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What one beautiful, collectable thing does each and every quilter have in common? Fabric! Suzy Williams is here to remind you why it's the very reason you started quilting
What one beautiful, collective thing does each and every quilter have in common? Fabric! Suzy Williams is here to remind you why it’s the very reason you started quilting
Last month we made a lot of sewing plans from the safety of our cosy quilt pile. This month I’m going to lay before you a challenge, should you choose to accept it – crawl out from under your quilts and get back to the making! Okay, so that came out a little intense. Let’s not take it so far. How about this: crawl out from under your quilts and remember why you fell in love with quilting in the first place – the fabric!
Beautiful, textured, dyed and printed FABRIC! Before any of us ever learned to quilt, we ran our hand over some fabric, smoothed out its folds and gave it a curious squeeze. With the hope of learning a new skill (or maybe the trepidation of conquering a challenge), we all at one point stood at the base of Quilt Mountain, fabric in hand, and decided to make the climb.
Even if you own minimal notions, a hand-me-down sewing machine and use your kitchen table as a creative studio, I’m still going to guess that you love to splurge on pretty fabric – it’s what unites us as textile artists! So before we get any further along, raise your hands in the air and shout, “I love fabric and I don’t care who knows it!”
Pull it. Buy it. Stash it. Repeat.
PULL IT. If you’ve been quilting for longer than... hmmm... once, chances are you have the makings of what we in the business call ‘a stash‘. This turn of phrase makes quilters sound like clandestine burglars hiding and storing precious loot from prying fingers and eyes. And yes, that’s exactly what it is.
No matter how large or small, your stash is made up of irreplaceable scraps, pre-cuts and those rare gemstones – full yardage. We can’t have sticky fingers or muddy paws fondling our goods! Heavens no. That is why it’s incredibly important to keep your stash stashed away. Preferably in a hard-to-reach place that also may have a sturdy door... and possibly a lock.
Now that we’ve established the importance of ‘the precious’, and our devotion to keeping it safe, let’s do some pulling. What fabric can you pull from your stash that brings back a wonderful memory, or is so pretty it’s fun to stand and simply hold it?
You can reference your quilt plan from last month, or you can just start pulling and piling colours and textures that look good together. If you’re like me, you won’t get very far before a thought pops into your head, “Something’s missing. I think I need more fabric.”
Even if you own a hand-me-down sewing machine and use your kitchen table as a studio, I'm going to guess that you love to splurge on pret ty fabric
BUY IT. Fellow stash builders of the world, don’t squash your natural instinct to buy more fabric. This very core desire is why you are a quilter in the first place! Yes, I know money is always tight after the holidays and Scrappy needs a new sweater and little Timmy’s private cello lessons aren’t going to pay for themselves, but just like Timmy needs to screech a bow across the strings of a large instrument in order to feed his soul, so do you!
You don’t need to buy all new fabric to start your next project, just enough to supplement the stash. Maybe that’s a fat quarter, maybe a yd – whatever it is, don’t let your inner pragmatist talk you out of this. It’s your calling, gentle quilter. Your calling.
Your next challenge, however, is deciding where to shop. Fabric texture and colour can best be experienced in real life. If you walk into a fabric store and start fluffing and smelling fabric, I bet you won’t get funny looks. Quilters get it. A fabric store is one of the few places where you can rub the product on your face and you won’t be asked to stand ten feet away from the entrance. However, if you live in a place where fabric stores are few and far between, rest assured that there is still a very simple and easily accessible way to scratch the itch – the internet. New online fabric shops are popping up regularly, each one with their own speciality. Many of these online shops are small, family-owned businesses so you can feel good about supporting them.
STASH IT. Oops! It looks like there’s a sale and you were forced to purchase much more fabric than you originally intended. What’s a quilter to do? Oh you know – stash it, baby! Stash that fabric in your high-tech steel safe and feel good knowing that it'll come in handy in the future – even if that means one day you’re feeling low and the act of giving it a squeeze will raise your spirits.
Stash builders, don't squash your instinct to buy more fabric. This is why you're a quilter in the first place! SUZY QUILTS