designer selling patterns.. I like to at least think I'm getting a bargain.. even if I'm only planning to use a couple of the designs.. I like to think I'm getting a deal.. Some of those pattern designers figured this out.. I can't be the only one because Sue Mey also offers sets etc..   

[Bill WIlson]

I have an old, 5 drawer dresser that I use to store my patterns.  Some are in folders.  Some are loose.  One drawer has mostly Christmas stuff in it.  Other than that, there is no semblance of organization to them.  Oh, I have several boxes of scroll saw magazines I've saved over the years.

The good thing is that patterns take up a lot less space than all the wood scraps I hoard.  

[Travis]

 

[John B]

I have a box of books and patterns and to many on my computer  to count.
I'll never cut 1/2 of them. Who am I kidding, I'll never cut a fraction of them and I only grab the ones I like

[RabidAlien]

I grab any and all patters that strike a chord deep inside (and with my sense of humor....there are some interesting patterns!) and/or I think are at or just above my skill level.  Plus, I make a bunch of my own.  I've got a lot of them printed out and hanging from a clipboard over my workbench....only to find out, after moving some stuff around, that I have TWO clipboards full of ready-to-go patterns.  LOL  Occasionally, I'll finish up a project and get to a point where I haven't found anything that tickles my creative bones, so I'll flip thru the clipboard and find one there, and cut it. 

 

My problem is not how many patterns I have nor where to store those patterns....my problem is where to put the finished products!  LOL

[JimErn]

When I started I saved ever pattern I could, sorted them in folders and sub folders.  Then someone here mentioned their hard drive crashed - so I moved the parent folder with all its sub folders of pattern to the google drive folder - now they are on my HD and in the cloud

I flip through them looking for something, never find it, or looking for something to interest me, again rarely find it ,,, so I started a new parent folder with new sub folders and I clip one part of the pattern I like and save it to use in new pattern, like a clip art collection sort of

still can't find what I want most times though

[bobscroll]

I make some and collect some too, We are all compulsive collectors I think! lol

Bob 

[meflick]

No, I don’t have this problem. 1

[Phantom Scroller]

I have hundreds and can't find one when I want it but I will when I don't Roly

[Bpardue]

A few years ago I organized my pattern collection of intarsia patterns and if i do just each one 1 I have over 35years of patterns in my shop & on my hard drive. I have several hundred regular scroll saw patterns as well. I have limited myself to just getting new designs for intarsia that the designer come up with now. I'm a the pattern hoarder as well as a wood hoarder. Once you accept that then you are on the road to recovery.   

[Scrappile]

Patterns?  Who collects pattern?  Not me......

[TomZ]

Collecting them allows you to have options in the future lol.  Not a bad thing by any means.

[stoney]

I have enough patterns to last me the rest of my life and then some.   

[stevan]

I do not feel so alone now!

[Kepy]

I started collecting patterns seriously over 20 yrs ago so you can imagine that my collection is rather large.  I have a bookcase for printed patterns put in 3-ring binders with each binder labeled as to subject.  I have a lot on the computer that is sorted by subject and a lot that I haven't gotten to yet (those are backed up on the cloud).  I also have a bunch on an old computer that I keep intending to retrieve.  I tend to be a collector.  At one time when I was a lot more active, I had 5 scroll saws.  I was down to two until I got my new Pegas and can't seem to find the time to use them.  Someone will have fun one of these days when they have to sort through all these things.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I have stopped buying the scrollsaw magazines Creative Woodworks and Crafts and Scrollsawing woodworks and crafts a few years ago and now I am looking to sell the lot that I have collected over the years. Looking to sell as a group so I need to look in various ways I could do this because shipping gets expensive. May try a yard sale item. But collecting patterns for me is not feasible any more. I have over the years accumulated tons of patterns from various artists, but now I concentrate more on what I want to do now than yesteryear because those days are gone. I could never in my lifetime do every project I wanted to do. 

I also stopped every woodworking magazine I ever bought and now am left with tons of them and hating to just throw them out. I always called these magazines Eye Candy. They make those covers so enticing you need to have it. But when all said and done they are all the same. Those scrollsaw magazines became to predictable and so easy patterns They never changed with the times and thus they went by the wayside. 

[kmmcrafts]

3 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

I have stopped buying the scrollsaw magazines Creative Woodworks and Crafts and Scrollsawing woodworks and crafts a few years ago and now I am looking to sell the lot that I have collected over the years. Looking to sell as a group so I need to look in various ways I could do this because shipping gets expensive. May try a yard sale item. But collecting patterns for me is not feasible any more. I have over the years accumulated tons of patterns from various artists, but now I concentrate more on what I want to do now than yesteryear because those days are gone. I could never in my lifetime do every project I wanted to do. 

I also stopped every woodworking magazine I ever bought and now am left with tons of them and hating to just throw them out. I always called these magazines Eye Candy. They make those covers so enticing you need to have it. But when all said and done they are all the same. Those scrollsaw magazines became to predictable and so easy patterns They never changed with the times and thus they went by the wayside. 

I've seen people sell those at a pretty high price on eBay.. They listed them by ( In yearly sets ) the year.. You should be able to mail those pretty cheap if you used Media mail rather than Priority etc.. and not sure how many you could fit into a flat rate priority box.. but that would be another way.. fixed shipping of like $13-14 the box is free from the post office and is a 12 x 12 x 5 inch.. First though.. I'd try putting them on the Facebook marketplace or craigslist.. I tend to like the FB Marketplace better.. but anyway.. never know someone could be interested right in the area.. Pretty sure they'd do pretty good on eBay if you're willing to fuss with shipping.. 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

1 hour ago, kmmcrafts said:

I've seen people sell those at a pretty high price on eBay.. They listed them by ( In yearly sets ) the year.. You should be able to mail those pretty cheap if you used Media mail rather than Priority etc.. and not sure how many you could fit into a flat rate priority box.. but that would be another way.. fixed shipping of like $13-14 the box is free from the post office and is a 12 x 12 x 5 inch.. First though.. I'd try putting them on the Facebook marketplace or craigslist.. I tend to like the FB Marketplace better.. but anyway.. never know someone could be interested right in the area.. Pretty sure they'd do pretty good on eBay if you're willing to fuss with shipping.. 

Have to take a look. Thanks.