Old Way of Thinking

Talking with a fairly new quilter the other day, I had mentioned that I have a stash of fabric. But before I go into this story, let me first tell you that my stash is by no means 'out of control', in fact, it is much smaller of a stash than many of my friends have (jealous of those lucky shits). I didn't even elude to her that I had an overabundance of fabric. What I said was that I have to really focus on getting projects done, and done fast. Upon hearing that I had (at least) 25-30 UFO's to get done, not counting fabric that I bought for projects not started yet, or kits for that matter, she immediately began to help me with her advice that I should not start a new project until my current one is done. She also kindly mentioned that I could donate my fabric to church groups and maybe even post my fabric on Craig's list for people to come pick up. I about injured myself laughing. I know that I probably offended her, but I couldn't hold it in. lol.

Now, before you think of me as an un-sharing hoarder, let me tell you that I certainly do give A LOT of fabric away, especially if it was given to me by someone who wanted me to find a good home for it. I even buy fabric for people as I am shopping, knowing that they were looking for it, or would simply like it. I am always trading fabric and mailing fabric via Flickr...worse, I am always prowling the Internet for fabric that friends are looking for. The bad part about that is you keep coming across more fabric that you now want (hence another UFO created).

Going back to our new quilter, I remember a time (many, many years ago) thinking that you must do one project at a time; and that you must only buy fabric for that project. It is kind of a cute theory. It would certainly require a hell of a lot of control. But let me be the first to tell you that most quilters are not happy or creative confined to a limited perimeter. Too much structure and you end up with ''boring''. I have become enlightened as a quilter over the years to this new way of thinking that you don't worry too much about all of these unfinished objects, and that it is OK to collect new fabrics that make you happy. It is the journey that we love. Besides, all of my fabric can go to the ladies at church when I die. Hopefully they will love Amy Butler and Heather Bailey as much as I do.