My 2019 Sewing Goal: Noticeably (how's that for a measurable goal?) decrease the amount of fabric in my sewing room.
Quite original, I know. None of you have ever said that before! After a year with several large quilt finishes (most of which I have not blogged about yet, but I will!) my fabric inventory appears unaltered. This is the current state:
Fat quarters and precuts:
And there's boxes and bags of scraps too!
Now, I appreciate that this may not look like much fabric to some of you but to me it is overwhelming. The fear that I will never "sew through" all of this is a recurring theme. I'm not really concerned about the scraps, it is all the yardage and fat quarters that seem daunting. As I think about what specific actions I will take to achieve my goal I am considering the following:
- Sew more, smaller quilts probably for donation. I have a fair amount of bright and printed fabrics that make me happy in my stash. However, I just don't have a lot of demand for pink, purple and cute motifs in my regular quilt audience. There is a children's hospital nearby that will take quilts for patients and their families.
- Pillowcases! I can envision making a sizable dent in some of the cute fabric for pillowcases to be donated to that hospital.
- Bags and pouches are much faster than a quilt to complete and I have ideas about who to gift them to and where I might sell some.
- No fabric shopping unless needed to complete a project that is greater than 50% from stash. (Let's see how long this works out!)
- Figure out how to do a destash on Instagram for some fat quarter bundles and charm packs that have been sitting around too long.
Other suggestions?? As you might gather, in the scheme of life's big picture, I don't take any of this too serious. On the other hand, I am quite sure I will feel much lighter if I do end 2019 with some space on the shelves...to buy new fabric!
Wishing you a peaceful holiday season and all the best for 2019.
Kathy
Those are great ideas! I especially like the idea of sewing more, smaller quilts for donation. I stall out on bigger quilts all the time and then they torment me. But I can finish a small throw or baby quilt easily. Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteI agree that I feel lighter when I can use from my stash and make room. I hope that you have fun working on your goal in 2019 and thank you for linking up with the Planning Party!
ReplyDeleteLOL! Oh lordy your made me bust up as I read your last sentence! I too get overwhelmed with too much stash.I just "bagged" all my projects....thinking of a way to destash, like you said, those colors or fabrics we've outgrown. Glad you'll be blogging more too! (ANd how's that new sewing room!!):)
ReplyDeleteWell, you could set yourself the goal of no fabric-buying in 2019.... unless it's ABSOLUTELY necessary. I did this in 2018 and am walking around with a big smile because I DID IT! I made 13 quilts and only bought once, to continue with WIPS, and finish quilts. I'm telling you... just unsubscribe from all the online quilt shops, and you too can do it! It's such a GOOD feeling, though I must admit... my shelves don't have any more space. How does that happen?
ReplyDeleteGood luck with goal number 4 ! I understand the feeling of too much weight with fabric. I have been making great efforts to use some of it up in donation quilts etc. Lately I've mostly been buying solids on sale to use as background fabric for the rest of it....but I did buy lots of fabric for quilts for my kids....it seems to be a never ending circle.
ReplyDeleteLove your humor shining through in your goal setting. Though it is a very worthy goal and I truly hope you can make it. To me it always feels fantastic to be ligher after decluttering so I hope this is similar for you. And the perspective of new, untainted fabric buying options in the future... if that is no motivation :)
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