My Calculations Were . . .

I've measured all the fabric that came in my Goodwill online auction lot. Of the 53 different cotton prints I received (and they were all quilting cottons) I scored 14 panels, most Timeless Treasures, which generally retail for $10.00 to $12.00 each. That Hoffman Halloween witch panel is out of print; their newer styles retail for $18.00. There's also a yard panel of Walking Dead fabric, which is a bit gruesome, but I'm so delighted with everything else I don't mind.

Among the panels was this four yard piece showing spring scenes with blue birds just like the kind that nest in our birdhouses. With all the other bird-themed panels it's like the universe wanted me to have this lot.

I found about two yards in ten different scrap batik pieces; these run around $6.99 to $8.99 a yard at JoAnn.

There were also two half-yard pieces of Stonehenge, which I know runs $12.00 a yard.

Whoever owned this stash really had nice taste. This half yard burgundy ombre piece is gorgeous.

Ditto on this metallic silver and black fabric.

Finally there were plenty of quarter and half-yard prints with peacocks, feathers, and other outdoor themes. Altogether I got 32.5 yards of fabric, so my calculation of 30 yards was pretty close. Although everything is vintage it's in mint condition, so I'd put the resale value at $5.00 per yard, or $162.50 for the lot. I paid $29.97 for the lot, and shipping was one penny with this seller, so in the end that works out to ninety-two cents a yard.

Comments

Other Stashes

Along with clearing out the spare bedroom and tidying my office and our guest bedroom, I decided to reorganize some of my stashes. This is all the yarn I have on hand, sorted by color. It looks like a lot, but lately I've been using up a minimum of half a bin every month, so this is approximately a year's supply. All of my solid color cotton perle thread. I go through a lot of this every year, too. I need a container in which I can fit all of it together, but I haven't found the right one yet. I won't show you all of my fabric -- I'm still reorganizing this stash -- but I went through everything and donated two bins of fabric I won't need to the local quilter's guild.

Downsizing

This was my fabric stash once I sorted everything -- 22 full bins. I spent a day taking out and boxing up what I could part with, with the goal of trying to reduce it by half, so I'd have 11 bins. I was very strict with myself, and removed everything that for one reason or another I was sure I wouldn't be able to use. This is what I ended up with -- 12 bins of fabric that I'm keeping. It's not quite half, but close enough. Half of what I took out went to a local quilter friend, a school and Goodwill. These four tightly-packed bins will be going to the local quilting guild once I make arrangements with them for a drop-off place. I am relieved and a little sad and now determined to control my impulses to thrift more fabric. I don't want to do this again, so until I use up six bins, I can't for any reason bring any new fabric into the house.

In Progress

I promised myself I would show you the good, bad and ugly of my cleaning this year. This is what it looks like when you dump thirty years' worth of stashed fabric on the floor -- and oy, what a pain in the butt to pick up again! This is what it looks like after it's been sorted, folded and placed in containers, which took me about a week. Now the hard part is to downsize my stash by at least half, I think (that's my goal, anyway.) I've already e-mailed the president of the local quilting guild, a local friend who is a quilter, and a public school art teacher I know to see if I can donate some of the excess to them. The rest will go to Goodwill. Already I've reduced my vintage textiles from two bins to one, and my scraps from three bins to one. It's probably the hardest clean-out I've done, which is why I saved it until last. I know I have too much fabric, more than I can use in my lifetime -- but at the same time, I love it. So I have to...

Valerean

Search This Blog