NikkiLu

I have told this story on here before. My BFF passed away and left two bedrooms and a basement full of fabric, etc. - she worked at a fabric store and was "paid in fabric". She and I had been BFF's for over 45 years and have sewn, quilted, etc. together the whole time. Her sister even had a long arm machine business. When she died, her husband BURNED fabric for 2 whole days before I found out about it. Luckily, I was able to get all of her fabric in the closets of the two bedrooms, but am just sick about the fabric that he burned, as it sure would have made some wonderful charity quilts. Guess he was just sick of the "mess".

AlvaStitcher

Quiltngolfer, Sorry for your loss. Prayers for you.

maviskw

This is the most important thread I have ever seen. I'm sewing as fast as I can to get rid of the scraps. The whole yard stuff will be easy enough to sell or give away.
There are many missions all over the world who need fabric to teach young girls to sew. They need sewing machines, too. Some of them would like sewing machines that don't plug into a socket. There is the Christian Appalachian Project, The Sewing Machine Project, The Franciscan Missions, and I'm sure there are more that would love to have sewing supplies.
We have several churches and groups near here who take whatever fabric they can get their hands on and make quilts for charity. My children will know about those.
Thanks for starting this thread. I hope our "stash" finds a good home after we are gone.

Here's a good place for this cute poem I've had for many years. I know it from memory. (Well, almost.)

Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better
To paint a picture or write a letter?
Bake a cake or plant a seed;
Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time
With rivers to swim and mountains to climb.
Music to hear and books to read,
Friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must but the world's out there
With the sun in your eyes and the wind in your hair,
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,
This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must but bear in mind,
Old age will come and it's not kind.
Then when you go, and go you must,
You, yourself, will make more dust. Author unknown.

solstice3

I did the same for a friend... Fabric, yarn, craft supplies, teaching supplies and cookbooks. It is so sad when a spouse is lost let alone dealing with all that!

QuiltQtrs

My stash is gradually diminishing ... as I vowed to make 2015 the year to use what I have and refrain from buying
more fabric. Basically am making simple Baby/Lap size tops with easy/quick blocks. Completed 3 Irish Chain
tops this week...
This month brought my 81st birthday ... so it's time!

RedGarnet222

I agree ladies wholeheartedly. I promise to try and get some of the ufo's finished and gone. Thanks for the reminder.

My sis and I had the job of clearing out my mom's home. It was a crying shame what became of some real treasures no one wanted. She loved beautiful clothes and home furnishings.

I will say this, she spread some things out before she passed on. One smart cookie.

quiltjoey

I'm quilting what I can. My husband knows what to do with my machines. A few of my friends will take what they want and the rest can go to my guild. My children and GC do not quilt or even know which side of a sewing machine to use anyway! They will just look at one another and say, "What was Mom/Gramma thinking?. LOL!!!!!

pjaco

Thank you for sharing this poem, I love it ! That's me in a nut shell, no regrets.

mckwilter

My sister, daughter and best friend will have the fun and heartache of divvying up all my sewing/quilting stuff. I have slowed my fabric purchases this past year, but have a collection of precuts that is getting bigger. I'm going to have to start making some quilts from the layer cakes. A little sashing (1-1/4" precut strips) and you have a nice size lap quilt!

Mamaw322

Thank you for this post. I am so sorry about your friend, I know you will have a huge job ahead of you. I don't have a huge stash (my house is too tiny!) but I do have some very pretty fabrics on my shelf that I have been reluctant to use. Your post convinced me to use my fabrics!