Fabric Moratorium 2025
10-09-2025, 06:59 PM
#404
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: British Columbia
Posts: 930
Okay - I'll admit, even though I don't generally buy new fabric and I'm steadily producing a few quilts each year from stash, it has grown from "hardly anything" to "more than I can reasonably handle without some changes" and I sat myself down today for a serious chat about how my approach to quilting is going to need to change to adapt to my new reality. I saw two big issues:
1) When I had very little fabric, it made sense to save little bits so that I could put those little bits together to make quilts. 1-7/8" HSTs can make lovely patterns and an hourglass quilt I made mid-pandemic is still one of my favourites. I still love working with little bits but they were starting to crowd me out (and stress me out) and the variety of projects that have led to those little bits means they don't always want to play together.
2) Even tinier bits came in handy when I found I needed a pincushion and I made a little pillow sort of thing and stuffed it with those tiny bits but I now have two pincushions and that crafted one has been tucked away somewhere (lost) because it really wasn't great. I don't make stuffed animals and can't imagine what else I would really want to use those tiny bits for.
So...
Today I went through three bags of "bits" (that's the official term I labelled those containers with) and fed two boxes (as in the picture) to my compost worms. I have kept a small box of scraps that could be turned into hourglasses or other HST projects and a small bag of strings but nothing smaller than a 1-7/8" HST or 1" wide string. There is another large box of bits that I have an idea for but if the idea doesn't work out within the next couple of days, it's going to the worms as well (after a little break - they're slow quilters!) It's small potatoes, I know, and there are more bags and boxes to go through but it feels good not to see the one big duvet bag of "bits" any more.
This is part of a reorganization project and might have fit better into the What are we organizing today? thread but this thread is home and I didn't think it was too far a stretch to fit it in here. :-)
1) When I had very little fabric, it made sense to save little bits so that I could put those little bits together to make quilts. 1-7/8" HSTs can make lovely patterns and an hourglass quilt I made mid-pandemic is still one of my favourites. I still love working with little bits but they were starting to crowd me out (and stress me out) and the variety of projects that have led to those little bits means they don't always want to play together.
2) Even tinier bits came in handy when I found I needed a pincushion and I made a little pillow sort of thing and stuffed it with those tiny bits but I now have two pincushions and that crafted one has been tucked away somewhere (lost) because it really wasn't great. I don't make stuffed animals and can't imagine what else I would really want to use those tiny bits for.
So...
Today I went through three bags of "bits" (that's the official term I labelled those containers with) and fed two boxes (as in the picture) to my compost worms. I have kept a small box of scraps that could be turned into hourglasses or other HST projects and a small bag of strings but nothing smaller than a 1-7/8" HST or 1" wide string. There is another large box of bits that I have an idea for but if the idea doesn't work out within the next couple of days, it's going to the worms as well (after a little break - they're slow quilters!) It's small potatoes, I know, and there are more bags and boxes to go through but it feels good not to see the one big duvet bag of "bits" any more.
This is part of a reorganization project and might have fit better into the What are we organizing today? thread but this thread is home and I didn't think it was too far a stretch to fit it in here. :-)
10-11-2025, 01:19 PM
#405
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Peoria, IL -- Midwest Transplant
Posts: 7,317
And I was doing so well... we have big regional community/garage sale thing going on last weekend and this week end and we went out looking for patio type furniture.
We stopped at a big display of pumpkins and squash being sold by Mennonite?/Amish?? ladies and a bunch of other stuff from maybe non-members but a lot of old saws and such. There were several big black bins of fabric scraps. One came home with me (well not the bin, I would have had to pay extra!), a lot of non-usable scraps, quite a few yardage pieces of Cranston, as well as quite a bit Springs Industries, which I will have to burn test to see if they are cotton or blend...
Anyway, $25 for hours of amusement and plenty of fabric to pass down to other people. I'm thinking maybe I will be keeping 5 yards?? There is a lot more than that to go through.
We stopped at a big display of pumpkins and squash being sold by Mennonite?/Amish?? ladies and a bunch of other stuff from maybe non-members but a lot of old saws and such. There were several big black bins of fabric scraps. One came home with me (well not the bin, I would have had to pay extra!), a lot of non-usable scraps, quite a few yardage pieces of Cranston, as well as quite a bit Springs Industries, which I will have to burn test to see if they are cotton or blend...
Anyway, $25 for hours of amusement and plenty of fabric to pass down to other people. I'm thinking maybe I will be keeping 5 yards?? There is a lot more than that to go through.
