Ok, getting back to the subject at hand...
Stash
In the early part of the year, I was doing pretty well not feeding my stash. (key word: was) At one point, I actually saw a dent in my stash. I even took a photo to prove it.
It was a happy, happy event, albeit short-lived. August came and I had very little sewing time, but I had a lot of stash acquisitions. (Funny how that works!) Here are some of my new additions....
Children at Play fabric purchased from the lovely Thimbleanna from her little shop. This is such lovely fabric! I can't wait to play! This is a mere 16 of the 50 fabrics (!!) in the line. I love how cute it is, and still so versatile. The colors are right up my alley! Lots of good basics!
I bought this stack at Craft's Direct in Waite Park, MN. The argyle fabric (by Robert Kaufman) was a mere $3 yard!!! How on earth could I not stock up?? I bought enough for a few quilt backs, trying to think ahead to what I would most likely need/use. These are my colors, so it should be no problem! The top two fabrics were deeply discounted as well. Hurray! This trip set me back 19 yards. I learned a valuable lesson...it's better not to tally up the yardage.
These are from my favorite quilt shop ever, which closed last week. I'm soooo sad. I only bought a few things...this was actually from 2 different trips! So, at least I showed some restraint there.
I was gifted some fabric, which is always lovely! These are from my BFF Tara, for my birthday. This is some of the new Denyse Schmidt line from JoAnn's. I must be living under a rock, because I didn't even realize that she had any new stuff out. I LOVE IT! Blue and green. Mmmm, good!
My dear friend Cindy heard I was lacking PINK fabric in my stash, and she sent me a generous care package to help me out in my plight. She sent so many gorgeous things-so many different prints! It's so nice to have friends take care of you! Thank you Cindy and Tara!
There was more fabric, but that's the bulk of it. I guess all in all, not terrible. But still several quilts worth!
(Now that I blogged about them, I can let these babies mingle in my stash. Anyone else do that???)
WIP's
Oh, mylanta. I'm drowning in this area right now! I don't know how I let it get so bad.
I have 5 quilt tops done.
2 nearly completed tops.
I'm hand quilting one.
I have one basted, ready to machine quilt.
Then, I have several in block stages. I store them in donut containers, which works very well. (Don't worry, I don't eat all the donuts. I get the containers from church.) The sad thing is, this isn't all of them. Really, it's frightening. I'm not even counting anymore, which is even more frightening. I'm not counting partly because I have a few projects that I'm not sure if they qualify as WIP's or not. They are kind of in limbo. Or I'm in serious denial. Either way, I'm in deep!
I'm determined to start digging myself out of the hole this month. I'm a finisher...at least I always used to be. It's time to get back on track!
Scraps
SO, I'm curious to know...what is your weak point? Stash, WIP's, or scraps? What area are you doing the best in? Or are you a horrible juggler like me??? ;)
110 comments:
I don't quilt, I make clothing and accessories but I'm a horrible juggler like you are! LOL! I have BINS of scraps, because that is useful fabric there people!!! WIP's are what I'm currently trying to wittle down..somewhat successfully but there are so many. And stash, oh Lord, the stash. It's so out of control we won't even talk about it m'kay? I'd love to hear more about your scrap management though..that always fascinates me!
WIP's are my weakness. Too many ideas, not enough follow through! I still haven't finished my wool quilt you saw at Tara's something like a year and a half ago!
Yummy fabric pick-me-ups for your stash! Especially like the DS prints and the pinks from Cindy:)
I'm in deep too! All areas, stash, WIP and scraps too! My goal is to NOT buy anything unless it is to finish something already a WIP. Good luck to all of us!
I wish I could have a large stash, and go in whenever I get an idea and pull things out... but... I'm so concerned it would build up beyond my wildest imagination, that I try to acquire only when it's going to be used right away... not always efficient, or cost effective, but, there it is... I really do wish, though, that I could stand in front of it and look at an entire rainbow, or at least a lot more than I do have... :(...
LOL!!! it took Elizabeth Hartman's hands to throw out my scraps... i'm a filthy, filthy hoarder of those babies... thank gosh for friends! :P
Xo, H
I've got issues in everyone one of these areas! Ha Ha! I buy fabric because I love it, sometimes I can't bear to part with it, so it sits waiting, I have WIPs because I just had to crack into the idea that sprung into my head at 2am and I have scraps galore because they can always be used and it's such a thrill to make use of it all. Yep....nothing much different this side of the world! Thanks for sharing (as usual!).
