2019 Fabric Moratorium
04-28-2019, 03:11 AM
#981
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Maine
Posts: 1,231
Originally Posted by SillySusan
Aww, Grann! 31 yards is well over a minor lapse! What can we do to encourage you to stay away from those wonderful LQSs?! You find way too many super-duper sales!
The way I do it is to picture my stash upstairs like the load on the little donkey that can't stand another inch of fabric on its back! One more inch will cause the donkey to fall and come crashing through the ceiling and land in my kitchen! I picture the mess it would make... all the sheetrock, the dust, the rafters...
Maybe if you could picture something like this, you'd stay put in our wagon!
The way I do it is to picture my stash upstairs like the load on the little donkey that can't stand another inch of fabric on its back! One more inch will cause the donkey to fall and come crashing through the ceiling and land in my kitchen! I picture the mess it would make... all the sheetrock, the dust, the rafters...
Maybe if you could picture something like this, you'd stay put in our wagon!
Gof6, I hope your new iron sounds as cool as Donna Jordons does in her videos LOL. I am so glad I found her videos on Youtube, I just love watching her and love the sound effects.
Teen,congrats on the sale of your house, pretty soon you'll be settled in your new place and sewing up a storm. What a weight off your worries.
I enjoy reading this thread, the ones who fall of the wagon, the encouragement to get back on, the encouragement from others when one passes up temptation. I did not join this challenge, however, reading it helps me. I feel I am fortunate in that the nearest LQS is 45 minutes away, so that alone keeps my purchases down, and I very very rarely order fabric online, as remote history of doing this, I found, it shows up on my doorstep and the color is off from what I was looking for. Everyone here is great, I am so glad I found this forum last fall, keep the encouragement flowing everyone.
04-28-2019, 04:07 AM
#982
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Glenmoore, PA
Posts: 7,941
Thanks for the encouragement to hop back up on the wagon. I know 31 yards sounds like an awful lot of fabric, but think of it as only about 4 quilt backings. And since I have already made 17 quilts this year, that fabric will be depleted fairly quickly. And it is all part of a plan... to help reduce the existing stash.
I am happy for those of you who have recently sold your homes and are embarking on a new adventure in a new home. It doesn't seem possible that it has been 20 years since I made the move out here to be closer to my children and grandchildren. It was quite frightening to embark on a singular life after losing my DH, and never actually ever living alone, but I did it and am loving my new life by myself... well, with my pooch. Without him I would be very lonely.
Anyway...let's all keep striving to finish projects that have been languishing in a bin, and to use up stash in new and exciting projects. My list keeps growing of ideas for "the next one".
I am happy for those of you who have recently sold your homes and are embarking on a new adventure in a new home. It doesn't seem possible that it has been 20 years since I made the move out here to be closer to my children and grandchildren. It was quite frightening to embark on a singular life after losing my DH, and never actually ever living alone, but I did it and am loving my new life by myself... well, with my pooch. Without him I would be very lonely.
Anyway...let's all keep striving to finish projects that have been languishing in a bin, and to use up stash in new and exciting projects. My list keeps growing of ideas for "the next one".
04-28-2019, 10:14 AM
#984
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 12,861
I just finished cutting all of the fabric for my Double Irish Stars quilt top. I had to purchase 3 yards of the background fabric but everything else came out of my stash- 7 2/3 yards worth. I’m pretty sure the backing will come out of my stash too. .
i Very, Very seldom cut out a whole quilt at once — as in practically never- but this one just made it easier to stay organized.
I loaded up a ufo to quilt and had the 2 1/2 yards of wide backing on my shelves and found backing for 2 more UFOs. That are waiting their turn to be quilted. I’m making progress.
i Very, Very seldom cut out a whole quilt at once — as in practically never- but this one just made it easier to stay organized.
I loaded up a ufo to quilt and had the 2 1/2 yards of wide backing on my shelves and found backing for 2 more UFOs. That are waiting their turn to be quilted. I’m making progress.
04-28-2019, 01:12 PM
#986
Super Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ballwin, MO
Posts: 4,210
ckcowl, you're doing great!
I had fun this morning organizing and editing fabric for my next two stash quilts. I was getting bogged down with En Provence, so this was a nice break from that. I bought sashing fabric for one of these quilts last week, and it is not nice fabric at all. It's a Wilmington fabric from their Sonoma Solids line -- the fabric is so thick! I even checked back on the vendor website to see if maybe I had bought home decor weight fabric by mistake, but it claims to be quilting fabric. It will be used as a 1" sashing piece between each triangular piece of the quilt, and I wonder if I should look for something more lightweight.
