I have my eye on this absolutely fabulous piece of silk fabric being sold by Fabric Mart Fabrics. How can I pass it up. It is so divine and something that I have been longing for!
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| Silk Charmeuse and Chiffon |
I guess I should figure out some self-imposed rules. If you read my first post, then you know that I made a New Years Resolution in 2010 to significantly reduce my stash, but it actually GREW! So this year, I am determined to actually reduce my stash. But should I totally deprive myself of purchasing fabric? Should I limit my buys to only x amount of yards for the entire year? To only clearance table purchases? I don't know, what should my rule(s) be? Any ideas? Leave your idea in my comments....PLEASE....I must REDUCE my stash this year.
Sew Optimistic..it took me a minute to get the name...love it!
ReplyDeleteNow...DO NOT deprive yourself of purchasing fabric. I would recommend staying on the clearance table until you have reached a stash of fabric that is not borderline hoarding! To get rid of the stash...in baby steps...you can do several things...only purchase 1 type of fabric when you have rid of 2, give it away (I have a sewing machine that I received last Nov. and I have never used...fabric would be nice), make something for someone else, donate, sell hard to find patterns (which will give you money to buy the new fabric)! Hope this helps!
I don't sew, but I want to....with baby steps I will one day learn :)
Last year I put myself on a restriction. It worked for 7 months. Then my birthday came and I received several gift cards for fabric purchases. That was it. In December my niece and went through part of my stash and donated four large trash bags of fabric. This year I am back on restriction for several reasons: a) I definitely have a SABLE (Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy) b) disposable income is truly limited this year and c) I have more than enough and should shop my stash. That doesn't mean I deny myself fabric, I just don't buy it straight away. I create a "lust" list on the various sites and keep adding to the shopping cart. Then when I shut down the computer, I forget it. I have used the coupons issued by Joann's for 50% off. But that's it so far. And I keep a running list of fabrics I see at the store when I visit that I would like to buy if money was not an issue. But after a few visits the desire wears off. I guess I keep thinking of my ridiculous stash at home. Hopefully, there are some tips here you can use.
ReplyDeleteAngela
SABLE is a hilarious term, and a sobering one, given my stash amply fits that description - (ahem!)
ReplyDeleteOne strategy I've used is to make extremely simple quilts/wall hangings for people: retiring teachers, male and female, pregnant moms, brides to be. I absconded with my husband's chalk fed snap line to make scads of 13" muslin fabric squares, each encased in a ziploc bag with instructions. Those are distributed to friends and family of the targeted recipient well in advance. I always make a few extras to fill in the gaps, as needed. They're free to stencil, embroider, print photos, use fabric paint to create a msg/design for said recipient. Then the finished squares are laid out until a pleasing arrangement is achieved, stitched together, and backed with fabric from my stash.
Ribbon is added to all the intersections between squares, and tabs or a casing is added to the top. I've never made a "real" quilt, but it's a hoot to do it this way. I'm not big on hand sewing, but love to floor it, so to speak, when assembling these quilts. One year I made capes for all the children and a few adults in our family from extra polar fleece. Burns yardage (being a circle) and is super fast to make. Trims from the stash come into play as well. : )