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Saturday, October 04, 2008

Fabric Free for 34 Days

Yes, I haven't purchased an inch of fabric since the end of August when I received my last Fabric Mart order...as an aside do you know that when you log into their site and check your order history that you can see every dime you've spent with them for the last two years? Let's just say that my number is alot larger than I would have guessed it to be!

So why have I been fabric free for the last 34 days? Well even though I was stimulating our faltering economy, my fabric habit was Out Of Control!!! Take a look at my stats on my sidebar...I purchased 33 yards of fabric in July...68.5 yards in August that equals 101.5 yards in 61 days.

Then if you look at my output, I sewed a mere 9.5 yards...well something had to give! Besides the fact that I've seriously run out of storage space...and standing in Ikea trying to decide on what to buy that will not only allow me to put the current overflow in it but allow me to grow into it was a serious wake-up call! It's time to take a step back and assess...

So assess I did...and even though I had a few shaky days in the beginning and somehow managed to survive NOT purchasing any of that amazingly beautiful 4 ply silk crepe that is on Fabric Mart's site...*sigh* and do you know they had the nerve to add 3 additional colors...*shaking self*

....pause....



Okay, I'm better now...I'm okay...I managed not to reach for my credit card...*sigh* But 4 ply silk crepe for $9.99 a yard...

However, I do feel good that I didn't buy one yard of fabric and that I've managed to use 15 yards...a drop in the bucket, true...but a bucket fills up one drop at a time! I am kind of proud of this accomplishment...but no worries folks I'm not giving up fabric buying forever...maybe just for another 31 days - or for the month of October!

I do have to give props to Adrienne though...she's pledged not to purchase another yard until January 2009 and has a clock up on her blog to keep track! That woman has will power because I will definitely have to get my fabric buy on way before that!!!!

In the meantime, it's not like I don't have a little bit of fabric to sew with...*wink, wink!*

15 comments:

  1. I feel your pain. Every time I go to buy a notion I need.......I don't come back with just what I told myself I was going to purchase. It's hard to resist temptation.

    Hang in there. :)

    Hugs,
    Lory

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  2. I try to stay out of fabric stores, since what i should really be doing is 'shop from the stash'. But I do have a wardrobe plan going for this fall and winter, so that is helping me to stay away from buying..at least for a while.

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  3. You are good for stimulating the thought process. I'm trying to balance the fabric buying addiction vs trying to support independent fabric stores. My stash is out of control and needs to be re-organized. Right now there are two pieces of fabric calling my name. I need to go back to get more of the blue ombre since I decided to make a dress instead of a top.

    I want to get a blindstitch machine next week because my machine blindstitching is horrible. I don't feel guilty buying this machine because the cost of coming out of overtime pay.

    I'm going to try to resist fabric purchases for a while. No telling how long that will last but I will be more thoughtful about my purchases.

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  4. Carolyn … Girl … *shaking head*

    You can do it! This morning I was trying to decide if I should go down to Fabric Row … then I read your post. My little stash is negligible compared to yours, but the principle is the same. DO I need to buy fabric.


    Hang in there! I'm betting on you!

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  5. Kudos to you! I'm really feeling the need to fabric shop - stress buying is the worst!

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  6. I do tend to buy when I'm stresed. I bought a bolt of muslin yesterday when I stopped by big box fabric store for something knitting related. What I really need to do is sew. g

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  7. When I got my fabric cabinet and could see everything I had at once, it kind of made me sick. I have not bought any fabric since then, but have been tempted. Whenever I am tempted, I go to my cabinet, open the doors, and shop there. I know it won't last forever, but it has curbed the spending!

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  8. whooo hoooo! Not that we don't want to see the economy stimulated, and not that we don't want you to buy something that makes you happy. But, I know it was your goal to not buy fabric for the month, and I'm so glad for you that you made it. I must go visit Adrienne, and maybe borrow her clock.
    Congrats.

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  9. Sewing blogs and the internet are my big enablers. I see something great and I buy. I am trying not to purchase any new fabric either. When I made up fall wardrobe capsules to sew I realized that there is no way I could sew all of that for the fall and winter. And all of it was from my stash. I am having difficulty not buying that 4 ply silk for $9.99 a yard too. I had to move into the guest room closet to continue my fabric storage. I still have lots of room but when will I sew all of this? Of course if that absolutely gorgeous piece of fabric comes along, well that's another story.

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  10. My dearly beloved lectures me that I can't have any more fabric, then when I call him from the store about some pretty thing in front of me, he says, "Only 5 yards maximum!" The most lovable enabler on the planet is mine!

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  11. well Carolyn, my collection is still going strong, lol
    I like the fact that you know when you restrain a little though.
    Don't worry I will shop for both of us during your hiatus, lol

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  12. I've been trying to resist buying more fabric myself and I know how hard it is!!! And it's worse while I have no time to sew!!! Because my mind explodes with new plans... I know I have more fabric than I can possibly sew for one season but I keep wanting more!

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  13. You think you're bad?!! I buy fabric and I DON'T SEW!!! I inherited my habit from a mother with a fabric addiction; she got an ivy league degree in home ec/sewing (Cornell Class of '40) . . . happiest hours of my childhood were spent trailing dreamily after her down aisles of fabric store basements, feeling cloth between my fingers. Now she's in a memory care facility and I can't help myself: I buy yards and yards of the delicious stuff and it piles up at home . . . delighted to have found your site. You have soothed my soul.

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