Yes we all have them don't we?
I told you that I had "bins" of fabric and I loved all your suggestions
but I don't think you understand the scale I am talking about.
This is my dirty little secret.
I actually went to the basement and took photos.
Some are a little blurry but you get the idea.
(It was dark and I was mortified that I was going to actually confess to this to anyone
except my family!!
Here you go:
In this photo you can see 6 bins, two smaller bins with books and patterns, and a laundry basket
Tight quarters so you can barely see that there are 4 bins down under the "pile"
These two are one continuous line of bins,
I think there are 11 or 12 in here, along with some fabric piled on top.
This is a close up on two of the bins
Here are 6 more.
They make a great place to put my laundry baskets when I am doing the wash!
Ok so this is no a bin photo, it is all the magazines and some books and
some odds and ends of sewing/crafting stuff.
Now you know my dirty little secret!
I have been thinking about this and figure that I have close to 35 bins!!
I think I will have to sell it in batches or
I will never get through it and live long enough to use what I keep!
I will put some up here and some on Ebay I think.
My friend, Cori, suggested that and said she will help and encourage me.
Now you can see what I am facing.
A little overwhelming, and embarassing.
I used to make dolls with my SIL and
probably about 10 of the bins are stuff from back in that day and
they are most likely things I won't use now so that's good.
That stuff might just get straight out donated somewhere.
Please don't judge.
I am trying to reform and others will benefit, right?
Next post I will show you my new space as I took photos of that too.
Is this hopeless??
Please tell me it's not!
Am I destined for Hoarders???
~XOP~
Do you have a dirty little secret you would like to share?
Leave your DLS and you may win some fabric.
I think I can spare it!
Leave your DLS and you may win some fabric.
I think I can spare it!
40 comments:
You should do a linking party and see others little secrets ;)
And im not going to judge you since i have bins too Lol
Enjoy
Marta
I have 2 bins, a couple of Amazon boxes, a drawer and a couple of baby-sized bookcases. Clearly I have a long way to go to get to your stash level. What a great excuse to buy more fabric! Thanks for sharing.
Hahaha! I'm willing to help you out to add to my bins! I'm looking for airy black on white fabrics, mostly white, thus airy! I'll be checking back to see what you have for sale.
I think it is wonderful that you are sharing your 'space' in all it's honesty. There really needs to come a time when you have to take stock.
I have bins of UFOs or WIPs whichever you want to call them. :D I think we all have bins! :D
Well....the fact of the matter is that they could create a whole other Hoarders show with just quilters. I would like to say, "shame on you" but that would be the pot calling the kettle, black...hummmm The one thing I did do during my last cleaning binge was to go through every single magazine and rip out those patterns I actually thought I would make, put them in a plastic cover and binder and threw the rest of the mags away...yikes but it created more space.
I have a sewing room. In my sewing room is my sewing stuff. My husband sat down in the chair in our bedroom, not my sewing room, and said what is in those boxes under the bed. It was more fabric. My little dark secret. Fabric in boxes under the beds and in boxes in the sewing room.
I think everyone who quilts has fabric obsession. My sister keeps telling me I need an intervention, LOL. Lucky for me, my husband is great - he just keeps buying/building me more cabinets~! Personally, I can't wait to see what you pull out of those bins. I'm looking for some vintage Moda if you find any.
I think my dirty little secret is that I would love to fold it all the same way, and put it all on shelves with all the colors in color order stacked nice and neat. I watched a video on Pinterest recently on fabric folding, and went and re-folded all my fabric and ironed it LOL. Can I come over??
I have a few random comments, One (I) who lives in a glass house should not throw stones (and no, I do not plan to count my fabric...LOL. There is a reason I gutted the 9' x 9' closet and it is now completely lined with (adjustable) shelves. I SO wish I was closer, I would totally come help you play! A couple of months ago (after a thurough "going through" to gather like items together) I went through all of the magazines, pattern and books and got rid of a bazillion of them. The questions was not "do I like this?" it was "Will I make this?" WHOLE lot more manageable now :-) I have to tell you I had NO idea it was weighing me down, but it felt SO darned good...I can't even describe the weight that was lifted! One (VERY selfish) request...when you start listing (ebay or where ever, LOL) PLEASE post a link? There are some older things I would love to find :-) JUST saying.
As a quilter we all have lots of stuff. I'm shopping in my own sewing room, it feels good.
Thank you for posting this, you're not the only one who has bins and bins of fabric. I have been making pillowcases for ConKerr so I can use up some of it. I know that I will keep buying fabric so I might as well get some going out the door in a way that will be appreciated.
