Emma S

FM: Although I'm a mite younger than you I have exactly the same problem. No quilters in my family to take over the load and I know if I sewed all day everyday for the rest of my life I would never use it all up. While there have been many falls from grace this thread really does help me to think about my purchases. You are more than welcome to join us as we battle out addiction.

MadQuilter

Boston, we only yell in commiseration or to cheer you on. Never in a bad way. What a nice gift you got from your sis. My sister is only into outdoorsy things (the girl even has her own chain saw and fancy chain saw pants). She keeps telling me she'd share the wood with me. lol

SandyinZ4

FM welcome to our group. So glad you could join us. I do not see any future quilters in my family either so will have a gigantic sale when I get to the point where i can't quilt any longer. My problem is that I take all the orphan blocks and scraps that friends do not want because I can't bear to see them go in the trash. I could probably make 20 scrap quilts with what I have now. Just taking the time to sort everything out would take a year at least. I am trying to do Bonnie Hunter's scrap organization thing but life always gets in the way. Have a class next month taught by Pam Buda so need to see what I need for it. Hopefully, I can pull from stash. Martina, how exciting to get a new machine. She will patiently wait in its box until things are ready for her. Happy for you!

PaperPrincess

My family also does not include any future quilters. There will be a big sale at my house when I no longer need my stash (and someone else will be confessing about their great garage sale purchase!). I don't feel guilty in the least about having all this unused fabric, however. The way I look at it is that my hobby is one that accumulates stuff. I have one friend who's a golfer. Do you know how much it costs for a round? If I spent that much on fabric on a weekly basis, my stash would be much, much bigger. I have other friends who frequently enjoy an upscale meal and others who take a cruise every year or so. When their money has been spent, they have lovely memories & photos, but nothing tangible that accumulates in their closets (and under their bed and...) I enjoy the whole quilting experience: cutting, sewing, pressing and shopping!! I just now need to concentrate on the first 3 aspects I've listed to balance my quilting hobby experience.

Emma S

Princess: Totally agree, its the evidence that gets us in trouble. Just as you said, the amount most people I know spend in a restaurant far surpasses my fabric purchases even in a bad month. It is easy to pull a queen size quilt from my stash and I rarely buy fabric with any particular project in mind. To be honest, if I ever find I don't have enough of a certain fabric (blenders, solids, and focus fabrics) to shop my stash I will buy to flesh out the inventory.

calla

We'll said PP, my friend attended the Bonnie Hunter workshop too. The guild meeting was so informative........calla

Rhonda Lee

I've been gone for a week or so, been reading to catch up on whats happening here...you all have been busy! Lets see, Princess went to Bonnie Hunters class, so did Calla, there's a New Baby among the group (you will love, love, love your baby lock), FM says no one but her quilts in her family..lots of 'same heres' heard on that one, and I'll join 'same here.' I down loaded a chart from Princess, love the chart, Emmas got lots of quilts done and it goes on.. love it here.

Now I humbly bow my head and ask for lots of understanding, I bought 5 yards of fabric! Had to piece 72 little 6" blocks and needed a background to show them off. I cut enough 6 inch blocks out of the new fabric to go between the pieced blocks and set them on point. Yay! it worked. I will have enough left to use on some other things needing the same background.

I've spent some time at our home in southern Utah the past few days and am ready to dive into quilting stuff again.

PaperPrincess

Here it is, October already!!!! Officially the challenge is over in a month (The November 1 end date is left over from prior years, I think I'll also change that next year. Maybe it should end on U.S. Thanksgiving so we can go crazy on Black Friday??) Bonnie Hunter's workshop was good. Picked up a few tips and bought her newest book, autographed of course, but just seeing her quilts in person was just amazing!!!! My yardage stash is pretty much all neatly folded, but my scrap stash is just stuffed into containers, only separated by cottons & batiks. I was inspired enough to cut up & organize the much smaller bin of batiks. Boy, does that take a long time, but I think the result is worth it! Just looking at those stacks of cleanly cut fabric, ready to be paired with some of my yardage stash is inspiring!
How's the fall going for everyone else?

Emma S

Rhonda: Welcome back, you've been missed! On the 5 yards, think you squeak by on the immediate use clause. Princess: I always forget the Moratorium ends. Maybe if I dangled a sizable shopping spree at the end, it would be a positive incentive. Somehow doing it on the last month seems, well how can I say this, devious. How did your new quilt start at BH's workshop go? Have tackled my scrap bin several times, now have a full box of neatly cut scraps. So time consuming! The real answer is doing it as you go along. Trying to do that. The remaining bin is waiting for a day, that I want a mindless task.

oksewglad

Emma you are so right, cutting the scraps as we go keeps them under control, except when there's that pretty piece you really really like which will look soooo good in a mini--so back to the untamed bin it goes I like the idea of cutting scraps with a quilt in mind--the quilt takes shape as I'm zipping away with the rotary cutter. Yes PPrinceess, it's a BH quilt. Sounds like a fun trip for you.
For me the Moratorium never ends. I have way to much fabric