Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Fabric Destashing : :

With each finished sewing project & quilt comes more precious scraps that I tuck away into drawers, bins, and boxes!

fabrics2

I have so much difficulty letting go of anything usable and even more trouble admitting that lately it feels as though my fabric stash is stifling my creativity more than it is helping it. These days it feels a little overwhelming and so I've decided it's time to do a major destashing of fabrics, to quiet my shelves a bit, and I'm hoping you're up for it?!

LOVE!

I've started making piles and oh, committing is so hard! I love my fabrics or they wouldn't be here! Reading Faith's, Fresh Lemons Quilts, perfectly timed super helpful post this morning was just the encouragement I needed! Her tips are wonderful, especially since Instagram is where I plan to share my destash, as well!

More Love!

It's going to take me some time to get everything ready and I'm still not sure on the best way to divide up my fabrics -- by color, theme, designer, manufacturer, all of the above? I know I'll have lots of scrap bundles, which would be my favorite if I were looking to stash! What would you find most helpful?

all stacked up -- pinks

Be sure to follow me on Instagram if you're interested in joining in! I hope to start listing as soon as tomorrow or Friday if today's purging goes well! I'll be pricing to sell, including the hashtag #thegreatfabricdestash on each post, and the first person to leave me a comment including their email address will receive the stack.

Hoping to sew lots & lots today!!

Wish me luck!!    Maureen

81 comments:

  1. My husband and I are building a house and living in one room of the basement while we build it. I have stuff in boxes everywhere and it overwhelms me to think of what to keep and what to let go. I NEED to de-stash too, as it really does hamper the creativity. Good job!

    Cindy Bee

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement Cindy and best of luck to you!!

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  2. I'll be watching for your detash!! Please ship to Canada. :) :) :)

    tgallop@mts.net
    www.willcookforshoes.ca

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    1. To ship to Canada I would have to use a USPS International envelope and those are around $19.95. How do you feel about paying that for shipping?

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    2. Depends how much a USPS envelope would hold? I'd love to try to get some as well. How brave of you to get rid of some things. I would have such a hard time doing that as well. I think you should bundle them as you like them. Getting something another quilter has "curated" is fun in itself! sherri@threadridinghood.com

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    3. I've bought fabric from the US (shipping to canada), most sellers say they can fit around 10yds in an envelope but it depends on the size of the cuts and probably takes practice! i would pay it for sure depending on what i was getting :) i was going to say you should put together kits so people could make one of your lovely quilts but maybe that would be more work than it's worth (and defeat the purpose of destashing, if you're still doing the work of planning for a quilt?).

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    4. I would love if you send to Canada!!! If you can fit a good bundle in an envelope I would pay the shipping for sure! My email Jocelyne.gallien@gmail.com

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  3. Good luck Maureen, I LOVE the look or your STASH. Would you be sending to Australia by any chance.
    And would you be listing on FB either, I don't do Instagram, just was notified via FB.
    cindyw6621@yahoo.com.au

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  4. I will be watching and hoping to get some of these.

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  5. There must be something in the air - I rearranged my sewing room and forced myself to get rid of teeny, tiny little pieces that I might need in some sort of piecing project. Jeez, how many little pieces could one person use that keep piling up each and every day. I then organized and had more room than I could have imagined. Between yarn and fabric. I even had kept little tiny balls of yarn because I would use them for something. I scared myself. Future hoarder:) I too am having trouble though on how to sort the fabric, so I did color unless I still had full bundles of a collection and then I kept them together. Now I can get to work again creating instead of pawing trying to find exactly what I want. I found this link yesterday which has some good ideas for fabric storage - http://youputitup.com/10-fabric-storage-ideas-for-all-budgets/

    Good luck and will watch for your destash

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  6. Maureen, I want to say Thank You for Thinking of all of us , it is much appreciated .
    Now I think that we all love a Buffet , a little bit of this and a little bit of that . Not to mention it will help and make it much easier putting it all into piles .
    Congrats in adavansce to all the lucky gals and again Thank you Maureen you are a sweetheart

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  7. Will you only be listing on Instagram ?
    Or will some be available in your shop?
    I personally know nothing about Instagram :(

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    1. Instagram is the place everyone is destashing these days and things go super quick, which is what I need to happen! If I happen to have bundles that do not sell, I will list them on my facebook with the same rules, first to comment with email get the bundle. I'm really trying to avoid those Esty fees for this!

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  8. Oh, to have this problem. Someday. . . .

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  9. Ooooh!! What a lovely stash!! I like dividing by designer!!