My WIP's are my weak point. I have tremendous excitement for each new project that I start. How in the world does that much motivation seem to evaporate the minute the next idea pops into my head?
Wait a minute. I might be asking the wrong girl. :-)
Don't feel bad. You're certainly not in deep alone. In fact, you're in plentiful company and here's a new tag line for you....no quilter left behind.
I think we don't want to get on top of our stashes and WIPS because we don't want to make everyone else look bad. Staying in deep seems the only friendly thing to do, yes??
Ahhhh, funny you should ask! I'm recently retired, this year, April and I'm doing very well on getting UFO/WIP done this year. I am also managing my stash, tracking it and I'm at a negative so far. Using stash for backings for those UFO's sure helps! But scraps? Only this year! Sorta! In the past if there were less than a quarter yard left over, I cut the pieces into strips and I've made several strip quilts. No small pieces. Then this year...I've read so many wonderful useful "systems" for keeping your scraps that I've saved WAY too many. I spent hours today cutting them into usable sizes but...my newest rule is I won't cut anything into a strip unless it is at least 6" long and 1 1/2" wide. The smallest square I'll cut is 2 1/2". But what do do with the ziplock bags of all those smaller useful~to someone, not me~ pieces. For years I threw them away but now it makes me nuts to do that. But I also think I'm nuts to keep them! What a dilemma! Thanks for asking! Toni
I suppose it's all relative, but you look like you're doing good compared me--I'm out of control in every area!
It's beyond me people who say they can't start something new: they have to finish this (one and only) project first. Strike while the iron's hot!
I have lots of WIPs for when inspiration is low.
My stash has migrated out of my sewing room and into the basement family room. I have bins and bins of organized, categorized, color-coordinated stash, as well as leaning tower of pisa stacks of fabric on the the couch in the family room. It's officially out of control. There. I admitted it and I'm going to do something about it.
My weak point is scraps - I can't throw anything away and wind up with buckets full of strings that have yet to find a spider-webby home . . .
Have you considered selling some of your scraps? Even just a portion of them? That way, you make a little money, your scrap pile goes down and they will still get used (not wasted) by someone. I'm sure there are plenty of your followers who would love them. Just a thought.
I just want to offer relief to all of you suffering with too much stash. I would take it off your hands. We make quilt tops for victoriasquilts and would be willing to take surplus quilting cottons!:) really.
Hi, my name is Katherine and I'm a juggler. ;o) Just pinkie promised myself to finish at least one of my quilts this week before I add another "start" to the WIP pile.
Coincidentally, I just posted something similar on my blog before coming to visit you Amanda Jean. LOL
Goodness, it feels good to know I'm not the only one like this.
Oh dear, I have to add more piles. I have the stash of fabric I have rusted. The stash I have printed. The stash I have dyed. PLUS the WIP, regular stash and scraps. I am in worse shape than I thought. :)
I love the quilt top on your ironing board.... is it ready yet?? Would love to see it.
Well I am a new follower. I don't even remember how I came across your blog. I don't usually comment but I am always impressed of everyone's amazing creativity. I had to comment on this though... I have officially joined up with all the perfectionista's with hoarding and collecting and I can see how it could turn into something crazy, lol!! I have tons of scraps omgoodness. I have been acquiring fabric and I don't even know what I am going to use it for but I just thought it was cute. I also have been given some vintage fabric that was so so so much fun to use lately making tons of fall decor for my house like pillows and table runners. I am feeling the urge to make a quilt quilt so hopefully that will make a dent. Anyway, just thought it was cute and I was super impressed with your organizational skills. They were awesome and the laundrey basket with strips look so good. I need to make a scrap quilt but I just don't know if I have enough in one color scheme which I am sure shouldn't matter for a "scrap quilt" but I am just a worry wart like that.
I am happy to say that pregnancy has put me into cleaning mode and I am getting through my WIP's at a admirable rate! Thanks to the baby for putting that into motion because they are OUT of control!
I'm not doing well with anything. I stopped counting WIPs along time ago. My stash is so huge I'm about to move some of it into my daughters room while she's away at college and my scraps, yikes! I have 12 bins, mostly strings!I know I need therapy!!!
I think my stash is my biggest issue...I *love* being able to start a new project without shopping, just pulling fabrics from my magic cabinet. But I also get stressed out sometimes by the amount of fabric I have! I feel like I need to eat away at it and clear some space. A few good pj-bottom making sessions should help!!
