A Fabric Lover's Confessional - Budgeting

The Confession


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

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-

NQA Finish!

It's done!  It's done!  Okay...who am I kidding?  I've been done for a while.  Which is probably obvious if you follow my Facebook page since it's my cover photo.

It's funny...because when I began this quilt it was purely a substitute for the original idea I had...someday that quilt will make it out of the UFO pile.  The top is done, but it never made it further than that due to time constraints.

I really loved the fabrics I picked for the Disappearing 9-Patch, but the process felt more like a chore due to my frustration with the original.  But once I slapped that binding on...I fell in love with it.

The pink squares pop against the chocolate browns, grass greens, and golden yellows.  The binding couldn't have been more perfect (I'm a sucker for a perfect binding...it really can make or break the quilt  IMO.)  And that orange plaid backing...<squeal!>

While it's only a crib size the kids are loving it because they can lounge under it without it being too bulky for them.  And I enjoy doing my latest EPP project with this little baby draped over my legs.

Now it needs a name. Hmmm....  Any thoughts on that?

I hope you enjoyed yourself!  And please share your finished quilts on the Flickr page.  I'd LOVE to see them!!!

Sew long for now,
-Amanda-

NQA Week #7 - Binding

Well, Murphy's Law certainly did enter full force while I have been working on this Quilt-Along.  A couple of weeks ago my new laptop died.  And by died I mean...worked fine one day and then wouldn't turn on the next.  Luckily the hard drive was the only thing that didn't fail, so they ended up putting it into a new computer.  Weird.  I still had all of my content but having my computer gone meant I didn't have access to any of the pictures of my binding post.


But, all of that is over with now and I can finally conclude this Quilt-Along.  Assuming lightning doesn't strike me down or something.


Just a reminder.  Seams are 1/4" unless otherwise specified.  WOF stands for Width of Fabric.  You are now back to using your all purpose thread.  However I recommend keeping the 14/90 needle on your machine.


Making your binding:


Step 1 - Cut (9) 2 1/4" WOF strips.  We are cutting more than we need so we have extra to work with as we close up the binding at the end.  (And it helps in case you make a mistake.)  Trim off the selvages.  (***We don't make bias binding because we will not be going around any curves.)

Step 2 - Place one strip right side up, and at a 90° place a 2nd binding strip right side down.  Pin these together as in picture #2 (above).  Use a fabric marking pen or a pencil to mark a diagonal line from the bottom left to the top right corner.


Step 3 - Stitch along this line remembering to back stitch at the beginning and end.  Continue doing this with all of your binding strips adding one strip to the longer strip you are piecing together until you have one long pieced binding strip.


Step 4 - Once all of your binding is pieced together trim the seam allowances of your stitching down to a 1/4".  Pictured in Step 4 above.  Press these seams open.


Step 5 - Fold your binding in half lengthwise and iron it so that the long raw edges meet and wrong sides are together.


Attaching Your Binding to the Front:

{Cheer} Block - July 2012

You may (or may not) have noticed that I added a new button to the sidebar of my blog for the do. Good Stitches flickr group.  This is an online quilting charity bee via flickr.  I signed up a little while ago and was recently added to the new circle "Cheer".  Claire Jain from Sewing Over Pins is our circle leader, and was also our quilter for this round.

Without going into too much detail...A quilter picks a block pattern and all members make the block(s) each month.  I am a sewer, which means I only have to make blocks.  Each month the "quilter" will rotate to a different person who signed up to be a "quilter."  That person gets to pick the block assigned to the group, and when the blocks are done the "quilter" will then assemble the quilt.  All of our quilts are being donated to Project Linus.

Claire Jain picked a block called "X Marks the Spot" by Jessica at Sew Crafty Jess.  So, if you've made a Swoon quilt and want to know what to do with your leftovers...this baby is your next pattern!  :)

This baby involves a lot of HSTs (Half Square Triangles) which is not something I've done a lot of.  Getting all of those points to line up can be a bear at times.  And there may have been a few moments of swearing like a sailor frustration.  But, in the end, I'm generally happy with the final product.  And, of course, practice is always a good thing.

I'm really excited to be a member of the CHEER circle, and look forward to making many more quilts with the group! :)

Sew long for now!
-Amanda-

Ms. Red, If You Please

I completed the dresden doll quilt for my daughter at the OKCMQG Sew Day.  :)  I'm so pleased with the end result.  I hope she is as well.  She's seen me working on it, so she'll probably end up having it in her possession before her 2nd birthday in August.  It's so much fun getting to make things for my kiddos.

She is madly in love with her baby dolls these days.  Her Daddy and I are getting her a nursery care center for her babies, and I thought this little doll quilt would be the perfect compliment to her big gift.

Can you see the little lace detailing up in the right hand corner?  There is another one on the bottom left that you can't see in this picture, but...

I attached a button to this one.  It's such a nice little extra detail.  Speaking of extra details...while hand quilting this I decided to stitch a little heart onto one of the dresden plates:

And then the backing...Oh, I love it.  It's German and perfect. I've had it for a while now waiting for the perfect project.

The whole thing just turned out better than I could have imagined.  The sister quilt, that I gave to a pal for a charity auction, is also very sweet.  It has a sweet light blue binding (and sashing on the backing) with a center panel of the red Riley Blake Chevron in place of this German Little Red.)  I wasn't sure I'd like the blue, but it turned out very nicely as well.  My friend is going to take a picture of it for me so I can share it with you.  I forgot to snap one before it left me.  

And now this little gem goes into hiding so hopefully my daughter forgets about it before her birthday.  HA!  Yeah right.

Sew long for now,

Amanda