Stashin'

Some time ago I had put myself on fabric-buying restrictions. I had gotten into a habit of just buying and buying with no real idea for how I was going to use any of it. At some point I ended up feeling overwhelmed by it all. So I purged a ton of it, giving some away here and there, and donating some to charity places. It felt good. I stuck to my rule of buying fabric for custom orders or for a specific project that would happen in the near future, and only for those two purposes. I did really well. And I especially felt good last week when I cut into that long-sitting stack of Winterkist to get it ready for this week's stitching marathon. So I rewarded myself. With fabric. But not without a loose purpose in mind...

I tend to stay away from quilt alongs. I did a skill builder quilt along, those blocks which are still tucked on a shelf. I enjoyed new skills but grew to dislike the 'due date' feeling of everything. For the past couple years there have been these massive sew-alongs happening on Instagram. Last year was the Scrappy Trip Around the World, and this year is the Economy Block Along. I wasn't going to do anything. But then I saw some of the blocks showing up, and decided that playing along, in my own time and in my own way, would be a fabulous opportunity for some fabric play. I perused my stash for some fun prints, and learned I have a nice stash of basics but not much else. So I shopped. And now I have a great stack I'm excited to cut into. At some point. No pressure. And these will go great with the very few novelty prints I already have. So I stash build and stash bust at the same time. Win win. So here's what I bought recently.

Everything pictured here came from Fabric Paradise, Sew Me a Song (on Etsy), and Joann's (who has nicely stepped up their novelty section).

I stuck to quarter yard cuts of everything, whether fat or skinny cuts. I've got visions aplenty swirling in my brain, so I'm pretty sure I will be able to make a nice dent in these. I set myself a budget per cut (otherwise I'd have had to get a second job to pay for all the adorable Japanese prints out there), and don't really feel I went too bonkers that way. Anyway--here's a closer look at what I bought.

I have a special love for kitchen-themed prints. You see that retro print in the lower left? I want to make curtains out of that one. But I'm going to fussy cut the dickens out of it, perhaps to go with some cookie jars or baking instructions, or that chicken soup recipe and so on.

Aren't these sewing prints cute? These all came from Joann's, believe it or not. 

These school-themed prints will be fun to play with. Fat quarters don't seem like much, but when you're only cutting some bits and pieces they last much longer.

I am very aware of how weird this next sentence will sound. I have wanted postal-themed fabrics for a while. Right? That's weird, I know. The red looks like it has some good fussy cut bits, and I just loved the vintagey car one on the right.

And here are just a few random ones that didn't fit in any category. 

I always feel guilty when I splurge on fabric for no reason. I've taken great pains to buy just what I need so I don't get encumbered by numerous scraps I might never use, but feel too guilty to toss. But there's only so much you can do with polka dots and solids, and I do have a loose plan to use these, which means these weren't pointless purchases. Which means I shouldn't feel guilty. But I'm Catholic and half-Italian. Guilt is what I do.

I have some cute texty prints I've been accumulating (as they can be very hard to find) that will go great with these. Having a pretty stack like this next to your sewing machine, taunting you, is great motivation to finish the quilt top you've been working on. Even when that quilt top is endless triangles and bias edges, and two rows that were nothing but errors that needed to come out. I'm not allowed to cut into this stack until I have a totally finished quilt top, so I will just be trucking along to get that done. Frigid temps and snow make for great quilting weather, but horrible getting out of bed weather. Which is where I guess I should be heading right now. G'night!