I am drowning in fabric, have scraps up to the ceiling, WIPS a plenty, and I'm always up for the latest project I see and usually start it!
But, I don't beat myself up anymore now I just go with it and enjoy the process of sewing and making new quilts. Heck I still get a lot of finishes in all this chaos!
Happy Sewing
I am all of the above, it was just WIP's until I saw what could be done with all those scraps. I have gotten so bad about scraps, I was at a friends house yesterday and saw some yummy scraps in her trash can and I took them! She gave me permission to dig further, she clearly has no problem tossing out scraps, she may never let me in her sewing room again for fear I will dig through her trash again.
Oh, I'm in deep!! I currently have 34 tops that are ready to be quilted! These range from king to lap size. Oh and I have one more that will be ready to quilt in a couple of days....so that will be 35! Just got a huge roll of batting in today so hopefully I can get started quilting these babies up!
WIP's....I have a zillion! That's all I'm saying on that subject!
Scraps and stash...I always try to use my scraps first when starting a new project then I go to the stash if needed. My stash is slowly dwindling away. Hubby lost his job December 2009 so now I am on a LOW buy budget! :(
Have a great evening!
Kristie
I was just having this juggling conversation with someone the other day. You use up stash, it makes WIPS and scraps. Sometimes when you're finishing too many tops and not starting new ones, then you feel like shopping to add to your stash. At least I do. You make me feel so happy, though, although you are nowhere near as deep as I am. I like your system with the donut boxes. I definitely need a better system. And an assistant. Thanks for posting this. :)
You do so well with your juggling act! I love the argyle fabric .. so smart to buy it in bulk for backings. I have so much to learn.
After taking about 8 years off and away from my quilting, I got back into it last October. I made rules for myself, to finish all the UFO's WIP's and PhD's that I had started. To shop from my stash first and to use up as many scraps as possible. I am on a roll for sure. I have also started too many to count quilts this year. I have added lots more to my stash baskets, which are sorted by colors only. But when you use half a FQ, where else is it going to go...the scrap basket. But I am still plugging forward, and making progress. Will I have them all done by the end of the year, I doubt it, but I will have made a huge dent in the projects and the stash. I find if I join mystery quilt alongs here in blog land, that can use a lot of scraps and stash up without buying another piece. Also, any fabric leftover from the front, gets used in the back to keep it from going in the scrap baskets too. So keep on stitching ladies, there is an end. I think what really got me motivated was thinking that I would rather someone used and enjoyed these quilts, than they never ever get finished if something should happen to me. What good was that great quilt idea in my head, if it never actually becomes a quilt. i also work on at least 5 at a time to keep me from getting bored and never finishing them.
I'd have to say by all your pictures you are a wonderful juggler!!!
Everything looks so yummy!!!
I'm in a buying mood right now although to of my WIP's are using up scraps!!!
All of your fabrics and craft room photos looks so organized your bound to have fun with it all!
I'm a lousy juggler! I'm very much in the same boat as you - my stash has grown enormously this summer - not entirely sure how that happened, and I think I'd be scared to spend too much time thinking about exactly what I acquired. My WIPS are hidden all over the place - every now and then I come across one that I had forgotten about entirely. And my scraps! Well they just keep on accumulating, with lots of wonderful plans for scrap quilts and string quilts and stash busters, but before I get started there, I do succumb to inspiration and get something else started, that usually tells me it needs new fabric, becomes a WIP, and adds to the scrap pile!
My greatest weakness is a little Bailey's and milk before bedtime...just kidding! I get an idea for a quilt and MUST BUY THE FABRIC RIGHT NOW even if I don't get to it for a year. I, too, have several quilts in the works and lots of tops done, but not quilted yet. Binding used to be my biggest roadblock to getting a quilt quilted, but now that I can do it pretty well (and completely by machine), I seem to get a lot more projects done. And I do have 3 kids ages 5 and under, so I get up a little before 5am each day so I can have almost an hour of sewing time before I hear the pitter patter of feet. Speaking of that, my baby just started crying right now...it never ends!
I am definately a juggler...
3 quilt tops done
2 almost done
1 binding to finish
2 quilts with blocks cut (some put together)
I have TONS of stash...easily enough for 12 quilts plus all the fabric I have for bags, monster shirts, jammies, etc. I have lots of scraps. I have good intentions of making my first scrappy quilt with them. If only there was more time in the day! So happy to know I am not alone :)
Smiles~Beth
Oh dear, I have way too many of each! I am doing better with the WIPs but there are still too many!
