I had a bit of a revelation today.
For months now, I have been trudging along, cutting anything less that a yard down into strips and squares and crumbs. More than once I thought I was wasting my time, and ruining perfectly good pieces of fabric (which I wasn't using anyway), and thought about giving up. I've managed to empty four or five boxes of scraps and turn them into lovely little stacks of ready to use squares.
I'm redecorating my mother's bedroom, and today I was on a mission to find fabrics to make her a new quilt to match the new paint,as well as a few patriotic prints for a quilt my son requested. I planned on stopping at several fabric stores, and I was somewhat concerned that I would not be able to resist temptation, and I would come home with all sorts of pretty fabrics to add to my collection, especially with the holiday sales.
As I browsed, I thought about how, out of the last 6 quilts I have made, five were reversible. So out of 11 floppies, 6 were born out of those pre-cut scraps, 5 were UFO's, and 1 started with a panel I had in my stash. Out of all six, I only bought 2-1/2 yards of a solid fabric, and thread. Even the batting has been pieced!
Despite this, I've barely made a dent in my pre-cuts, UFOs, or my stash, and I still have a couple more boxes of fabric to go thru and cut. I haven't even touched the roll of W&N I bought last summer! Thanks to my new Nickel Quilts Book, Pinterest, and the amazing inspiration I find here on this message board, I already have a slew of ideas for many more quilts using what I already have.
It was kind of a magical moment for me. I felt myself relax. I was no longer mentally making calculations as to how much fabric I could realistically afford to buy while simultaneously imagining what quilt patterns it would be perfect in, and thinking about who I know that would love this potential quilt. I stopped making rationalizations about how this or that fabric *might* go well with something I have in my stash, and I quit looking around for other fabrics that coordinated.
For the first time, I just wandered around and enjoyed looking at the fabrics around me the same way I might go to a museum or watch the sun set, for no other reason than for the sheer pleasure of it.
Quilty-wise, I only bought what I needed. I did decide treat myself to two yards of fleece with penguins on it to finally make myself the robe I've been wanting for years. Much to my surprise, when my mother went to reimburse me for the fabric for her quilt, she told me she would pay for the fleece too! Woohoo!