If my nan were still alive, I’m afraid she would think that she failed me. My nan was a hardcore shopper. She loved the mall, loved spending money, loved buying things for her granddaughters. I kept up with her and her shopping habits through high school, but I’m not much of a shopper anymore. My middle-age self is much more fiscally conservative than my 16-year-old self was, and purchasing clothes or jewelry or stuff for my house doesn’t bring me joy. The exception, of course, is fabric.
Buying fabric is fun, like really fun. The thing is, I have a decent-size fabric stash already, and it’s hard to justify buying manufacturers’ new releases when I already own enough material to make many quilts.
Despite that, I was able to rationalize some minor fabric purchases lately. They were enough to satisfy my desire to bring new fabric home without having to add storage for my burgeoning stash.
First I headed to a discount store about an hour from my house for fabric for backs. At 3 dollars a yard, the prints below, from Joel Dewberry and Whistler Studios, were hard to pass by. I bet I’ll have them all used up in the six months. (BTW, I have a system for stashing fabric for and piecing backs. Read about it here.)
A second fabric-buying excursion happened during my guild’s latest quilt retreat. One of the nearby stores is pretty big. There were many temptations. I escaped with buying a little pile of what the store calls “bits,” or fat sixteenths, for 50 cents a piece. I’m compiling scraps to make April Rosethal’s Overcast pattern, from Lucky Spool’s Scraps, Inc. Vol. 1 (see her original here). My collection of bits, pictured at the top of the post, will supplement what I’ve already cut and keep that project nice and scrappy.
What is your stashing philosophy? Do you, like me, try to use up what you have on hand? (I have suggestions on that front if you’re open to them. Read them here.)
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Hi Michelle! I so agree with your shopping motto. I rarely go shopping unless I hate to, or unless it's fabric. Fabric and quilt store shopping is a whole different experience, and I actually look forward to that. You picked up some great cannot-pass-by pieces. ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeletelike you I do not get that much out of shopping. if I had a discount place near me to buy fabric I would - and I tend to try to use what I have or buy what I can on sale - I rarely pay full price for any fabric.
ReplyDeleteLove your new fabrics - sometimes you just need them to spark your creativity!
ReplyDeleteLucky you. I have been itching to buy some new fabric but have resisted so far. I know you will make something amazing!
ReplyDeleteLove that cutting board fabric! I only buy at a discount these days, after shopping my stash. I think I already thanked you for the link up yesterday--haha! Glad to see it up today.
ReplyDeleteI went on a strict no fabric-buy years ago. Now I just look online at all the pretty fabric and sometimes put it into the cart but never buy.
ReplyDeleteI just returned to quilting after a long hiatus, and so my fabric stash was depleted. I've spent the last few years growing that stash, but now I need to whoa my horses!! LOL But if I go out of town or am close to a shop I drop in and support the local economy, LOL.
ReplyDeleteThose are great purchases.
ReplyDeleteThose 16th sound like a great way to feed the fabric buying urge and still not over extend your stash or wallet :)
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