I love your post - and I truely believe you live in my house.... Juggler - yep, that's me, too. Add stress at work and things go even more out of control for me.
You're SO organized! You should be proud.
My fabric is all hidden away in various nooks and cranies of this new house... so I can't even find an accurate tally right now.
...let's just say lots.
http://www.prudentbaby.com/2011/09/scrap-busting-fabric-bowl.html#more
a great stash buster!
Fun post. You are brave to show pictures! My weakness is all 3 of those categories. I've given up trying to completely corral my stash. But I made a big dent in the WIP this spring and summer. I had 5 tops quilted, so now there are only 2 completed tops ready to quilt. But plenty of binding left to put on. And I'm working on a string quilt to use up some of my scraps.
Yes, I do that too....my fabric doesn't get to mingle until I've blogged it. LOL. My weakness is all of the above. My whole craft room is just a mess. I have too much stash and WAYYYY too many WIPs. I won't even tell you how many. It's embarrassing. You're much more organized than I. I just need a bigger room. Haha. My hubby says I'd just fill it up again. He's right.
I have trouble in all those areas! I try not to think about it. I can't believe you only have 5 WIPs! Seriously, only 5 does not constitute a problem!
my last trip to Crafts Direct was 75 yards of Kona solids at $2.99 a yard -- I almost needed a bigger vehicle -- but the colors!!!!
AJ, U seem so organized. Anymore, unless something is truly a 'really' great deal, I try not to buy and use only what I have from my stash. Bonita FL
ditto to you...
only...i'm no where near as talented as you....
at the moment i'm addicted to playing with my strings.. and it is addicting!!
a flyer arrived yesterday.... saying that quilting solids are on 50% off.... so you know what that means???
on and on it goes...
xoxox
eva
Ok. I am definitely not ready to be committed as someone with a scrap problem, at least not yet. This is a good thing because I have serious problems with the other two. I try not to count WIPs. Too frightening. And stash? It's overrunning my dining room. I may have to move.
I love that - best not to total up the yardage! Right now I have all of the above issues. And way more started-quilts than it seems I should have. Now that Becket is officially in school the whole day, I want to be a finisher, too!
As a beginning quilter I am very jealous!! If I need a scrap I have to go buy a fat quarter. I don't have a lot of storage room though but hey, a little fabric can't take up much room, right? LOL
I love that you have lots of burners going at once. How boring would it be to do just one at a time? I'm pretty new to quilting, and still struggle with how much of any given fabric to purchase if I don't have a pattern in hand... Of course I never have a pattern when I stop in at JoAnns and find they've just red tagged a ton of stuff.
Thanks for sharing all your great projects with us.
My weak points are stash and WIP/UFO. What is the difference between a WIP and UFO?
It was fun see all your fabric. Makes me feel not so bad. Not that mine is any less, mind you. LOL
Deborah
Fabric acquisition is my definately weak point! The best thing about juggling is you never get bored or sick of a project! I'm guilty of it a bit, but not near to your extent!
My biggest problem is stash. I have finished a few quilts lately and working on a few others that almost exclusively used scraps or from my stash. That was a great feeling! Unfortunately I have since purchased quite a bit of fabric. I'm trying to only indulge on solids for quilt tops/back so that I will continue to use up the prints that I already have. It's tough when those pesky fabric designers keep coming up with such amazing prints!
P.S. I love your quilt tops!
My weak point is money...I wish I had more so that my sewing room looked like yours with all the projects you have going on...I can only buy and sew one quilt at a time, about once every three months...boo hoo for me!!!
I LOVE it that you calculate what you bought in yardage, not dollars!!!!
Until I started blogging this year, I never bought 'stash' fabric - only 'project' fabric. That changed when I started joining qa's and bees - I needed most variety. Plus I needed to update what little stash I had. So now I do order/buy fabric pretty often, tho I still feel fairly in control.
I am not overly obsessed with saving scraps, but I do have a very large basket full.
Wips are always a concern, but I pretty much finish what I start, though I usually have several projects going at once. I love a good finish, so I only have one finished top laying around - mostly cuz I don't really care about it.
Love all your new additions to your stash! You have been so good lately about staying frugal, so I think you deserved to splurge a bit. I love how organized your WIPs, stash and scraps are! I have to confess that I'm not so good at using scraps, as you know. In fact, I'm tempted to send you another batch - lol. I have gotten my WIPs under better control this year, so I think I only have a couple quilt tops ready to be quilted. I used to have a stash problem, but not so much anymore. I think I'm much pickier about what I buy now, especially since I'm not sewing as much these days.
