Originally Posted by
Nanoo
I collected fabric for 15 years while I was working because I was going to use it "someday." I am 69 years old, and now I realize that if I live to be 130, I will never use all of my fabric. Now I have just a few chosen people that I allow to come into my quilting room and select fabrics. The price is always the same--$0.00. I cannot make myself just strip the shelves all at once.
I should be VERY embarrassed about this so I consider this post part of my 'growth' I've been doing the last few years:
When my oldest son moved out 2-3 years ago my youngest moved in with him, so their room was unused. He bought a house and made the comment "Now my golf clubs have their own room. I replied, "Now my fabric has it's own room!" But I only meant the fabric destined for apparel, my quilting fabric was still in boxes out in a hall room (bedroom sized but no 4th wall). Besides, his bedroom was FULL.
So last week my daughter moved out and since her sewing machine and her sewing stuff took up half of the hall room, my quilting fabric is now organised there (and the extension hallway in cabinets)
There is so much fabric in both rooms that I had to go out and buy 2' x 4' shelves. Between the 2 types of fabric, there are 10 shelves. I actually bought 12 and made a few taller by a shelf.
My husband drilled eye bolts in the walls and with zip ties anchored the shelving to the walls, it just seemed safer with all that fabric.
For it's first 10 years, our local Walmart had the fabric selection it has now, but in the back of the department it had clearance tables, for $1 or $2 a yard. I think it was just fabric they got from sellouts or clearances that suppliers had, because at least 50% of it was really good stuff.
My dear husband, knowing my sewing was still a lot cheaper and more effective than therapy, and I could have WORSE addictions, never said a word when I bought fabric. That's ALOT of fabric!
They don't have that clearance section anymore.
The main thing I notice is the quality of jersey knit has really gone down.
It would take me 2 years to measure and re-shelve all that so I will never know how many yards there are.
My plan for it? We don't anticipate ever moving from here (been here 34 years) and I'm going to leave a note for the kids, if I should out live my husband, to just have a big farm type auction. That's how a lot of the contents of the house got here in the first place. Of course, they can take what they want first.
For the fabric I'm thinking about leaving a list of groups that use fabric and telling them to just let the groups come in and take what fabric they want. (can you tell I've put a lot of thought into this? )
Except of the age, this sounds a lot like a post I would write in the future!