On Thursday I decided to buy some bins at the dollar store to keep above my quilt rack in the craft room. I got this idea from Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than Housework. She stores some of her scraps in cute fabric buckets above her cutting table. I originally looked for something I could sew a cover for, but when I saw these bins I brought some home to try it out.
Turns out that I love them! I can stack them two high and the lids keep the dust off the fabric. (Don't ask what the shelf was like when I cleaned it off.) I need to go back to the store and buy some more.
This decision led me to separating my "new" scraps from my "old" scraps. Now all of my smaller scraps which are from fabric purchased after 2012 are in those cute bins. There are some of my old scraps which are pulled together to make doll quilts in a few of the bins. And some of my newer scraps are still in boxes on the expedit: Christmas, dots & stripes, and I spy.
Then I started wondering why I was keeping all of the old scraps. The thing is that I am very grateful for the stash that I have, but I love modern fabric so much more. I am trying to use up my stash and am ready to be DONE with some of the fabric. So I decided to give away most of my older scraps to a local friend. (I am keeping all of those light 2.5 inch strips for a scrap quilt.)
I stopped doing stash reports in May, and was curious how much fabric I have really used this year. My main goal for 2014 is stash busting. It is always good to check on how you are meeting your goals, right? So I spent the morning going through my blog posts to figure it out. (It's wonderful having a record!) Are you ready for the totals? I was shocked.
January: 53.5 yards used, 0 yards added
February: 33.25 yards used, 0 yards added
March: 51.75 yards used, 6 yards added
April: 9.75 yards used, 1 yard added
May: 30 yards used, 20 yards added
June: 13 yards used, 3.5 yards added
July: 7.25 yards used, 12 yards added
August: 7 yards used, 37 yards added
September: 12.5 yards used, 1.5 yards added
Year to Date: 218 yards used, 81 yards added,
Total: 137 yards less
I can hardly believe I have used more than 200 yards. As my husband would say, that is two football fields! And of the 81 yards purchased I won two yards, I added 15 yards to my general stash (mostly Kona White), and the rest were purchased for specific projects.
This stash study has made me realize that I am really a project person, and I know how I personally use my stash. So I spent the day going through my stash, deciding what I would use, and separating the rest. I now have 4 WIPs (my sneaky sewing), 1 WISP (hand piecing), and about 50 potential projects out of stash and scraps. Plus, I have a very large pile of yardage and scraps to give to my local friend who has a very tight quilting budget.
Because I inherited almost my whole stash, I am not attached to all of it. It feels great to do this destash now that I know what I really will use. I feel so free. :D Here is what my stash looks like now (4 cubes with room to spare):
For reference, this is what it looked like in January (8 full cubes):
I think that once I use up my older stash that I will mostly buy per project, but I will maintain a small stash. However, I know I can always change my mind if I want to. ;)
How are you doing with your goals for the year 2014?
XX,
Jasmine
P.S. I am linking up with Can I Get a Whoop Whoop.
Your closet looks nice and tidy.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly did good using your scraps, it's nice to have a stash but it can get really overwhelming. I went through mine last winter and gave away some of the first fabrics I ever bought, I am a wiser buyer now...:-)
Dang, you are good at the stash busting! I'm still hanging onto my older stash, because I am cheap and darn it all, I will use that ugly red sunflower from Walmart! But I'm trying to be a project buyer only now. Sometimes the fabric finds it's way in before the project, but I try to force it into one quickly instead of letting it sit there. ;)
ReplyDeleteNice job Jasmine! Wish I had your will power to give away a lot of my older stash. I am getting close to having it all sewn up into projects. Sigh....someday!
ReplyDeleteThat is an amazing amount of fabric you used-good job!! I wish I knew how much I used, but I just can't take the time to keep track, but I would think it would be around the same amount you used. Your projects are bigger for sure :-)
ReplyDeleteNice that you can give it away-me I just can't/don't want to part with it, LOL As my friend says I have a disease and I don't want to know the cure, haha. Your shelves are so nice and neat!
I've seen a few bloggers track their fabric usage and it's making me think I should do something similar. I'm really wanting to "change" how I use and spend fabric so maybe it would help me. I'd really like to be a project buyer but it's hard when there's so many pretty fabrics available that I might use 'one day'! I've managed to destash quite a bit via instagram which was nice though also scary LOL. I do want to destash more but it's hard to choose what to sell because it doesn't mean anyone will buy what I have to offer. In the New Year maybe I'll make it a resolution to watch what i buy and track what I use (no way can I go on a diet lol but I'd like to at least buy less!!).
ReplyDeleteI love your organized closet! I find myself beginning to purchase fabrics with a specific project in mind. I do try to stock solids when I can find them on sale, but even so I hardly ever have the color I need. :) I don't have a big stash but I'm okay with that. Congrats on your downsizing success!
ReplyDeleteVery organized and thoughtful storage, Jasmine!
ReplyDeleteLove to see this. So inspiring for sure. I am still working through my scraps and plan to or try to do a big purge as well. I love the idea of keeping the stash separate.
ReplyDeleteThose are some AMAZING numbers! I recently sent all my scraps to someone who jokingly posted on my quilty secrets post that she would take my scraps. I wasn't joking :) She has already made a quilt from them and has more planned. It it SO fun to see them actually being used!
ReplyDeleteWow ! You are good. Good at stash busting, organizing, counting and sorting and especially giving away.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great to keep on top of your stash. I should try it sometime. Maybe your inspiration will give me the incentive I need to do so.
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