Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Guilty~

 I have been quilting for 20 years. 
Yes, I started as a wee child. 
Fabric color and designs have really exploded in the last 7-8 years. 
I remember seeing my first  
Amy Butler Gypsy Caravan line of fabric. 
I thought I had died and gone straight to heaven. 
From that point on, I just couldn't do the muted, 
dark, tea-stained look any longer. 
I needed bright, large, and in charge fabrics. 
So what's a girl to do with all the excess yardage that has accumulated over the years?
Corrie was here this weekend and we cranked, 
AKA accuquilted,  
through a bunch of yardage. 
I decided to just 'tumble' it all.  
I'll make tumbler quilts for nephews and nieces.  
The tumbler quilt goes together so fast!  
I had yardage pieces that weren't big enough 
for the 7" strips that I needed for the tumbler.  
So I cut them into strips and then threw 
the rest of the parts and pieces away.  
But now the guilt is setting in. 
I haven't been able to bring myself 
to empty the garbage can.  

There's a lot of fabric in there and 
I have another garbage sack full. 
Darn that guilt.  

It's easy when they're not your scraps.  
I was so bold as to tell Jenny to throw her scraps 
away and get on with her life!  
Rude!  
Look at all the things she can do with those!
Then I made the mistake of re-visiting 
Ms. Leaders and Enders and now 
I really can't throw them away. 
But I really, really, really want to. 
I want to get on with my life. 
But instead....
....I will grab a good movie 
and start digging through the garbage.  
There better not be any banana peels in there! 

Post Edit:  Okay, I did it.  I watched both Mansfield Park and Becoming Jane.  Dug through the blasted bags and kept the most worthy of pieces.  Now they're going to sit and stare at me.  I should have just hauled it all out to the garbage!

21 comments:

  1. I have a hard time throwing scraps away too...I did the other day...I just made myself do it...though I'm not sure they were as large as yours. =)

    Great idea with the tumbler quilts!

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  2. Hey thanks for the idea on the tumbler quilts...I've been wanting to make numerous quilts for kids for Christmas...and I think I may have just found the right quilt to make! :)

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  3. I was going to say watch out for the apple cores. ;) Let it go. You make me do that all of the time...let it go.

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  4. Wow, I'd never throw all that fabric away. I see lots of string quilts in your future. Love string quilts!!!

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  5. Haha, funny post. I can't imagine having that much fabric.period.

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  6. dear dear Des! I feel your pain! I think the tumbler block in the main reason I covet an Accuquilt cutter! good for you to use up stash! how about some more Orange Slice quilt kits with those GINORMOUS leftover scraps??

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  7. I love working with scraps and doing a hit or miss style quilt, fun to do and fun to experiment.

    Debbie

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  8. You are SOOOO funny! It's the Fabric Mother come back to haunt you for even daring to suggest that Jenny get rid of her scraps. Heresy!!! Good Luck and have Fun!!!

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  9. Seriously--what IS a girl to do?! It's enough to make me just walk out of the studio and close the door!

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  10. LOL I hope you didn't find any banana peels either! :-o I love scraps, but I do need to tame them some and start cutting some into useable pieces~ an GO would really help that process. Maybe you should just box them up and send them to someone else's house~ guilt gone! ;-)

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  11. I think throw them away! Or donate them to goodwill. I just went through my fabric and got rid of all the poor quality, boring fabrics that don't really tickle my fancy. Some of it was actually yardage. I felt kind of bad about it at first, but donating it to Goodwill, I hope someone will snatch it up, make something they love with it, and that the money will help someone in need. I hope!

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  12. Love the tumblers! Have been doing the leaders and enders way too!! Just can't bring myself to "throw" it away. I think you did a great job. Hope there are no banana peels! Have fun.

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  13. I have always called my leaders/enders "push you pull me" after Dr. Doolittle's double-headed critter.... all the other quilters laughed at me!

    I save all of my scraps, too! I could probably keep quilting for the rest of my life and not run out of scraps....

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  14. When I have fabric that I have no use for but, can't just toss, I post it on Freecycle or Craigslist in the free forum. some one can always use it!

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  15. I too have so much fabric that I no longer prefer. It will take me forever to use but it is so hard to get rid of. Great idea to cut it all into tumblers. For the leftovers, you can have a scrap giveaway!

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  16. some use scraps as stuffing ...
    fabric toys, knitted dolls, pin cushions ...

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  17. hey, send those scraps to me! Don't throw them away!

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  18. I have to admit ... my heart skipped a beat when I read you were throwing them out ... ouch! I keep thinking with my scraps I should use them as pillow stuffing (behind batting of course) the next time I make a pillow and then when I'm desperate for a "scrap I just know I have somewhere" I can take a seam ripper to a pillow, grab my scrap and then stitch it up again.... genius, eh? :) :) LOL

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  19. Great title. You had me hooked. We guilt ourselves over way too many things. I am rolling in it tonight. I've got to get away from it and enjoy life.

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  20. Couldn't help but laugh. Been there - done that. :) blessings, marlene

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  21. HA HA I think most of us are the same way. So funny how even when we feel like we have done enough with the fabric there is just enough left to do more with. Darn those scraps. But at the price of fabric you need to use every inch that you can to make it worth it. Hang in there. Someday they will turn into something wonderful. SOMEDAY! LOL!

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