Sunday Stash: Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday was a few weeks ago, and this year I decided the fabric fast was off for my birthday and treated myself to some quilting related goodness.

First up, a gift from my hubby and the kids. The easiest way to do this and ensure I'll get something I need is to go to an online store, make a wishlist, then give my login details to my husband. Despite some very good acting on his part along the lines of "I don't think I got that email... do you think if I order it tomorrow it'll arrive by your birthday?" (haha, so funny!), this worked.

They bought me some tools - not super exciting, but useful.

I also caved and bought a couple of packets of Washi tape from Spotlight a while ago and then gave it to my daughter to put away until my birthday.

Then, Spotlight was kind enough to hold a special just for my birthday - $1 fat flats! Woohoo! They only have this sale once a year and I seem to recall it's often near my birthday. For that price, I let myself splurge on 30 something fat quarters. I also got a couple of 1 metre cuts of clearance fabric for $4 a metre.

And Spotlight also had the last of their Christmas craft stock heavily discounted, I got ribbon packages and scrapbooking pads for $2 each. I gave some of the ribbons to the preschool where I work for Christmas projects, and I split the paper packs with a scrapbooking friend. And a packet of Kraft paper, which is my go to for scrapbook layouts and so hard to find, plus a few other bits of pieces also mysteriously appeared in my trolley.

I also heard that Kmart had fantastic metal storage containers really cheap, so I bought a pen holder and desk organiser, as well as an enamel storage tin with "Craft" written on the side that I'm using to store my English Paper Piecing.

Then a naughty, enabling friend who is also meant to be on a fabric diet told me that one of the local thrift stores had a heap of quilting fabric for sale, so I had to have a look. I got some nice designer cuts of fabric, and paid about $25 for around five metres of fabric.

We are doing a birthday swap with my Wombat Stew bee girls, and I got the very generous Kristy as my birthday fairy. Since she knew I was on a fabric diet, she bought me a gift voucher for an Australian online store. I hit the sales section and got about 16 quarter metre cuts (I love places that will do quarter cuts, since I like to have lots of little bits of fabric). Since the store had free shipping for over $50 I let my cart go over $50 to take advantage of that.... but I was very restrained, at one point I had over $90 worth of fabric in my cart.

I got a lovely little collection of stash builders and low volumes.

And... eventually my birthday had to end and now the fabric fast is back on. Probably a good thing, because I don't think I could keep up this pace forever!

Linking up with Sunday Stash with Molli Sparkles.

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Sunday Stashing

I am doing okay on the fabric/craft supply fast... at least I was until I started to use the birthday excuse, but that's the topic of another post.

Meanwhile, this is the purchasing from February and March (most of it). Not perfect, but not too terrible.

A bunch of scrapbooking cuteness from a local cheapy (dollar) store and KMart. Because I seemed to have a momentary lapse that I was fasting. Yes, that's a fruit bowl, but I am using it to hold Washi tape, as you can put it in the bowl and on the spikes. I also bought a plastic storage container for my English Paper Piecing.

A metre of fabric from Spotllight that will be used for something for the Purple Princess, no doubt. It was $5 a metre, then I used my 40% off voucher so it was $3. The lady at the counter looked at me like I was nuts for using such a valuable coupon on this, but that was because I didn't need anything else. SEE, I AM LEARNING!! I actually stood in Spotlight and filled my cart with a bunch of $4m clearance prints and $8m designer prints and then got guilty enough to put them all back. It wasn't easy, but I did it.

My mother-in-law dropped in and asked me how much quilting fabric was, as she was pricing some for the op shop (thrift store) she volunteers at. After I got over the shock of her asking such a dangerous question in front of my husband, when my beloved stash was right in the next roorm in all its hundreds-of-metres-right-here glory, I took a quick look at what she had. Below is $3 worth of fabric - blenders that might come in handy and some hand-dyed fabric that seems to be a heavier weight but would be useful for the art quilts I might get around to doing one day.

I bought these books because I had a gift certificate from returning a few books I bought but realised I didn't really want. One is quite interesting, the other not so much. My motivation here is to extend my creative skills and try new things - I'm currently at the stage of amassing supplies and references rather than actually doing anything new and innovative... oops!

I also bought the digital back issue collection of  Quilting Arts magazine as it was 40% off. See above comments about art quilts and extending creativity.... I have looked at it briefly but it's all a little overwhelming right now.

Not pictured: A frixion eraseable pen as it's useful, and a bunch of glue sticks as they were on deep discount after back to school sales and I use them constantly.

Oh, and when I was in the office supply store I caved on the set of Stabilo fineliners I'd been eyeing off. Whoops. But they are beautiful and they were good value and I'm already using them all the time.

I was also gifted some selvedges from the lovely Kristy and some Project Life cards from a member of a Project Life Facebook group I'm on.

Despite some little lapses, I'm still calling this a successful fast so far. I did torture myself a few times by going to Spotlight for other things - there seems to be some weird magnetic force that pulls me into the quilting and scrapbooking sections when I go there.

