There is a saying in the world of sewing - "She who dies with the most fabric wins."
It should probably read - "She who buys the most fabric ends up in the poor house."
It's confession time peeps.
I spend WAAAAY too much on fabric.
Seriously...it's a problem. I'm not saying we're about to be on the street by any means, or that I'm hiding bills from my husband. It's not that bad at all. But, still. It's a problem.
Denial
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| This is just a teeny tiny glimpse. Seriously teeny tiny. |
It all started innocently enough. Trying to build a bit of a stash so I had fabrics on hand when I needed something. But, then as project ideas would arise I would find that the fabrics in my stash wouldn't work. So I'd buy what would work, plus a few cute extras. Eventually the cute extras became what I was buying. Then I found designers that I loved. I "need" their fabrics of course, right? Right. And then I'd see a project I liked heavily influenced by their fabric choice so I'd buy similar fabric to put my own twist on the quilt, but I never seem to get around to those projects. Then I buy the cute prints that I think I'll use to make things for my kids. But, I never seem to get around to those either. And before you know it...the pile grows and grows. And this is just fabric...don't forget it takes needles, thread, batting, etc. to make a quilt.
Sewing/quilting is my therapy. We all need something to keep us sane after a long work day. I am a Stay at Home Mom, and while I love my kids, as any mom knows, they can also be a handful. Some days I crave time with that sewing machine so I can get inside my own head for some quiet time. And just like I crave sewing, I also crave contact with other grown ups. I think the quilt shop has become my haven for grown up chatter. I love those ladies. They're sweet, genuine, helpful, understanding. I just find quilters to be a group of loving and supportive people. But, of course, while you're chatting, you're shopping. And spending.
Finally my husband and I talked about my spending. You see, in our house, he's in charge of the budget. So, to be completely honest, I really had no idea how much I was spending. He wasn't really giving me a number on how much I was overspending and I didn't want to ask, because that would make it real. We tried giving me a lump sum of cash for several areas of the family budget. But, that didn't work because some things I had to use credit card to receive a discount, or something on the receipt was a gift so I didn't want to use my cash, etc. And before I knew it I was overspending again.
For a while we gave up on that. He offered to open a checking account for my craft spending, but he wasn't getting around to that. He's so busy, and he shouldn't have to. He's actually very supportive of my craft habit. (His mother is a quilter as well.) But, that can also be a problem. Both of us can often take it lightly which is another reason I had no grasp of how I was getting out of control. (Of course this is all relative.)
The Experiment
I realized I needed to know how much I was spending. But, not just a number thrown out by my husband. I needed to keep track myself. To be responsible. I spoke with my husband and we agreed on a monthly budgeted amount. A number. The number took negotiating and it was also based partially on how much it costs to make a quilt.
I got a tiny little notebook to record my spending in. In this notebook I keep the receipts and I record the date, store, items bought, and money spent. Each month has a page.
It didn't take long for me to see that I had a problem. When Tula's new line came out I was WAY over my monthly budget. (I needed that line...because, you know...they might run out! Please don't judge me too harshly.) So, I talked to my husband, and he said that he didn't care if I spent the entire year's worth of money all at once. But, once I spent it, that was it for the year.
Phew! I felt better. So then I needed a 12.5" square ruler. And then...and then.... You get the idea, right? Last night I was writing things down in my little notebook. And I realized. I've spent into OCTOBER!!!!!
OCTOBER!!!!
(I repeated it just in case you were in shock and couldn't believe it either.) See...I have a problem. And it smacked me in the face as I realized it.
I won't lie...I felt like asking my husband if I can just start over. Pretend like I didn't spend the money I spent. But, that's not how the real world works. And if I'm going to teach my kids how to be responsible with money...I better start with myself. So, I hope to keep you posted on my road to recovery. I have already deemed 2013 the year of "The Stash." :) As in...I will work as much as possible from my stash instead of buying tons of new stuff for each quilt. This should also help me tackle a bunch of quilts on my to do list.
Why am I blogging about this? So I can be honest with myself and you. To hold myself accountable. And in hopes that, if there is someone else out there with a similar problem maybe they can realize they're not alone.
I'll keep you posted! Maybe I can blog when I feel like buying. :)
Sew long for now,
-Amanda-
You're not alone! I can barely resist a sale. It helped to organize what I have--there are plenty of "why the heck did I buy this?" cuts of fabric. Money wasted! I went one step further and said "what I love today I may not love tomorrow so I need to make sure I have a plan, not just purchase because I love it." I will admit, though, I bought a fat quarter set of Birds and Bees--it was a total steal--without a plan. But now Poppyprint is hosting a quiltalong so I'll be digging into it soon!
ReplyDeletehey, if you only used the fabric you own, how many quilts do you think you could make? Take a good.long.look. Another idea is the one in, one out rule--if you use a fat quarter set you can purchase another one. But maybe to pare down what you have, say that you'll purchase one yard for every two that you use. And you can't purchase it until you've actually used the fabric (good intentions don't count).
this is really hard but you can do it!
