"He never said anything about what he did for me. Most guys when they mentor a young player like that, they go around saying, 'Yeah, that was me. I did that.' Not Moses. He never told anybody. And that was the best part."
When I began cleaning up, and cleaning out my sewing studio, I cried to myself, "I can never buy another piece of fabric for as long as I live!!!" Then, I thought about the Barkley/Malone story, and realized that I was setting myself up for failure. So, I made a smaller, more obtainable goal, no new fabric shopping until August 1st. That was a 3 month goal, and one that I felt I could do. So far, so good :) But...whew!, in the last week or so, I have REALLY wanted to go to a fabric store. What helps a lot, is going into my studio and cleaning up a space, or a drawer. That's enough of a reminder, and the bonus is that I get excited about something that I want to make.
I did another little exercise that was rather difficult. I went through my fabric, pulled out 5 pieces that I love, and put them in a bag. A friend of mine and I had made a date for tea. I took the bag with me, handed it to her and told her that she could have all, some, or none, it was her choice. I then explained that these were pieces that I love, so not castoffs. She took all but 1 piece. As I sat there and watched her go through the fabric, I'll be honest, I thought of all the wonderful things I could do with it, but I held tight. A day later, she sent me a picture of a fun shirt she had made to wear with tights, using a piece of the fabric that I had given her. I could not have been happier! She was happy, I was happy, and it was all because I let go.
I then decided to take my exercise a step further. I invited another friend to come by, go through my fabric and choose a few pieces that she would like to have and felt she could use. As I sat there and watched her touch the fabric, I cringed a bit, but once again, I held tight, and let her choose what she wanted. And guess what?!!, as much as I cringed, I can't remember exactly which pieces she took!!! And even better, she left excited about her new projects.
My fabric diet is not music to any fabric shop owner's ears, but it is a journey that I am happy that I have embarked upon. At this point, I am learning to let go, and use what I have.
I hope the Barkley/Malone story will inspire you in some way, It's one of my favorites, but then, I really like Charles Barkley. He makes me laugh :)
Rhonda
I love this story and your creative and helpful destashing. I have so much fabric that I culled with no idea what to do with it or where to send it. I was recently very overwhelmed by my stash and like you, I knew making a pledge to "NOT BUY ANYMORE FABRIC EVERRRRR" was unattainable and unrealistic :) I did not set an end date but know I cannot buy more fabric "for awhile". My last fabric order was 5/22 and I will honestly have no time in June to even think about sewing and probably for most of July too. I'm sure by the time fall rolls around and the weather starts to cool I'll be scoping out some wools. I love fall :)
ReplyDelete" Floaty" pants details, please.
ReplyDeletePerhaps a diversion from cleaning? :)
You are too cute 😉
DeleteAnd, I must reward your perseverance. I will post the floaty pants next week. Probably towards the end of the week.
While I don't have much of a fabric stash, I have a weaver's stash that I'll never totally weave up ...oh all the plans I had! Your inspiration tho of giving away not the casts off but the "good" stuff is just the idea I needed. Yes, monetarily it would be better for me to try to sell but there's the joy of sharing. Thanks for being such a great example.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great story and your journey is where I'm at right now. After years of collecting, my fabric collection is gigantic and I need to stop adding to it and just sew from it. Especially since I love finding gems in my collection to sew up so Imma donate a few yards and set some more small goals for myself so I'm more successful with not adding more treasures to the collection! Thanks for a thoughtful post!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post. I have spent the last 5 months cleaning the two sewing rooms my dear departed sister had. It has made me look at my own stashes differently. She left me it all in her will, but at first I felt so guilty parting with any of it, but my house is much smaller than hers was. I have lately been giving away boxes and bags of it to a carefully selected group of people who have promised to use it. Most was quilting fabric, but there was a large amount of clothing fabric and yarn as well. Slowly but surely I am working through both hers and my stashes, so my family won't have to deal with the whole mess when I go.
