Since I can't do....

Since I can't sew until at least the weekend because the big thesis is not quite done (actually I am going to try for tomorrow during editing time:D its not like i am going to write anything more during editing time!), anyway, i am doing enough dreaming about fabric, i thought i would participate in Sew, Mama, Sew!'s Stash Talk, and answer a few questions.

For those of you just tuning in, I do sew, knit, crochet and embroider, but there has been a moratorium placed on such activities until my thesis has been finished, and I am very close, like two pages and some editing! But I do have a few crafty posts here, here and here. Edit: forgot about this one!

Ok, here goes:

What do you usually sew? I used to sew mainly clothes, but i do a lot of smaller things as well, like bags, oven mitts, aprons, pillows and duvet covers, and i have just started quilting.

When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? depending on what i think i will make out of it, and how expensive it is, anywhere from half a meter, to three meters. I really like buying up remnants though, and those come in any size. gorgeous expensive fabric i usually buy in a fat quarter.

Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need? I usually go with something in mind, but these days i got to the quilt shop, see fabric i like, go home and think of what i could use it for, and then go back and buy it. not enough in the budget these days to be impulsive.

Are you a pre-washer? yes, i have had too much trouble with dye running or fabric shrinking not to be! i usually wash it when i bring it home because i am so excited to start a project!

Do you iron it? yes, after i wash my fabric, large pieces i put in the dryer for about 15 minutes and then iron them while they are damp. fat quarters I iron to dry them.

How do you sort it? i don't, although i do keep fabrics for a project together.

Do you have any special folding techniques? nope, as long as it is folded, i am happy.

How do you store your fabric? in rubbermaid totes, because right now, it is in the basement. i dream of one day having a sewing area!

What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash? i am just building mine, but my biggest problem is buying up too much of one kind of fabric, in my case bold colourful patterns and batiks, and ending up with nothing to use as a contrast because i find solids and white boring.

When do you say enough is enough? hmm, not yet! i am just now finding uses for fabric i bought when i was a lot younger (like, when i was ten) and never did anything with.

What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects? making all my christmas presents was really good at busting down the stash, especially some country looking stuff from my mother. i made oven mitts out of the scraps left over from making boxer shorts when i was a teenager, tote bags with patchwork strips on them, and my favourite was taking a whole cut of fabric that i knew i would never use for anything, adding a contrasting border (in style of fabric and colour), and making a tablecloth.

Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let’s see it! hmm, so many to chose from, i really like the Amy Butler fabric i made my cousin's diaper bag out of, and i have just enough of it left to make a purse for myself. i was so happy to discover that!

What’s your definition of the perfect stash? well, since mine is definitely not perfect, i dream of one that had enough of the basics, like solids, that i could start on a project as soon as i got home with a new fab fabric purchase, and not what i do now, which is get home and realize that to make anything i have to go back out again and get something for a lining or backing.