Who wants Scraps?

No pics today. Terrible, right? What is a blog post without pictures from a quilter? Jeesh.

I've been in between mode. As in, my studio needs a cleaning, a getting rid of really. One of my cabinet drawers wouldn't even close it was so full of fabric I don't really use. I would open it up and stare at some lavender fleece that I bought 4 years ago to make my daughter some cute jammies out of. She's full swing tween now and hates lavender. I would slam it shut, it would bounce back open, and I would walk away.

This week I took on a small commission for a friend's daughter going off to college. I looked around that cluttered sewing room with scraps busting out of 5 containers and unused fabric with no hope of being used and a basket full of UFOs and UFOs hanging in the closet and said Enough of this sh*te. I started with the overflowing scraps. I got that down to two smallish baskets and one of potential backing fabric. Wow. Major accomplishment. I was unnerved by the smallness of some of the scraps I save. I was also surprised that there are only 2 or 3 fabrics that I consistently love to the point of not parting with scraps each time I see said fabric. I put all those scraps in big ziplocs. Who wants scraps??? Seriously, send me an email. I'll send you scraps.

Yesterday, one kid was under the weather (the super active one) and the other just likes getting crafty. I took both kids in the room under the guise of letting them use their creative brains and got busy on that cabinet. It really is easier to purge fabric when surrounded by kids who try and save everything. I don't want to contribute to any hoarding tendencies, so out it goes if I'm not going to use it. One got started on a charity quilt and the other made paper house. And I was so successful in clearing out fabric I'll never use and I know someone else will.

Which brings me to my next clarity moment. When I first started quilting, I would buy and buy and buy and not sew much. When I got a little more serious and house bound (by babies!), I realized that buying compulsively meant I didn't have to be scared to try new things or make the worlds ugliest quilt or quilt blocks. I started sewing more and shopping less. Of course, when I joined coops (sniff I miss them), that shopping thing was so much easier and less time consuming. But gradually, I stopped buying so much and I am working through my stash. I think it also helped that the fabric industry, though way too pricey at retail in my humble opinion, releases gorgeous fabric season after season after season. So, my new rule is, if I love it, but I don't have a specific project in the works, I have to reallllly love it to buy it. Because otherwise, I might end up with a cabinet full of 5 year old sad fabric. And I have made some ugly stuff. If I can't bear to throw it away, I pack it off to goodwill. Yes I do.

I have to tell you, the inspiration to get purging came from Sarah over at House of Krom. Yay! Inspiration is good. So, you peeps out there? Want some fabric? Scraps or fat quarters, I got em for ya!