10-12-2025, 04:13 AM
#406
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Peoria, IL -- Midwest Transplant
Posts: 7,317
Ok, spent some time with the tote of fabric and lighter doing burn tests and have separated it into quilting cottons (on the chair seat), blends and not suitable for quilting yardage in the tote, and the large bag seems to be an actual stash from 1950-70s scraps. Finding the butterfly fabric was quite the surprise -- mostly I saw the red/white because that is most of it. I haven't measured it yet, not sure it is big enough for a full twin back, but plenty big for a throw.
I will take all the non-suitable/blends to my sewing group for "right of first refusal". There is an awesome cotton that would be great for bags but not the right weight for quilting and some other good stuff. Some of the Springs fabrics were indeed blends, but usable blends maybe 80% cotton, and large enough for crib-throw backs.
I will also take the bag of vintage bits and sort it out... I collected vintage fabrics for years meaning to sell them on ebay but I never did and then my eBay user name (FabStasher!) got stolen and used for bad stuff. Anyway, sold off a couple hundred yards before I moved. I don't want to deal with the little bits but I will see if anyone in my current guild is into the vintage pieces.
No separate pictures yet but there were also two dragon hoard suitable fabrics in there! One is a glittery dark red, I've washed it once and the glitter did not fall off (hooray!) but quite a bit of color came off. Then I found a darker burgundy piece with some gold embellishment, and there is a small load of reds in a hot wash as I type.
I will take all the non-suitable/blends to my sewing group for "right of first refusal". There is an awesome cotton that would be great for bags but not the right weight for quilting and some other good stuff. Some of the Springs fabrics were indeed blends, but usable blends maybe 80% cotton, and large enough for crib-throw backs.
I will also take the bag of vintage bits and sort it out... I collected vintage fabrics for years meaning to sell them on ebay but I never did and then my eBay user name (FabStasher!) got stolen and used for bad stuff. Anyway, sold off a couple hundred yards before I moved. I don't want to deal with the little bits but I will see if anyone in my current guild is into the vintage pieces.
No separate pictures yet but there were also two dragon hoard suitable fabrics in there! One is a glittery dark red, I've washed it once and the glitter did not fall off (hooray!) but quite a bit of color came off. Then I found a darker burgundy piece with some gold embellishment, and there is a small load of reds in a hot wash as I type.
10-12-2025, 07:23 AM
#407
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: British Columbia
Posts: 930
What a haul, Iceblossom! You are testing my resolve, but finds like that are few and far between around here so I think I'm safe for now (as long as I don't go anywhere, of course). :-)
10-15-2025, 06:43 AM
#408
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Peoria, IL -- Midwest Transplant
Posts: 7,317
I am making progress in many areas, even if the Dragon Hoard top isn't going as fast as I'd like. I've been wrong before but I think I'm at the tipping point into rapid progress... I've got a significant pile of smaller bits to put together. Yesterday at group I put together what I hope is my final set of blocks, incorporating the new fabrics from the tote.
BTW, maybe 20 yards of the Springs type fabric got claimed! Not much else... but it's a start.
I really liked arranging my fabric on the fuzzy grey blanket, but apparently the hubby loves that blanket and wants to keep it with the king bed. Anyway, I've taken advantage of sheet changing to do some layout.
Picture 1 is the progress shot!
Picture 2 is the two new fabrics, plus what is left of a piece I always found hard to use, but is working well with the other.
Picture 3 is, isn't it nice that fabric has two sides? I think I like the back better...
BTW, maybe 20 yards of the Springs type fabric got claimed! Not much else... but it's a start.
I really liked arranging my fabric on the fuzzy grey blanket, but apparently the hubby loves that blanket and wants to keep it with the king bed. Anyway, I've taken advantage of sheet changing to do some layout.
Picture 1 is the progress shot!
Picture 2 is the two new fabrics, plus what is left of a piece I always found hard to use, but is working well with the other.
Picture 3 is, isn't it nice that fabric has two sides? I think I like the back better...
10-15-2025, 05:31 PM
#410
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Portage, Michigan
Posts: 9,589
I just finished assembling a throw sized quilt top this evening that is really scrappy because it is made of my birthday swap "candy" squares. Therefore in keeping with the spirit of this thread, I went diving into my stash looking for a red backing, Nope, the one I have was from the estate sale of about a month ago and even after 4 washes it is still bleeding. Not going to use on this quilt. I did find a medium "turquoise-ish" piece that will do. I will put a double row of 2.5" squares with white side sashing, splitting the backing to make it wide enough for the top. I need about 48" wide, maybe 50" too allow for quilting. A scrappy racing stripe down the back will just have to do to coordinate with the front. Maybe photos over the weekend. Fingers crossed.