I always wondered, if I had a quilt shop and was surrounded by fabric every day would I still want a piece of each one?
Please post when you get ready to list as I am sure there will be fabrics that I will try and talk myself out of.
Thank you, Thank you! Now I don't feel so bad about how my sewing area looks. I don't how to sort things! I can sort fabric that is primarily a solid color, but how about prints? Some are all colors. Where do you put a polka dot that is red, green, blue and white? Florals that are all colors? And my containers are full, with stuff piled on top of them. What is a scrap? Sometimes I think most of my fabric is scrap. I rarely have more than a yard, and sometimes that is all cut up. My scrap container is overflowing too. Any help here? LOL Joan
Recently I (finally) got to have my own sewing room and I am in the process of sorting all the "stuff and stash" that has been tucked away in closets and bins and anywhere it would fit.
My new sewing room is sew nice!
There are two good sized closets in my room ... both of which are still filled with the collective assortment of boxes and bins that I need to sort and organize.
I am also finding many out of sight, out of mind Unfinished Fabric Objects.
I have even finished a couple of them!
Sometimes I sort ... sometimes I sew ... it is all good ... :) Pat
Pam!!! Im so excited for you! this is going to be so liberating for you!!! tackle it a box at a time is what Im thinking. like you said, donate straight away the stuff that is just not gonna sell...ebay is probably a good idea, you dont have to 'set' prices and it should be gone at the end of the auction, right? fingers crossed, YES! and get your foliding systme going for what stays! SMS is having giveaway day starting Monday, you can set aside some for that maybe? my flickr stream has pics of my stash, no judging from me! 3 enormous book shelves of fabric keeps my mouth shut!
Think of it like housework- it has to be done and you have to start somewhere!
Although I do have fabric hidden all over the house it's a molehill compared to yours Pam!! get sewing!
I have the same amount. When my dad died I spent maybe 5 grand on fabric! Then when I moved and realized what I had I too felt bad. It took me 5 days to organize them and I still have7 bins after stuffing 3 large bookshelves. They are the reason I have an extra room, just for my fabric. Just go through it and save what you want and sell what you dont. Hey, i may buy some!
What makes fabric so addicting? I find it so funny that I am so addicted to fabric. I am not a shopper by any means, clothes, shoes etc. But when it comes to fabric, books and patterns I do not have too much control! Thanks for sharing, I feel much better knowing that I am not alone! Good luck getting through all those bins. You may come across a real treasure!
you already know what my dirty little secret is - well, one of them, anyway - and the biggest roadblock that i face with getting it to be a not-so-dirty secret was the GUILT that accompanies the Great Pile of Stuff - guilt can be the Gentle Persuader or the Unconquerable Demon ... Let It Go - this is NOT hopeless (i know - i'm not sure that your Hoard is as high as my Great Pile of Stuff) ... after a month of purging the Past Binges i became more and more ruthless - and if i was in a rotten mood, NOTHING was sacred - so stop beating up yourself (that's why we have kids) and Get On With It.
p.s. - unless you work better with a deadline - it takes however long it takes, right?!? we're not running a race, are we?!?
Wow! Looks like "you're the winner"!
If you start going thur all that and find a charm pack of Moda Kansas Trouble called snow blooms I'd like to buy it from you. Want one badly to go with my jelly roll.
I just started quilting 2 years ago and i have 4 bins on top of what is in my cabinets! YOu are not alone!
Don't feel bad as you are not alone. My husband and daughter know about my "little" secret and just raise their eyebrows. I have come to realize I have so much fabric that I couldn't possibly use it all up in my lifetime and that I should go through it and decide what to give away and what to keep. Every time I try I convince myself I need it all and can't even part with a fat quarter. Why get so emotional over a piece of fabric is silly but I do. I admire your determination to sort through your stash, good luck.
If I had room for 35 bins some where in my house I would probably have that many. I have sewing bins, about 15 in my room, about 8 craft bins in my bedroom and another 7 bins in the guest room. I am on the verge of calling hoarders for myself. I hate to toss out anything I might be able to use. I have 4 bins of just scraps (pieces less than a fat quarter) that I keep trying to get rid of but they just keep multiplying. This doesn't even count my scrap booking stuff.
I hate to admit it but my DLS is that I wish I had half your stash. Most of the material that came down to Mexico with me are not cottons (mostly polar fleece & knits) and the cost of ordering fabric online & having it shipped is very prohibitive, shipping just about doubles the cost of anything I purchase and I still haven't been able to find a shop that sells good quilting material down here.
So don't worry about your DLS, be happy that you have plenty to choose from (and don't have to wait up to a month for shipping).
