Monday, May 22, 2017

Fabric therapy in real life

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Sometimes, in spite of the best laid plans, life hits, smash bang in my face, and I need time to think.
I can't sew and think serious thoughts at the same time very well, so I decided to do fabric therapy - not as in retail therapy, but as in sorting and organizing.

Over the last year the minimalist thinking has caught with me - not that it shows here in Quilt Corner (yet), but I hope it will, before to long.
It shows in all my other belongings, and minimalism is a journey - and I enjoy every step of it.

I know that there is a good chance we are not living in this house in let's say 10 years time, and if we downscale I will probably not have the same space to spread out like I can today.

I think it is a sad thought to maybe have to sell or give away my lovely fabrics to scale down, so I am officially going on a fabric diet.
I am also saving for more lovely trips with my dear husband and with the best quilting friends - and I can not use my money twice - travel and quilt friend fun are so much more worth to me that having more new fabrics right now.

I will forever buy nice patterns, books and every notion I need - and probably a few I do not really need too :-)

I started with some of my pink fabrics last night, folding them KonMari style
to fit the rather not so deep drawer in my old and beloved desk.

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This morning I continued with my purple fabrics.
It is a joy to touch and refold every piece of beautiful fabric!
By refolding I could change the big deep box that is more like a black hole when I want something, to 2 smaller boxes and 4 bigger pieces on the side that I can stack elsewhere.

I even found a nice piece of my favourite purple from Lecien that I thought I had used all of :-)

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Some of the fabrics can not be refolded yet, like the one with the ribbon, which I bought in a special store, and every time I see it I feel like smiling.
The one with the green dot on, just the same - bought in a special shop on a special trip.
I will eventually I will use both fabrics in some nice project :-)

 

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My fabrics spark joy, as is what Konmari (Marie Kondo) asks - my fabrics makes me happy, but more fabrics will not make me happier.

Do I feel better after all the fabric folding?
Yes I do, and I think I can sew some now - I have quilts to make :-)



konmari

 

Wishing you a good day, wherever you are!

Hanne

8 comments:

  1. I am now at that point as well, I actually have a brick and mortar quilt fabric shop but I spend so much of my time dealing with it, I hardly get to just sew things I would like to make. So change is coming. My fabrics still make me so happy to touch and fold just like wha you are doing. Happy Sewing! Take care from Iowa

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  2. Very good post...I also am doing something similar 😊

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  3. Yesterday afternoon I spent time relaxing and looking at quilt books. There are so many lovely patterns in these books I would like to make, why do I buy more patterns? I'll never have the time to make them all. Time to just start enjoying what I have instead of wanting more. Thanks for the reminder Hanne!

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  4. like you I get my fabrics out to sort, stroke and admire sometimes and like you need to stop buying. Need the pennies for a new washing machine as mine packed up on sunday must not grumble I have had it nearly 14 years

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  5. During the last twentysix years, I bought really too much fabrics and also patchworkbooks. Sometimes, buying fabrics and books was like an obsession for me. About six months ago, I gave a lot of my fabrics and books away to a patchworkgroupe and I could make a big pleasure to the ladies.
    I stopped buying fabrics and a lot of books: I makes me happier now to look at less fabrics
    and less books.
    I have still more then I can use in the future and perhaps, I will do it again?

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  6. I am working on minimizing too. Haven't gotten to the sewing room yet, but I might start folding my fabric in my boxes the way you have to get started!

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  7. The BEST fabric therapy! :-) I read a book about the Konmarie philosophy and it makes so much sense.... that little book inspired me to downsize my belongings to just under half of what I started with... and I feel so much happier (and lighter)... and ready to be creative with my fabric stash! :-) Happy stitching!

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  8. Hello Hanne,
    I was doing some blog hopping and came across your lovely blog. The first thing I saw was this drawer of folded fabric. It was startled because I have just been arranging my fabric stash in drawers in exactly the same way! I too am hoping to cut down my stash and keep only that which I love and will use! But we do love our fabric, don't we?

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