Come Stitch With Me

Are you in? This is my big quilt project for 2021. I had the best time making A Quilter’s Cottage in 2020.

Pincushion blocks are on tap for this week. Here’s a link to Lori Holt’s week 1 video on YouTube.

The rest of my background fabrics arrived yesterday (big happy dance)! Now, I’ll be able to finish cutting Week 3 and begin cutting for Week 4 blocks. Cutting and prepping blocks for 2-3 weeks in advance seems to work best for me. I try to cut a week as I use a week. This way, I’m always ready to sew, even during my craziest weeks.

I do not typically buy kits. I prefer to pull from my stash first, using the sewing guide as a point of reference for color selection. Then, I fill in with other fabrics as I needed. That’s why my projects are a mix of the current Lori Holt line, previous lines and other fabrics. I think it makes the final project more personal and keeps costs in line by shopping my stash first.

Here’s Jane all set up and ready to sew!

It’s so easy to get caught up in all the wonderful, creative projects that we see on social media, in magazines or at quilt guild meetings.

Realize this: You cannot make all the things. There’s no way humanly possible.

Designers are constantly coming out with new patterns, projects, fabric lines, notions, houseware, yarn, scrapbooking paper…you name it. Selling products is their line of work and everything they do is geared toward selling more product. That’s business.

You, as a creative consumer, have to be selective with where you spend your hard-earned dollars and your precious time. You must be realistic with time commitments, available budget and your willingness to see the project through to completion.

I used to think time was my biggest constraint as I still work full-time. Nope, it’s supply chain issues due to COVID. It’s impacting wholesale suppliers, brick & mortar quilt shops and online sellers. I planned to participate in an online QAL that starts 9/13. Most of the fabric line is stuck somewhere in transit. No kits are available. Appliqué templates are hard to find – I scored a set at a local quilt shop this week. I rarely ever use the exact same fabrics as the sample, so I wasn’t too worried about sourcing fabrics for this project. WRONG! I was able to pull most from my stash, but trying to find QUALITY colored pin dots on a white background proved to be futile. I spent 6 hours yesterday visiting 2 quilt shops plus chain stores in search of said fabric. What I did find available was too see-through. No, thank you. Found the fabric I wanted on Etsy. The seller estimates it’ll be here in 2 weeks. It should arrive the week I need it, but if not – fine. I’ll work around it. What else am I going to do? My back-up plan is to use solid white for the background, but the small gray pin dots on white will add so much more pizazz to the big block.

Learning to be intentional about the projects I choose to make has been the biggest challenge. I learned the hard way to limit myself to one big quilt project per year supplemented with several smaller projects like pillows, potholders, table runners and wall hangings. Why? Most of the projects I like are are very detailed and require extra time to complete. I’ve also discovered that I’m often attracted to a quilt because I want to learn a new technique. Rather than tackle the whole quilt, I’ll make the blocks that speak to me and incorporate them into other projects. The end result is always fabulous. This approach allows me to enjoy making these projects and still have time available for the other sewing that I like to do – charity quilts, baby quilts – plus making samples for my own classes.

My husband, who works in supply chain for a major retailer, advised it could take years for supply chain issues to be fully resolved. For my fellow F.A.T. (fabric acquisition team) members, this means you’d better buy the fabric you need/love when you find it! Might not be there when you return! Here’s to stash development!

Now that the wheels are in motion for an early exit from the 9-5 workaday world (followed by a possible relocation), I’ve been seriously right-sizing my fabric & notions stash.

Here are some things that have worked for me:

*Teach sewing classes for kids and design projects that use what you already have on hand!

*Designate a “kid” fabric basket and let your kids/students pull from here for craft projects or practice fabric for sewing. You’ll be surprised at how quickly it moves!

*Participate in QALs, but shop your stash as much as possible.

*Cut your scraps/leftovers into various sizes squares and strips for future scrappy projects. Lori Holt has some great ideas for scrap management over on her blog and YouTube channel.

*Organize your stash by color, theme, precuts, FQs, yardage, etc. I organize mine by color, theme, precuts and specialty categories. For example, all my Lori Holt type fabrics are in one area, precuts are stored together, dog, holiday and kid theme fabrics are stored together (mostly FQ or 1/2 yard cuts) and the rest of my quilting cottons are sorted by color. I do have one bin of flannels I am collecting for a special quilt.

*Sell off your stash/notions/machines via FB Marketplace or Etsy. Cut your own charm packs, 2-1/2″ strip packs, 10″ square bundles, etc. With supply chain issues currently impacting almost every aspect of our daily lives, take advantage of the fact you have product available and can ship.

*Sell or donate books you no longer want or need. Your local quilt guild, public library or Better World Books would be happy to take them off your hands.

*Gently used patterns, books, notions, and fabrics can be donated to quilt and sewing guilds for their annual yard sale fundraisers. Some will even accept working sewing machines and furniture, but you need to ask first.

Before you donate, make sure it’s an item that’s still in good shape and usable. If not, trash it!