While I'm busy quilting this weekend here's a little something I need your help with... :)
I'm obsessed in love with fabric. I think about it a lot. I buy a lot of it. I use a lot of it. I also have a lot of scraps. These scraps are taking over my sewing studio and it's not pretty. I have the best of intentions to use them in a quilt or in some other sort of creative project but then something else pops up that takes precedence. And so my lonely little scraps sit...
I'm a big believer in using your fabric and not hoarding it. I've applied that thinking to my fat quarters and yardage fairly well. I'm not afraid to use brand new stacks of fabric in a quilt. But maybe that's part of my problem; I use the new yardage dutifully and just accumulate scrap pile after scrap pile.
The nice explanation is that I don't want to be wasteful. But when it comes down to it I feel obligated to use every last scrap of fabric. I see these fabulous scrap quilts, really cool scrap management systems, I have the best of ideas to use them and then I end up making a new quilt out of bigger pieces of fabric in my stash. It's really out of obligation I hang on to them and it's silly to do that.
So here's my plan: out of each new quilt I make, I will be giving away or donating the leftover scraps of that quilt. I wish I had the time to make charity quilts but at this point in my life, I quilt sporadically when there's time. However, there are quilters out there who make these beautiful quilts for charity who I'm thinking could probably use some good sized scraps. By doing this, I'll be paring down the excess and doing something good in the process which I can certainly hope is the opposite of obligation... :)
Additionally, I know quilting can be an expensive hobby. It probably doesn't cost as much as our husband's golf outings but who's counting...? ;) Anyways, it takes time and money to accumulate a stash and that's without adding in all the notions and tools we count on to quilt. So I'm also going to be giving away more of my fabric and scraps to new and/or deserving quilters because let's face it, some of the biggest and best quilting bloggers around make lots of wonderful quilts and often they have sponsors and very little out of pocket when it comes to fabric. The last thing I would want is for a talented quilter to see all these beautiful quilts but give up because they don't have access to the fabrics that we all love, drool over and buy.
Sound like a good plan?? I hope so...
I haven't worked out all the details in my head so I would love some creative input from all my friends!
How would you organize this? Or... Do you work with a charity quilt group or know a deserving quilter?
Feel free to email me with your ideas as well...