Does anybody get overwhelmed by their stash?
#52
Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 55
Hi Jeanne, What is the pattern you most think about? Get all of the fabric for that pattern, and only that pattern, put it in a tote, and that's the one you can work on now. When you get tired,or need a change, go to the "stash room" and go through it a little at a time, knowing you have a quilt waiting in the other room, will keep both jobs separate. Good Luck!
#53
I use to not have a stash. I would buy enough fabric for one quilt and just make it. When I was done, I would buy fabric for another quilt and make it. And so forth. Then I started collecting fabric. Now my spare bedroom lost the bed and nightstand and dresser and I put in bookcases and storage units and rubbermaid tubs and two long tables and a long dresser with a rectangular ironing board on top and 4 irons and the closet is plum full of batting and under the tables is full of fabric and everywhere I look is full of fabric. I have fabric from floor to ceiling.
I am not getting any quilting done. I am overwhelmed. I can't decide what to do. Too many choices. I have quite a few BOMs every month and am behind in every one. I have one from last year that I never even started and have all 12 blocks still in their bags.
What can I do? I go into my sewing room and plan on doing a certain quilt, but get sidelined by all my fabric lines and patterns and end up petting and rearranging my fabric and then shutting the light off and closing the door. I so wish I would have just bought enough fabric for one quilt at a time. I gave away so many kits (probably 30) to help me reduce my load, but I end up finding more fabric I just have to have and my room is plum full again.
Help me figure out how I can start sewing again!!
I am not getting any quilting done. I am overwhelmed. I can't decide what to do. Too many choices. I have quite a few BOMs every month and am behind in every one. I have one from last year that I never even started and have all 12 blocks still in their bags.
What can I do? I go into my sewing room and plan on doing a certain quilt, but get sidelined by all my fabric lines and patterns and end up petting and rearranging my fabric and then shutting the light off and closing the door. I so wish I would have just bought enough fabric for one quilt at a time. I gave away so many kits (probably 30) to help me reduce my load, but I end up finding more fabric I just have to have and my room is plum full again.
Help me figure out how I can start sewing again!!
#54
It really helped me to get all my fabric out of miscellaneous totes, tuppers and bags. Now that it is folded on shelves I have a much better idea of what I do have and can relatively easily find what I need for whatever project I'm doing. Also this way I can see that I don't have enough of something if I can't remember how much of that pretty blue and green batik I used on that quilt last summer. LOL! Now I still need to reorganize periodically as stacks get shuffled with pulling out fabric to audition for projects. And I need a better method of storing my scraps, but that's a project in itself.
#56
Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 67
What overwhelms me, is the huge number of fabric companies, the huge number of designers, the huge number of new fabric collections, the huge number of new rulers, gadgets, thread, the huge marketing push for us to NEED one of everything. It is this marketing that I have to take a step back from, including fabric shop newsletters, and magazines, which, let's face it, are selling more than teaching, at least to us who have been quilting for a decade.
I guess what I am saying, is that I am more overwhelmed by the push to think I need to constantly buy, more than I am by my huge existing stash. Best advice that I ever received was to get grounded by choosing a smallish (new) project, and working only on it, forgetting everything else, and regain the lovely satisfaction of completing it. And I also like to think back to when quilting was truly using whatever fabric the person could get their hands on.
I guess what I am saying, is that I am more overwhelmed by the push to think I need to constantly buy, more than I am by my huge existing stash. Best advice that I ever received was to get grounded by choosing a smallish (new) project, and working only on it, forgetting everything else, and regain the lovely satisfaction of completing it. And I also like to think back to when quilting was truly using whatever fabric the person could get their hands on.
#58
Maybe you could make quilt kits and sell those. I am always looking at quilt kits online. I haven't bought one yet because there are so many out there and I can't decide what I want to try first. I have problems deciding what combination of fabrics go together. The baby quilt I recently finished I bought a set of FQ's that were already paired up. Other than than I have worked on blacks/whites. If you decide to make kits or group things together for sell, let me know I for one would be interested in helping you de-stash!
