What do I sew?

I found a site today called SewMamaSew.com and they asked folks to share information about their fabric stashes. After reading the blogs (all very interesting, I might add) I thought I'd take the plunge and answer the questions. I will admit up front, that I feel I have an embarrassment of riches, as far as my sewing space and stash are concerned.

What do you usually sew? Quilts. I did take a sewing class a long time ago when I was learning how to use my sewing machine. I made 2 skirts, a couple tops, and a jacket. And I made my youngest son a cute Dalmatian Halloween outfit when he was a baby. Other than that, I make quilts, usually for other people.

When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?) Well, I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I subscribe to the "One yard if you like it, two yards if you love it, and three yards if you can't live without it." The problem is, when I'm buying fabric, I love it all and usually buy three yards when I'm buying fabric. Believe it or not, these fabrics were from three different stores in Lancaster (left of photo, upper right, lower right). I didn't even realize how well they coordinated till I got home.

Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need? Typically, I make a big trip to a great store about once or twice a year and go a little crazy buying fabric (like in Lancaster). When I'm there it's all impulse.

Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it? I used to always wash it when I got home. These days, I have a table filled with fabric to be washed before I use it.

Do you iron it? After I take the fabric out of the dryer, it goes in my cupboard. I always iron my fabric before I cut it for a project.

How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.) I tend to love the way fabric stores put colors together, so it's in my cupboard according to the way I bought it (not very efficient, mind you), or in the kit it came with.

Do you have any special folding techniques? I didn't know there were special folding techniques. Now that I've read about some of them, I may just go and have a folding party.

How do you store your fabric? Some of it is on wire shelves, some in wire baskets, some in plastic containers, and some in the bag I still brought it home in from the store. I also use closet organizers that have drawers and keep fabric in there too.

What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash? I don't think I know the answer to that. Whenever I try to make something I always need to buy more fabric.

When do you say enough is enough? I think I'm there. Unless I'm somewhere special where I can't resist the fabric buys, I think I need to start producing more quilts in order to be able to buy more.

What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects? I don't think it's possible to bust your stash. Recently I tried to get rid of all my patriotic fabric by getting our Quilt Circle to make a Patriotic Patchwork quilt. The fabric multiplied. I now have more red, white and blue fabric than I started with.

Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let’s see it! I love fuchsia. I love this line of fabrics. I think it's called Razzle Dazzle.

What’s your definition of the perfect stash? (Consider sharing a picture or two of your stash & storage, or direct us to a pic on Flickr!) I love my stash. Being organized would make it perfect!!

Fabric- aholic

Mark and I had a wonderful trip, having a 4 day respite from the hustle and bustle of normal life is very therapeutic. The Adamstown Inn Bed and Breakfast was terrific and romantic. I've been to Lancaster twice before, with quilting friends. It was fun to see it from Mark's point of view. Of course on our first day there, we did fabric shopping. We went to Intercourse (yes, that's a town) and visited Zooks. I found out that Zooks and Sauders (our destination for later in the day) are connected and they had a pretty good map to get there. In town, there is a street filled with wood shops and candle shops, and a little village where they have a leather shop and a jam store, and a book store, with books on the Amish, and an art store, with only art about the Amish, and the Village Quilt shop, where they sell Amish/Mennonite quilts. It's so interesting how the entire tourist industry is dependent on these handcrafts, and it's good to see they place a high value on them as well.

Mark was more interested in the Woolrich store, and used most of my fabric shopping time to keep walking through the town and just get some exercise. We then drove through Bird-In-Hand, and went back on Rt. 30 through downtown Lancaster. As we were driving back to our B&B that day, I yelled "Stop, I need to take a picture of that." It was a huge pumpkin patch. I told Mark I could email my son Zachary and tell him I found a sincere pumpkin patch (aka Linus). We then headed to Sauders, a huge store located in the basement of someone's home. On one side of the store is fabric, and on the other side is bulk foods. So when you walk in, the store smells of spices, unlike most fabric stores. When I've been in this store in the past, it was during the big quilt show in Lancaster in May. There were wall to wall people in the store and those women can cut fabric faster than anyone I've ever seen. The store has 5 or 6 aisles of fabric, ceiling to floor - it's like a library of colors (I love libraries too).

On our second day we decided to visit one of the outlet malls and do the covered bridge tour of Reading, on our way to Egypt, PA for our genealogy trip. Time became a factor and we only did 3 of the 5 bridges (I don't think it was any great loss). It turned out that the Troxell-Steckel house was closed when we got there (off season hours), but it was still a most impressive and inspiring trip. I tried to get directions to the 1744 house my 6-ggrandfather built, but at 3:30 on a Saturday, wasn't able to find it. The Troxell-Steckel house was built by my 6-ggranduncle and is all built of stone and mortar. It's two stories high. There is a huge barn on the land and a spring house built of stone also. It's built near a riverbed - the Coplay Creek -and has tons of farmland behind the barn. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I could just see why they chose this particular piece of farmland to settle on when they came to the Jordan Valley. We walked around and took photos and just kept looking at the house. It was inspiring. There was a moment when I did go and touch the stone just to feel the history in the rock there. In the 1700's people who are related to me, built this house. Wow. This stone is part of the house on the front.( you can click on the house picture to enlarge). At this time the Indian wars were beginning. It means "God protect this house from all danger. Lead our souls to heaven." Then it is marked with Peter Troxell's name and his wife's name and the date the house was completed. We also found the historical marker for the house, which, according to one book, is considered the primary historical structure in the township. I'm going to have to go back now and see the 1744 house. It's a private home and not open to the public, but I just want to see it. I felt that I truly had roots there. I had known about the house from my genealogy cousin, but seeing it was so much more moving than I expected it to be.

