Let’s be honest. I’ll bet we all have things tucked away in cupboards or on shelves that we bought, intending to use, but have somehow never seen the light of day again. Some would be practical, some for hobbies or for trips we’ve planned but never taken, but the end result is the same. We’ve spent money on things that are simply taking up space, both physically and in our heads.
The thing is – it’s not wasted money if you actually USE the thing you bought.
Me? I’m a quilter. I don’t know how to sew, even though I use a sewing machine. Quilting is the only thing I do. And yeah, over the years I’ve amassed quite the stash of fabric. Even when I took a 5-year break from the hobby because I was spending every spare second selling thermomixes, I kept the bins and boxes full of colours. I had an inkling that one day I’d come back to it.
Mix the “not wasted money if you use it” and the “I’ll come back to this hobby” ideas and for the last 18 months I’ve been making a concerted effort to use what’s actually in the house, rather than racing off to buy shiny and new items.
During Melbourne’s world-breaking lockdown, online shopping has been a godsend for most things, but honestly… some things you have to actually see for yourself in person. For me, fabric is one of these. So I decided to entertain myself in lockdown by restricting myself to only using the fabric that I have right here. Some I’ve had for over a decade!
Time to use it.
Some of these are gifts, some are for around the house and others are baby quilts, like the one pictured here, that I’ve put aside for the boys and myself to give as gifts when people we know and love start reproducing.
The boys are in their mid to late twenties so this time is definitely coming.
In fact, this baby quilt was made for a friend of Tom29’s. A little girl named Ava uses this quilt every single day. I was stoked when Tom29’s friend told him this. We quilters don’t make these things to be put away in a cupboard. We want them to be used and loved and wrapped around the people we care for.
These blocks were actually all sewn up and all they needed was to be assembled and sewn together. They were sitting in a box for 11 years, all because I was too scared I’d make a mistake and ruin them. I’m sitting on it right now – I decided to sew them together as a couch quilt. The Little Woofs love to sleep on the couch next to their Mum.
All from the stash. I’m running low on purple – you’ll notice there are 2 triangles with purple flowers. But I still managed to get the quilt top done without online shopping. Winning!
This one is a queen-sized monster. Yellows and greys.
Another gift for a friend. I’ve known her for over 40 years – thought it was time I made her a quilt… She has a cat, so I made sure there was cat fabric on it. I saw this pattern on a Youtube clip, so I gave it a whirl.
So many patterns, so little time.
Here’s another little baby quilt. The pattern was designed by Ryan26 for his older brother. David28 wants a queen-sized quilt so we tested out the pattern first. The queen-sized quilt will NOT be part of the stash challenge. He wants only solids for it and I don’t have the correct colours, so I’ve ordered them online. Eclectic Mumma has the best range of Moda solids I’ve found.
And I’m working on a huge quilt using crumbs and strings, some only 1/2 inch wide, for my parents. It’s a combined Christmas and birthday gift, which is fair enough, as it’ll take me way more than 40 hours to put this all together. I’m definitely using up lots of little scraps here, but after an afternoon of high concentration, I totter out feeling a bit discombobulated. When it’s finished I’ll share it on a future ‘Frugal Friday’ post.
I’m using up what’s here in the house and being vastly entertained at the same time. My brain’s hard at work designing and making hundreds of decisions with colour placement, I’m grooving to Mum’s Boppin’ Bangers on Spotify and my afternoons slip by with much fun, no money spent and a feeling of accomplishment at the end of each day.
Why not do as I did and drag those unused items from your cupboards and start using them? After all, you bought them for a reason. If they genuinely don’t interest you anymore, flog them off on Marketplace or give them away, but if you see them and smile, then get your money’s worth from them!
After making all of these quilts from fabric that I already had at home, I still have bucketloads of fabric here. So many hours of entertainment! I feel very lucky.
As I said above, it’s only a waste of money if you don’t USE what you have.
So use it.
Dad jokes of the day:
What did the grape do when he got stepped on? He let out a little wine.
I wouldn’t buy anything with velcro. It’s a total rip-off.
They look amazing! You are very talented.
Thanks. It’s all just short, straight seams though!
Wow! Every quilt is beautiful, but they are SO impressive when shown all together!
I’ve got to curate my 1000’s of photos onto a digital photo frame that I bought and neglected. I gave up most things crafty long ago, although I do have a giant hunk of wax and candle making supplies. Hmmm….
You’d better make those candles. Half of Melbourne is in a blackout at the moment. You never know when you might need some extra light… LOL
Beautiful work and well done on using your stash.
I’m heading the same way with wool. I’ve joined a knitting group once a week where we knit or crochet for charity and I also make crochet rugs for gifts.
Nothing better than a snuggly gift!
The Dachshund quilt is GLORIOUS!!!!
Didn’t you see this when I brought it to work?
These are gorgeous. You are a total rockstar!
During our long lockdowns I have loved using things around the house. Particularly pulling out forgotten toys and games for the youngsters. I almost pulled out my old saxophone but I’m saving that for the next one.
Is that a promise or a threat???!!?
Haha!
Stunning Quilts, love them
Thanks!
Wonderful work! My brain hurts thinking of all the decisions you have to make on colors and patterns :)) The one that sat for 11 years looked like a lovely table runner.
You know, I never even thought of putting it together as a table runner! But you’re right…