I'm not sure what my weakness would be. I have three wip going. One is ready for quilting, one is half way quilted and the third is an almost finished top. One more border to go. The stash is pretty organized and I don't keep scraps. In the trash they go. When I am quilting a get a bit spread out. I have little piles of frabic everywhere in the sewing room. I need to go through them to see what I want to keep or toss.
I have a scrap problem...and maybe a "too many ideas, not enough time" problem. I dream about quilts, that can't be normal, huh?! :)
I try to juggle only two.....stash and scraps. Right now, I have the scraps under control, but the stash is overwhelming me. I have fabric hidden in several places. WIPs aren't too bad. I try to keep them at a max of 3.
So, I started quilting 2 1/2 years ago after reading your blog, right? So My issues began at the beginning. I have yet to make a scrap quilt, but I save them all. I buy fabric just because I like it with no plan. And I probably have more WIPs than finished projects. But only a couple of ufos in there, and I haven't really given up on them yet! BFF, you are my enabler, and I love you for it! You made me smile so big!
WIPs ... or rather UFOs. I have so many, but to make myself feel better I have them in clear boxes that are labeled with each project. Then I make an index card for each project with the name, the status, the date I started, and the cards are filed alphabetically. That way if I'm looking for an applique project, I can flip through the cards and find it by glancing at what the status is. At least my WIPs feel a little more organized that way!
I was mainly worried about your donut eating.... thanks for telling where the boxes come from.
Oh, I feel your pain in the scraps area! I'm so bad at using scraps right now - mostly because I never can work out how to divide them up!
Strings? What about those 1" wide bits that aren't long enough to be 'strings'? And selvages? I've got a bunch of them saved, but what does one actually do with them? It's a mystery!
Although I'm pretty shocking at keeping the stash down as well. So many lovely fabrics! So many sales!
My weak point? AHA!
Stashes, WiP’s, scraps, starting new projects, buying new fabrics!
I’m curious to see your scrap string quilt!
I never considered myself a stasher/collector... but this year I have bought more fabric than I have used. All with brilliant plans of course but still not used!
I also have a few WIP's that need to be organised!
Children at Play has been one of my recent additions too. LOVE it!
<>
everything, enough fabric but constantly seeing more nice. WIPs... toooooo many... scraps: just one bag but they keep growing...
WIPs... I don´t want to count them. I love piecing the tops but when it comes to quilting I´ve suddenly got soo many ideas for new quilts and patterns ;-)
But I´m good at scraps. I only keep fabric that ist bigger than 2,5 x 2,5 and give the smaller rest to a friend´s friend who does appliqué a lot. She would only take fabric that is at least the size of a 1 Euro - coin so I throw smaller pieces away (and feel bad doing so -how silly is that?)
I had to visit the dictionary to find the word juggler, it's "sjonglør" in Norwegian, like a sircus artist? Well, my big trouble is getting quilts finished, I have indeed too many WISPs (slow progress, you know).
And all those nice and ugly scraps... Buying new fabric: I have been very clever lately only to buy socalled "basics" - lol!
I am definitely in the " horrible juggler" group. My problem is more in the WIP area though. When I see those lovely scraps, before I know what is what, they have become another WIP. I refuse to count them!! Yes, that is denial, but I am comfortable with that! ;0)
Ok better sit down. I am a juggler and probably not a good one.
I currently have 16 WIP ( 3 are BOM). 37 tops that need to be quilted. 65 kits/fabrics pulled for specific projects and that does not the stash that is there just because. I have a small dresser drawer full of precuts.
I am in the process of cutting up my scraps so I can just grab them and sew. I used to have a couple of small plastic containers and I recently bought a three drawer cart for my scraps and I need another one. :) Yep I have a problem. I work in a quilt shop so I am always falling in love with some new fabric that has to come home with me.
Hi! Thank you for sharing your sewing studio, your beautiful fabrics and great ideas to store them!
Scraps are my biggest problem. I have so many ideas for new quilts that I rarely get around to using the scraps so they just pile up - and up and up...
I have been in total acquisition mode all summer. A new granddaughter in may has made for a lovely summer of weekends hugging and rocking but not too much sewing., except for all the pillows on her window seat and the crib skirt and burp cloths.
I enjoyed the studio tour, its so hr to keep them that way!