The next day was Sunday and we planned to go back to Intercourse because I knew I had missed the Old Country Store and they sell fabric there. We were going to go and visit some of the out of the way quilt shops too. We drove down a beautiful country road where farmland surrounds you as far as the eye can see. An occasional pumpkin patch or gourd patch breaks up the farmland. And there are clothes hanging on the line, all in hues of blue or purple and then black long johns. When we arrived in town, we discovered all the stores were closed on Sunday. The whole town was like a ghost town, but somehow it was reassuring that these people still hold their beliefs more important than making a buck. We didn't waste the trip though - it was back to Rt. 30 and the other two outlet malls in Lancaster. We visited Lennox, and Oneida, and Borders and did manage to find the Hex sign store open also.

The following day before heading home, we traveled back to the small towns of the Amish, traveling the same road as the day before and stopping at a small quilt store, called Whitmer's Quilts on Rt. 23. A wonderful artist of a woman, Emma Whitmer, showed us her quilts that were piled high on the bed in her showroom. There must have been 70 quilts on that bed. She told us stories of the quilts and of the quilters who made them. She designed the colors and the patterns for most of them. They were unbelievably gorgeous. Emma had Mark on the other side of the bed helping her to flip quilts as she displayed quilt after quilt, waiting for one to catch our eye, to be "the one." We made it all the way through the 70 or so quilts, and then worked our way backwards. It really hadn't been our intention to buy a quilt, but there were several that were tempting enough to make us pause to consider it. One in particular, called Sunny Day, was just astonishing. Emma designed it herself and the circular panel of Flying Geese had about 2,163 pieces of fabric in it. Emma knew every name and price and quilter and fabric and filling. There was a story behind every quilt. She had a thick Amish/Mennonite accent and it was just a delight listening to her speak. We only went through the bed with the geometric quilts on it. There was an additional bed in that showroom with another stack of floral quilts on it. I understand she also has 2 more showrooms in the house, even though we didn't see them. What a contrast to the stores on Rt. 30 who sold quilts as well, and had a "don't touch" sign at the door where you entered. If I were buying an Amish quilt - Whitmer's is the place to look for one. All were reasonably priced - between about $450.00-$700.00. Others that were larger or had more pieces or more hand quilting were in the $1000.00- $2000.00 range. Every quilt was gorgeous. They were machine bound, she called it, and hand quilted. Another person did the cutting and Emma did the designing. She said she throws a bunch of fabrics together and if one says "aughhh!" to her, she throws it out of the mix.

We finally made it to The Old Country Store and I found a ton of fabrics I love. Did I buy them? Of course I did. Did you know that those books - "Fix it and Forget it" are written by someone from Lancaster County? The store was filled with her books and advertised a new one coming out soon called "Fix it and Forget it - Healthy Food." They have a beautiful selection of fabric at all three stores, but this trip, I think The Old Country Store was the best. And guess what - they are now online at www.theoldcountrystore.com. When we finished we headed home to Pittsburgh. It was interesting, when I laid out my fabrics from the three different stores, they all go together. Some of them are even the exact same colors, even though they are not the same fabrics. There are shades of fuchsia (my favorite color), yellows, and oranges. I must be totally attracted to the same colors, even though I wasn't aware of it at the time.

It's a wonderful slice of life in Lancaster county - beautiful, handcrafted goods for sale at reasonable prices. A place that values the handcraft of Quilting and the artistry of the Amish people.

Back to Real Life

Hard to believe, three weeks ago, I was standing on a Glacier. How can it all be such a distant memory?

Ah, well, it's been an exciting week. I have to say, I'm relieved to not hear the hate messages on TV everyday. I'm glad the election is over for that reason alone. Obama has been elected and I'm filled with hope for the future. I was overcome with pride for the country on Tuesday night. I cried when he gave his speech and marveled that I was living History at this moment in time. It was sort of surreal.

Our Quilt Circle raffle quilt was won by a woman who lives in Freedom PA. Ironic on election night, eh? She came to claim it the next day and seemed very thrilled about winning it.

My husband and I are going away for a 4 day weekend in the heart of Adamstown's Antique District and Lancaster's Pennsylvania Dutch Country next weekend. We're driving (about 4.5 hours away) and staying at a Bed and Breakfast - Adamstown Inn and Cottages. I've never stayed at a B&B before. It ought to be very relaxing. Too bad it rained this weekend so the leaves will probably be gone from the trees - no great photos there.

Now, as a quilter, you know what being near Lancaster means, right? FABRIC!! At great prices. I have visited Lancaster twice before for the big quilt show they have and the prices of fabric are around $4.00/yard, unlike the $8.00-$9.00/yard we pay at our retail quilt stores. There are a few stores in particular I want to visit, like Sauders, and The Old Country Store. I can't imagine how the Amish make money if that's what the wholesale costs of the fabric is. It must be such a small mark up that they make money from the quantity of fabric they sell. There are antique stores and gift shops there as well, and I'm looking forward to the trip.

Till later.
MJ