Oh, fabric addiction, I know you so well! I will validly point out, it is practically August, which only puts you 2 months ahead... well, Ok, maybe 3 depending on where in October's allowance you actually are. But point being, worst-case 10 months' spending in 8 months time is only 25% overspending, and... I mean, I'm not saying this doesn't make for a super rough November and December but... maybe all the good fabric lines come out in spring anyway? And maybe you'll be too busy in October and December to purchase much anyway.
ReplyDeleteEr, sorry. Can you tell from the above that I feel your pain? I have used Mint.com to keep track of my spending for years, faithfully categorizing all my purchases, and the year I got married, I quite idly decided to see what all my "quilting" habit was costing me. I am fortunate to have a lot of leeway in my fabric spending since I work outside the home, but let me tell you: in 2011 my spending on quilting supplies hit 4 digits, and let's just say, the first digit *wasn't* a "1." I about fell over and died. Quilt shops should come with a warning!
But, in tending my bruised ego, I actually saw a study that made me feel slightly better: (WARNING: PDF) http://www.quilts.com/announcements/y2010/QIA2010_OneSheet.pdf . If you don't want to click the link, basically Quilter's Newsletter sends out a survey every 2 years to see who quilters are and what they are spending on. Speculations about QN's target audience aside, what was interesting is that they basically had to create a separate category for "dedicated" quilters, aka who spent more than $600 a year ($50 a month) in fabric and supplies. The average spent by those dedicated quilters? $2,442 per year in quilting supplies. I kid you not. Important to note; $2,442 is an average, which means plenty of people spend MORE than this. Feeling better yet?
I will admit, I did, although I also made the same pledge you did: Next year? Stash stash stash, stash, stash. And so far this year, it does seem to be working. Admittedly I also got pregnant and too tired to shop or sew as much this year which helped considerably; but even with the internet at my fingertips, swearing that I am *not* allowed to buy more than 2 projects' worth of fabric for every projects I make - and actually STICKING to that - has trimmed me down to spending at roughly 1/3 the rate I did last year.
So yeah. I totally completely and wholly feel your pain. It's easy to see fabric and love it and just KNOW you want to make something with it eventually. And I will admit I have suffered some terrible losses of really cute collections with my new rule; but I have also learned that amazingly enough they do keep coming out with NEW cute fabric to heal your heart when you're forced to decline a collection you love, and also that Etsy is a great place to make a frantic "Yes! This was all sold out when I finally got to my LQS and/or earned the right to purchase it at the Fat Quarter Shop online three months later, but I still love it and want it" type purchase. I also admire you for sticking to your guns on your budget - that is a great example to set, and wish you luck in maintaining an iron will when it comes to judicious purchases.
Oh, and if your husband asks, I totally did not just load you up with a bunch of numbers and statistics for next year's budget negotiations. I'm just saying.
DeleteNo worries. The budget number is totally reasonable as we discussed what I need to make a general quilt. I can totally see how people end up spending thousands in a year. My monthly number is much higher than my current budgeted amount. And we just started the budget in July...I spent all of the way into October in 1 month!!! EEK!
DeleteI hear you. Because I am likely to move in the next year or so (needing not only to save money but space), I decided that this would be the Summer of the Stash. I started by pulling out all of the stacks I'd made with particular plans in mind and taking the time to cut the fabric. That way, future projects (stored in gallon ziplocks) are 'ready to go' and take up less space. After about two weeks of 'cut-o-rama' I started piecing some of the small projects, like infant quilts and small pieces for me. Although I have bought a few yards here and there, I have been good about mowing through the stash. Plus, working my way through stacks has constantly reminded me how much I have and what I may have forgotten about. Finally, I downsized my scrap bins when a friend was getting rid of a cabinet which was perfect for my 4-drawer system: warm, cool, neutral, vintage ) and I cut any larger scraps into 3" squares for a future scrap quilt. Finally, I perused a few sites like fabricworm in order to see when new and desirable lines are to be released. I put the dates on a list as targeted, pre-approved purchases. When I see a fabric I'm tempted to get I say "Do you want this, or are you saving for 'Nursery Versery' instead?" (HELLO! No contest!). I know not all of this is about budgeting, but I added it by way of encouragement. I'm not anywhere near done mowing my way through my stash, but I can definitely feel and see a difference. I also wanted to put this "out there" to keep myself honest! If you see me crawling around on the floor at QW, buying fabric, you have my permission to report me to the authorities.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the note, Cornelia! :)
DeleteI love your list of fabrics and release dates!!! I need to do that. I see a neat chalkboard on my wall in the future so I can keep a cute list of to-do projects and to be purchased fabrics!!! :) So proud of you for working through your stash.
And I hear you on the reporting to authorities. I told Steph to slap me if I picked up any fabric yesterday while we were at QW. lol
-Amanda-
My husband and I use the same account on Mint.com to manage our expenses, and we sit down at the beginning of the month and in the middle of the month to evaluate how we're doing. Another idea to help manage the stash is to limit the number of projects, a guild mate was talking about having only six projects going at a time. Whatever she needs for those projects goes in one bin or bag, and when she finishes one of those, she can start another project in that bin/bag space. It's a great idea, and it was definitely food for thought for me! Good luck :-D
ReplyDelete