The Not So Loved Fabric Plan

 Hello Friends!  I've been doing what I can to get the Studio back in shape.  Sorting through years of hoarding and UFO projects is slow tedious work.  Yesterday evening while digging through the piles of fabric I found this huge panel quilt. It's been in my stash for about 12 years.  It was purchased in a large estate haul.  I never unfolded it because I could see it was football themed.  Football isn't my thing but I know many fans who might like a quilt like this.  So it's a keeper.

While sorting and folding fabric it occurred to me, I need to get rid of the not so loved fabric.  What better way than making donation/charity quilts.   My huge stash of batting scraps can be pieced and used in these quilts.  The charity of choice is the homeless.  I've made quilts for them in the past.  Wheeler Mission in Indianapolis accepts quilts and allows the homeless to take the quilts with them when they leave the shelter.  These quilts are often left under bridges or where ever they are when the weather turns warm.  Because of this the quilts don't need to be pretty or have fancy patchwork.  My quilt plan is simple large squares of fabric.  

I'm sure I'll need to pull more fabric from my stash.  Even though the quilts don't need to be great patchwork, making them color coordinated is a must for my quilty soul.  Some solids might be needed to slow down the wild fabrics.  The solid black scraps from my recent Lone Star quilts will be perfect for adding to the fabrics with black in them.

Currently on my cutting table is my solid stash.  On the left is a stack of solid black scraps.  On the right is about half of a bolt of black.  More than enough!

Many of these fabrics are leftover from my bag/purse making days.   I couldn't make them fast enough.  They had a Vera Bradley vibe to them and they sold faster than I could make them.  Those days are over so these girls are added to the charity fabrics.

 When deciding what fabrics I would use for charity quilts I had to be honest with myself.  Would I really use it in a quilt or just look at it from time to time?  It's just fabric and lord knows there's plenty more out there waiting to be brought home.  I like most of the pinks I pulled, I don't love them.  It's time to let them go.

And there's more in this stack of cuties.  The vintage ones are cute but again, if I haven't used by now I probably won't...let it go to someone who can and will use it now.

It'll be interesting to see how many quilts I can make with the scrap batting I have on hand.  It gives me a reason to work a little faster at getting the studio back in order. I need to hear the hum of the sewing machine.

I should be able to make 5 or 6 quilts with the scrap batting.  Maybe more.  I know there's a lot of batting but I haven't opened that can of worms yet. The box of batting is stuffed full of vacuumed bags of batting.  It weighs a lot.  After finishing the fabric sorting I'll tackle the batting box.

Now that I have a plan, I need to find a place to store the charity fabric separate from my stash.  A new tote should do the trick.  It will store nicely under the quilt frame.  Problem solved!  Shopping trip!

Until next time...

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!