I have been doing quite a lot of sewing lately ( I am now on Morphine tablets which although not ideal in the long term are bloody marvellous at taking some of the pain away until things improve ) but I am not showing you what I've been doing just yet as I want to tell you all of something very thought provoking that happened to me this week.
I attend a small quilt group every Tuesday night and although I hadn't been for a while - with these new pills I have been feeling so much better I managed to get there last week and the week before.
Anyway we had visitors on Tuesday night - a couple of ladies from a locallish quilt group selling fabric. You see one of their members sadly died just after Christmas and this fabric belonged to her. When she passed away her husband did not know what to do with all her stuff and was actually going to dump it all in the land fill site. Her friends came to the rescue and decided they would sell it for her and then her family would donate the proceeds to charity.
When they were due to come on Tuesday we knew these friends had already been to a few venues and had held a sale in a church hall so we were not expecting too much. Well when they arrived we were all absolutely staggered by the sheer quantity of fabric they brought in. I wished I'd had my camera - it was amazing. The ladies told us that this was only about a QUARTER of what they'd started with !!!!
The lady who'd died had also had 5 sewing machines, cutting mats galore and anything else you could think of to do with quilting but many of them. I think she was a compulsive buyer.
I obviously bought some fabric and I kept thinking how sad it was that she never got to use this fabric although of course it was good that at least it would be bought by quilters who would love it and use it to make beautiful quilts with. What a shame it would have been for it all to be dumped.
It certainly made me think about how much fabric we own. My stash is a good size but really I could see how it could so easily get out of control. Before this I was thinking I would try and use more from my stash this year and this has seconded it.
Here's what I got
To date her friends have sold over £8,000 worth of quilting stuff - I think that's about $13,000
Makes you think doesn't it ?
14 comments:
That's a pretty amazing amount she accumulated. I don't think I could afford to let my stash get that big in this lifetime. A quite unbelievable case of rettail therapy that she ended up with so much stuff?!
I hear you. My stash is very large....I've told everyone I know to allow my quilting friends at that fabric and quilting stuff if anything happened to me and if my family even thought about tossing my stuff in the dump......I haunt them for eternity!
I have a smallish stash but I try to buy for an actual project. I still am trying to use up what I have and stay out of the quilt shops! I've read of people who "willed" their fabrics etc so it wouldn't be tossed out. Might have been a good idea for this lady, although it seems her friends are managing to do goo d with it.
I'm so glad you are feeling some better, pain is just so hard to deal with in the long term.
Blessings
Gosh that was some stash it is soo sad that she did not get to use it herself like you said it does make you think, glad her stash money is going to charity at least
wow that is amazing.........I am sure they would not get that much money for what I have.............she must have had HEAPS..........nice to know someone wants to use it........
Wow. It sure does make you think. Thanks for sharing this and I'm glad you're on the morphine right now. All that pain makes a person ILL!
That is amazing! I hope all those quilting supplies brought great enjoyment to that lady during her lifetime. And so glad to hear that her quilting friends rescued the stash and passed it on to people who could use it. Your haul looks like fun!
I really don't have a huge stash. All my quilting stuff fits in one room - much of it is scraps that have been given to me. Now, my UFO's...that's another isssue!!
So sorry to hear that your pain level requires morphine...I am worried about you. Take good care of yourself.
I am so sorry for your pain...I hope you will be better very soon. I recently went to a fabric hoarders home to help her...it is just so sad to see all that fabric not being using, just kind of moldering away, so I am glad this ladies stash is being sold and used!!
I'm sure husbands don't really understand what our quilting stuff is worth to us, and other quilters. So much better to be sold with process going to charity then for it all to just be tossed.
Wow -ti does make you think...I'd hate to imagine how much money I've got locked up in fabric!
Hope you are feeling better soon!
Most of the members of the quilting group I belong to are quite old and we occasionally have a sale of this kind with supplies that have been donated to the group by a deceased member's family. I've picked up a few bits and pieces like that and it's always a solomn occasion going through someone's stash in those circumstances. My stash on the other hand would be lucky to raise£80.
Teresa x
Some quilters like to arrange a 'quilt executor' to carry out their wishes regarding their stash. My quilt group has been asked a few times to sell on someone's stash for the benefit of their favourite charity.
The phrase 'you can't take it with you' applies to fabric as well!
So glad you are feeling better and able to get out a little. How nice that this lady's quilting supply was rescued and going to a good cause. Our stash does seem to grow, but WOW!
Does make one think on what is in the coloset, under the bead and in the storage area..... I know there is thousands and thousands of dollars of fabric everywhere. For a few years I kept a spread sheet of how much I credit card charged from each shop and it was thousands each month.... did finally get the number WAY WAY down. As far as sad for the quilter, perhaps..... but then again perhaps she is thrilled that she was able to be the reason so many quilters had an extra good day at some venue...... Sew we go.
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