I love fabric. And while my stash is small compared to many others I have seen, it is still taking up a lot of room (or a lot of storage containers) in my craft room. It was at least a year ago, maybe two, that I put myself on a strict “no buying new fabric until you have used a good portion of what you already have” plan. This has led to interesting improvisations, and it really does help stretch the creative process when you try to only work with the hodge-podge you have.
A few days ago, I took partially took apart strips of a quilt top I had started probably a year ago. I had seen a picture of a 9-patch quilt top with the squares sent on point and alternated with a solid color to create a diamond pattern from the 9-patch pieces. I had a bunch of pre-cuts that I had used for the 9-patch squares, but apparently, not enough to make the whole top in that style.
So today, I resewed the strips into a straight pattern, and stitched the strips to form the main part of the quilt top. I will still need to add border fabric, and will hopefully be able to find something I already have. Some of my “use it up” projects do require the purchase of more fabric in order to complete the project, but as I am buying that fabric for a specific purpose, and using it right away, it is not adding to my stash, so it doesn’t count (I tell myself).
This will end up being a lap quilt, or sofa quilt as I think of them. I am not sure if it will stay with me, or be gifted yet. It will depend on how it ends up. I tend to keep the ones that i think are less than perfect.
Even with the new layout, I still think you get a neat diamond pattern from the patched squares and the use of empty space in the cream blocks..
alookatthelittlethings 