Friday, May 25, 2012

A culling of the herd

Okay, I confess, I like order. It's probably due to raising four ADHD boys, and most likely being ADHD myself. I need to be in charge of my environment, and more than anything, I want to be able to find it when I need it.


This is my stash of commercially printed fat quarters. It's a mess, partly because when my darling (%^&*) boys slam the nearby door stacks of fabric rain down to the floor; and partly because I've been trying to jam new fabrics into the space. But most importantly, I find myself standing in front of this shelf and not finding the right fabric for the job. I'm not a storer, I'm a user. Too many of these fat quarters don't deserve the space they're taking up. Time to cull.



These are the fabrics I've been buying lately. I'm still in search of the rainbow. My fabric choices are pretty much governed by my old buddy, Roy G Biv. (Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet) Bright, clear colors, tone on tone, this is my favorite box of crayons. (Yes, that is a bottle of nail polish, and a noodle bowl from my sister, the potter. It's a horizontal surface. Just saying.)




Now, this makes me happy. The fabrics are in rainbow order. The gray, civil war and multicolor fabrics are gone. I decided that each color should have its own stack, and I could keep only as many fat quarters as would fit a single column. Except for the greens. They are my favorite. Can't possibly have too many of them. And I can stop buying aqua. For so long it was hard to come by, I would snatch it up whenever I saw it.



Quilt shops, it seems, are forever looking for inventive ways to package fat quarters. These lovely greens were stacked in a celophane tube. Totally cute. But look what I found when I opened the roll to fold it into a shape that would better fit on the shelf. What a mess. I was sorely tempted to iron it before folding it, but I am a recovering perfectionist, and decided that the creases would ease out on the shelf. It could happen!




Of course, solving one problem often begets another. These are the rejected fat quarters. They are perfectly fine, quilt shop quality fabric, but some were duplicates, others were fabrics that I bought years ago, and haven't liked in a very long time. What should I do with these? I'm considering a quilter's rummage sale, but I'm more inclined to just give them away. Know a good charity?


6 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:13 PM

    Does Quilts of Valor take fabric donations?
    Mary Ann

    zenthea@comcast.net

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Beth!!!! (waving) I am a member of an on-line group called Sunshine Quilt Guild and we make quilts for children in other countries. (and a couple of Indian reservations in US. Many of them receive them when they get surgery to repair cleft palates (these go through a Rotary program). There are about 70 active members and we send out many hundreds of quilts each year. I am not in need for fabrics but some of the ladies who make crumb (or string) blocks could surely use your fat quarters for alternating blocks to set the crumbs. If you need a contact name of where to send the FQ's contact me privately. BrendaLou Brendalou8@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maybe you could create a few bundles and have a give away! It's fun to enter and receive fabric surprises in the mail. I like your new pile! Great order, and it does make it easier to see what you have.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous12:24 PM

    Pine Belt Quilters in Hattiesburg MS makes Children's Quilts for children of deployed military and is in need of any quilt fabric. The web site is www.pinebeltquilters.com

    They will thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Permission 2 Play is a FREE textile art class for cancer diagnosed patients. We rely completely on donations to keep our class running. You can check out our blog here:
    http://luannkessi.blogspot.com/search/label/Permission%20to%20Play

    Many Thanks for considering us for your donation of fabrics,
    LuAnn Kessi
    P2P Instructor

    ReplyDelete
  6. If you would like to trade civil war repro fabrics for hand dyed fabric I would be happy to do that. I closed my hand dyeing business a couple of years ago (illness) and will never use all that I still have in Rubbermaid containers. If you are interested email me.

    ReplyDelete