Monday, July 13, 2009

Instant Stash

Now I can say, "I have a stash". A nun from my daughter's former high school called to say she had some fabric I might be interested in. "Some fabric" turned out to be four green trash bags and three large boxes full of fabric. The fabric belonged to the mother of a secretary at the school and reflected the taste of a 70 year old woman. There were lots of double knits, polyester gabardines and fabrics that are really not my taste. But Sister was motivated to get rid of the fabric and it's hard to say no to a nun when she is motivated! I took lots (but not all) of it because I knew she wanted me to, not because I thought I would use the fabric. I'll go through the stash again and sort out the fabrics I'm sure to use. The rest can be used for test garments. Those who know my sewing habits know this much fabric makes me uncomfortable. But I admit, it does feel good to know I'll always have something to sew.



My second source of fabric was Morocco, via my daughter. Before she left, I asked her to bring me fabric, even though she knows nothing at all about fabric. As luck would have it , the mother in her host family is a tailor/seamstress/upholsterer and helped my daughter select three pieces. I'm supposed to use the fabric to make a long, caftan-like garment commonly worn in Morocco (DD doesn't remember the Arabic name of the garment, but assures me it is NOT a caftan). But I think I'll use the pink and the blue to make tunic tops using BWOF 06-2009-135. The black and white should make a nice blouse to go with a black skirt or pants – maybe BWOF 09-2008-137 & 138. I'm going to shuffle the projects in my queue so I can finish one of the tunics before my daughter goes back to UVA. She is such a sweetie - I want her to know how much I appreciate the fabric.

15 comments:

  1. Lovely fabric your dd brought home. I am with you and too much fabric sitting around sometimes overwhelmes me.

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  2. *LOL* That much fabric must be giving you the hives! Take a deep breathe, it will be fine...now all you need is to get snowed in for a few weeks and you will sew that up in no time!

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  3. NIce! I think the tunics are a nice nod to the tradition of the country where they came from.

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  4. Brave woman (and great choices) to let your kid pick you some fabrics.

    I let mine do it, but I'm always scared since my son tends to pick fabrics even I don't like.

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  5. Lucky girl...the tunics look interesting.

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  6. Do you mean djellaba or jallaba? I think they also have caftans in Morocco but they're spelled khaftan.

    Isn't fabric from another country and culture fun? I love to shop for fabric in other countries, but it does make it harder to cut into the fabric because I don't want to waste it or spoil it.

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  7. great fabric. My dd would rather slit her wrists than go fabric shopping, so I consider you very lucky. She is going to China, and coming home in September, so she really could bring me some fabric. It's not like I really need any more though because unlike you I love having a stash.
    Djelaba? I am unsure of the spelling, but I think that that is what the garment is called, or there abouts. I think that you'll get much more use out of the tops you've picked.

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  8. Ooo...free fabric - you lucky duck! How could you say no to a nun? It's divine intervention!

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  9. Nice fabric that your DD got you. I really like the blouse pattern for the black/white fabric.

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  10. Nice fabrics! I especially like the black and white one your dd sent you. :)

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  11. I really like the B/W fabric from Morocco. I admire your ability to keep the stash at bay. Especially since I've estimated that I have about 350 pieces of fabric. That's not yardage, just an estimate of the items.

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  12. I especially love the black and white fabric.

    www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com

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  13. I would have a heart attack on the spot if my daughter ever shopped for fabric for me without my begging her and/or paying her to do it. I think you should make a caftan just because it would be something fun and different to wear.

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  14. Have a great time with all that fabric!

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  15. WOW, that black and white fabric is spectacular. If that is a rather large plaid, a skirt might not do it justice - this dramatic pattern deserves a glorious maxi dress or sheath dress. You can make endless skirts out of a lot of different fabrics, how often do you score a rare, dramatic fabric that would look great in a larger garment?

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