Studio space is still tied up with unshareable Christmas work, so all I have time to do is think about what I want to tackle. I have been so burdened by the sheer amount of all types of resource material that I have here, that it’s quite depressing. I know that I will never use it all but I don’t know what process I should give up. And should I have to give up any activity that I like? Isn’t that what a happy retirement should be all about?
Circular thinking and a lot of “having too much” guilt.
It has led me to try and think of more ways to use up some of what I have. I’ve been doing that with yarn for quite a while, so I’m getting happier with the reduced amount of that I still have to store! But the fabric……..ay ay ay! This is a pic of the mess on the shelves in 2013.
And what it looks like today.
Not a hell of a lot of difference! In fact, I’m pretty sure there is even MORE now. And I think I’m starting to plot out my plan for 2021.
My mindset for years has been to differentiate a lot between my quilting fabric and other fabric. To keep them separate and mix only in art quilts. To keep some favorites for “some day” projects. To feel even more guilt if I made a quilt top that added to the UFO pile and did not keep a quilt under the needle at all times to try and reduce that pile.
I may have seen the light…I don’t have a long arm machine so I will never get all my quilt tops quilted. There are not enough hours in all the days I have left in my life!!! I may or may not pay someone else to finish them. I hate to piece backings and don’t like to pay big bucks for wide backing fabric so I procrastinate like crazy. Therefore, I am going to cast aside the guilt and make whatever tops I want, whenever I want, add them to the pile of UFO’s and not worry about it.
I’m not going to save fabrics for those someday projects. If I feel like using it right now, I will! If I use it up and don’t have it anymore, so what? They make more fabric every day OR I can find something else to use. I’m an improv piecer, for goodness sake! If I make 3 or 5 quilt tops from the same favorite pattern or improv plan, so what? If my intent is to make a bed quilt, not an art piece, every single one does not have to be unique.
You know what? I’ve probably said all this before at one time or another. I have never meant it more, though.
Looking forward now to getting the Christmas projects done and clearing the workspace for sewing once again. I feel that with a goal in mind and a heavy burden of guilt removed, it should be fun to sit and stitch to my heart’s content.
Quirks Ltd. 
All I can say is WOW…..impressive collection!
LikeLike
And always too, too much of everything!
LikeLike
I quite often pick out a fabric that I really like, then shop in my stash for fabrics, colors, textures that will go well with it. I may bring up much more than I really will work with, but after auditioning the pile, I choose what I want to use for the project. The rest goes back into the cupboards.
LikeLike
That’s how I work, too. I simply have too much of everything and need to use up some of the excess. Having a lot is a joy. Having too much is a burden!
LikeLike
I have noticed on design shows and competitions that the best outcomes seem to be a result of limited choices, Kinda like good books that written during time isolated from many other options. It takes a lot of time to manage/organize all that stuff. I always though having more supplies would give more choice, but now there seems to be less time to making them.
LikeLike
I have been finding that more and more over the last couple of years. I make better art when I limit my choices from the very beginning…perhaps better stated as limit my palette. I plan on being more intentional with that going forward.
LikeLike
What a great post and I hear you! I’ve been going through my stash this year trying to determine what I will no longer create with. It’s a hard call. Yesterday I panicked because I thought I had given away some ruler holders from 7 years ago that I never used and now want to. I went to Amazon and couldn’t find them but found some different ones and bought them. Then I went out to the dye studio to clean it up and there they were under some stuff on the table that is my staging area before it goes in the box and out the door! Most of my fabric is white for me to dye so I have bins of it in the garage waiting it’s turn. But I also have white on white commercial fabric I’ve been saving and for what? I have another one of those 0 birthdays soon and I need to either sew this stuff up or push it out the door.
LikeLike
I don’t know if it’s getting to a certain age or being realistic about what I hope to show with my work, but it’s time to sort it out, throw it out or ship it out to someone else! I have found more and more often that having too many choices is forcing indecision rather than feeling free in my selections. I’ve said it before, but I need to keep reminding myself that making thoughtful decisions is better than grabbing something from the huge pile of choice!
LikeLike