Thursday, August 9, 2007

It's Not a Stash Unless I Say It's a Stash

I have never been a stasher. I buy only as much fabric as I can sew. My mantra has been, "I need more clothes, not more fabric." But since my NY fabric shopping trip, I now own more fabric than I have ever owned at one time. But it's still not a stash.
Here's why:
  • Every piece is fabric has been assigned to a pattern. If I had fabric and I didn't know what I was going to do with it, that would be a stash. I have a long "Sewing To Do List", not a stash.
  • I had to move only minimal amounts of fabric and other stuff to make room for the new purchases. I just need more efficient storage space; I don't have a stash.
  • I can sew up the fabric I have in the foreseeable future. I have enough to keep me busy until Spring 2008, and I consider Spring the foreseeable future. I have my projects lined up for Fall and Winter sewing, not a stash.
  • Every piece of fabric is best suited to a particular season (Fall) and therefore has a short shelf-life. Well, one piece is a lightweight cotton, but the blouse pattern to which it is assigned calls for a lining. Since this is my future Fall wardrobe, I know I'll get it sewn. And, that's definitely not a stash.
For the reasons, outlined above, I will not call my current collection of fabric a stash. A lot of sewers stash fabric - not that there's anything wrong with that - but I'm not one of them. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :)

PS: No, the picture is not my stash!
(Credit where credit is due)

5 comments:

  1. Hi,

    I am a frequent visitor to your blog and decided to finally write something. I apologize for the very very short notice but am sending this anyway....

    http://www.brother-foodnetwork.com/

    It's a contest for designing the chef coats for the "Iron Chef" but you must: "Submit your original coat design by August 10, 2007". Um, that's tomorrow. (lol) Anyway, in case you're interested...here's the link (again)....http://www.brother-foodnetwork.com/

    Why you? Well, um...aren't you the one making Barber smocks for your nephew? (smile)

    Sew Long. . .

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  2. I totally understand! I have a very small stash of fabric (maybe 3 bins) that's there for "when I need it". I also have a collection that has specific patterns assigned to it. Every once in a while I go through the stash and see if I'm still interested in the fabric I've saved. If it doesn't strike me, it moves on to better places (like my MIL, etc).

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  3. I do the same thing. I don't call mine a stash because every piece has been assigned... I just haven't gotten around to sewing it.

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  4. thank you so much! I just added up my "not" stash and I have 157 yards. I'm so glad I don't have a stash...

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  5. First your reasoning made me howl with laughter...any way you want to justify it sister! Second, the picture you started your post with just made my eyes tear up and my mouth moist...why because that would be my dream room to create in! I am a proud fabric collector and have the closet to show for it! *LOL* Plus stashing (or collecting as I call it) makes me happy!

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