I love fabric

Oh duh, what a surprise.

No really. This morning I woke up thinking about fabric. I DO love it. I love collecting it, looking at it, cutting it up & sewing it back together again with some other fabric pals (although it can be terrifying to cut up some fabrics!!) (<--- quilty friends "get' this!!).

I have massive amounts of fabric! I collect it. I love it! Many times I would be shopping for fabric and was asked "what are you going to do with that?" Do? DO? You mean I can't just have it? I mean - what does one DO with a collection of, say ... Matchbook cars...Hummels...fishing lures...chintz china? Can't I just HAVE my fabric? I finally developed my standard answer to the frequently asked "what are you going to make with that": I'd reply "a stack of fabric - and I'm almost done!!"

When I was still working, every time I bought fabric I would say that I was saving for my retirement (my stash is known as my 401Quilt). How true this has turned out to be! Now that the price of cotton is skyrocketing, it turns out that my fabric buying was quite the good investment! Now that I'm not working, I can play with my fabric. And I certainly have been playing!

I love complex, involved quilts but I also love simple quilts that are fast to make yet show off a wonderful fabric line or group of fabrics. My "13 weeks" project is the perfect setting for making such quilts. How fun it has been to pull from my stash and make a quick quilt where it's the fabric (not the design) that's the star of the show!!

I've been known to binge on cutting fabric, as well. At my annual beach vacation this year, I cut fabric for 10 quilts. For the last two days I've been happily cutting fabrics for 4 quilts. I put these in their own project bag, label them with what they're going to be when they grow up, and plunk them into a project box. Then when I want to sew but not think, I can just grab a bag out of the bin and I'm ready to go.

I'm always sad when I read articles on "how to trim down your stash" that never even mention actually using the stuff! I mean - we bought it because we liked it, right?? (And even though my tastes have certainly changed, I still love all the stuff in my stash.) There are a zillion patterns out there - many of them free - that would be the perfect opportunity to actually use your stash. How about whipping up a few quilts for donation? Even if you just make the top, I bet your guild has some kind of charity/donation project. Not in a guild? Contact one of the locals & donate your tops to them. You'll thin out your stash (allowing room for more!!), hone your sewing skills, and make someone happy in the process. How awesome is that?

What do I do with my simple quilts that I don't donate? A couple of years ago (on Christmas), I put a bunch (I mean a BUNCH) of them in my car and when I arrived at our Christmas gathering, I had everyone go take the one they wanted. Everybody was happy! I thinned out my quilt cabinet and everyone got to take a quilt home.

Quilts don't have to have a purpose to be made. Just make them! They'll find their place in the universe. And you'll use up some of your stash in the process.

I love fabric!

Thanks for stopping by!