Oh, Juggler 100% I'm in the same boat. I like your doughnut box way of sorting your block phase quilts! I have these sort of barrel shaped containers that are clear also from the pretzles my kids like from costco. I keep telling myself and my husband if he would just let me get one of those gigantic cube shelves from ikea, the sewing corner would be organized and beautiful. It feels good to finish old projects. Infact I'm ALMOST done with one wall hanging that has been a WIP for 7 years. I'm chalking it up to the fact that my first kid just started kindergarden.
My weekness is all of the above. This summer I have not sewn too very much. I have several WIPs all around my room (sure wish I was as organized as you in that area)and I keep buying more fabrics because I get new ideas and more deals on my favorite fabrics. Did I mention I am very unorganized????
My favorite line was "I was on top of this, too, but things have spiraled downward. It doesn't take long!" YES indeed! I am horrible at all three right now, I am not going to even confess anything...it would be just way to hard to find a place to start and end and well the comment box just isn't big enough! Love your new room and love your organization...you have given me some great ideas! As always thanks for your insights and encouragement!
hugs
tricia
LOL my verification is medec...haha not spelled right but close enough I need help!
Ha! I am on the opposite side of the fence as you. Right now I have less than half a dozen WIP's in progress. And my stash is showing a slight dwindling. Except I just purchased some Michael Miller *Coastal* yesterday (oh - how could I resist the beach?) Although my sewing room is a disaster, due to some redecorating projects going on around the house. there is also a humanitarian effort going on in my neighborhood. Some ladies are sewing simple quilts to donate to charity. Their goal is 200 for the year. They are needing fabric. I just might need to let go of some of my fabric to help them along.
I'm juggling all three right now too. *sigh*
Like others, my weak point is definitely all of the above. The scraps, WIPs, and stash are steadily expanding, even though I feel like I'm a pretty diligent quilter.
ONE quilt produces quite a bit of leftover "scraps" so I think we're always going to be organizing and "FILING" the leftovers...so that we can use them later. Just the nature of things. More quilts....more scraps. I just bought a new plastic drawer organizer hoping I can organize my scraps a little differently. ;/ I'm a sucker for CHEAP and this thing was cheap.
definitely WIPs...many close to finished but lacking binding or tops done but no decision on borders or backing...or I wasn't happy with it and was to disgusted to go on, LOL!
I am a complete fabric-holic! Really, it's ridiculous. I find pretty patterns and just have to buy it. My stash is stored in plastic tubs, and fills an entire bookshelf. Unless you count the Christmas fabric, which fills up the drawers of an entire dresser! Holy cow!
My least favorite thing to do is free motion quilting. I find it extremely difficult on my little (although lovely) Viking machine. How I long for a long-arm!
I haven't bought any fabric in over 2 years! That is not to say that my fabric stash has not increased! My friends all give me their leftovers because they "know" that I'll be able to use them in a quilt. And, mostly- I do!! My scrap system is in good order and makes it easy to pull fabrics for a project. This year I have completed about 50 quilts- baby, lap,twin and queen sizes. I still have 52 quilt tops ready to quilt and "kits" that I've made up with patterns and fabric I chose and cut for the project all in a big ziploc bag ready to sew! My biggest challenge- all the amazing quilt patterns and photos out there that I "must" download and make!! Oh, well- it's not like I'm spending any money to make these!!!
I cleaned out my sewing room a couple weeks ago and I threw out anything smaller than a 5-inch square. I have boxes of 5-inch squares btw. The one exception to this rule was the boxes of selvages I've kept for some future to-be-determined project.
I know the purge may be sacrilegious to some, but it helped me get organized and made me realize that I am in fact making a dent in my stash.
My biggest weakness is fat quarters, and I've been using those to make scrap quilts of late. At one point I also had fabric to make a dozen baby quilts and I don't even have one child. So whenever I'm invited to a baby shower I make a quilt out of my stash. I've cut that portion of my stash in half in about a year.
Stash!!! I'm a just-in-case kinda person. "Just in case I get a brilliant idea at 9pm"! Don't want to have to wait for the stores to open the next morning. This applies to ALL my crafty interests. Thankfully I have a very understanding husband.