I also bought some American Jane patterns last week that had been on my list for quite a while. They look hard!
I had fun this morning organizing and editing fabric for my next two stash quilts. I was getting bogged down with En Provence, so this was a nice break from that. I bought sashing fabric for one of these quilts last week, and it is not nice fabric at all. It's a Wilmington fabric from their Sonoma Solids line -- the fabric is so thick! I even checked back on the vendor website to see if maybe I had bought home decor weight fabric by mistake, but it claims to be quilting fabric. It will be used as a 1" sashing piece between each triangular piece of the quilt, and I wonder if I should look for something more lightweight.
I also bought some American Jane patterns last week that had been on my list for quite a while. They look hard!
04-28-2019, 02:49 PM
#987
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Ranger, Texas
Posts: 788
So much stash going into quilts & UFOs! I commend all of you who are working so hard to reduce stash & complete UFOs. I haven't quilted much in 2.5 weeks, but I did work a little on a UFO art quilt that will be made from all stash.
04-28-2019, 06:47 PM
#988
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 900
Sorry to say I fell off the wagon today. My favorite LQS was having an end of the bolt sale and I helped by ending 5 bolts. None of my purchase is for anything specific. I'm only adding to my already too large stash. I'm so ashamed! 
04-29-2019, 06:34 AM
#989
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 6,059
Is ok, Mary Christine, it's bound to happen. Remember, there is nothing wrong in collecting fabric even after we have forsworn the desire, now go back and do a quick project as penance!
I'm going over to my mom's today instead of tomorrow, she has a pre-surgery appointment Tuesday morning that I will take her to and listen in, I'm the home after care person.
I have all of my quarter units sewn, pressed and I even went through and trimmed them a bit even though they really didn't need much. It's good for me to see if I was sewing my seam right on, a little large, or a little small before I start putting them together (for the most part I was right on). So today I'll start pinning the quarters into halves, and so it goes, the Purple project will soon be over.
I'm thinking about layout now, light/dark is usually where I start, but I'll have to count up the groups of colors, I'm thinking maybe a large X of the medium lavender shade I have a lot of, and then filling in the triangles with darker colored fabrics. I'll probably post a few pictures as I make up my mind so expect that in the next week or two.
I have a large box just about ready to go to one of my ladies. It is about 2/3rds things from my stash, and 1/3 things I buy to put in there (from the thrift store). One or two more pieces and it will be ready, I love these flat rate boxes. I pick up a new one at the post office when I take the old box there.
I have the washed and ready stack of bright fabrics I bought in a thrift store bag ready to go for the next project. The goal for me for this project is to loosen up my style... it's fabrics that go well together but that I would not have chosen myself. Bright modern colors and designs, think fat quarters from Walmart and Joann in orange, red, grey, aqua, etc., lots of those quatrefoil geometric designs, polka dots. I'm going to make "wonky" 9-patches. I can't go completely without rules so I will still make 90 degree angles (no sloping cuts) but the individual blocks may or may not meet at the seam lines, like the center block may be cut 4" and one side 2" and another 3". Hard to describe. After I make the 9-patch units which will be ragged and finish somewhere around 10-12", I'll probably use an 8.5" square to cut them into their final shapes, which may be steeply angled or a "plaid" where you have a straight corner on one side but then the other sides are offset. The reason for choosing the 8.5 is because I can't imagine having a "perfect" 9-patch come out from that and, again, the goal is to loosen up. I don't know yet if I will sash the squares or just put them together crazy style.
Edit: I'm also going to loosen up by not fussy cutting the fabrics, strictly by the grain as I'm preparing to sew whether or not the pattern runs true or not. When I trim them most will be askew but by having the straight grain of fabric and the straight seams, they should hold together just fine. My decision to sash may have to do with how stretchy or not they are.
The left over fabrics along with the leftover cuts from the oversized blocks will go to the crumb quilter. It will probably fill that box to overflowing... maybe I should just top off that box with other stuff and start a brand new box just for these scraps. I mentioned last week that I picked up a piece big enough for back to go with the scraps I'll have left. Even after my twin project (and yeah, already have a back for that one) there will be still enough for another similar sized project.
Plan is to take the stack to group (so a week from now) and see if anything should be taken out or should I leave it all in. This will be a donation quilt about twin sized so I don't know who it will go to, but I envision about a 8-14 year girl. There are a couple of cute animal prints in the mix that I would leave in, but I'm curious what the ladies will say about them if they are too juvenile with the other prints, colors are right on. One piece I feel is really too dark, but will still work, my inclination is to pull it out of the pile but again -- I'm trying to loosen up. I'll just explain the project and ask if there is anything that doesn't belong or if they love so much they feel they need to take it.
