Fabric Acquired: 21.5 yards
Fabric Used: 22 yards
Net Fabric Acquired : (.5) yards ( yeah used more than acquired!)
Year To Date Report
Fabric Acquired: 64.75 yards
Fabric Used: 64.875 yards
Net Fabric Acquired: 1/8 yards
OH MY GOODNESS! I hadn't realized I was actually in the use it up phase. Although 1/8th yard is nothing to write home about it does mean I haven't succumbed to buying more than using. Now if I can make it through Christmas with no new fabric -- that would be great. (Hum, how to politely ask my kids not to buy fabric for me this year...) I've acquired and used about 20 yards less than last year. My big splurge was buying the fabric at the guild's auction. Duh -- never thought I could give fabric to be auctioned and I would be in better shape. Live and learn.
I worked really hard to finish a small baby quilt after Thanksgiving just so I had a better chance at keeping the fabric under control. It is rainy here this morning so no pictures of the finished quilt. But here it is on Ruthie. Batting: Warm and White, preshrunk. Thread: Robison-Anton white cotton thread top and bottom. Free motion stippling. This took about an hour and a half to quilt once it was loaded. The results are much more pleasing to me than a panto where my curves look funky and flat. Why do I spend any time at all doing pantos? Except before the move I was quilting enough and I had gotten pretty good on the pantos. Now, most are looking pretty pathetic.
One of the things I've finished is reorganizing my fat quarters. I keep most of them in 4 open baskets/boxes. For years I've just been folding and stashing them away paying no attention to color. Look how great they look now that they are color coordinated. Not all of these are fat quarters. I have a few pieces that are bigger and many that are smaller. If I need to make a single block or get a color for an applique this is my go to collection. Open, easy to see and now organized. (of course, this doesn't include the 20 fq's I pulled for a quilt and now am not going to use or the new ones I bought a few weeks ago...) I did this after I straightened out my 2" strips drawer that had become unusable it was so jumbled. Amazing how much more can be put in a neat space than a messed up space! (note to self -- time to use some 2" strips...) Today's question -- What do you do with smaller scraps before you cut them up and organize them? I've recently finished 3 quilts big and small. I have a pile of cuttings from after trimming them. Right now the pile is spread out on the cutting table and a group is stashed in a shelf on top of my print fabrics. I'm thinking of putting a basket under the cutting table so I can throw these scraps in until I want to deal with them. How do you keep up with this?
Today's Plan -- finish the backing on the table runner and maybe start the quilting. This has been on the burners (both back and front) most of the fall. Now to get it done. Part of the problem is I've changed what I like and don't like about the colors I've been pulling for it. Enough is enough. Let's get it finished!
Now on to my day! Happy Quilting all! 
HI, Bonnie. I have one small bin under the cutting table that I put scraps in until I either cut them up, or decide I need to just get rid of them. When that thought occurs, I visit the HeartStrings site and send a box to someone wanting strings or crumbs. The DGC also are allowed to pull fabric from that box to play with. It is a never ending source of amusement for them.
ReplyDeleteLike many of us, I DON'T keep up with it. Every time I make a scrap quilt (they are ALL scrappy!) there seems to be MORE fabric. Seemingly I don't buy much, but at the end of the year, when I tally up, the no. of years is amazingly MORE. My space is a mess! I do the cutting of strips like Bonnie Hunter suggests, but now I have boxes of those sizes that never seem to diminish. I need to find a newbie quilter who has NO fabric!
ReplyDeleteBonnie,
ReplyDeleteI have eight 7"-deep baskets under my cutting surface. As I'm cutting for a project and "making" scraps, I put them into the appropriate basket. The baskets are red/purple, blue, green, yellow/brown, black/white. The other three baskets are for fat quarters, which definitely need to be organized. Looking at yours makes me realize I should get my act together.
I like the idea of a basket under my cutting table. Right now I just toss them in a grocery sack off to the side. Out of sight..out of mind. If I kept them in the open under the table in a basket, I would see them all the time. Hmm...thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteI have a basket where I toss all the extras until I am ready to deal with them. Every so often I get motivated and go on a cutting spree, but until then I just keep tossing in all the odds and ends. I know it's time to deal with it when it starts to overflow. Until then, no guilt.
ReplyDeleteYour baby quilt looks fabulous. A nice simple meander is always a good choice, though I do think you are being too hard on yourself when it comes to pantographs. It's easy to focus on the mistakes, but the overall effect is usually just fine.