I juggle too. I'm not as likely to build my stash with large quantities of fabric since I'm cheap and quality fabric is not. But I have more fabric than I'm using, more than one main project I'm working on and many more ideas that I want to try out. I'm hoping that now that kids are in school I can do a bit more sewing in the mornings. I enjoy the blog. Thanks.
hmmm...WIP's or stash? which is worse for me? i rarely buy more than 1/4 yd of any fabric. i only get 1/2 yds if i have to because the shop won't sell FQ's. and i keep complicating my WIP's so they never seem to get done. i don't have a hard time giving away scraps, so that isn't as much a problem (i keep adding to the baggie that i have saved for you--so i haven't sent it yet).
i think WIP is my hardest category. that's what a i struggle with every day that i sew. "which project should i tackle today?"
Wow -- what a post Ms. Crazy! And what a fun peek into your world. Thanks for the shout out -- I can't wait to see how you'll use those Children. My best area is scraps -- I can handle them as I don't feel the need to save the teeniest of pieces. Like you though, my stash and WIPs are outta control -- I'm blaming the internet!
STASH. definitely, my scraps are very organized and i have a great plan for them. My UFOs and WIPs are under control, for now.
All 3 are weaknesses for me :) I'm starting to reorganize my stash & surprised myself by finding some pretties I forgot I even had! I have 15-20 photoboxes with WIPs in them, 8-10 tops finished but not layered, 3 in layered/quilting state...
Scraps...I can't let ANY fabric be thrown away! Even the trimmings from HSTs or straightening yardage are bagged according to project-I get clear ornaments and stuff with the trims. Right now, scraps are smoewhat limited to 3 bins, but I plan on ironing and cutting them to useable bits.
My scraps are in control yet out of control if you know what I mean. Just too many of them but all color sorted.Since I've been following your blog I tend to save every little bit for some future purpose. But wait maybe it's my WIP's or should I say wish WIP's because they aren't actually cut out yet. Just piles of patterns, books and fabric with future plans of some sort.I'm a pattern and book junkie.OK. OK. It's probably all 3 catagories that need work. hehehe.
I always thought I was doing well keeping up, but currently I have three tops to go to the long-arm quilter, 7 quilt sandwiches waiting for me to machine/hand quilt and 5, not 6 wips. I really don't know how that happened, it's crazy, sigh. My sewing machine just came back from a service and so I think I'm going to try and finish quilting one a week just to get on top of things. The new DS fabric hasn't arrived here yet in Christchurch, but it is coming and I want some of that. Then I have a quilt in my head using colours of vintage games. Oh I forgot I have two hand quilting projects too. Ooops. Yeah I'm a fail at the moment finishing things off.
What a great post! I have all these and another "problem area" you didn't mention - thread. Shall I just say I got an incredible bargain on ebay and repeated it 3 times so I have hundreds of reels of my favourite thread (It is discontinued so I had to buy it while I could!)
As for the other three - my worst area is fabric. I have been quilting for nearly 30 years and sewing for even longer so I have a lot of accumulated stash and I have a Liberty tana lawn habit which i seem unable to break!
My WIP's are not so bad for 30 years worth of work - I finish most of what I start - eventually!
Over the years I have created a huge amount of scraps. I love scrap quilts and make little else but the pile rarely gets smaller as each quilt produces even more. I have started taming my scraps of Liberty tana Lawn by selling them in my Etsy shop (AnniesPatch). I find it's a great way of removing the temptation to start another scrap project and helps the coffers at the same time.
It's been great reading all the comments and I feel encouraged to do a bit more finishing off and stashbusting!
Looks like we should have a stash busting project, or something. I have more stash than anything, though I would like more scraps since I want to make a nine patch scrap quilt and a pinwheel scrap quilt.
Wow, you did great! I worked at a quilt shop a few years back and I have TUBS of fabric! I really need to go through everything I have and either use it or donate it. Keep up the good work!
Um, my weak point? All of the above and more. I can hardly resist quilt alongs also, so that doubles my amount of WIPs. I haven't organized my stash for quite sometime now and that actually keeps me from buying more. When I organize it all i almost always think I'm lacking in some colors or styles. So I'll just keep working on finishing things in a lovely unorganized fashion for now. Maybe when winter comes. Love your sewing room. Happy creating!
It's the only way I know how to juggle! Right now my frustration is quilting stuff in every single room (other than the bathroom.) It's taking over!
Ladies as a beginning quilter I sure could use some of those extra scraps, lol. I'd be happy to take them off your hands. Nancy
Leave no scrap behind!! I had completely forgotten about that!!
The stash pile gets smaller and the scrap pile gets larger. It is a vicious cycle as to where the most is sitting. I am determined to get rid of the scraps before I purchase another piece of fabric and so far I have been good. I wonder how long that will last.
