What Would You Give?
 

My 40 year old niece used to sew childten’s clothes to supplement their household income. Dresses, mostly, for little girls, so she used a lot of bright, fun fabrics.

Recently she had to take a full time job from home that pays much better, and came to realize she will probably never sew again for money. So she cleared her stash. She had a yard sale. Toward the end of the sale, her deal was “fill a plastic grocery bag for 2 bucks.”

Her mom came here for our daughter's wedding, toting about 25 yds of that fabric with her! Most are 1-2 yd cuts. I’d use them predominantly for donation dresses, quilts, and pillowcases.

She didn’t want anything for it, but I know her family struggles financially. I’d like to pay something but not sure what.

I am curious what you think would be a good amount to give. I’d say 75% of the stash is stuff I’d choose on my own.

I think at least $50.

Well I guess it depends on Your situation.

If it were me, and I took into account that she has a need, she's obviously working hard and trying hard, not abusing the system, and most of the fabrics are what I would purchase anyway, I'd pay retail. In other words, I'd figure out approximately how many yards there were, and I'd pay $10-$12 per yard. If this isn't in your budget, then maybe $6 per yard would be more reasonable, and still more than she's asking/expecting, especially if she didn't want anything for it.

The clearance price at my LQS is $4-5, so I would probably go with at least $100, but a minimum of $50.

if it's good quality quilt fabric that I can put to use, I'd pay $3 a yard and be very glad to do so. At the local thrift store, fabric is sold at $2 a yard.

Wow, it's unusual for someone to have fabrics you would choose yourself. I'd say $100 at least.

If it's 25 yards of "usable" fabric - and you can afford it - maybe $50 - that's $2.00 a yard

However, if I was going to yard sales - it has to be really good fabric for me to pay more than $1.00/yard.

Another however - have you been helping her out over the years?

Another another however - sometimes it feels good to be able to give something to someone - don't spoil the fun - show great gratitude.

You know the players and their situations better than we do.

Depending on situation and they might be insulted w/money...think abt a gift card to a place like Amazon where staples/groceries etc...can be purchased thru Prime Pantry...I wouldn't do less then 100

I do like the saying, "It's more blessed to give than to receive." Maybe the niece gave the 25 yards of fabric to her mother. The mother didn't want anything for it. If that's the truth, then let the mother give it. If you pay her for it, she will lose her chance to be blessed by giving it to you.

If you want to help a struggling family-- by all means help! Don't pass up your chance to be blessed by giving. There are lots of ways to help the family without paying for fabric. Listen to your heart, and ideas of how you can help will come to your mind.

For example, sew a quilt with some of the fabric, find a venue of a raffle or auction or sale for it, and give the proceeds to the family.

Have you helped our niece financially before? If you have then it is something the mother thought would be a nice to show appreciation.

Since your niece will be working full time, perhaps you could thank her by providing a series of home cooked meals for her family.

I'm confused... are you saying there is 25 yards of fabric? Or the leftovers of her entire stash after the yard sale, including the 25 yards her mother brought her? How much fabric are we talking about?

I would pay her at least $3 a yard for it. If you are in a positition to help the family more, then give more.

Did you ask for any fabric from her stash?

I would like to add to this comment:

If she had wanted you to pay something she would have told you a price, she would not have given it to you. Accept that. Many years ago when I was young :-), single and raising 2 kids under 3 years old (one of which is disabled), my brother sent me $100.00 “out of the clear blue sky”. It was not expected and I was so happy to have received it at the time. Later, when I told him how much I appreciated the $$$ he had sent me and I tried to give him a $100.00, he told me....”don’t deny me the blessing”.

You were blessed with the fabric and she was blessed in “giving” it to you, knowing you would appreciate it and use it. Don’t deny her the blessing she recieved from “GIVING” you the fabric!

MAry Rita, good idea but she lives out of state.

Sewbiz—there were about 35 yds of fabric leftover after her yard sale which cleared her stash out except for one shelf’s worththat she kept.

Her mom (my SIL) brought 25 to me since I requested bright fabrics and juvenile prints, which was the majority of what she sewed. My SIL brought the other 10 yds to our other SIL who wanted boy stuff. That SIL makes jewelry so they traded fabric for necklaces and earrings.

After much consideration of everything, I felt good about sending her $100 today. From my perspective, it was worth 4/yd. And from hers, it’s a whole lot more than what she was selling it for on her yard sale. I’m happy to bless her with a surprise amount, which I am sure she’ll use for homeschooling curriculum. ‘Tis the season.

I think I would have made her a quilt, maybe a throw the whole family could use. Just a thought, but I'm sure she appreciated the financial contribution.

Zozee, you found a wonderful solution. Win-win for all involved!

Never forget the "value" of a written thank you.

Great solution, Zozee... As a former homeschooling mom, I can tell you it was a struggle every summer to come up with that $300-400 for curriculum to teach my 3 kids. Your gift of $100 will really bless her family.

How well I know! I homeschooled for 17 years, and my husband was extrememly supportive--always trusted my judgment when it came to educational materials. But since I wasn't employed, I always fought the temptation to feel I wasn't contributing enough. (It paid off when one of the kids got a full ride through college, and another got a two-year scholarship, all because of their winning essays that took 90 minutes of their time.)

I remember the thrill of receiving any kind of gift or being able to sell my stuff to pay for books.

I think that was a wonderful solution. She likely wasn't expecting anything and to receive $100.00 was quite a windfall.

Watson