Hi, my name is Lena and I’m a fabric addict. My last fabric purchase at the time of writing was on March 1st at the knitting and stitching show. Almost 3 months now of no new fabric. In that time I have bravely walked into fabric stores like Sew Over It, Ray Stitch and Dalston Mill Fabrics and come out again with only the notions and trimmings I’ve needed for a project. Pretty proud of that. I haven’t even allowed myself the luxury of scrolling fabric on line for fear of succumbing to temptation.
But now I really, really want some fabric. I want some of the fabulous viscose and cotton lawns I saw on @sewmesunshine insta story. And the lovely striped Terry that popped up on @thecornishhaberdashery feed. I want some mustard double gauze. I want some red baby cord. I could go on.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be so trite about an issue such as addiction. My love for fabric certainly isn’t an addiction, I can control it and I can live without new fabric purchases. Yet it’s been good for me to test this. I need to know that I can be satisfied with what I have, and I do have enough. I need to know that I can steward my resources carefully and not be wasteful. I need to be free from a hoarding mentality that wants to grab at all the good things in this life now, like this life is all that we have, because I don’t actually believe that it is. I also want to be able to revel in JOMO – joy of missing out rather than feel crushed by FOMO.
During this time of fasting I’ve wanted to sew from my existing stash, wash fabric and assign a project to as many of my purchases as possible. That’s what I’ve been doing. Take my haul from the knitting and stitching show for example, I’ve already used the striped mustard Terry to make a Tilly and the Buttons Cocco dress.
I’m about to cut into the bicycle print fabric to make a Named Clothing Saraste top. The floral teal and rust is for a Solina dress also from Named Clothing. The solid rust is for a pair of trousers I’m too scared to make at present and the ditsy cord is for a skirt for my youngest. The fruity sweatshirt fabric was actual a friend’s purchase, to make her a snuggly dress for the autumn. There, a plan and a purpose for each piece.
I’ll show you some more of my stash in future posts and also some of the things I made during my fabric fast. Oh and about that fast, I’m about to break it!
Theunpickstitchpapers 