Wow, lots of great works and supplies. I once went to great effort and finished absolutely everything, had zero works in progress. Then I was immediately depressed. I try to stay in balance; right now the works in progress are ahead of me, and the intended projects with due dates are starting to loom. Projects seem to multiply. The more I sew the farther behind I seem to get. Don't have much of a stash, though a generous friend recently let me pick and choose out of her bins and I got about 30 yards of fabric, but that's the bulk of my stash. I have one bag of scraps; I relegate them to "fabric trash" to be used as stuffing when they are very small, but the medium ones get used pretty quickly, partly because I am often teaching beginning quilters who feel bad about cutting into big pieces of fabric.
I'm pretty new so I don't have a lot in anything. I would say my worst is WIP because I've been so busy lately, so I haven't gotten as much done as I would like. I love how you use scraps!! When I have enough, you've given me several ideas about what to do with them. Thanks!!
I unfortunately seem to have a 3 way tie....wah wah wah
I have been buying a lot of fabric lately - just trying to do my part to boost the economy, right?!? But my problem is that I desperately need to organize my stash and scraps (and WIPs, come to think of it), so I can do a better job of knowing what I need to buy to finish projects. But, like you, I get inspired by an idea, and I have a hard time letting go of the new idea to finish the old ones. Hurricane Irene inspired me to finish a storm-at-sea quilt that I started almost 2 years ago as a wedding present - setting a deadline of my friend's 2nd anniversary is helping me make progress. Also, I'm hoping to piece a top this weekend for a friend's baby quilt - especially since baby is due in October. And then, there's the rest of the nursery set for a friend whose baby was born in February - I made all the baby parts, but toddler bed parts and quilt are now due, since the baby will soon be old enough to use them. And then there's the charity quilts I have planned! Yes, juggling is hard, isn't it?!? Clearly we need more time quilting! :)
The vast majority of creative people have to be multi-taskers. We can't have just one project going, our brains won't let us. My biggest problem is stash. I could probably open my own fabric shop out of my sewing room. I have a WIP problem, too. I can think of 9 partials sittin' on my table right now. It's sad...
My issue at the moment is WIPs (not all quilty though), and I can't help but continuously adding more projects to my to do list. It'd be great if I finished a feww off first!
Let's see... guilty for all three! Podium: 1st is certainly WIP (of all kind); 2nd is stash, I'm compelled to buy a nice fabric, and there are many; scraps are 3rd, just because it's actually a consequence of the first two... I'm hopeless!
I'm also a very lousy juggler, I don't dare count my wips, the scraps I save in big apple boxes to be sorted into clear shoe boxes by color...but only bought one shoe box per color...so haven't even started sorting yet! As for stash, I have never said no to a new fabric...ever...even the ugliest of polyesters and fake furs!
I try and cut my scraps to certain sizes eg 2 1/2" and then I have heaps for Bonnie Hunters "Leaders and Enders" and I can just sew a few when I have 5 minutes to myself
I have a few WIP, that is my problem...but then I see a quilt I would like to make and think "I am going out to purchase the fabric for that" and then it just sits....so I do not do that anymore, as of last week, LOL...I really think twice or three times and then decide not to go buy fabric...I also add to my stash...I try to buy a FQ when I am out...not sure that is good either, but I need to build up my colors that I am lacking...I just have a question to ask you...you make alot of quilts...what do you do with them when they are completed....thank you....
For me, its juggling between quilting and my other interest water color painting. I really want to start on botanical illustration. I sort of got side tracked a few weeks ago when I were in the midst of preparing for the Eid Fitri celebration. I really need to separate my quilting else I will have a quilting block (had one earlier this year which lasted five months). I plan to start selling my quilting service so I need to make sure I don't get that block else I will not get the customer's quilts done.
This is probably a dumb question but....What counts as a WIP? If I have the fabric and the pattern but have not started is that a WIP? If not, I have to say that I pretty much finish anything I start before I move on.
I don't organize scraps. They are all just tossed into a bin and I dig in there occasionally.
That leaves fabric. I have a lot but most of it has been bought with a plan. I don't really understand FQs. If I buy randomly I buy in 1 to 3 yard increments. So, I don't let myself do much of that!
You could happily use up lots of scraps by making a version of my Crumb quilt. We are doing a "Crumb Along" quilt along. It's a like wonky but I think you might like it.
http://www.joscountryjunction.com/?p=4821
We started actually sewing yesterday but it's not to late to catch up.
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