I think staying away from temptation is the biggest tool for successful fabric fasting. I need to avoid Spotlight at all costs. I am doing a good job of avoiding fabric store websites and I'm getting very good at sticking my fingers in my ears and singing La La La every time someone mentions a fabric sale.

I am also shopping my stash to remind me I really don't need anything else! I was tempted to shop for a future project until I did a fabric pull at home and discovered I didn't need another thing.

In addition to linking up with Molli Sparkles' Sunday Stash, I'm linking up with Fabriholics Anonymous's March linky party. I'll confess on my birthday haul in another post, but now the fast is officially BACK ON!

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Sunday Stash - January 2014

Because I am on a fabric and craft supply buying freeze, along with lots of other members of Fabricholics Anonymous, it seems a little weird to be writing a Sunday Stash post.

But I have decided that as part of my fabric fasting accountability, and as a personal record of how much I spend on craft supplies (even when I'm not meant to be spending on craft supplies), that I will be writing a monthly Sunday Stash update. Plus, if I'm very lucky, sometimes gifty bits of crafty goodness might come my way.

As far as my fabric fasting with the Fabriholics Anonymous girls, it's early days but it's going pretty good. I even survived the Great Aussie Destash on Instagram! I have realised that some of my craft buying is automatic, which is disturbing. I picked up some awesome pens I didn't need at Office Works and then had to remind myself I wasn't buying! I survived a trip to Spotlight, coming out empty handed, but I know I need to avoid places like that!

I am focusing on finishing things and on using my stash so the temptation to buy isn't strong yet.

Here's my legal craft spending for January:

This month, I started by spending on photos. This is completely within the boundaries of the fast, as I have said I will be printing monthly to keep up to date. Because I was catching up on the end of last year I printed quite a few photos, so this cost $25 this month. Interested Australians, I print my photos at OfficeWorks for 9c a print, because I like their quality, price and convenience. It's so easy to pop in with a USB once in a while.

A friend bought me a pack of adhesives on clearance at Spotlight for $5 - absolute bargain! They are on my allowed list but I'm not going to need anything for a while.

I purchased essential sewing supplies - two packs of needles and four reels of cotton. I have discovered that Isacord thread agrees with my sewing machine when FMQing and makes for a much more pleasant sewing experience. It is also readily available at my local sewing shop for only $6.95 a reel in a range of colours. This makes me a happy quilter. These reels are for quilting a number of upcoming quilts and I will be adding to my Isocord collection as I go. Total spend: $41. I did come home and found I had more needles than I thought, but at least I'm good for a while.

I have also decided that adding the occasional book to my craft library is also acceptable spending. After contemplating Mimi Dietrich's Craftsy class, Finishing School, a number of times, I decided to purchase the book the class is based on instead. For around $A10 for the Kindle version, this is a worthwhile investment that will hopefully push me to finish my quilts in more interesting ways.

I have also been super spoilt with crafty gifts this month.

A friend was getting rid of this quilter's carry all - I am not sure if I'll make use of it yet, but if I don't, I'll pass it on.

My mum came to visit and brought with her some Christmas scrapbooking paper she got on clearance after Christmas (I'm passing half on to a friend), and also some beautiful cotton teatowels she bought me in Ireland with a view to making something from them. I'm sure they'll be great for a home decor item.

My lovely adhesive-buying friend also bought me some scrapbooking paper and a paper pad. Lucky me.

And when you'r fabric fasting, the best kind of friend to have is the one who brings you scraps in one of the fabric lines you covet the most. It's like the friend who gives you chocolate when you're PMSing. Lovely Kristy dropped in yesterday and brought me some scraps of Alison Glass. Be still my heart.... Bike Path is one of my most favouritest prints ever.

I was also gifted a lovely bag of selvedges from a lady on the QCA group. Anyone who know me knows that my feelings for my selvedge collection is a little like Gollum's feelings for the Ring so I was very excited to receive this bag of goodness. It's all been sorted into my selvedge collection - doing something with these is high on my priority list this year!

So even while on a fabric and craft supply buying freeze, I still spent about $80 on crafty things... but I don't anticipate I'll spend anything like that most months.

I'm linking up with Molli Sparkles' Sunday Stash over at Sarah Quilts, and updating on Fabriholics Anonymous too.

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Sunday Stash - One Last Big Haul

I have been pretty good with fabric buying this year and actually only did two big internet orders - one from the US and one within Australia. As fate would have it, they arrived a day apart, which meant for a very big fabric week!

These parcels were both bought on very good sales, and lots of the fabric was clearance - my goal was to do some stash building. I bought from Hypernoodle Fabrics in the US, who not only had a significant discount on all stock, they also offered international shipping at domestic rates. I'd never bought anything from there before, but their service was great and I found their website very easy to navigate. I also bought a nice selection from Craft Depot in Sydney, who I have visited IRL a few times as they are two suburbs away from my dad's place. I usually stop in there when I'm in Sydney and check out their extensive range of $9.99m fabrics. Their website is also nice to navigate and the postage was pretty good too.

Wanna see what I got?

I'm always looking to add to my low volume collection.

Some Jennifer Paganelli goodness. In all the colours. And on sale no less!

Random warm tones for stash building.

