Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Stash Q&A

Sew Mama Sew is asking about stash habits, (or in my case addiction) and I thought I'd play along.
What do you usually sew? quilt blocks, crumb blocks, aprons, purses
When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? usually 1 yard cuts, sometimes 2 if i love it, or 1/2 yards if i want it but don't have enough money for everything
Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need? umm, always impulse... i started buying more boyish/manly colors and pieces when i saw i had less of those
Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it? i prewash, all of it. which is why i started buying less and less at a time. 20 yards to wash and iron in a day is too much for me (once i washed 42 yards, and it took me 3 weeks to make myself finish the ironing)
Do you iron it? yep, always
How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.) by color. if i have alot of one color family it breaks down into prints/solidish fabrics or lights and darks
Do you have any special folding techniques? i fold in half selvage to selvage, and then the fold to the selvage again. then i take my 6.5 by 24 inch ruler, and fold it like a bolt of fabric, so i can unroll and start cutting strips
How do you store your fabric? the folded fabric is on a book shelf, its open, and the 2 bolts are under the dresser i cut fabric and iron on. fq's are in a drawer, along with less than 1/2 yard cuts to be cut into strips for the scrap bins. I have precut scraps and strips in a 3 drawer thing under my sewing table
What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash? find a store that has a flat fold section for cheap, and spend every last penny of cash you have when you go in 2 or 3 times a week. don't worry when people ask your making, and you have to say, oh its just for my stash, i don't know yet... what are you making thats really cute(quick, run!)
When do you say enough is enough? never? i almost slowed down when i counted up my fabric, and had no money, but i broke down and used my food cash to find a way to get something. don't worry, it wasn't the grocery money, just the fast food cash for when i'm at work,
What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects? umm, i'm fairly new, and the only things ive finished are an apron, a couple purses, a skirt and pieced some small quilt tops. i'm not sure i actually stash bust so much as stash. its so bad
Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? ooh, i have some really cute pink on blacks, and a purple with clocks on it. and i love this orange one with green hearts all over. i went back and bought 2 more yards of that cause i liked it so much
What’s your definition of the perfect stash? (Consider sharing a picture or two of your stash & storage, or direct us to a pic on Flickr!) i would like some more teals, i don't have alot of those, and a good selection of solid colors, but what i have now is pretty wonderful. and the fact that i want those things does not stop me from buying new fabric in any other colorway. and if you need pics of my stash, the new stuff is on the header, and a january post shows the shelving, as wells as my messy sewing room.

1 comment:

Shelly said...

I love your answers to these questions—don’t have a clue to how I’d answer them, but I am going to try to figure that one out later today! ~Shelly~