I heart triangles

Lets talk stash. I have at least 30 quilt kits and WAY more fabric then one person should be allowed. So this year, I’m making a conscious effort to be more content with what I have and USE it. To this end, I’m following #SewMyStash2015 and doing the #SewMyStash2015challenge1. The first challenge was all about hearts, which, if I’m honest, I don’t love. In fact, I hate most Valentine’s Day decorations. So…this may be a problem.

Enter Pinterest to the rescue. This is an older print from the Etsy shop little things studio. Now, I may not love hearts, but I LOVE me some triangles! Half square, quarter square, I don’t care, as long as there are three sides, I’m in!  A friend of ours just had a baby in December, so this will be heading to them. As since it was a little girl, and it IS Valentine’s time, it’s going to be all pinks. But I love the navy blue in the print so much that I might have to make another one for me. I can just see this with olive green, grays and mustard.

I have {according to the rules of the challenge} until Sunday to {mostly} complete it.

Are you sewing your stash this year?  And where do you look for inspiration?

So what’s my fabric worth?

I buy fabric I like. I don’t really follow the trends or have a go to designer that I’m a groupie of. I couldn’t even tell you more than 4 designers out there right now. So, it came as a bit of a surprise to me when I started reading Karri of Berries post about how the #thegreatfabricdestash tag as been hijacked. (Go read it, I’ll wait)

Honestly, I knew Tula Pink was a big time designer. I knew. I even have some of her Neptune line. I bought it when it first came out, which matched up to when I first started quilting. But I didn’t know the huge market that exists for her old lines. One yard is up to $80 on ETSY. A layer cake of that line is selling for $189. This seems crazy to me. Is this because people love it this much? Is it the name on the bundle? Is it the cache of having some Neptune in your collection?

I bought my Neptune at a time when I was buying all the fabric I could. I have more than 30 kits just waiting for me to use from this time. It’s a little insane. So now, when I buy fabric, I have one test it has to pass. Am I buying it to sew with, or am I buying it to collect it?

I finally did find time to cut into my Neptune about a week before Kerri’s blog post when out. I used it to make a swap mini for the #schnitzelandboominiquiltswap, to send a mini quilt to someone I’ve never met, and likely will never meet in Australia.

Sometimes I wonder what that jelly roll was worth. Most of the time I don’t care. I use fabric I like to make things I like.

Content

This year, my theme word is content. I spend so much of my time wishing I had things, or wishing I could do things that I miss what I currently have and hold. I’m purposing myself to be more intentional about choosing to be content. I have a wonderful home. I have a loving husband. I have four great kids. I don’t need more stuff, I need to open my eyes and SEE.

To this end, I’m going to spend most of 2015 working around my house to use what I have, and make small improvements that will make me happy now, rather then waiting for the kitchen remodel, or the new floors. {It’s funny to me how much more I like my old floors when they are properly polished and shiny.} Most of my knitting and sewing projects will be coming from the {many} bins I have. I’m not calling this a full on no buy craft year, as I do have my eye on a custom dyed sock yarn and to learn more about the yarn dyeing process, but I want to first use what I have and find a pattern that works, rather then find a pattern, and need to buy yarn that works.

Will you be doing and #sewyourstash or #knityourstash this year?

-Elle