confessions of a fabric hoarder


















I sorted through my fabric stash. What can I say? My name is Christina, I am a fabric hoarder.

On Saturday I decided to wash all my quilting fabric so I would be able to use it anytime. I had no idea I had quite that many fat quarters. Honestly, I didn't. They were hiding in boxes. Before the wash, I bundled them up neatly to keep collections together and to minimise entanglement. This was a complete waste of time as you can see in the top photo. I actually had two Ikea bags of tangled up fabric. You have no idea how long it took me to iron those fat quarters. I have never in my life spent such a long time ironing in such a short period of time. I hope I never will again. However, it was worth every minute, the neat piles are very pleasing to my eye and soothing for my soul.

The colours come as a slight surprise. Green is not my favourite colour and yet I seem to have more green fat quarters than fat quarters of any other colour. The reds are underrepresented, which is a surprise. The blues are underrepresented, too. I love to wear dark blues but it appears not to be true for my quilting fabric needs. Generally, there is a preponderance of bright colours, which is me. But I am pleased that my subconscious self made me acquire many pale fat quarters, it makes it easy to play with colour value.

The tangled mess: what first annoyed me turned out to be quite liberating. I had a few entire collections, which I am now unable to pick out from the piles as a whole. I have freed myself of the self imposed need to keep the collections together and can now play with the fabrics as I please.

I am not sure what I am going to make, I have some thinking scheduled into my busy life to come up with a plan. There is enough fabric for at least four large quilts. Did I mention the many dress making remnants that can also be used? There is no particular rush of course, the fabric has been sitting in boxes for a long time and won't go wander off anytime soon. In the meantime, I am going to use all the small scraps I have also collected for a while to make something beautiful. I have been a busy bee cutting these scraps into manageable small strips. I can't wait to show you.

It looks like my clothes sewing season is coming to an end and my quilt making season is coming into full swing... it is a bit early and I still want to sew a cape. The shorts however will have to wait for next year.

Thanks for stopping by and saying hello. Thanks to you all I now know that butter in jam making prevents excessive foaming. I did wonder why my jam didn't boil over when I made it. Have a great day. xx

Comments

  1. Oh my that is the most satisfying job ever. Now you can see all the squares and make up the colour runs. Happy Quilting. Jo x

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  2. Goodness, what an enormous heap of fabric, though you are only a true hoarder if you don't do anything with it for a few years! Perhaps you have lots of green because you don't use it. I sorted mine out and put it into drawers so that now I can pull open the drawer and see exactly what's there. It also limited the amount I kept, which was a good thing.

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  3. What a delicious pile of fabric. I can spy a few prints in there that we share in common :). I'm really looking forward to seeing what you make.

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  4. My goodness that must have been a labour of love. But don't they look wonderful now, just like a crafting shop. Bet you are enjoying the planning of that new quilt. Wonder what shaped pieces you will do this time? B x

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  5. I hate ironing and do as little as possible. Ironing as much as you did would almost make me give up quilting.
    Love green as a decorating color, but haven't got a single piece of green clothing. I mostly wear blues and blacks.

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  6. Wow, you're an ironing machine! Good job. I love the way you stacked them so neatly. Someday, I'll have space to store a nicer stash of fabrics. For now, I just have a couple of desk drawers full, but I'd enjoy having more.

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  7. You're not a hoarder but a collector! What a lovely stash of fabric you have. I don't quilt and as for my knitting, I don't have a stash. But when it comes to dishes, I have cupboards full. It's OK to have a passion for something. I'm sure the quilts will be lovely and fun to make. Pat xx

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  8. Wow look at all those pretty prints! Can't wait to see what you're working on

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  9. Wow, what a lovely fabric collection. So many possibilities! I shall look forward to seeing what you make next. CJ xx

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  10. Admittedly, I am not a crafter and have no sewing talent whatsoever, but your colorful collection looks great and now that it's organized, you will surely find it easier to find a color. Green is not my favorite color, but it still is lovely.

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  11. This is wonderful timing - I was just telling my sister today that I feel I ought to get rid of my fat quarter stash, but can't bring myself to do it because I love being able to pull something out of the pile whenever I want a bit of fabric! She encouraged me to keep it as I might want to make another quilt someday. (That's what sisters are for.) My collection doesn't really reflect my tastes either, but I do like everything in it.

    Congratulations on all that ironing. What a pretty collection of prints - I see as much orange as green, and lots of other lovely colours too.

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  12. There is something wonderfully satisfying about all those beautifully neat colour grouped fabrics but I'm glad I wasn't the one doing the ironing! I look forward to seeing what you make.

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  13. Your seriously have a gorgeous stash of fabrics there! Love all those beautiful hues. Four quilts.....you will be a busy lady. As you reminded me just recently, one can never have too many quilts. =)

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  14. That looks fabulous now, I now realise I don't have that much fabric after all ;) When you put them back you could place them on their sides in shoe boxes for easy access, Kondo style. xx

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  15. That is certainly a sight for sore eyes, such a wonderful collection of fabric. Looking forward to seeing what you create. Once again thank you for those beautiful Harris Tweed cut offs, perfect for making cards and toppers.

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Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

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