Like any interest, Patchwork and Quilting can be seen as a sub-culture. Generally a sub-culture comes with it's own set of rules or idiosyncrasies: and more often than not a language all of it's own, a language that those within the circle speak with confidence and ease. I consider myself an extremely competent sewer: I understood the language of dressmaking so was unprepared to feel so much like a fish out of water when transitioning to quilt making. I don't like not knowing stuff. (yes it's a vanity thing)...so I asked quiet questions and listened in on the sly until I grasped the meaning of every term and acronym I came across.
I still remember the first time I heard the word Stash. It's meaning was instantly clear and needed little explanation but what I still have trouble grasping is the concept, the rationale behind NEEDING a stash. You see that is how it was presented to me....that if I was to be considered a TRUE Patchworker....I NEEDED to have a stash?? I asked but WHY?? The answer?? Because that is what you do?? It has caused me to wonder over the years how many people have just gone with the flow and started collecting fabric without even reasoning out why they are doing it!!
You may be sensing that I am coming down on the anti Stash side of this argument....I am afraid it is not quite that clear cut. So..... do I have a Stash? Well as a matter of fact I do, and I have included a photo as evidence. (No I am not always that tidy....this photo was taken on a good day! LOL) But it was on a day when I was cleaning up and sorting my collection of fabrics that I really started to question the practical and financial ramifications of intentionally buying fabric at random. I think most of us would fall over in a dead faint if we sat down and worked out the retail value of the fabric we are holding...and if you gave serious thought to how long it would take to make it all INTO something...well it is fair to say you could be chained to your sewing machine well into the next century. So why do we do it....
Let me be the first to make this public declaration....
Hello...My name is Lynda and I am addicted to fabric!!
Man that feels better!! Acknowledgement of the problem is always the first step. LOL
But all joking aside I KNOW that seeing fabric, touching it and smelling it even, taps into the pleasure center of my brain. I find joy and contentment in stroking it and pondering the possibilities....so then why so often do I come home and STASH that fabric....like a Bowerbird collecting pretty things? Coz one day...just MAYBE one day...the perfect project will turn up for that VERY SPECIAL piece of Holy fabric you purchased 1 million years ago?? Honestly...how often does that really happen? Not as often as you find the need to go and buy MORE fabric to suit the project you wish to start....it is a vicious vicious cycle.
It is this particular Merry Go Round that I decided to step off. I am not saying that I will NEVER buy fabric on a whim again.... some day's a perfectly folded, shop bought FQ is the ONLY thing can make a girl smile. But my goal from this point on...is to have an unintentional Stash...one that grows from left overs of intentionally purchased fabric....
So the final word from me??
A Stash can be a useful resource....but keep it under control...it shouldn't take on a life of its own.
Cheers
Lynda