I use to not have a stash. I would buy enough fabric for one quilt and just make it. When I was done, I would buy fabric for another quilt and make it. And so forth. Then I started collecting fabric. Now my spare bedroom lost the bed and nightstand and dresser and I put in bookcases and storage units and rubbermaid tubs and two long tables and a long dresser with a rectangular ironing board on top and 4 irons and the closet is plum full of batting and under the tables is full of fabric and everywhere I look is full of fabric. I have fabric from floor to ceiling.
I am not getting any quilting done. I am overwhelmed. I can't decide what to do. Too many choices. I have quite a few BOMs every month and am behind in every one. I have one from last year that I never even started and have all 12 blocks still in their bags.
What can I do? I go into my sewing room and plan on doing a certain quilt, but get sidelined by all my fabric lines and patterns and end up petting and rearranging my fabric and then shutting the light off and closing the door. I so wish I would have just bought enough fabric for one quilt at a time. I gave away so many kits (probably 30) to help me reduce my load, but I end up finding more fabric I just have to have and my room is plum full again.
Help me figure out how I can start sewing again!!
I am not getting any quilting done. I am overwhelmed. I can't decide what to do. Too many choices. I have quite a few BOMs every month and am behind in every one. I have one from last year that I never even started and have all 12 blocks still in their bags.
What can I do? I go into my sewing room and plan on doing a certain quilt, but get sidelined by all my fabric lines and patterns and end up petting and rearranging my fabric and then shutting the light off and closing the door. I so wish I would have just bought enough fabric for one quilt at a time. I gave away so many kits (probably 30) to help me reduce my load, but I end up finding more fabric I just have to have and my room is plum full again.
Help me figure out how I can start sewing again!!
#59
Well, here I am still sitting here reading, and haven't even gotten out of the first set of entries on this forum. Such good ideas, and so appropos to me. I am right in there with all of you, ladies. And I am going to go out to my sewing room and work on a project TODAY.......
One day last month, I asked my DIL to go out to my sewing room with me and get started on reorganizing, because I wanted to sponsor a quilting class in March. We did it, I sent out invitations to my MARCH EXTRAVANGANZA, got all the preparations in place to have three work or cutting stations set up; March 3rd came; cold and snowy (we live in a very rural area) and no one showed up except my sister who is going to be one of my teachers. Well, you know what we did. We went out to my sewing room to clean and rearrange, etc. and found one of my WIPs from about two years ago. What a joy. We started searching and pulling out, found everything that I had already done on it, figured out what needed to be done to work on it some more; and enjoyed the best day you ever heard of, just lovely sister-time that we never seem able to find. And I am out of my slump. Can't wait to get out there every day now. Someday, when I figure out how to post pics, I'll do that. And to the one who told me how to do it in a post a week or so ago, I still have your directions sticky-noted to my computer screen.....thanks.
One day last month, I asked my DIL to go out to my sewing room with me and get started on reorganizing, because I wanted to sponsor a quilting class in March. We did it, I sent out invitations to my MARCH EXTRAVANGANZA, got all the preparations in place to have three work or cutting stations set up; March 3rd came; cold and snowy (we live in a very rural area) and no one showed up except my sister who is going to be one of my teachers. Well, you know what we did. We went out to my sewing room to clean and rearrange, etc. and found one of my WIPs from about two years ago. What a joy. We started searching and pulling out, found everything that I had already done on it, figured out what needed to be done to work on it some more; and enjoyed the best day you ever heard of, just lovely sister-time that we never seem able to find. And I am out of my slump. Can't wait to get out there every day now. Someday, when I figure out how to post pics, I'll do that. And to the one who told me how to do it in a post a week or so ago, I still have your directions sticky-noted to my computer screen.....thanks.
#60
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Seward Alaska
Posts: 319
I have been telling my husband for years that I was collecting for retirement and now it is 3 months away and what am I going to do. Work in a quilt store full time and may be taking it on permanently. More fabric than I will ever get to quilt, now its my daughters inheritance since she is learning to quilt. Grandson (21 months) also likes to help grandma sew as well. So don't think it will go to waste. Now I can be more selective on what I buy, my stash is built.
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