Tuesday, January 06, 2015

My final figures for fabric usage in 2014 were:
Fabric bought;      138.1m
Fabric used;          170.15m
Total for the year; 32.05m

It's a good result, my stash shrank by 32 metres but I know I could have done better.  I had a lot of fun buying that 138 metres of fabric, and it certainly livened up the quilts I completed last year.  I don't want to limit my buying this year, but I want to use a lot more fabric. 

I'm going to have a backing and binding blitz for the tops I've already completed.  A lot of them do have backings stored with them, but many don't, so I want to go through the stash and see if I can get them all paired up with backings.  I like pieced backings, so it will be good to make some out of the smaller pieces in the stash.

I want to put aside bindings as well, I really love having the binding made and hanging in a bag with the top, it's one less job to tackle after the quilting.  And even if I change my mind, bindings never go to waste, I would just use it on another quilt.  It's only .5m for most quilts, so I can go through my regular stash and choose any half-metre that I'm not in love with, or has been hanging around too long.

I've been thinking about what I want my stash to look like at the end of the year;  I want lots more batiks, and more modern fabrics. 

This is my entire batik stash; not much, just two baskets, but once upon a time I had zero batiks, so I've come along since then.  My gosh though, it's expensive to build a stash from scratch!
I want lots more pretty colours, and not just the Reproductions that I love.  My stash used to contain a much wider variety of materials, and gradually it was pared down to just 1800s reproductions.  I don't mind that, I use them all the time, but I miss the pretty stuff, the things that I used to buy just because they made me smile. 

I think I'm going to have fun shopping this year, with an eye on expanding the variety in the stash drawers.  Maybe I should make this the year of Batiks!

5 comments:

Brenda 5:57 PM  

Like you I could never give up buying but need to reduce the stash as well. I'll be happy to just have used more than I bought no matter how small the gap is. I am certainly being more selective in my buying.

julieQ 10:17 PM  

I too am on a binding blitz this year!! I don't have many batiks either, but aren't they such fun to collect?

Sue SA 8:32 AM  

Sounds like a good plan, using up fabric into backs and binding, and shopping for new exciting fabrics! If you are moving away from reproductions into modern and batiks are you going to start making more modern style quilts, or stick to traditional patterns?

Wendy Caton Reed 11:59 PM  

I'm not sure I could (or want to) keep track of how much I buy, but I guess I do use a lot. Good for you and have fun using a lot more in 2015!

Tazzie 12:35 PM  

Wow, that's a great result Keryn, you used over 3 metres each week! I know I didn't even do that in a month. And well done for keeping track of your purchases, you're super organised.
Happy 2015 hon!
Hugs
Tazzie
:-)

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