Sorting a Stash.....

       

(Here, I was sitting on the living room floor, sorting around me.)

I've spent some time over the weekend, sorting through some stash fabric.... but not my stash.  Via some of my husband's extended family, I was recently gifted with the stash from a deceased woman (elderly).  I couldn't bear the thought of them possibly just tossing the fabric, so I said I would take it and go through it to see what I would like to keep and pass along the rest to others or to charitable organizations.

I really didn't think to ask how much they thought it might be.  People, it filled the back of our mid 1990's SUBURBAN (This thing can comfortably fit 7 people and there is still the "trunk" area").  The first night I picked it up, our nephew stopped by (he was in town from Oregon) and packed up an old suitcase that we had acquired for just this purpose and packed up some material from one or two bags we had brought in.  His wife has recently joined a quilt guild in their new town, but he doesn't want her spending money on fabric (Their financial circumstances are pretty limited, I think).  These photos are what I sorted out AFTER he was here.

Oh, and there is still stuff in the Suburban... a whole basket of patterns/books and some boxes of I don't know what....

Honestly, most of this will be heading its way to Goodwill or wherever.  I have come across a few cool vintage type prints that I can bear to part with, some big pieces of muslin and a few cute cheater prints. There were a bunch of solids, but they didn't seem to feel like 100% cotton to me and they also seemed pretty thin, so I just packed them in a bag to go.  A lot of the fabrics seem to be really thin and I'd hate to give them to anyone I know, for fear they would wear out really quickly.  I also tossed a bunch of cut pieces that I have no clue what they were for.  I should have kept them to cut up for pet beds, but I didn't know when I would find the time to do that and I don't have enough space to store them.

I have contacted a couple bloggers that I thought about when I was going through the fabrics and saw something that made me think of them.  I'm going to send them boxes of fabric and one to the nephew's wife, too.  I just know my husband won't let me keep this stuff around forever, plus it's taking up my kitchen table which is my sewing area...so I can't sew until this is taken care of!

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Sorting through this much fabric has really made me think about my stash, too.  I've been trying to get my fabric organized and also to finish up WIP's, too, and this just emphasizes to me that I need to continue to work on this effort.  Heaven forbid anything should happen to me anytime soon, I wouldn't want my husband or any of my other family to have to deal with that.  I'd at least want it organized so that things would be easier.

I guess I know what I'll be doing for the next few months or so (I'm a slow organizer!).  Plus, I have some projects in the works and other things that I've committed to.

Sew Thinky Thursday -

My friend, Emily is hosting a new linky party over at her blog: Mommy's Nap Time  (take a minute to go see what Sew Thinky Thursday is all about...)

These were Emily's questions:
When did you start sewing? Tell us a bit about your sewing history. When did you realize you were really hooked? 

I think that I have been sewing forever, or so it seems.  Sewing has definitely always been in my life.  My mom has sewn, still does, and so does my aunt.  I have a photo of my cousin and I in matching dresses made by my mom.... let me go see if I can find it....  Apparently, I do not have the photo.... 

As I was thinking about these questions, I remembered as a teenager, buying little "kits" of already cut up squares, probably similar to a charm pack. I'm not sure what I was going to make with them, but I do know I never finished anything.  I seem to have a problem with finishing things and have to be very careful to try to complete one project before I start another.

We were able to do a bit of sewing when I was in school, too... I made some sort of stuffed pillow and a duffel bag. Then, in high school, I took a clothing class.  I managed to get an A on my projects, although I'm pretty sure that I never wore any of them (not sure why...)

In college, there was a period where flannel shirts were the "in" thing.  I made myself several flannel shirts.  They turned out nice... I wonder if either of those are lurking in the back of my closet... (score!)  For your viewing pleasure:

I remember buying a bunch of fabric when I was doing my student teaching, too.  I bet that's in a box somewhere..

Sometime after college, I inherited my grandma's sewing machine after she passed away.  It's a great 1960's Singer machine that still works remarkably well.

I go through crafty phases, so I didn't really do much sewing for a while... I was doing scrap booking, some crochet, and some knitting.  Maybe 4 years ago, I started back in with a bit of sewing and started thinking about buying a new machine.  Once I bought my new machine, that's when I started sewing a lot more.

I like all crafts, but sewing seems to be the "easiest" for me.  I can't do knitting or crochet for extended periods of time due to some issues with my hands. So, sewing seems to be the best long term craft choice for me :)

Plus, I really enjoy doing a good job when I sew my projects.  I'm a bit particular, especially for things I'm giving to other people.

I know this is a bit of a rambling post, sorry for being so scattered... I'm a bit ill with a cold/fever thing...  is that considered the flu?  I don't know, but I sure feel crummy!  As much as I don't like cold weather, I'm really wishing that it would get really cold and stay really cold for a while to kill off all the germs going around.  *sigh*

Dot Dot Dash Bag

Somehow, I've lucked out several times now and have gotten to be a bag tester for several pattern designers.  This time I was able to test the Dot Dot Dash Bag for Sara at Sew Sweetness.

There were lots of zippers to put in this bag, but I love how it turned out.   I also like that I can fit my Macbook Air in this bag, too.

Once I finished making it, it immediately went on a trip to Las Vegas with me.  If you take a look at Sara's post on her blog, you'll see all of the cool versions that everyone made!  It makes me want to make another.