I’m back!
In starting this blog, I wanted to aim to not let it become one of those projects that I begin and quickly get bored with and throw away. That being said, I have not been avoiding new posts on purpose. My computer’s AC adapter actually broke and it took me a while to get a new one. (Macbook AC adapters are actually pricier than I thought!) Blogging from my phone just did not sound fun or promising. Only having my phone has also limited me from perusing the quilting blogs I love so much and from even getting on pinterest very much (tragedy!)…so quilting inspiration and motivation has been lacking in my life as of late.
Which brings me to the two things I need to muse on for a while in this post: money and motivation. I’ve noticed that rarely ever does the issue of being able to afford fabric and supplies ever come up in most of the blogs I follow. Quilting is not a cheap hobby by any means, especially if you are a fabric stash junkie like myself. I am not wealthy at all. I actually technically live below the poverty line, in terms of my income. I am only 22 and am currently working as a waitress. Having paid for my school myself, I also have thousands upon thousands of dollars of student loan debt. Between rent, utility bills, loan payments, credit card bills, our new kitten (!), and just generally supporting ourselves, my boyfriend and I don’t have much money left over for fun-times or hobbies.
I’m also a sort of shopaholic. I don’t typically spend a lot of money on clothes or shoes, but crafting supplies is my ultimate weakness. Buying new fabric, cardstock, or whatever it may be, just gives me a feel-good buzz. Until the guilt sets in (and it always does). I spent way too much money this past month on fabric. There were a few collections I just HAD to get my hands on. I now have new fabric from Fleamarket Fancy, Riley Blake’s Chevron, Tradewinds, Pezzy Print, Summersville, Reunion, and a few other collections that have either just come out or that I’ve been drooling over for a while.
Even though I always spend too much money, I do however, have a few tips for the quilter on a budget, like myself:
1. Don’t give into that urge to buy a yard (or two) of each fabric of every collection that you want. Precuts exist for a reason. It’s much more practical to buy charm packs, layer cakes, and even fat quarter bundles, especially if you don’t already have a project in mind for the fabric. If you do have a project in mind and have certain yardage requirements, then by all means purchase what your project requires, but in general, I’m perfectly happy with a good layer cake or fat quarter bundle. That way I get all of the fabrics that I love from each collection, and can still make pretty large (or small) projects out of them by supplementing that fabric with sashing and borders.
2. Vintage sheets and thrift stores for the win. I’m serious. I know that they are not always the highest quality of quilting cotton, but typically cotton sheets are built to be pretty durable. I recently picked up a bunch of solid color sheets from goodwill, ranging in size from twin to king, for less than $2 a piece, that are going to work out as excellent backing fabrics for some of my quilts. I suppose that a lot of quilters may frown upon this practice, but for me, quilting is a hobby. It’s something I enjoy and it’s not something that I do for monetary gain. I don’t sell my quilts. I either keep them for myself or give them as gifts. Therefore, it’s not always important that I use brand new fabric for every piece of every quilt.
3. This one may be obvious–but wait for sales! Subscribe to the email list of your favorite quilt shops. Hold out for those sales, because usually they are totally worth it. If you’re like me and order everything online for lack of a nearby quilt shop, keep an eye out especially for those free shipping coupons. If I wait until things are on sale, I at least don’t feel as guilty as I might when buying fabric at full-price, and I get more for my money.
4. And of course, save those scraps. All of them. Right now I’m even saving my selvage edges and little tiny scraps because I’m going to eventually use them as a filling for a cat bed. Every piece of fabric can be used for something, whether you think so at the time or not. There are a ton of great scrappy quilt patterns out there too. It takes a while to build up a great scrappy collection that you can appreciate, but if you don’t ever start saving them, you’re never going to be able to build up your stash.
If anyone has any other ideas as far as saving money in the quilting world goes, I’d love to hear your advice!
I don’t have any pretty pictures of projects to post today. I have made some progress, and even finished a quilt top, but I literally just got my computer working again about an hour ago, so I don’t have anything prepared for show-and-tell, and I wouldn’t want to spoil W.I.P. Wednesday!
I’ve been pretty lackluster as far as motivation to get into my sewing room has gone lately. I have way too many projects going on. I have 2 quilt tops that are bordered and waiting to be basted and quilted. I have one quilt that I’m currently quilting that I’m very frusterated with and can’t seem to get finished. I have about 5 stacks of a variety of blocks that I need to do something with, but I just can’t decide. And I have two projects still in the cutting and piecing stage. Yikes!! Too many! I just can’t help starting a new project as soon as I get inspired, but I do have a problem finishing them up. Maybe I will work some more on quilting my plus quilt today so I have something to show on Friday.
This is Millie. She hasn’t tried to paw at or attack my sewing machine yet, but she is very curious as to wear all that noise is coming from.
I will leave you with some pictures of our new kitten, a stray who just wandered into our apartment about a month ago and has loved us ever since. She loves to get in the way help me sew!
She loves to bat around my rotary cutter, which is a habit I’m trying to break her of before she loses a paw!
And she loves to nap right behind my machine because of the heat that the lamp gives off. Not an excellent place for her to hang out if I want to get anything done!
Clearly starved for attention. God forbid I try to get any cutting done while she’s awake.
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