You can never have too much fabric.....right!

I am crafter.  I love to sew, to crochet, to glue stuff, work on scrap booking, embroider etc.  There is just something about putting my hands to nothing and making something out of it.  I love the satisfaction in a job well done too.

When I start a new type of craft I make sure I have every gadget and tool that can help me to accomplish the goal.  This is all well and good till the collecting of such gadgets and what-not's takes over the room.  I am blessed that  I do have a craft space upstairs in a nicely decorated little room.  There is a scrap booking station, a sewing station, an embroidery station and a sitting station where I read and ponder things.

Many years ago when I first started sewing and crocheting, my love of fabric had me at yard sales, estate sales, and of course fabric stores.  My mom made quilts back then so she had quite a stash of fabric holed up in a closet that I seemed to help myself to whenever I came for a visit. Slowly but ever surely my stash of fabric grew and grew.  I had to sort it by color just to keep it straight and I managed to put it all in clear plastic totes so that I could see what I had.  Not only did I collect fabric but kits as well to cross stitch, or embroider etc..  You name it I found it and bought it.  I purchased many magazines and books to show me how to make things.  Honestly those books and magazine were more of an inspiration then they were a guide to making things.  It became increasingly obvious when we moved 9 years ago that I had collected quite the assortment of things in which to "craft" with.

About a year ago a dear sweet friend called me up to tell me she needed me to come by her home because she had some fabric she wanted to give me.  Oh joy!  I love fabric....after all you can never have enough...right?  I went to pick it up and she too had a craft room with sewing machines and gadgets all around.  She also had three tables set up with stacks and stacks and STACKS of fabric.  I zeroed in on the smallest of the tables thinking this must be the stack of fabric she is giving me.  NOPE!  She moves her arms to encompass the whole room and says "I want you to take ALL of it."  WOW I about passed out and then was quite humbled at her generous gift.  I asked her if she was sure and she told me she was tired of making quilts and knew that I would put the fabric to good use.  Together we loaded up my now new stash of fabric that filled up the trunk of my car as well as the back seat.  When I got home I sorted it by color and had it all laid out for when hubby got home.  He was impressed but he said "what are you going to do with all this?"  Sew stuff I thought.  But then reality started to press upon me that I would never be able to use all of it.

I sorted through every piece and had about half of it to give away to my "Crafting Chica's" who meet in my home on Monday nights.  I took the rest of it upstairs where it basically sat for the next year or so untouched.  Oh I'd look through it ever now and again.  But every time I thought about actually sewing some of it, the shear amount of it all would stop me.  I didn't have room to store it properly where I could see it so I had it in totes.  Clear totes mind you but totes none-the-less.   

Fast forward to this week.  I wanted to sew.  My craft room was a mess again and I had this smell coming from inside the craft closet where my gift tote was stored.  It wasn't a bad smell but it wasn't a good smell either. It turned out to be several smells that were just not right.  I decided a good cleaning out was in order to figure out the odor. Once I was on a roll I cleaned like crazy.  I found what was stinking.  It was four little tins of flavored lip balm and a candle I had bought from a kids fundraiser. I rearranged things and then started to sort through other bins packed into this small closet.  In the middle of it all it hit me that I really can have too much.  I didn't know what all I had but I knew one thing...............I had yards upon yards of beautiful fabric that I had stored for over a year.  No one had used it. Least of all me.  Why was I holding on to it?  There are many who would use it.  I have been of the mindset for many years that you really can't have too much fabric. It was a joke my MIL and I would say when we were out and about shopping for one more piece of fabric.  She even made me this pretty little wall hanging for my craft room that says just that---------->

Can you have too much?  

A person can have too much of anything.  And this person a.k.a. me had too much.   

I decided that I would clean out my whole craft room, not just the craft closet.  I would ask myself three questions:  Do I really like this fabric?  How long have I had this piece of fabric or craft kit or do-dad?  Do I even like this project that isn't finished?  Will I really finish it or start this?  And on and on it went.  I was honest with myself too.  If I didn't like it or I knew I'd never finish something, it went into piles to give away.  Some of the things I had were not worth giving away so they got trashed.  It's amazing to me how a crafter will keep every bit and bob of this or that. Seriously what in the world was I thinking.  (I wish I had taken before and after pics to post here but alas I did not.)  The transformation of the room and the freedom it gave my spirit was wonderful.  I have so much more room to work. I want to work in that space again. Yea!

Then I got on Facebook and started putting blurbs out there to my local friends that I had craft kits, fabric etc to share.  It felt really good to give away totes full of wooden projects together with paints to some kiddos to work on this summer.  It was humbling and sweet to see a young mom dig through tubs of fabric exclaiming over what projects she'd be able to make with her finds.  I have two totes full of fabric left but I have several more friends who want to sort through them.  Then the rest will go to a local quilters guild to be used up making quilts for others.

I realized through this exercise in cleaning that God was teaching me something.  He was showing me that I shouldn't store up treasure here on earth where moths and rust will destroy.  That's what I had been doing...storing treasure and where did it get me.  Nowhere but frustrated.  Giving it away felt right and good.

I told my hubby that I wouldn't be "making" him go into any of the fabric stores around town for a while.  He was relieved but like me he knew I'd be in those stores again for a bit of this or that.  I wish I could say I'd never buy another piece of fabric but I hope that in the future I am more careful.  Because after all you really can have too much fabric.............and anything else if not careful.