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| sherbet pips fat quarters on the left, ruby fat quarters on the right |
Normally, I sort my stash by color, but when I get a FQ bundle, I have a hard time letting them mingle in the stash. It's silly, really, because mixing colors and fabric is one of my very favorite parts of quilting. It's NICE to have the pretty stacks of fabric all color coordinated. But then I have to think of the PERFECT quilt idea that matches that fabric bundle. And then I have to actually find the TIME to sew it up. In the end, the fabric sits for quite awhile. Too long, usually! So, I thought it's best to let them mingle with others. This was a HUGE stretch for me, as I can hardly make myself unbundle them in the first place, (I'll confess, the plastic was still on the bundle on the right) let alone mix them up. But I have a feeling that the this way the fabric will actually get used. What a concept!
Next on the list, a few of my (not so favorite) layer cakes divided up into the scrap baskets.
After all, it's all just fabric, right?
It looks so pretty all bundles together. I am a regular reader, but rare commenter. I love your projects and always enjoy seeing what you are working on. Have a lovely day.
ReplyDeleteMargaret :)
What a radical idea Amanda Jean. Just kidding. I actually did that with a few of my fat quarter stacks, but not yet with layer cakes.
ReplyDeleteOh...I feel for you. I too have a problem removing that cute tie and letting my stacks mingle with my singles...
ReplyDeleteI still have a fq stack in plastic...waiting for the perfect project..it's about 2 years old now...almost ready...
Omg, I have the same problem! I can't break up a perfect bundle and mix it with the rest.
ReplyDeleteBust it up! And mix it in!
ReplyDeleteRecord what it is or save the label though. It is awful to want some more of something and not be able to remember which charm pack it came out of. And I save the ribbons they use to tie up pre-cuts and use them to tie up small hand sewn gifts.
I have the same aversion to tearing apart a collection of fabric, and letting it mingle with the rest of my stash... its good for the soul, I think! And if that means they're more likely to get used, then all the better!
ReplyDeleteOh man, you sound like me.
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh, I do the same thing. But I finally bit the bullet and divided up my bundles and it's true, you use them faster!
ReplyDeleteOh this is cracking me up. My head was screaming "nooooooo, don't doooo ittt" as I was reading your post. But I know it's silly because the fun part of quilting is using a variety of colors and patterns. It's just so pretty seeing the already coordinated stacks all pretty on your shelf! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh my you are a brave woman! I couldn't do it! I actually have a fat quarter bundle that I won in a giveaway, and it is still in the plastic! I am not sure I could bring myself to unbundle it unless I have a particular project in mind for just those fabrics. See what Moda has done to us? Shame on them! :)
ReplyDeleteMGM
I took some liquid courage and split mine up! Well, to be honest, I split mine while under the influence of liquid courage, which is not quite the same thing...
ReplyDeleteRegardless, I haven't regretted it.
I have my stash sorted in two ways. I have a see-through bin for each colour, but I also have storage for collections. I can't bear to split them up, so I decided I didn't need to :-)
ReplyDeleteNo one ever wants to mingle but it's always fun when you do!! ;)
ReplyDeleteUh oh. That makes me twitch a little bit. It's like letting a matchbox car go in the lego box. In theory it isn't going to hurt anything......but I can't let that rest. Hahaha!! You're stretching your boundries. Good for you!!!
ReplyDeleteI am also guilty of leaving bundles/layer cakes/jelly rolls as a whole and admiring their beauty instead of using them because the perfect project for them might come along. I admire your resolve to take them apart and mix them in. I did that with a bundle this morning, but it wasn't a bundle from one fabric line, just a group of coordinating fabrics. Keep it up and I will too!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way too! I wonder why? Once they are split up I never really give it another thought!!!
ReplyDeleteGood for you! It is just fabric!! And you will find joy in pulling a couple to use, where you wouldn't if you thought to pull them from the stack!!
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way about splitting up collections. They look so pretty all together. I could decorate my house with them!
ReplyDeleteYou could always sell the layer cakes through your store. I bet they could be someone else's treasure and you could buy something you really would love even more. I love those two lines and I am hoping to come up with a brilliant idea for a quilt with these and my bliss stash. Keeping my eyes open for what you do with them. :)
ReplyDeleteeeek! I am so silly, I even keep my scraps from pre-cuts together... take a long time until I split them up.
ReplyDeleteI'm smiling as I identify with your comments and many of the subsequent ones.
ReplyDeleteHope that you're feeling a lot better. I to have trouble opening the packs. Yesterday I sorted throu my charm packs and removed all those I was't overexited about or that did'nt fit into my plans for dem. I sliced the up for a postagestampquilt fabric exchange. 2for me and 2 for the swap.
ReplyDeleteyep It's just fabric and since the fabric companies and designers keep coming up with new scrumptious lines--every other day it seems like. We MUST make more quilts!! :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously tho' I'm the same way--they just look so pretty and decorative in their wrappings. After they come apart I can never get them back together as nicely so then it's easier to use 'em.
You must be feeling better since you're playing with your fabrics.
Oh man, I feel your pain! I struggle with the exact same thing. I think I've sort of integrated two bundles. That means I untied them and washed and folded them. But I left them with their siblings instead of mingling them with the stacks. I really did try but couldn't do it. Do you suppose there is a help line?
