Sew Your Stash Thin 2013 {wrap up}

1. EyeSpy quilt  2. Camping Shower Bags  3. Overnight Bag  4. Diary Cover  5. Dolls Quilt & Matching Pillow
6. Spring Dolls Quilt Swap (to be blogged)  7. Secret Santa Crochet hook roll  8. Drama Mug Rug
9. 5 Teacher Mug Rugs (to be blogged)  10. Loyalty Card Holders 11. Preschool Dolls Quilt (to be blogged) 12. Camping clothes rolls (yet to be blogged)

Our resident challenge enabler, AJ, threw down the gauntlet early last year – could we use more from our stash than we added to it? I had big plans – an early January delivery saw my stash grow , but never fear, thought I, that is border and binding for an almost finished quilt, the backing of which I already had. I had simple quilting planned, so it shouldn’t take me too long, right?

Famous last words. Within a week, I was completely out of action as morning sickness as early pregnancy exhaustion took over my entire headspace. By the time I was well again in May, other commitments and priorities took over. Then baby came, and an impending birthday deadline, so with the aid of my post-birth helpers, I hooked into the quilting, and… fell just short of my goal. So away the quilt went. It now sits in my WIP pile, binding mostly attached, with a minor adjustment needed to the backing. Which makes it perfect for the 2014 Kick The Bucket challenge, but a fail on stash busting!

Despite this set-back, however, and bearing in mind I lost four months to sickness, another month to catching up on things I’d let slide in those four months, another month out for travel, and then a baby born in early September, I am pretty happy, not only with the amount of sewing I’ve done, but also by managing to reduce my stash by 40 FQs, or roughly 10 metres!! Not bad for someone who doesn’t stash a lot of fabric. My biggest reductions were the EyeSpy quilt (most bought in 2012 for an early January finish), and camping clothes rolls (6 FQ each of curtain fabric I’ve had forever), and my overnight bag.

I’m trying to carry forward the SYST philosophy into 2014, and try to use my stash stuff before buying more. Maybe. Unless it’s super pretty and I just have to have it. Or stash stuff just isn’t quite right. (yes, I’m a master justifier, why do you ask?). Around here it’s still school holidays, and we are on a Lego binge. We’ve baked and coloured and read our way through the last few days. I have a fun repurposing project underway, and am on day 6 of my current write chain with 1406 words written. I have a movie date with Boy2 today. Regularly scheduled programing will return soon, but until then, I’m soaking up every second with my precious small people. Have a great Wednesday!