Fabric overload
 

Now, I know some people will have no sympathy for me at all, but bear with me...

I love fabric. LOVE fabric. But I have almost reached burn out. I am an assistant coordinator for my local Project Linus, and we frequently get donations of fabric. The coordinator is a knitter, so she has no interest in fabric, so it all comes to me (lucky me!).

Recently, we got a whole bunch from a lady who was "downsizing" her stash. Her daughter and son-in-law brought me about 10 big plastic totes of fabric that she had purged out of her stash -- of 80 totes!

It was really interesting seeing some of the older patterns. There was some from the late 70's and early 80's, as well as more recent stuff. I always separate out the cottons, specifically the child-suitable stuff. Unfortunately, no matter how much I try to explain that we only want fabric suitable for making kids' quilts, I always get a lot of upholstery weight and apparel fabric. I always take it cheerfully, though, and pass it along to other charity groups.

My problem is that I pull out everything I think I would possibly use, wash it, and iron it. It destroys my sewing room and kills my productivity. Takes forever to get it all ironed, especially when they are big pieces (great for backings) that get twisted in the wash and dryer and are that much harder to iron.

I finally got everything squared away, and this week we got another big donation from the husband of a quilter who had passed away. Now, of course I can't say no to fabric. I simply can't. But after driving to go get it, I spent about six hours sorting through it all. There was a lot of good stuff, I won't lie, but probably 75% of it is moving on.

I look at the fabric I kept out and I am too tired to even think about sewing. How sad is that.

I do intend to try to sell some of it on the board to bring in some funds for our PL chapter. I'd like to get this fabric into the hands of people who can use it, especially for charity quilts.

All through the sorting I kept thinking about the woman who left this stash. I tried to send her appreciative thoughts and let her know I liked her taste in fabric. Then I tried not to think about someone who might have to sort through my stash some day, lol.

Definitely need to move some of my fabric along!

Thank you for all your hard work sorting, washing and especially ironing all that fabric. The quilts that are made from that fabric will be appreciated and enjoyed. Kudos for all your hard work.

Venting is good, gets us motivated to move on and get something done. The reverse side of attitude of gratitude can be difficult to overcome. Now you can get with it and enjoy making some Linus quilts! Have fun! :)

{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Is there anyone who could help you with all the sorting, washing , etc. ? it does seem like a lot of work for one person

I know what you mean about using all your energy for PL and nothing left for yourself. Perhaps there is someone(s) that can help you with the sorting, washing and ironing...it's a lot more fun and a lot less work if there is more than 1 person doing all the work...

Diannia

Personally, the pieces that I didn't put in my stash would not get the washer treatment even the stuff I was selling. Also, to cut down on time I would have a basket that collected the need to iron pieces and just do it once a week or so. And just iron for a certain amount of time even if I didn't get it all done. I also have been know to fold and store then iron as I need it. If I felt overwhelmed enough I would pass it on without sorting..... but that is the hardest to do LOL!

Good luck on finding a solution, I know how time consuming our projects are other than sitting at the sewing machine. My problem has always been the computer. This week I was updating my Artfire site..... 1 1/2 days GONE.... today I am going to sit in my room!

My DH made a comment about my stash one day that has stuck with me. He said why not let the quilt shop store your fabric and you go get it when you need it? Why bring it all home? LOL. I have cut down on my fabric stashing. I found less is better to get more quilts made.

I agree with a few points made above:

1. wash only the stuff you plan on keeping. I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts when the other organizations receive fabrics, they wash them too, so it's probable the fabrics are being washed multiple times.
2. delegate! ask for volunteers. If you struggle to find anyone to help, maybe make it an event or party with a couple of snacks, drinks, and silly little door prizes from the dollar store. If it becomes a fun social activity instead of a boring chore, you will end up with lots of "helpers".

I second that! :) Take time for yourself too.

Trust me, I DO only wash and iron the stuff I'm keeping, so that's no problem. And I don't mind the sorting of it, in fact I enjoy that part. It's just a matter of too much fabric, too little time! Every piece I keep, I envision a pattern to use and the quilt that will result...but in the end no quilts get done.

I have many times felt paralyzed by my stash, and this load has added to that feeling immensely. Not too long ago I destashed, and it helped, and then all this fabric came. I guess I need to be tougher about what I will keep, but it's hard to let it go.

I do love fabric...

I think I misunderstood your original post. Trying to clarify - I thought you were feeling overwhelmed because you're spending all your time on washing/sorting the donated fabrics, but after your second post, I'm thinking you're feeling overwhelmed because there's so much fabric and not enough time and/or people to sew them into tops?