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem! I leave them tied up wayyyy to long. I've thought about dispersing all my layer cakes and charm squares, too!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, you're right. It IS just fabric! I don't know why I hold onto bundles, FQs, etc. for so long. I need to just use them!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reality check :)
Aren't we funny folks? :o)
ReplyDeleteI have a few 1/2 yard cuts that I can't put in their colors, because they would be away from each other. :o)
I know exactly what you mean! There is just something so appealing about leaving them in the bundle... but like you said, the mixing colours and fabric is one of the best parts of quilting. Glad you're getting ready to let them mingle!
ReplyDeleteI do have a serious crush on both those lines, thanks for sharing that eye candy.
Happy sewing!
I'm feeling your pain but be brave
ReplyDeleteSino a mesma coisa quando os sacos de sucata vem com camadas coordenada e em degradê..mas realmente são so retalhos.Vamos costurar e deixar peninha de lado,tá?Beijos e bençãos.
ReplyDeleteI can SO relate! Including the part about feeling like I have to come up with some amazing project to feature the entire collection. I was even keeping my scraps sorted by collection - until last week when I finally just sorted all the scraps by color. SO LIBERATING - and so much more inspiring to play with too. Thanks for the permission/encouragement to break up those bundles. :)
ReplyDeletePS I so love those paper pieced stars!
I know exactly what you mean. But one of my favorite things to to is to organize and reorganize by color. And then I think about projects and put the fabric away to be reorganized later!
ReplyDeleteJust came across your blog recently and love it!
Mine sit on the shelf neatly packaged just like that. I can not even bring myself to break the plastic....I have no idea why. These are the only ones I do that with!
ReplyDeleteIt must be a quilter's dilemna! I have the same 'problem'. They looks so pretty together. btw, I'm working on a quilt top now with sherbet pips & little apples. I was able to mix the two of them.
ReplyDeleteI cracked open a charm pack to see what was inside and ended up putting 5 into a certain quilt I made. And then a couple months later a few more went to a quilt my mom is making. I really enjoy seeing where they're all ending up. Perhaps some might even make it into the project they were originally intended for! I love mixing my stash....good on you for being brave enough to split up fabric families.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest; I think that's what quilting is all about. To me, it's not so much as making a quilt from a line of fabric. Of course, we know it's going to look good, because the designer has done the thinking for us. But the real pleasure (in my opinion at least) is to use old and new fabrics and as you put it, mingle them together. Then we have something which is truly us.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me to break up FQ bundles too....and hard for me to cut into them. Being a new quilter, I am worried I will mess up the fabrics I really love and then what....no more pretty fabrics for that one special quilt. lol...silly I know. Oh well....lovely fabrics, I am sure they will enjoy mingling with the rest of your stash.
ReplyDeleteI have never had a bundle of fabric, all my projects come from scraps, and if I had a bundle Im not sure it would last 10 seconds all tied up so pretty - have fun you lucky lucky girl!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. They look so cozy and happy together I love to gaze at them all bundled up. Love that line of fabrics.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally on the same page as you. I have several stacks of fabric that I just can't seem to let mingle with the rest of my stash.
ReplyDeleteOh I do that too! Once I 'crack them open' though, they're fair game!
ReplyDeletei have the exact same thing! it's painful to split up those bundles...but finding the "perfect" pattern is equally torturous :o) good job on mingling!
ReplyDeleteYeah, right....just fabric. I love the bundle and I can't just cut into it. I need to fondle, stroke, sigh, admire, etc.... for a long time first. Even after cutting, I like to keep my scraps together, so I can enjoy the bundle longer. Is that a strange thing? I don't think so.....
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your quilting blog. It has been an inspiration to me. I'm quite amazed at all you accomplish with 3 young children. Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteoh my, I struggle with this too. I have 2 chests in my sewing room with a color fabric per drawer, but when I buy fabric by collection, for a while I hate to break it up somehow. So I have some bins on shelves for "projects"--so if I bought the set for something it lives there --and if i give up on a project...THEN it gets sorted by color--but somehow I end up with things both ways. Glad to hear someone besides me is weird about this, lol!
ReplyDeleteYou are much braver than I. Ha!
ReplyDelete-Amanda-
I don't know if I could do it. But the one thing you could always do, in case you want to easily match up the coordinates again later, would be to take a picture of the grouping before yo usplit them up. That way you would easily be able to gather them together once again if you found the perfect project for them.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand!!! You are braver than I am!
ReplyDeleteHard to imagine seperating the bundles...I like knowing they all go together. You are more adventerous than I though. If it helps you create, just do it!
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time unbundling them too! They look so pretty all stacked together :)
ReplyDeleteAmandaJean, you crack me up! I have the same aversion, even with the pieces from charm packs, etc., that end up not being my fav! Feel liberated to let them be freed into scrap baskets. My dear friend, Penny, from sewtakeahike, challenged me to unbundle and separate my FQ bundles and fabric lines, and let them mingle. I did that, and at times regretted losing the collection of fabrics I had set aside for a project. On the other hand, it greatly expanded fabric on hand for spur of the moment, smaller, more time-doable creating.
ReplyDeleteMust confess, Still holding onto Ruby! Not ready to divide her yet!
InJoy! Glynis