Random neutrals for stash building.

Random cool tones for stash building.

I don't often buy multi-coloured prints, but these were all irresistible.

Dandelion goodness in my girls' favourite colours.

Girl #2 love purple. Since good purples are hard to find, I always, always buy it when I see good stuff. 

More neutral goodness.

And a few more pretty little stash builders.

Chevron meets sketch... what more could you ask for? 

 A lot of these prints are typically me, blenders in geometric patterns seem to make my heart sing. But one thing I'm pleased with is that a lot of them are a bit lighter or darker than I would usually choose, and I am really glad I am extending my tonal comfort zone.

This will be the last Sunday Stash post out of me for quite some time... now I've had this little binge I've decided that next year will be time for a fabric diet - but that's something for another post.

Meanwhile, I'm linking up with the lovely Fiona, who is hosting her second last Sunday Stash before handing the reins over to Molli Sparkles in 2014.

I

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Sunday Stash - And She's Back

Oh my, what a long, unintentional, hard to get back in the game blogging break it's been! Oops!

No real excuses, aside from life got the better of me. It's been a crazy busy year and I decided to step back from blogging and even reading many blogs, but that messed with my productivity (though it did make me less likely to buy fabric). But I really need to get back into the swing of quilting and actually finishing stuff, so I'm jumping back into the blogging thing.

What better way to dip my toes back in the water than with a bit of fabric shopping? I'm linking this up with Finding Fifth's Sunday Stash, which is being hosted by Michelle of Squeak Crafts.

Spotlight had 40% off all quilting and dressmaking fabrics this weekend, so I headed up to get some solids for a new project. Turns out that solids weren't included, but fortunately I found a coupon for 25% off solids with their patchwork magazine.

I added a few little pieces to my stash....

Some solids and a few coordinating prints for something skill-pushing I've got planned.

Some low volumes because apparently you can't have enough of those babies.

Some stash builders, because apparently my stash isn't big enough already.

And this little pretty, which is just because it's so pretty and in my favourite colour and embroidery hoops and that's enough reason.

I also bought about 8 metres of light grey homespun, to add to my bolt collection. Really feel like a quilter when there are bolts on the top of the shelves.

And some seriously cute metallic dotty fabric that is super darn cute for skirts for my girls - can't show you that fabric because I've already sewn them into skirts... MIRACLES WILL NEVER CEASE!

Oh, and another couple of bits for my Wombat Stew Secret Santa swap, but I can't show you those either because they are hopefully so just right for my recipient that she'd guess if she saw them. Hopefully.

And that, my friends, is my stash building for this week. Hope your week is full of fabricy goodness too!

Jane

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Sunday Stash - Hatches, Matches and Dispatches

Hatches 
Just before Christmas I put in two fabric orders from the US, my last big orders for a while, what with me being on a fabric diet and all. Timely too, though this was before I heard about the very steep price increase on flat rate envelopes from $16.95 to $23.95! Sheesh!

I had been eyeing off Ann Kelle's Remix Ovals for a while, and decided to grab them when they were on sale. The colours are just so beautiful and this is totally one of my kind of prints.

The plan was to combine shipping with my other Must Have, Lizzy House's Pearl Bracelets, but disaster of the first world kind struck when the shop sold out of the Pearl Bracelets! I ended up getting a bundle of this Spot On, another fabulous stash builder. And Kristy helped me fill the bag to maximise postage.

Fortunately I found Pearl Bracelets over at Westwood Acres for a great price and I snapped it up before anyone else could even think about it and even before my morning coffee. Oh my god, this fabric is as perfect as I'd hoped. Serious fabric love.

In the interest of filling a bag I also added a bundle of Alison Glass's Lucky Penny Bike Path. These are colours I wouldn't normally choose, but I am trying to diversify my stash a little further and I really love the fall colours.

Now, I shop at quite a few online stores and I've never been unhappy with any service I've had, but I would note that Amanda at Westwood Acres' service is exceptional. After going trigger happy on my order of Pearl Bracelets, I emailed her to ask if I could add the Bike Path without shipping coming up again - not only did she reply promptly but with a link to a special order just for me! And she popped a teeny weeny mini charm pack of Sweetwater Noteworthy into my parcel, squeal! I am saving that for something special just for me, and I have had to put it on a high shelf because my daughters are both desperate to open it up!

Also in the mail this week were a couple of parcels from the destash page I should avoid - two scrap bags that contained lots of great quilting cottons and some vintage sheet goodness, and also a ribbon scrap bag, which is just heavenly. I spent a good bit of time pressing and sorting the fabric, and winding the ribbon, and in all that I forgot to take any photos. Duh.

Matches
As I'd hoped, a few of my Bike Path and Pearl Bracelet prints go nicely with my Domestic Bliss bundle, so they've been added to that pile.

Dispatches

I've finally got my act together and I'm selling some fabric on the abovementioned destash page. I am trying to be a bit ruthless, particularly with dressmaking fabrics. There is much craft room organising happening at the moment.

Linking up to Fiona's Sunday Stash, which is over with Audrey at Hot Pink Quilts this week.

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