I have a friend who also makes a LOT of quilts for charity - Linus, homeless vets, passage quilts, etc. She raised funds and invested in an Accuquilt Go! cutter. She (or a helper) will cut "kits" from the donated fabric. The kits are passed out to anyone who likes to sew, and the finished tops come back to her, and she'll either have someone tie them, or she will quilt them. This might be a great option for you, especially if you have lots of volunteers who would like to sew the tops.

That is exactly what I would like to do -- get this fabric into manageable bits for other people to help make into quilts. Maybe after I recover, I'll have the energy to do that. I have the Quilt Cut Pro from Alstos, so I can certainly make up some kits.

Thanks for the commiseration!

I understand completely where you are coming from, since I was a Project Linus coordinator. It can be overwhelming. Simply hauling boxes and bags continually is an energy drain. Sorting it and having it taking up a lot of space is another real problem.

Do you have Linus meetings or work sessions regularly? If so, I would suggest bringing the possibly usable cotton fabric unwashed to the meetings. Tell people that it is as you got it, and if they can use or (or know of anybody who can), then they are welcome to take it home. Put it out of your mind once it is gone.

If you need to put pressure on the group, tell them that whatever isn't taken goes directly to Goodwill.

Another option is to recruit other members to store the fabric. For instance, one person takes a bin/box of blues; another one takes reds. Then rotate what color boxes are brought to meetings. Also, let the whole group know who has what color, so they can ask them directly for pieces.

If you decide to make kits, keep them simple. Otherwise you are in another time trap -- always cutting, never sewing.

Best wishes! You are in a challenging situation. The only was I could escape a similar situation was to move out of state - ha!

Dayle

My thoughts as I was reading your posts--isn't there anyone to help you? I sorted my stash about a year ago and spent about a week washing and ironing before giving it away. The next month there was a considerable increase in my electric bill. DH was not very happy, especially since I gave the fabric away. It was not suitable for Linus or Quilts of Valor. It did make me feel good though.
Sue

Maybe you should put up and old fashioned clothes line. If you hang the fabric outside on a day with a light breeze it will be dry in a few minutes and not be wrinkled. Good Luck

I'll be looking for it on the sale section!

I agree. Why is it left to you to do all the work? Anyone can iron favric. If the coordinator is into knitting, why is she in a group that quilts? And why cant she sort and iron? If i lived closer i would help you. Thanks for your willingness to do this for PL, but i think some of the other member should be helping out with the sorting, washing, ironing. That way everyone can get to the fun part.QUILTING

Our previous Linus coordinator also had a huge stash in a room of her house. She would offer the blanketeers to come over and take what you want to make blankets with. That helped those who couldn't afford to buy fabric but still want to help.

Our group also has a storage unit for storing fabric and extra blankets. The sewing shop we gather at also let's our group store a small supply of fabric to grab when we need it.

I know the storage unit is an expense you don't want to deal with but maybe it would help YOU get back to sewing again.


I commend you for all your hard work. I know our coordinator works really hard but she also makes it fun each and every month we get together.

I had the same thought as Sharon. You need some volunteer help.

That's what I was thinking too, if you are coordinator of a chapter perhaps the rest of the chapter people can help when you get such large donations. Either by doing the sorting/laundry work at their homes OR perhaps make an appointment to meet 2 or 3 three of them at a laundry mat where you can all sort and launder together and when done THEY can take some of the stash back to their homes to work. You can use the $$ you get from selling the "unusables" to pay for the laundry services (or the laundry mat owner might even donate the use of the machines for a day to a good charity!).

In my guild of well over 100 members there is one long suffering member who, year after year, is in charge of charity quilts primarily for Head Start and the local hospital pediatric dept. She not only sorts, washes and irons the contributions, she devises simple patterns, cuts the appropriate pieces and gives out kits at meetings so that all one has to do is follow the directions. She seems to love the challenge and distributes the entire Head Start supply of nap quilts each year. Those quilts take a beating with constant rough use and laundering so they have to be replaced annually. She loves the challenge and to my knowledge has never asked for someone else to take over except during her recovery from a stroke several years ago. I hate people like that as they always make me feel like a useless slug.

Bless you for your labor of LOVE! A notable cause gives you a free pass for keeping the fabric.

I also have a question and perhaps I'm not understanding. If you are the coordinator, why are you keeping so much fabric? Shouldn't it be going to the chapter members? Perhaps you have a fabric keeping problem?? Or I'm not understanding the problem.

Keep sorting! Let someone else sew!

I'm guessing she meant keep for the PL, and passing on unsuitable fabric to someone who can use it. Since she's the coordinator, it's logical that donations come to her first.

