Well, well, well...here we are...2016.
A brand new year...clean slate...still water just waiting for some one to jump in and splash it all up.
A brand new year...clean slate...still water just waiting for some one to jump in and splash it all up.
I'm jumping right in with Jen over at A Quarter Inch From The Edge who has written the manifesto and decreed that 2016 be The Year of the Stash. You might want to check it out...and if your cupboards look anything like mine do, go ahead & get on board and for Dogs sake, buckle your seatbelt. This textile-limiting-train is far too easy to jump off; we're gonna require 5 point harnesses, blinders, nose plugs, ear plugs, mittens...anything at all that will prevent the sights, sensations, scents and sounds that induce the need to go fabric shopping.
Because I'm not a dip-your-toe-kinda-girl, I'm going to forego all the nice & polite promises to use up my stash and really lay it out for ya...I'm just gonna tell it like it is. The horror that is facing me on this first day of the new year is what I call "The Stashpocalypse".
Friends, I am fighting demons. Demons that claw away all my sense & sensibility, that blind me to the numbers that the Visa statements attempt to proclaim and that rob my homes every hidey-hole of the possibly for non-textile storage. The shelves sag, the stacks of fat quarters topple and the scrap buckets overflow...I can bear it no longer.
The madness ends today.
This ain't gonna be pretty.
I will whine and cry...and perhaps stomp off occasionally.
It may be necessary to isolate myself from non-demon-fighting-sewists.
I will clearly need to self medicate and mend my shattered spirit with "spirits"of another variety.
I may slip off to the darkside occasionally to gather provisions that will make surviving the Stashpocalypse possible...thread, Kona and the odd bit to finish a stash based project.
I will overcome.
I will whine and cry...and perhaps stomp off occasionally.
It may be necessary to isolate myself from non-demon-fighting-sewists.
I will clearly need to self medicate and mend my shattered spirit with "spirits"of another variety.
I may slip off to the darkside occasionally to gather provisions that will make surviving the Stashpocalypse possible...thread, Kona and the odd bit to finish a stash based project.
I will overcome.
I am ready to fight my demons.
ARE YOU???
ARE YOU???
I spent much of last year using and savoring my stash with the occasional purchase for backing (or when the LQS closed). We DO have fabulous fabrics -- and taking them out to re-fold helps us SEE what we have to play with. Good luck with your Stashpocalypse!!
ReplyDeleteYou can do it, Val! Instead of looking for more storage, more closets, more... we will enjoy all the loveliness we have. I look forward to your adventures. And your bitching and moaning. Even when kvetching, you can turn a phrase, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThats a plan..tried last year..it is my main goal this year except for the Paula Nadelstern that is coming out to help along my La Passacaglia..it will take many years to thin out my stash..I love my walls ,baskets of fabric happiness but need to shut down any further hoarding..my the force be with you !
ReplyDeleteIt is my mantra this year. I would not leave piles of money sitting on shelves and in drawers, yet I have a room full of fabric doing nothing month after month, year after year. So 2016 will be a concerted effort to be frugal. Scrap quilts on the horizon.
ReplyDeleteI stand behind you. Whisky in hand.
ReplyDeleteYou can do it, Val!! But you might need to teach us the finer points of whiskey. LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm loving this little movement that Jenn has started! Before, I thought my stash was too small to do a 'year of the stash', but now that I see that it is more about being mindful about buying fabric and using what you have more, I may have to hop on the bandwagon. Money is too tight to be buying nonsense when I've got big quilty plans! Good luck with your stashpocalypse!
ReplyDeleteI made eight quilts in 2015 that were completely from my stash - backings and everything. I know I can improve that number in 2016. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI'm in!! I may have to plead the 5th while in San Francisco. Just saying!! Rosie's been moved into her room with a view. My design wall's been hung. Let's do this!! Oh, did I forget to mention the day in Toronto in February? I can resist. I can resist.
ReplyDeleteI'm visiting from Jen's link up. This is a great post. Stashpocalypse is a great word. Together we can do it!
ReplyDeleteHahahaha - Valerie you had me laughing out loud throughout and I even read your post to my husband. Thanks for the uplifting and inspiring post!
ReplyDeleteMay you survive "Stashpocalypse"!
I'm with you, 2016 is the year to be fiscally responsible and not purchase it just because it's pretty and soft, I don't need another kit just because it's on sale. Oh....now that's it's in print I'm scared hence I'm off to get a drink to fortify myself.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, 2016 is the year to be fiscally responsible and not purchase it just because it's pretty and soft, I don't need another kit just because it's on sale. Oh....now that's it's in print I'm scared hence I'm off to get a drink to fortify myself.
ReplyDeleteOMG, I'm right there with you. It is totally out of control and look forward to using the beautiful fabrics that are lurking in tubs, in the closet, under my quilting table, in the drawer under my bench seat where I sit. Its everywhere. Okay, maybe not in the bathroom.
ReplyDeleteYou are a hoot, I am right there with you though, too much fabric not enough time. But I'm going to do my best to whittle it down slowly but surely this year!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou can do it! I have been a stash quilter for years for several reasons--tight budget, my rural locale, and I also buy basics when I find good buys. Making from your stash is doable, but sometimes you may have to buy out of necessity. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm really not ready to go that far. But l might join you for the spirits portion of the show.
ReplyDeleteStashpocalypse, ha ha ha ha ha!!! I am afraid my stash is doomed to grow in 2016. I may have pre-ordered a bundle of the reprint of Heather Ross' Mendocino already!!!
ReplyDeleteLOL!
ReplyDeleteThe only way I am managing to restrain myself is by locking my cashcard away! Drastic, yes, but effective!
may the force be with you!
ReplyDeleteLeeAnna at not afraid of color