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  10. Ohhh! I love getting scrappy bundles that sort of coordinate at the same time. LOL! I'm good at getting rid of things ( you just have to move every other year, that's all!) but still have a hard time letting go of my fabric. I did grab wild prints and make a bag full for my friend making Burning Man clothes. :)

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  11. As I've only recently begun quilting, I can't say I quite know the feeling of needing to destach... But now that I'm working on my second quilt ever, I'm realizing what wonderful fabrics are really out there, and it IS super tempting to buy up all sorts of prints... Lol, I'm going to try and learn from your example and do my best to keep it from getting crazy :) Thanks for the constant inspiration, your work is just so lovely!

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  12. My biggest hurdle is coordinating fabrics for a quilt, so if you do bundles, keep that in mind for us 'untalented' ones :)

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    1. ps, do we need an instagram account to participate?

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  13. Coordinated bundles would be wonderful!

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  14. Ohhhhh, to get my hands on some of those awesome scraps you have!!! However you want to sort is fine by me. I do like the ideal of designer/coordinate. I am off to figure out how to use instagram now before you start posting those goodies!!!

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  15. I could only wish to some day have a great stash! and a place to display it all! Thank you for giving us all an opportunity to win! Paula

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  16. Scrap bundles are my favorite, but hey any fabric is my favorite for the right price. I am so excited for this!

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  17. Nossa quanto tecido !
    Meu sonho ter armário assim ,que beleza.
    Tenha uma boa semana.

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  18. To destash - I give to my mom's quilting group, they make quilts for children for CPS, daycares, and families that homes burn down. I don't do intagram, but I would take anything you would like to destash!! :)

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  19. I always sort by color - that way when I am working on a project and need something - it is easier to find. I am looking to stash some yellow, orange and reds!

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  20. I would love to be part of this but I don't know hoe to sign up for instagram. :D

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  21. I like to stash mine by color. do a lot of applique. chellas@sbcglobal.net

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  22. I like Sandy's idea of keeping the collections together, but after that, I would say anything goes! I would consider a bundle from you a "Maureen's designer original" bundle and use them together. But I don't mean to cause any more pressure - getting rid of favorite things is hard enough!

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  23. I do not have IG-- unlucky for me :(
    But maybe lucky for my wallet! :)
    I think if you have several fabrics from the same line/designer, then I would put them together, but honestly, it is probably more fun for you to smash fabrics together that speak to you into a bundle and everyone that reads your blog LOVES how you smash things together so smash away! your bundles won't last long no matter how you put them together!

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  24. I also do not have Instagram so if you open it up to FB I would love to get in on the give away.

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  25. I have been working on sorting my stash by fabric type (flannel, cotton, fleece). The cotton is then by holiday, reproductions and regular prints. The regular prints are then sorted by color.

    I think I got by Instagram account set up. Hopefully I'll get notifications when you post your sales. I'm not exactly sure how Instagram works, but I did figure out how to follow you.

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  26. If i have a line that goes together, I like to keep those fabrics together so i don't have to hunt them down when I start a project. Then I separate them by batiks, and then all the rest by color. It works really well for me. Of course any quilt that you've already planned, keep the fabrics with the pattern or book and box separately. It would be awful to later find you used a key fabric in another project!!

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  27. Go woman go! I attempted to destash this year. LOL! We wont talk about all the fabric I just ordered. (sigh!).

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  28. Guess a lot of us will be learning about Instagram...LOL
    Thanks for getting us to try new things and for sharing!!

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  29. you already have an etsy shop, why not destash there? i find the instagram destash system a bit of a free for all. I think its good for people that have no other way to sell,no shop or blog, etc. But i much prefer the etsy way .

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    1. I agree, but Etsy takes more time, charges both a fee to list each item and takes a percentage when you sell, as well, plus the paypal fee. I'm trying to keep the prices as low as possible and eliminating the etsy fees will help with that.

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  30. i would like to see some eclectic coordinated bundles, but also sets grouped by line, especially those that are highly sought after *DS, AMH, heather ross)

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  31. I love a good destash. I'm also a big fan of purchasing scrap bundles. Like the less than a 1/4 yard (or fat quarter) pieces. I even buy them as grab bags with no idea what I'm getting. Some of our local shops here sell them by weight, based on average weigh per yard and they are full of end of bolt cuts and scraps for the in store displays. It's like a fun surprise.

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  32. Aw, nuts! I'm not on Instagram or I would so be looking forward to this! I think whatever bundles you create will be gorgeous though - you have such a good eye for color :)

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  33. Maureen, I'm not sure which would be better, groups of a line or groups of color. I myself would love a bundle of whimsical prints (scraps). I hope you will give a little warning as to the time you will be posting. Work just causes problems with having fun :(

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  34. I'd sort by color. I don't do Instagram but I wish you best of luck with your de-stashing!