I sure wish you lived closer. Our church has just started a sewing/quilting group and we are making lots of things for charity - Project Linus, Ronald McDonald house, the pillowcases, little dresses for Africa are the big ones. The others are our local charities - both maternity homes and an organization that helps pregnant women with classes and a "boutique" to use their points earned to get things for new babies. We have made tons of receiving blankets, burp cloths, etc. Some of the ladies are just coming to this new group to be social and to help......others bringing machines and supplies. It is going to be such a great group with lots of great ideas. Maybe someone closer to you has a group such as this. Good luck with all that you do. In your mind and heart you know that efforts will be appreciated.

The man does have a point, doesn't he?

(But I usually only buy stuff when it's on sale or close-outs - so the shop wouldn't be storing it any longer. But it is easier to work when one has some elbow room.)

Very wise hubby, and actually probably saves a lot of money!

I agree with this comment. I have received two such donations from friends/family of friends. I went through it and kept what I knew I would eventually use. I then packed it up and took it to my quilt guild and let them pick through for their preferences and what was left went to another source for her choices. Needless to say it didn't take long for the stashes to disappear and no one complained about having to wash and iron their own pics. Now as far as the guild, if we were to keep it for a universal project, we would take turns at tasks, sorting and washing being among them.

You need help. Surely someone can help you-like fabric or not. You don't want to ruin your happiness in sewing. I use to sew for people and I got so overwelmed that I didn't sew or look at my stash or machines for over 2 years. I will never do that again.

I wish that I could afford to buy it from you, we are a very small group, and we just burned through the material that we had buy making 55 quilts for flood victumes here in Roundup MT and two homes that lost everything in fires, but our funds are depleted for sure. I wish you the best luck in what ever you do. Ginger

You need an assistant for sure. When you sort and get it ready to be washed, only what you are keeping, take it to the laudromat, at least it is all washed and that part is finished at one time. While you are waiting for it to wash. you can be using their long table to cut some of your own stash for personal use. Only wash what you are keeping.

As a fellow blanketeer, our group pitches in to help our coordinator since we know we works so hard for the group. She brings donated fabric in on our meeting dates for the group to pick from. That helps keep her storage issues down. Not sure what she does with the non-usable fabrics but probably donates elsewhere.

A suggestion -- definitely try get a laundry to donate the machine so you can wash the fabrics.. Then bring the fabric (or at least some each month) to the group and have 1 or 2 people do the ironing. You definitely don't need to do everything yourself.

That's why YOU'RE the coordinator....

I made some PL quilts, and the fabric I received wasn't washed. I don't wash my fabrics, except for flannel, dark colors, and something I think might shrink a lot. But if you HAVE ti wash it, then just 'swish it a few times in the machine, then dry it. There will be less fraying, and ironing involved. And Bless your heart for being involved in Project Linus!

I think you should ask for some help to sort and prepare fabric for PL. There are probably people who would be happy to sort and/or iron if they knew how much you are doing. If you don't ask, no one will no how many hours you are devoting to this very important task.

Been there and done that with the big donations my guild often gets. Keep up the good work and hopefully you can spend time making PL quilts instead of sorting donations.

there comes a time when too much of a GOOD thing can become a bad thing....you need to have a backup plan so you can say " at this time, I believe this donation would be better suited for XXXXX" and just walk away...when it becomes WORK...it is not fun any more!

Another thing you can do is to PLAN what you are making...and only wash the fabrics in yardages that you need...say you need 3 yards for a backing...then only cut and wash 3 1/4 yards and let the rest GO!

Our group that sews for a children's hospice learned all this the hard way...the same way you are....now that we are losing the sewing room of the Bernina shop(she is closing), we can not accept anymore donations at all!

"there comes a time when too much of a GOOD thing can become a bad thing..."

This is exactly my point! Thanks for understanding me. I guess I wasn't clear in my post. First off, I'm not the coordinator, I'm the assistant, and since I quilt, the fabric comes to me. I DON'T mind sorting it, I enjoy that part. I only wash and iron what's being kept by me to use.

My complaint is that this abundance of wonderful fabric has made me lose my urge to sew. I can't turn fabric away because I love fabric, but I guess I've reached the point where I've eaten too many sweets and now I have a stomach ache. You are so right, this is a lesson I am learning!

By the way, I absolutely do share the fabric with the other quilters in our group, but they tend to take very little since they have their own stashes. I also send large amounts to other nonprofit groups I'm involved with. And I donate all the non-quilting fabric to nonprofit stores.

I guess I just need to purge my own stash so I don't feel so overwhelmed...