This year marks year three of fabric-tracking. For those who may be new readers to my blog, I'll remind you that I did NOT inventory my fabric stash when I started this. I'm only taking note of the quantity of fabric that goes out - made into something such as quilt blocks, bags, scrap projects, and even fabric twining, and tuffed into pet beds (measured by weight) - and fabric I've bought or that has been given to me.
In two years:
- 103.36 yards of fabric came IN to my stash
- 210.63 yards of fabric went OUT of my stash
That means I have 107.27 yards LESS fabric in my stash than I did at the start of 2023.
January Incoming Fabric
I didn't set out to buy fabric in January, but when KC Maker Studio, a quilt shop I follow on Instagram, announced that their shop would be closing for a snowstorm and extremely frigid (for Kansas City) temperatures, and that everything in the shop was 25 percent off, I decided to restash!
Several fabric pieces were needed for upcoming projects. Only a few pieces were "just because." It's likely they'll be used during 2025.
In this haul from KC Maker Studio you see:
- at the top, five colors of Painter's Palette solids (Lipstick, Daffodil, Crocus, Aruba, Amber)
- at the bottom, four Kona solids that include the Kona Color of the Year - Nocturne (purple)
- a black and white stripe (aren't those always needed?)
- and a the self-indulgent purchase of a bundle of 12 fat quarters of a woven/linen collection called Kitchen Window (I have a project in mind for them.)
- This amounts to 16 yards of fabric.
For the paint chip challenge, we're to use at least ONE color from each paint card (prints may also be used), and ONE additional color. Using our colors we can make anything we want. No surprise, if you know me, I intend to make a large quilt. I'm having second thoughts about using that Ink color, and will swap it out for Painter's Palette Oyster.
January Outgoing Fabric
Yardage was used making this 65" X 70" Party Time quilt top.
And 4.27 yards was used to piece the backing for it that includes orphan blocks and discarded quilt design ideas. If this picture looks like a pin-basted quilt on my design wall, it is! I forgot to take a picture of the backing before I'd made the quilt sandwich.
This month I also hand-pieced 40 more Inner City blocks from my solid scrap bins. In fact, it seemed timely to make an assessment. How many blocks do I need to make a decent-sized quilt? This is 88 blocks.
To determine how many blocks I need, I arranged the perimeter and made some calculations.
For a quilt that's 66" wide X 75" high, I'll need 218 units! Only 130 more units needed! Ha!
If I want a quilt with a design that "bleeds off the edge" (no border), I need to make additional partial blocks to fill-in depressions on all four sides. Most Internet photos I've seen of finished Inner City quilts have blocks floating on a background, often black. I'm not sure I want that look.
So my January tally is...
20 yards of fabric came in
9.75 yards of fabric went out
for a net gain of 10.25 yards of fabric
Ugh. I know that's not the way I want to go, but I have big plans to use-up! I will persevere!
Linda
One of the goals of keeping track is mindfulness, and I think you've got that mastered. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm not worried for you--you'll certainly be in the loss category soon. Love your acquisitions, especially that bundle! I'm looking forward to seeing it clearer. Neat back on your Party Time!
ReplyDeleteYour Party Time quilt is so much fun! Gosh, I'm absolutely loving your Inner City quilt. That second photo with the borders set out for sizing with a smattering of blocks in the centre is very eye catching. Happy Sewing! I've no doubt you'll get through all of your new fabric purchases.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed with your dedication to tracking fabric. So many of my quilts use only a small piece of lots and lots of different fabrics that the stacks on my shelves look the same. They never seem to go down. There was a time when I really wanted to see a noticeable change in volume on the shelves but now I just accept that quilts made equal less fabric even if it's not noticeable.
ReplyDeleteI love following your tracking! It's inspiring me to think about tracking my ins and outs and see if I can start using up some of these piles!
ReplyDeleteThanks for saying so, Rachel! I have found it extremely rewarding to recognize that I'm using-up more fabric than what's coming in. Even when one month goes the "wrong way," I know I'll recover, and turn those numbers around. Best of all is seeing a small, visible difference in the height of fabric stacks. I hope you encourage yourself to try it. It certainly makes one more mindful of the size of one's stash.
DeleteSeems to me you've done well even if you did add 10 yards. As you note, you have plans for that fabric! And your Cindy G quilt turned out well; at least you stuck with it, which I did not!
ReplyDeleteI just love your Party Time quilt--the colors and design are amazing.
ReplyDeleteI gave up on tracking fabric in 2024 but I know my stash is hundreds of yards less. I only purchased some backings or backgrounds (mostly on sale), but sent yards and yards to a Navajo reservation in Arizona (I did not feel motivated to measure but at least two stuffed large flat rate boxes). And then I gave a LOT to the Dress a Girl group. And then I made 24 quilts. So I know way more went out than came in. Win-win.