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  35. I think you have such a great eye for color and fabrics that "scrap" together well, that I would love if you did scrappy stacks. But there may be some cases where you want to keep a designer's fabric together. Can't wait!!!

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  36. Groups of color along with separate groups for Xmas and novelty prints.....wish I were on Instagram to your bundles.

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  37. I don't do Instagram, but I use Facebook. I make lovely wall hangings for my church, and they just keep asking for more. I could certainly use a bundle, especially reds, dark blues and greens. The next will look like a stained glass window. I'd love to take some of your stash off your hands.

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  38. I don't get on my iPad frequently enough to hope to get any of your stashes but I'm sure your fabric will go to good homes. Good luck with your project and just think....more room for new fabric and new creations.

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  39. It is probably a good thing I don't Instagram! Good luck with your de-stashing. I would put together by color.

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  40. I'd love bundles by color (including rainbow / one of every color type bundles). Some scrap bags/bundles would be great too!

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    1. Rainbow bundles are happening first!! I'll be listing some tomorrow! :)

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  41. Have fun with your destash! Arrange the bundles however suits you. They will get purchased. : )

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  42. Oh my gosh... this is horrible. I already love all the fabrics you pick, now you tell me I'm going to be able to buy them from you?! I'm going to spend way too much money! I love IG and #thegreatfabricdestash though, it's such a cool community thing. It's like a big online fabric garage sale, but better!! I'm sorry you're having to part with some of your lovely fabric, but I'm glad you're giving us the chance to stash it up for ourselves! Thanks!

    Alex :)
    @alexlily11

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  43. Lately I am loving either Fat-eighth or Fat-quarter size. This gives me flexibility in choosing my design later.

    Happy de-stashing!

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  44. Just put it all in a box and ship it to me!!

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  45. Great plans at work here I see. I think it would be hard to coordinate all by designer so I think some scrappy bundles assorted flavors would be fun. I hope there will be some left over for on FB since I don't have a phone for instagram. Good luck and I hope this lightens your load and brightens your creativity!

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  46. I always divide by color, and sometimes by collection if I have purchased for a particular craft. But I have clear plastic shoe boxes (Lowes) that they are sorted by color. We live on a dirt road so I want to protect from the dust monsters. Good luck!

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  47. Scrap bags are a favorite of mine. I have learned IG- and I'm "older" so anyone can do it. The only thing that I don't like about IG destashes is that I'm not on all day long and things don't last more a minute or two. Can you possibly give us a starting time? Maybe in the evening for those of us who work?

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  48. The main thing is to have fun doing this project. I have just build my dream quilting studio and can now walk around my longarm machine and have space for all the DSA and tables and desk w/computer and even a nice chair to sit and do hand sewing. Now I too need to get organized and I want to get my fabrics in order. I think I want them in color-theme-print size. So much to do, hope you can get it all done and me too!

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  49. How do I get a password for your instagram account? When I go to "follow" her...it asks for a user name and password...thanks!

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  50. sorry you are only doing this on instagram

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  51. I think you have excited a lot of people! Best of luck with the destash. I think scrap bundles would be the easiest for you and pretty exciting for the recipient.

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  52. Jackie from the Canton Village Quilt Works says "Hi". If I get into anything else (Instagram) it may take time away from my quilting! So sorry :,-( this is only being done on Instagram..

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  54. organized by line would be great :)

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  55. For me, I would be looking for color, then your "favorite bundles" of fabrics.

    So! if you are not on instagram or hashtag stuff, you miss out on this????pfffff

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  56. Yes it can be hard to part with such precious pieces ... I tend to rip the band-aid off straight away and compile a scrap bag (sometimes big, sometimes small) of the fabric left over from a big quilt finish. I then offer the scrap bag out to one of my readers - that way they get to share in the fabric goodies too :)

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  57. I wish I could follow your de-stashing. I need to do the same. The one room designated for stashing is bulging; it drastically needs to de-stash. Only on Instagram? I'm out of luck... Good luck to you.

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  58. I would love to be part of this, but don't know how to use instagram...

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  60. I have a quilt group at work, we make about 50 quilts a year and donate them to cancer patients at City of Hope Hospital. Would you consider donating some bundles to the group? I would pay for the shipping charges... it would be much appreciated as we work off donations from the group and others.

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  61. Happy destashing! I've actually started to cut into some of my hoarded stash, and I'm loving it!

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  62. Have you destashed already? If not, I am interested in monotones. Black, white, grays of any shade, lime, pinks and any other colors. LOL
    DeeDee Schroeder

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