Marj in Mexico
thelady(at)hotmail(dot)com
Well, honestly, I don't see a thing wrong with having as much stash as we want!!! We are quilters and we simply cannot quilt without fabric, right? It is the material of our trade and a necessity! I have gone through and cleaned out a lot of my old stuff recently - it feels so good and you are going to be so happy when you get that done! But I hope you won't be embarrassed about what you keep - if it makes you happy, it's fine :*) I love having a large stash to "shop" in when I start a new quilt or have to whip up a gift quickly.
Are we going to see you on the next episode of hoarders? :D KIDDING -- get your fabric posted lady and it will sell! I just donated some kids fabric to my LQS charity bee and they were practically in tears - so that could be an option. Can't wait to see the new space
Hey Joan, I hope you come back to read this since I don't have an email address for you. I am not sure about the sorting part. I hope I will have more insight when I begin to do it and will let you know.
My little dirty secret is when I have fabric being shipped to me, I make sure the boxes arrive during the week when my husband isn't home, and I throw the boxes in the trash on trash day after he is gone. Not that he would really care, but hey, it is what it is!!!
I am interested in neutrals. Anything that reads white, off white, tanish. Light colored backgrounds, don't care what is printed on it. Can't wait to see what you decide to destash. Oh and your stash is NOTHING compared to this ladies stash.....
http://www.sewwequilt.com/2010/10/welcome-to-my-underwear-drawer.html
I think a "hoarder" just keeps stuff to have it... but you use fabric. Granted, you have gotten a bit ahead of the "using it up in a timely manner" but it's nothing to be ashamed of. You have A PLAN to destash... and left fabrics you most likely will not use go on to others who will use it. Truly, a noble undertaking... and freeing as well...
:)
I enjoyed seeing the extent of your stash & found it a bit hilarious (in a good way!) as I am a bit the same, my stash is nowhere near yours but I have only been quilting & buying/stashing/hoarding for 2 & a bit years. I would describe my stash as my dirty little secret & would be horrified for anyone (other than a fellow quilter/stasher) to see it in it's entirety.
That sure is a lot. I don't feel bad for the much smaller amount that I have. I am a really great organizer and I would love to help you get it all neat and pretty. Just say the word and I'm there. LOL
I moved 63 totes when going to another state and YES it can overwhelm. I had a wonderful daughter new to quilting but an extreme organizer and she helped me set up my new space...duplicates were put on the free table at guild, donated or thrown away..I can't do yard sales any more where if you have fifty cents on something they want to know if you'll take less. Lots of fabric left to good use and what was left is labeled and on shelves where I can find it. I love working on my quilts now and MUST w/ threat of death not buy more and sew up what I have. I'm three years on that and buying only when I need something and it's not in my stash. Good luck.
My stash looks like yours! I have it pretty organized and try to use it when I can, alternating between a stash project and a new project. I make a lot of pillowcases and aprons and that is a great way to use it up. Also, try scrappy backings for your quilt. Donate what you don't like and keep what you love!
My basement looks like that ! The DH and DS are going to be adding wallboard to my workroom ( remember the termites!?) today so I may be moving out of the basement .... on 6 months or so!! BTW... half of the basement stuff is my husband's!!
My mother in law's bedroom looks like that. Sadly, so does the living room, dining room, and family room. Even sadder is that she lives with us!!! I have a little fabric stash. 1 plastic tub and a small bookcase. But my dirty little secret is... I tend to keep books. Even if I really didn't like them, they go in the bookcase.
Thanks for answering my comment about sorting. Please, when you begin sorting, let me in on that secret too. I would like to organize after Christmas so I can use my fabric more efficiently. I need help! :) Joan
I just started quilting 2 years ago and I started to have a corner full of bins. Currently I am begging my husband to spare a space at his study room for my sewing corner :D
Oh Pam!! Thanks for this post.. I love your DLS! I tend to be a collector too.. I used to scrapbook and I have a room full of scrap stuff that I will sell and give away next year... I will, I will, I will!!! I tend to be a procrastinator when it comes to getting some things done.. I do meen well, but sometimes it exausts me just thinking of all those things I plan to do. So I guess thats my DLS :-) But realy want to get rid of all that stuff... then I can spread out more with my sewing. And thats good right?
I have about 2 or 3 of those bins with Fabrics..
Oh my this is SOO familiar, I spent about 3 weeks last summer helping my mom clean out her basement & sewing room....looked exactly like this! Finally convinced her to do the same- let go of some of it so she could enjoy using the others. Compilations from at least 30 years of sewing.... you can do it too! :)
Post a Comment
Your comments make my day so much more special. Please, I invite you to share what you think. ~Happy Stitching~