...while a flood raged in my basement at home. Oh how the problems keep coming like relentless waves these days, knocking me back down just as soon as I get to my feet. I spent yesterday reminding myself that these are all first world problems - I have a loving family, supportive friends, a roof over my head and food on the table - but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that all I wanted to do was curl up on the bed and have a good cry.
Instead, I kept active. Yesterday, in between bailing out the basement with my Wet Vac and arranging for a plumber, I started systematically going through my fabric stash with a merciless eye. I read recently that having TOO MUCH fabric (gasp! is there such a thing?), can stifle creativity. I can see how that just might be true in my case; my sewing room is so crowded that I have to move stacks and piles around just to work on a project. And honestly, scrap quilter that I am, I first go to my precut scraps when it is time to start something new, not to my yardage. Maybe some of my yardage has to go. I made it through three (of 13) drawers of fabric, and picked out 28 fabrics that I can live without. I think. We'll see. I put them in my ETSY shop, and if they sell, great, I can use some help paying for all the expenses that keep piling up around here. If not, well, I guess they were meant to stay mine. So that is my goal, destash another 20-25 fabrics per week and see if that makes a difference in the flow in my creative space.
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| Ever love a fabric but can't figure out how to use it? |
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| I actually have two pieces of this, so it wasn't so painful to list one. |
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| I've had and loved this for YEARS! Why, oh why, haven't I used it? |
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| I have quite a few Judie Rothermel prints; time to share, I guess. |
But for now, as the plumber is busy tinkering in the floodwaters of my basement, I'll go make another sailboat block and envision my destination if I could get on board and sail away...
(If you are interested, I'm selling my fabric at a $5/yard basis, $3 shipping for first items and an additional $1.25 shipping for additional items in an order, but only shipping to US. Check it out. More fabrics to be listed every week. Sigh. I'm doing the right thing, right?)
4 comments:
Ugh! I hope your sewing room was not in the flood zone! Take care. Things will get better soon.
When I was growing up, we had a basement that flooded every time it rained and it didn't have to rain much either. Our house was at the top of a very high hill but the water rose up through the sewer. It got worse as more houses were built on our street which had been a dead end with only four houses. My doll house was too often a victim until I moved it to the ping pong table. The washing machine and later the big freezer were hit too. I think at the end we were getting two to three feet. Finally I guess enough people complained that more sewers were added. Other friends had "rec rooms" in their basements but we had a musty hole. I can really sympathize. I too have a lot of fabric I don't know how to use. None of it wwas bought but came from friends thinning their stashes. I have to teach a class in January and am trying to think of a pattern that would be good for a beginner at hand sewing. not take too long to do, and use up some of that fabric.
Hang in there friend.
I am having the same issue with the stash, but there are just certain fabrics that I love and I have become a closet hoarder. I finally started going through my sewing room. Can see the floor for the first in maybe 2 years. I knew I had one bin of Kaffe Fassett fabric, but found a bag with the equivalent of another bin on Sunday. I found 10 fabrics that I am giving up. I wish I could give up more. the one saving grace in all of this is that I have joined a group making baby/toddler quilts for children living at a shelter. And boy, do I ever have fabric to make those quilts. Hang in there. It will get better. This has been a difficult year for me as well, but it does get better with time. Hang in there! Robin
If those fabrics don't sell, try turning them into pre cuts, and, then you might use them.
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