ReplyDeleteBarb
Good for you, Rhonda! I have always been good at getting rid of most things. I hate clutter. I have given away many bags of fabric over the years. Once it is gone, I completely forgot what exactly it was I put in those bags. I do recall a lot of child prints and camouflage, but not exactly what they looked like. When I shop now, I always say, "Joy, you can always give it away." It is a great blessing to do that. There was a time when I couldn't afford to buy it, never mind give it away. Hugs, Joy
ReplyDeleteGreat stories! all of them! Since I'm in the middle of cleaning out my fiend's condo so that I can put it up for sale (I'm the executor of her estate), I am saying to myself everyday that I must clean my own home and rid myself of 'so much stuff' (fabric included). This exercise/journey has brought my own clutter and excess to the forefront in my mind. Proud of you for letting go of some of your favorite fabrics and that your friends are enjoying their new creations!
ReplyDeletewat a thoughtful and lovely approach. I bet your friends are having a lovely time with the fabric.
ReplyDeleteWell done! It would be hard to let go. We all love our fabric.
ReplyDeleteI like Barkley to, and yours and his are wonderful stories.
ReplyDeleteOh Rhonda what a beautiful and encouraging post! I’m on a sew from my stash quest until I go to the ASG conference in July. I have to set some restrictions on how much fabric I will buy. After reading this post, it will be 10 yds max!!!!!!!!! Thanks so much!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWell, you have inspired me to at least start to think about not purchasing more...I wonder why we stash so much in the first place?
ReplyDeleteLike you and many of the sewers in these comments, I have a stash-zilla that spans decades!!! I couldn't sew through it no matter how many deadlines or 'diets' I might swear to. I have promised to give up 'guilt' in my life, so 'fabric shopping promises' just won't work for me. But, I did have an accidental stash culling experience that produced no guilt and lots of surprises! I did a clean out and filled a couple of laundry baskets that were headed to the thrift store. I stuck them under my cutting table until I could make the trip. Once I had "let go" mentally I started using the pieces for patterns or mock ups without worrying about the perfect garment or the historic intended use. I even threw the scraps (big ones) away when I finished a pattern. Just making the decision to let them go some how gave me permission to just use them, with no expectations. I'm about ready to fill up the baskets again!!
ReplyDeleteAs the lone female in house of men( when my boys were younger ) Charles Barkley was a constant point of discussion . I love this story about him & it’s a great analogy to bite off small chunks . I’m doing the RTW Fast this year. I’ve been tempted but have not bought any garments. Personal challenges always keep me upping my skills . Thanks for the inspiration!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Rhonda - I was looking at my stash just last night trying to decide what to do other than buying another storage bin for more fabric. I do like most all of what I have and then there are those pieces that are "what was I thinking" pieces. Thanks for the inspiration - hope to tackle this project soon. All my best to you.
ReplyDeleteThe thought of getting rid of 5 pieces that I really love, no matter how generous and kind and giving, made me shudder inside. And to have someone else come over and pet my fabrics and possibly leave with something makes me cringe as well. You are truly a good person to do this.
ReplyDeleteThe sister in law of my dtr in law (yea, say that 3 times fast) just recently purchased her 1st sewing/embroidery machine and wants to learn. She lives quite a distance away but I told her to call anytime and I would try to help. And I told her to check local library for how to books and of course the internet. And I cleaned out a portion of my stash (still have a long way to go) and donated to her to PLAY with. I stopped coloring my hair and have let it go silver so my color choices have changed in clothing but her hair color is reddish brown, same as what mine was, so it works perfectly for her. She was so excited to get 4 trash bags full of fabric and she seemed to love it all. I was happy to part with it as the coloring was wrong for me now. We both won. This was several months ago and I have not missed any of it.
Hubby offered a suggestion that I not purchase anything that I do not plan to bring home and sew up immediately. So I am trying to approach a possible purchase just that way. And since Jan, I have purchased very little and have been shopping from the stash a lot.
Sorry, this got way too long.
Every time I decide to clear some of my stash I am reminded of what I wanted to make when I bought each particular piece. I really do need to reduce stash - and a friend has just declared her need to make more clothes - so I will do exactly what you did and let her loose. It may hurt for a little while but I'm sure (like you) I will have forgotten what she takes in no time at all.
ReplyDeleteTwo wonderful stories--about Barkley and Malone and paying it forward through fabric destashing. I've learned some things here.
ReplyDelete