My husband, Jim has had this print since I’ve known him.
At various times it has hung in our home (usually in the basement) and most recently in his office. When he retired, it returned home and is back in the basement where I see it when I go down to my sewing room. It is a picture of Janus—at least the top part is. I’m not sure what the bottom is supposed to be; maybe what’s inside his head, but it looks kind of empty. Anyway, Janus is the Roman god of transition, doorways, beginnings and endings. He looks both to the future and the past.
Janus describes me when it comes to quilting. I have dozens, perhaps hundreds, of UFO’s and a few fabric cupboards that look like this (although most are NOT this neatly stacked):
and a couple that look like this:
Every time I go down to work it is a tough decision whether to work on a UFO or start a new project. And if I start something new, should it be from traditional fabric or modern? Do all long-time quilters face these dilemmas?
Last year’s experiment revealed a sobering reality; I’m not sewing fast enough. In March 2015 I cut 40 yards of fabric into 2-1/2″ strips. So far I’ve made about 12 quilts from these strips and I have one more set to use. Now granted, I’ve used far more than 40 yards in making these quilts and I’m very curious to see the total yards busted when I finish them and do the final reckoning. I’m sure it will be well over 100 yards but the sad fact is I have no visual evidence of a reduction in my stash.
For the most part, I really like the quilts I make with traditional fabric but I also love the new stuff. Isn’t that what drew most of us into quilting–gorgeous fabrics that made our heads spin with possibility? So now I’m finding myself looking back at my “old” stash yet feeling giddy when I look forward to the fresh, contemporary prints.
Jim may have tipped the scale when he told me if I ever want to move to a warmer climate I’d better get rid of all those bins because we aren’t paying to move them. I do hate winter so for now, I guess I’ll just try to sew faster!
Stash Report: April 17, 2016
Fabric In: 0 yards
Fabric Out: 0 yards
Fabric Purchased Year-to-date: 24 yards
Fabric Used Year-to-date: 1.5 yards
Net Gain: 22.5 yards
Linking up with Stash Reports at Patchwork Times.
Wow! That is a fabulous stash, neat or not. Good luck with slicing and sewing.
Rhonda have you thought of giving some of the fabric the old stuff of course to charity? It kills two birds with one stone it gets some of the yardage out of your house, and it gives fabric to others to make more charity quilts. Just a thought. Big hug.
That looks like a great stash cabinet to use for any number of quilts. I put myself on a fabric diet last year and did well. I finished 12+ quilts and am still making scrap quilts with no evidence in sight of reducing the stacks. So for me, buying more fabric is not an option. I’m too old to probably use half of what I have, and I do not like to waste, so I plan to keep on working on UFO’s. It is a challenge and goal for each year. I’m not tempted by new fabric if I stay out of the shops!. lol Good luck on your decision. I would NOT want to move what I have in bins, that’s for sure.
Gettng through the stash is a challenge. I tackled my UFO and stash a couple of ways a few years ago. Firstly I went through my UFOs and wrote down every one of them and worked out where I was up to. Then I put myself on a diet. For a whole year I decided I wasn’t going to buy any fabric unless it was to complete an already started project. I also resolved to NOT start any more projects for that year. I stuck to it too.. except when I got some fabric to make 3 quilts for new babies in the family – I had no suitable UFOs for them.
After that year I let myself off the hook a little but I resolved that I could only buy fabric if I had a particular project in mind (Sometimes I buy backing but that is all now) and I also resolved to finish any project I started… to keep working on it till its done. I have largely stuck to that one too. It might not work for you and it might not be what you want to do but it does work. I have a blog post coming up in a few days time on UFOs which you might be interested in. (on the 25th… but it goes up at 8AM australian time so it will be the afternoon of the 24th for you)