March Check In - Fabriholics Anonymous

Somehow it is nearly the end of March, and time for another Fabriholics Anonymous check in. I managed to get through January and February without regretting my fabric diet too much - but I have to admit it has gotten a wee bit harder this month. When cutting up fabric to send to my Ausmod bee mates I completely ran out of black and white prints, and had to run into Spotlight to buy a couple of yards so I had enough to send to my bees. Although it was really nice to buy fabric for the first time in almost three months, it felt really wrong at the same time. Up until that point, I hadn't realised how much I'd changed my thinking toward buying fabric this year - I'm honestly surprised how dedicated I feel to my pledge not to buy fabric, and how guilty I felt having to buy some (even though it was a need purchase as opposed to a want).

I also cut into my stash of green fabrics really heavily for my bee mates, so I'm starting to see some big holes that will need to be filled at some stage. I still have a lot of greens left, so I'm not too worried about those, but I have eaten into my low volume stash in a big way in the last couple of months, and I'm going to need to order some in the next few weeks so I don't run out. Although this will be a bit of a fabric fast fail, I use low volume fabrics in place of solids most of the time so again it is a 'need' rather than 'want'.

I'm trying not to spend as much time online looking at fabric as I normally do - but I must admit there are a few collections that have come out recently that I'm trying pretty hard to ignore. Peg at Sew Fresh Fabrics has recently announced her Kokka/Echino Stash Club, which is becoming increasingly difficult to resist.

Not to mention Lotta Jansdotter's latest offerings. How awesome is this leaf print?

Being the massive Tula Pink fan that I am, I am a bit sad about missing Fox Field too. The greens and greys in particular...

And last of all, the amazing First of Infinity collection by Kumiko Fujita. Sigh. So much pretty.

So how are my fellow fabric fasters going? Are you still going strong, or have you fallen off the wagon so to speak? What collections are you lusting after right now? If you'd like to link up and let us know how you're going we would love to hear your thoughts!

Fabriholics Anonymous

Hi, my name is Jess, and I'm a fabriholic. The time has come for an intervention. For real.

Just to put things in perspective, I have been quilting for a bit over two years. This is my stash as of a few months ago (it currently looks nothing like this, just so you know. It's back to its normal level of chaos.) I think you might understand now why I feel the need for a complete fabric diet. 

Some of you may remember my pledge at the beginning of this year not to buy fabric during 2013. Admittedly I did last four months before falling off the wagon, and I have been far more restrained than last year, but still. I think it would take me half a life time to sew my way through these shelves of fabric.

So. The intervention. After a prolonged Instagram conversation a few weeks ago, Rebecca and I decided to make a pact not to buy fabric in 2014. I'm embarrassed to admit this is already making me break out in a cold sweat (and I'm not really joking.) This is an official ban, and we have rules.

GOALS:

- To use the Stash I already have!

- Finish UFOs without distraction by shifting to other new beautiful fabric.

- Stop the insanity of constantly buying the latest and greatest fabric.

- Save the $$ I spend on stashing. For me, this is going to mean I start saving for a long arm. That dream simply isn't going to happen while I spend every little bit of my quilty earnings on fabric. And it's a dream I desperately want to happen.

- Destash the fabrics that I realize I am never going to use.

FABRIC FAST RULES:

1) No fabric purchases for 6 months beginning January 1, 2014.   

2) At 6 months reevaluate status and decide whether to keep going for full year.  Evaluation July 1, 2014.

3) Create a UFO list and complete them!

4) Exceptions

• Backing: purchasing a backing to finish a quilt top is permissible.  However, attempting to use fabric in your possession for a backing is preferable.
• Books and Magazine purchases are allowed as they are not fabric.  Notions acceptable too.
• Swap Mama Fabric: if hosting a swap you are permitted to by fabric to execute swap duties, but you may not join a swap simply for the sake of being able to buy fabric!
• Quilts for Publication: if you are making a quilt for a publication and need certain fabric to execute it correctly then that is a major exception - who can blame you?

If you are like us and would like to commit to not buying fabric next year, we would love the moral support. Solidarity in numbers and all that. We have a button you can grab:

<center> <a href="http://theelvengarden.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/fabriholics-anonymous.html" target="_blank"><img alt="FabAnon" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3693/10694809475_c37315ab2f_q.jpg" /></a></center>

And if you're keen to join us, Rebecca has started a linky to keep us all honest.

Over the next week or so, I'm going to make a list of all my UFOs so I know what I'm working with next year - and I will be destashing as well at some stage soon. So, are you up for the challenge?

xx Jess