Hmmmm. Well, I don’t know if a purchase counts as stash prevention in my thinking. In this case these were recent purchases made for a different project that I changed my mind about (plaid fabric) and the purchasing of (way) more than I needed for the original project because it was on sale and I thought it could be useful to have around (the fusible fleece) BUT I was able to put them to use before a) much time had passed and, more importantly b) before they were folded up and stored with their like-materials - like before they became a part of the physical stash.
Maybe returning unopened/unused materials to their stores could be stash prevention? I mean, that’s something that has never, ever happened in the history of crafting, so is just a theory at this point, but maybe could be true.
Aha! I may have misread the original post but I understand what you’re getting at. It’s always hard to determine when something goes from “new” to “stash.”
I’m always a little miffed about the sorts of purchases that will let you use more of your stash up but come in too large a package, so that you’re left with even more stash (just of a different type) once you’ve made your intended item. I can usually find yardage for some types of interfacing and things like that, but why won’t my local shops sell solid mini skeins for sock toes and heels?
Apropos of nothing and on a more administrative note, I’ve added some links to other craftalongs that may be of interest to others in this thread in the first reply post, as well as the current month’s prompts so they’re easy to find. What else would be useful there?
Oh yes! Some online fabric stores have a 2 yard minimum! I can understand a 1 yard minimum, even though I don’t always like it, but 2 yards for quilting/novelty cottons? It does seem like most of them allow partial yards after the first now, at least.
I do like the idea of buying a thing that makes it possible to use up other stash as a Stash Prevention! That’s a great notion! I mean, the fusible fleece made it possible for me to use a bunch of stash for the cat beds I made for family cats for Christmas, but I did choose to buy way more than necessary, because I knew it would be handy later and it was half price. BUT that fabric was already stash, so maybe it was more of a Stash Mitigation Purchase? Things like a specific zipper or a single color of embroidery floss could work the same way.
One of my goals for January is to complete an inventory of the stash, so I was sizing up my Big Scrap Stash. As I was weighing out the colors I ran across one scrap that defied categorization so I just went ahead and sewed a dress rather than making a decision. And now the remainder has gone to the Small Scrap Stash (which are all too small to get a doll dress out of and have no real purpose in my current crafting oeuvre but are too good to get tossed).
If you’re wondering why I’m weighing my fabric I’ve been using this formula for the past couple years to determine how much fabric I consume in a month. It’s not entirely accurate since it’s based on quilt-shop quality material, but it’s a place to start. So far I’ve gotten one drawer and my Big Scrap dresser tallied. Only 15 more drawers/bins/boxes to go! (Oi)
That’s an adorable dress! And I am impressed by your goal for inventorying your mighty stash! I am curious as to what qualifies as a Big Scrap for your needs because you work so wee.
At minimum I need to be able to winkle a 10 x 3 (ish) strip for the skirt and a 3.5 X 3 chunk for the bodice out of my Big Scraps, which will make a dress for a 6 inch doll. I do make smaller dresses but they only work in lawn and handkerchief cotton to get any sort of drape at that scale. The Liberty Lawn scraps are hoarded carefully and don’t actually make it into the regular fabric equation.
WOW! I am always amazed at your wee creations, but it’s a little mind boggling to see the size of quantified. A 10 x 6.5 counts as big! I LOVE IT!
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(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
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Destashed some flannel pieces from my stash to make additional covers for the window seat my cats use.
They are actually three milk crates used for my work filing…they were jumping up and sleeping on the files, getting cat crud all over the papers…I took a piece of cardboard and made a sort of top and then decided to make a few “covers” to make it more comfortable and cover up the cardboard.
I just used the size flannel I had and made a quilt sandwich. Stitched them with a simple few straight rows. Nothing fancy.
I have three now but I am sure I will need more since they get dirty quite readily.
You can see my cat eagerly waiting for me to stop taking pictures so he can lay on it! And yes, the window is open…it is 77 degrees here.
I made some fleece tied blankets last year to use up my stash & had a box of corner squares leftover, so I sewed them together, stuffed them with catnip, & dropped them off at the local animal shelter with half of the blankets:
I’m sorely tempted by some yarny January sales. I have no business buying yarn. My embargo stands: no pattern, no buying. So guess who’s been pouring over patterns all night.
I made a bunch of Valentine’s using all stash this weekend, but haven’t photographed them yet. In fact, two were sealed into envelopes before I remembered about pictures. D’oh!
I succumbed. But(!) what I bought all has desirable patterns chosen or was ordered to allow some other yarn to be used up. So hopefully they’ll be more like “vacationing in the stash” rather than permanent residents haha
