Plans for the Linen Lot

With ten pounds of vintage linens on hand it may seem like I have more than I bargained for. In reality the lot is mostly things I can actually use for their intended purpose, like this small tablecloth that exactly fits my kitchen table. Once I wash and deodorize the linens, I can start using them right away.

We're not placemat people, so these two will likely become slow stitch or quilted projects in the future.

Same with this table topper (which would also work well as the center of a medallion quilt.)

The crocheted arm rests would make nice mug mats for my work table, but the kitchen towels I intend to use as kitchen towels.

I certainly got enough to last me a long time, plus I like using old linens (they soak up liquids faster than their modern counterparts, and have a lovely feel to them.)

Some that are too delicate to be laundered and serve as towels will be recycled into slow stitch or quilted projects. The embroidered runners are actually perfect for my kitchen wall, and the red rose cross stitch would work for the Christmas season.

Using vintage linens gives them a second life, and adds greatly to my personal happiness, so it's a win/win. :).

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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

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.

Valerean

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