Why do we buy so much fabric?

No great insights when I woke up this morning. Darn! But then I wasn't really missing anything nor did I have any immediate issues, other than I need the motivation to get that darn quilt quilted. I did get more completed yesterday but not enough. I HAVE to finish it today!

We had a makeup class yesterday at The Hobby Horse for a class that we missed in February. I'll be posting pictures tomorrow for that class. We were supposed to have a sewing day in the afternoon, but with only one person there for the sewing, it wasn't worth staying. Oh well.

Today was also supposed to be a Sit n Sew day, but with a mixup of e-mails, there was only one person signed up and hey - I NEED to know that you're coming!  No big deal, this will give me a chance to get that quilt finished and put the binding on. Things should go smoothly now that Studio B is back in order and we can have regularly scheduled dates. It's also the end of summer so I'm happy with the day "off".

What happened to the HOT weather. I have shorts on again this morning and well - it's nippy! And have you noticed how dark it is in the morning? Fall is definitely around the corner which is not necessarily a bad thing. I love the change of seasons.

So what did I do with myself when I should have been at the long arm? The girls and I did have a wee nap in the gazebo and I read for a bit. Because the gazebo is in the shade, I even had a blanket. It was glorious.

And when I finally got myself into the house and after doing some quilting, I thought I should tackle a few more of the boxes that need to be unpacked. Yikes! I've gone through all the remaining boxes and put those that have to do with quilting and fabric in the main area of Studio B. Am I going to be able to make this all fit in the limited space?? That's going to be the question of the day. But not today.

You can judge me all you want on what I'm about to show you, but before you do  - you should have a look at your own stash!

As I mentioned the other day, I decided to group all the pre-cuts together. They were scattered in several places and time to know just what I had. Now here's the funny thing - I don't really like or use pre-cuts. They are too damn restrictive and I'm not sure how many I've actually used in the past.

So here we go - there's a tub full of pre-cuts.

One tub of pre-cuts

Oh my - there's a second tub of pre-cuts.

And yet another tub

Let's not forget the FQ bundles which are technically a pre-cut. Yep - a whole tub (it's full now)

A tub of fat quarter bundles

And then I found this bag filled with pre-cuts.

And even more pre-cuts

Seriously???  I don't really use these silly things and I have enough to fill four flat tubs???  What was I thinking when I bought them?? Now some of them I did buy on sale, but seriously - this is absolutely the most wasteful thing I've seen in a long time. A huge investment in something that I don't really like.

WAIT - do not judge me if you have even one pre-cut that you've bought and not used!

Yes - they look pretty and are easily an impulse item, but if we never use them - what's the point of buying them?

I opened a bag in the process of sorting the pre-cuts to find this.

A bundle of pre-cuts

Included here are TWELVE of the mini-charm packs, two charm packs (5" squares), one jelly roll and some yardage. WHAT?????

This is the name of the collection which obviously I really liked.

Snap pop by Sandy Gervais

Wait - there's a receipt in the bag. Good grief - I bought it on April 8, 2013. Yep - over six years ago and NEVER even removed the purchase from the original shopping bag. I hang my head in shame! I'm over the shame, but it just boggles my mind. What was I going to do with all these pre-cuts of the same collection? I bought them at a quilt store on the way to our retreat in Bracebridge (which has since closed). I know that from the date and time on the receipt. More than likely, I saw a quilt in the shop that I really liked but didn't buy the pattern because I could make it without the pattern. I e-mailed the shop in the extremely remote chance that she would remember what she had on display. Nope - a dead end.

All those pre-cuts went into the tubs. I shall be doing some investigation into some patterns to use up those pre-cuts. They are NOT up for grabs and will likely get moved to the charity quilt projects at some point.

Receipt for some pre-cuts

I see people trying to see this kind of stuff on e-Bay. What the heck is the point of buying pre-cuts and then selling (in most cases at a great loss) on e-Bay??? Doesn't make sense to me.

Then I found this box. The label says "Machine Applique Samples". I remember this box and I know that it's been floating for YEARS. What's in the box?

A project box

There were two spools of thread and three pieces of fabric. The spools of thread are in the thread bin and two of the three fabrics are shelved. That is the wrong side of the green, but I think that just might work for the missing binding on that orange/green quilt from yesterday. I haven't checked it yet. At one point, there was also a book in here which got removed and put on the bookshelf. Now the box is empty to receive an unfinished project.

Three pieces of fabric and two spools of thread

I know there are a "few" more boxes like this one. Good intentions, but it's not going to happen.

Then I unearthed a decorative container that was filled with fabric. What's all this????

