It took decades of "collecting" fabrics, but the stash I had amassed had grown so large, it should have been assigned its own zip code. Although I had already determined what needed to be done to get my hobby under control, I could not bring myself to actually do it! Whenever I pulled out a box of fabrics to begin “editing,” I found myself loving, and justifying, every piece! I could not bear to part with any of it...“My precious, my precious...”
Finally, while preparing for one of our many moves in 2007, I decided that the time had come to actually execute my plan. I sold or gave away about 90% of my stash. What I had left was still more than I really needed, but it could all fit inside of a small hallway closet, along with my supplies. As painful as it was, I have never regretted parting with my beloved fabrics. The only regret I can say I had was that i had not taken drastic action years earlier. In fact, I wish I had developed my strategy as a new quilter, so I would have never become overwhelmed by a hobby that had essentially evolved into a burden, rather than a pleasure.
You may not share anything in common with my former quilting self. And, I hope you never do! If you have unlimited resources, or if your business is quilt-related, or you have a large, organized quilting space, then you probably will not find much of interest on this blog. But if your quilting life has taken over your entire life, and not in a good way, and you need to find some way to control it, then you may find some parts of my strategy helpful. But, what exactly was my plan? What strategy did I employ? I will tell you what I did, and what I am still doing, in this blog.