I'm going over to my mom's today instead of tomorrow, she has a pre-surgery appointment Tuesday morning that I will take her to and listen in, I'm the home after care person.
I have all of my quarter units sewn, pressed and I even went through and trimmed them a bit even though they really didn't need much. It's good for me to see if I was sewing my seam right on, a little large, or a little small before I start putting them together (for the most part I was right on). So today I'll start pinning the quarters into halves, and so it goes, the Purple project will soon be over.
I'm thinking about layout now, light/dark is usually where I start, but I'll have to count up the groups of colors, I'm thinking maybe a large X of the medium lavender shade I have a lot of, and then filling in the triangles with darker colored fabrics. I'll probably post a few pictures as I make up my mind so expect that in the next week or two.
I have a large box just about ready to go to one of my ladies. It is about 2/3rds things from my stash, and 1/3 things I buy to put in there (from the thrift store). One or two more pieces and it will be ready, I love these flat rate boxes. I pick up a new one at the post office when I take the old box there.
I have the washed and ready stack of bright fabrics I bought in a thrift store bag ready to go for the next project. The goal for me for this project is to loosen up my style... it's fabrics that go well together but that I would not have chosen myself. Bright modern colors and designs, think fat quarters from Walmart and Joann in orange, red, grey, aqua, etc., lots of those quatrefoil geometric designs, polka dots. I'm going to make "wonky" 9-patches. I can't go completely without rules so I will still make 90 degree angles (no sloping cuts) but the individual blocks may or may not meet at the seam lines, like the center block may be cut 4" and one side 2" and another 3". Hard to describe. After I make the 9-patch units which will be ragged and finish somewhere around 10-12", I'll probably use an 8.5" square to cut them into their final shapes, which may be steeply angled or a "plaid" where you have a straight corner on one side but then the other sides are offset. The reason for choosing the 8.5 is because I can't imagine having a "perfect" 9-patch come out from that and, again, the goal is to loosen up. I don't know yet if I will sash the squares or just put them together crazy style.
Edit: I'm also going to loosen up by not fussy cutting the fabrics, strictly by the grain as I'm preparing to sew whether or not the pattern runs true or not. When I trim them most will be askew but by having the straight grain of fabric and the straight seams, they should hold together just fine. My decision to sash may have to do with how stretchy or not they are.
The left over fabrics along with the leftover cuts from the oversized blocks will go to the crumb quilter. It will probably fill that box to overflowing... maybe I should just top off that box with other stuff and start a brand new box just for these scraps. I mentioned last week that I picked up a piece big enough for back to go with the scraps I'll have left. Even after my twin project (and yeah, already have a back for that one) there will be still enough for another similar sized project.
Plan is to take the stack to group (so a week from now) and see if anything should be taken out or should I leave it all in. This will be a donation quilt about twin sized so I don't know who it will go to, but I envision about a 8-14 year girl. There are a couple of cute animal prints in the mix that I would leave in, but I'm curious what the ladies will say about them if they are too juvenile with the other prints, colors are right on. One piece I feel is really too dark, but will still work, my inclination is to pull it out of the pile but again -- I'm trying to loosen up. I'll just explain the project and ask if there is anything that doesn't belong or if they love so much they feel they need to take it.
Last edited by Iceblossom; 04-29-2019 at 06:50 AM.
05-01-2019, 06:31 AM
#990
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 1,184
ckcowl good job on using your stash. 10 yards used is wonderful.
Iceblossom that sounds like a nice project and it helps to push our comfort zone a little.
Mary Christine just hop back up here with the rest of us. I'm still feeling guilt from my "too huge to tell the amount of fabric" fall so perhaps that will keep me on the straight and narrow.
On a positive note, I'm ready to sandwich my son's and his pet's blankets which will take close to 12 yards of fabric for the backing all of which is coming from stash. I'm starting the quilt for my son's girlfriend and realized the FQ bundle I bought earlier won't be enough so I'm pulling coordinating fabric from stash to make up the difference.
Iceblossom that sounds like a nice project and it helps to push our comfort zone a little.
Mary Christine just hop back up here with the rest of us. I'm still feeling guilt from my "too huge to tell the amount of fabric" fall so perhaps that will keep me on the straight and narrow.
On a positive note, I'm ready to sandwich my son's and his pet's blankets which will take close to 12 yards of fabric for the backing all of which is coming from stash. I'm starting the quilt for my son's girlfriend and realized the FQ bundle I bought earlier won't be enough so I'm pulling coordinating fabric from stash to make up the difference.
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