Box of fabric

Yikes - here's a collection of half yard cuts - there are 12 of them and they were bought to make a quilt since they are very coordinated. I have an idea what pattern it was, but I'll have to check it out later. But seriously???  Why wasn't this put away with the pattern? Or a note??

A group of half yard cuts

I also found this in the box. There's a bunch of quarter yard cuts of pinks and greens. I also found this pattern. Were the fabrics for that pattern? No idea. I put the fabric in the appropriate color baskets and the pattern went in a pattern box.

Pink and green fabric

Must have been on a pink and green kick around that time because I also found these fabrics. For what purpose?? No idea so those got shelved in the appropriate color basket as well.

More pink and green

While I had no idea when or why I bought those fabrics, I do remember buying this next grouping and I know what I was going to make with them. They are panels. There are six panels in each pile and they were to make One Block Wonder quilts. I remember buying them after seeing a trunk show at the local guild. ACK!!!!!  One of the panels is very ugly on its own so it can only be made into One Block wonder. The middle one - well I don't know yet. They are still sitting on the table as I contemplate what to do with them.

Panels

Holy --- this is quite the eye-opener. All I can say is thank god that I've stopped buying. I don't care if I deserve a reward or I'm worth it. I'm not proud of the mess that I've created. Thankfully, I'm going through it now and at least getting it organized so the fabrics can be used up. I can't imagine letting my family or a friend deal with this. It's huge. And I can't imagine what happens to those that hide their fabric in their house so their family can't see how much they have. I've never done that, but I guess putting it into baskets was almost like hiding it from myself. In some respects, it's very equivalent to what we found at my parent's place. Just neater and cleaner.

It's totally insane and I must say that it looks like a tornado went through Studio B. But actually, it's not as bad as you would expect. Yes, there are still boxes to go through, but it's manageable. Barely - I can only cope with the unpacking for so long and then I get to a point where I don't know what to do with something. I know that sounds contradictory, but it's not.

I'm not trying to be a party pooper here, but here are some of the main ways that we acquire this stuff and we should take note of our respective situations and deal with it how we feel is most appropriate.

1. Secret Sister or swaps. You end up getting stuff that you don't want, don't like, or won't use. What do you do with it?? I stopped swaps years ago. If I want a tote bag, I'll make one that suits my style and workmanship. Thanks, but no thanks!
2. Work for the product instead of cash. Sometimes I would work a trade show and get the equivalent in products in return for my hours instead of cash. Bad idea. You end up getting things that you don't really need or what. DO NOT work for product. 
3. Friends. Ever notice how friends encourage you to buy something when you're on the fence? They are not the ones who have to store, make or cough up the cash to make the purchase. Do NOT listen to your friends and do NOT encourage your friends to buy if they're on the fence.
4. Sales. Need I say more. Oh my - it's on sale - I'll buy lots. Why???  If you don't have a home for it or a use for it - is it really a sale? Is it worth dealing with the aftermath?
5. You want to do everything. I would see a quilt in a store and want to make the exact same quilt. Why? I may not have time to make the quilt so why am I adding to the pile of things to do?? Focus on what you like and make that!
6. Shipping costs. Yep - ever get a notification that you can add three more yards to your envelope without increasing the shipping costs so we buy those three extra yards? Why??? To save money?? The same thing happens if you get a notification that if you spend $50 you get free shipping. Are we so gullible that we fall for that and end up with a LOT of stuff that we'll never use?? I used to. 
7. You're worth it. Seriously?? This is so lame. We're also worth our sanity - if you have so much that you have no idea what to do with it - does that help your sanity????
8. The retirement stash. Yep - knowing that you'll be on a fixed income in the future, you bought and you bought LOTS. 
9. The guilt purchase. I know I did this a lot. I'd be in the store, didn't really see anything that grabbed my fancy, but I bought something just because I felt that I should buy something. And sometimes, what I bought cost a lot of money. Didn't need it, didn't want it but felt compelled to buy it. STOP THAT.  You should NEVER feel that you HAVE to buy something just because you walk in a store. Just STOP. And if the staff or the owner make you feel guilty? Don't shop there ever again. 
10. Shop discount. Most stores allow their staff (and teachers) to buy fabric at a discount. Every little bit helps, but that discount has added stuff to my stash that I didn't need. There were many days when I worked or taught and technically, I owed the store more money than I had made that day!!!

I'm sure there are other reasons to buy, but these are the main ones. BUY what you need and what you can use. Don't get me wrong - I still buy but in a very restricted and responsible fashion. Yes - I have the odd issue, but nothing like I used to have. If only someone had told me those seven rules when I first started to quilt!!!!

On that note, I"m out of here to get something accomplished today.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!