Late last year I was totally overwhelmed by the disaster that my sewing room had become. I know that everyone says things like this but seriously my room looked as bad as any segment on a reality TV show for hoarders!!! Don't get me wrong as I have no problem with my hobby ... collecting fabric! I do have a problem when my fabric collection makes it impossible to participate in my other hobby ... using said fabric! Taking back control over my sewing room involved moving forward with different strategies!
The first thing we did in the overhaul of my sewing room was to pull everything out. There was an awful lot of fabric and to be very honest the majority of it I knew I would never, ever, ever use again!!! So I gave it away. It felt AWESOME!!! It took a lot of energy to do this and it took up a lot of potential sewing time so I knew I didn't want to find myself back in that hoarders haven any time in the future. How could I change my old behaviours? That was the million dollar question!
The one thing that I was certain of when I began planning how to move forward was that I didn't want to stop collecting fabric. This is one of my absolute joys in life! I love fabric. I love everything about it!! I love selecting fabric. I love dreaming about what I can make with it. I love bringing it home with me. I love looking at it. I love touching it! I especially love using it! So the option of stopping buying fabric simply wasn't an option for me.
The answers really were found by looking at the fabric that I ended up giving away. Most of this fabric was 'left over bits'. The pieces of fabric that remained after I finished a quilt. Once I realised this then the answer was simple ... don't have anything left over!!! This is where this strategy was born. I came up with a handful of simple one block quilts that I could make from my left over fabric. I labeled little containers with the cuts required for these quilts and promptly went back to enjoying my hobby. Now when I cut fabric to make a project I take a few extra minutes to cut all of the remaining fabric into set cuts that I collect into these marked containers. These little containers gradually fill until there is enough pieces to make a quilt top. Perfect, right?
Nine Patch Stars
Taking control of my fabric stash with a clear strategy moving forward has helped me feel excited by my left over fabric not frustrated by the mess I create or by a growing stash!
You can find the simple construction details for this one block quilt by clicking on the following link
This very simple Nine Patch Stars quilt is one of these projects. This wonderful scrappy quilt came together using 3.5" squares that I cut from fabric left over from a primary project. Once my little container was full I added some white fabric and set about creating this fabulous quilt.
There are some things to remember about this strategy. These projects shouldn't be onerous! They need to be simple, quick to make and look great. Plenty of bang for your buck! If these projects were difficult, hard to cut, difficult to construct ... then you're simply creating another burden for yourself. Make these 'bonus' quilts like a little holiday ... something we all need at the moment!!!
So there you have it, another one block quilt to add to your growing repertoire of remnant buster quilts. Set forth and create!
Cheers
Kellie