Friday, February 23, 2018

CSQ Fabric Swap

Circle in the Square Quilters guild has a fabric swap each year, where we all bring whatever we want to destash and we take home anything that looks appealing to us. The leftovers go to a charity that collects fabric. The only rule is that nothing gets left behind at the hostess's house. It's always a fun event. The weather was horrible - raining and not quite freezing - but we had a good turnout anyway. This year the snack theme was cookies, and we had lots of delicious home-made treats, even some shaped like sewing machines, thread spools, and thimbles.

I dug through my stash and pulled out pieces I know I'll never use. Some I'm already done with - they're left over from past projects. Some, my tastes have changed and I'm ready to pass them on.

I got rid of all the leftover store-bought flannel from the quilt I made for my husband last year. 3-5/8 yards. 

Here's the pile of no-longer-loved quilting cotton I gave away: 25-1/4 yards. There's stuff in there left over from my book quilts, stuff from the 1990's and 2000's, leftover backing from DH's cowboy quilt from 2010, and who knows what else. This pile is about 10-11" tall. Goodbye.


So what did I bring home? New-to-me good stuff!

Two friends gave me pieces that might work for my grandson's big bed quilt. I'll see when my order of the Construction Zone fabric he picked out arrives. There's a yard of each here, and if it doesn't work for my grandson's quilt, then it'll work for donation quilts and pillowcases. 

I picked up this watercolor floral because I thought it was pretty, and I can use it in a donation quilt. And who can resist a few black & white fat quarters? 

This stripe is neon bright and could be good for a child's quilt, and there's enough here for blocks and binding. The basketball print is excellent for a donation quilt for an older boy. 

And finally, some low volume pieces and a couple more FQs, just because. 

Altogether I brought home 7-1/4 yards. 
Net 21-5/8 yards out of my stash, but you'd never know it to look at my fabric bins. Guess I'll just have to sew faster, make more, and use it up!

So today I'm doing the happy dance about my fabric swap success. What are you whooping about? Check it out over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. 

8 comments:

  1. You did good! We spent the night in our new house, going to put up my fabric shelves today.

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  2. What a great idea! That's a win win for everyone!

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  3. Nice! New fabric is always a thrill, even if it's someone else's old fabric :)

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  4. That's so neat! I wish more people around here sewed so we could do something like that! I love digging through any kind of fabric.

    https://prayersformymom.blogspot.com/

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  5. This is a great idea. How do I participate in a fabric swap? If you don't have a post on it, please send me to any URL or blogs. Thanks.

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    1. Anne, you're a no-reply blogger so I hope you'll see this. The fabric swap is a guild activity. You need a group of quilters, a location, an agreement about what kinds of fabric to swap (just quilting cotton? also flannel? also home dec?) and a suitable outlet (charity) for the leftovers. You can choose to include books and patterns as well. Everyone brings what they want to destash, and everyone can take whatever they want. It's nice to wrap up with refreshments, guild announcements, and show & tell. The designated person or group collects all the leftover fabrics and takes them to the charity.
      I hope this will inspire you to have a fabric swap with your group!
      ~Jan

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  6. That's some successful stash busting and stash refreshing!

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  7. I think this swap idea is awesome and I know you'll be using what you brought home easily. :)

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