Fabric Addiction

That's what I'm calling my illness....a fabric addiction.  I can't seem to stop myself, although I must say I did a great job yesterday.   After all, imagine that you have the opportunity to go to a fabric shop and purchase the entire shop for one set price.  

Would you not go take a look? And, after taking a look, you see that you're getting WAY more fabric for the asking price than you'd get if you paid regular price.  The only problem is that you don't have enough for the asking price.  And the other problem is that there's lots of fabric that's, well, not usable for quilts.  What would you do then?

If you sew, you would do your very best to get as much of the "good" fabric as possible, that's exactly what you'd do.  And since I sew more than just quilts, I can use more than just quilting fabric.  I also use home dec fabrics, children's fabrics, good quality linens and silks and, well, I won't name every fabric type.  But I will say I use just about anything except the old double knit that my Ma-ma used to make her pants with.  

Remember that old heavy, hot knit that stretched in any direction and stuck to the skin not matter the season?  If your answer is "no" then you did not live during the 60's and 70's when "double de-knit" was the "in" fabric.  It was popular because it lasted forever, didn't shrink, and didn't wrinkle and came in "mod" colors.  And in the 60's and 70's every old lady who walked the earth also sewed and had a PILE of "double de-knit."  

Some of them smelled like moth balls, some like cedar and some of it just smelled like old people.  That would be the fabric but the old people smelled like their clothes.   Or their clothes smelled like them.  Either way, the smells were strong.....no, pungent....that's the word, pungent.  Whew!  I can still smell my grandmothers and aunts and every old lady I ever met as a child.  I loved those old ladies, still do in fact. But I'm not fond of "double de-knit" and I'm especially not fond of the double de-knit smells, so when I had an opportunity to buy all the knit I could ever want, I passed it up.  Yes, I did.  Perhaps I do not have a fabric addiction.  Perhaps I just simply have a passion for beautiful, natural fabrics, especially cottons.  Perhaps this story explains that truth in a simple, straightforward manner.  Perhaps not.  

However, I did walk away with three boxes of not knit and managed to pay for it, too.  The next time I have an opportunity to buy the store, I may not need to bother.  I do have lots of fabrics, after all. Yards of linen.  Piles of cottons, a full box of zippers (70+ still in the packages), thread, patterns, and my personal favorite:  this beautiful blue and gold brocade with matching buttons and thread.  Just perfect for a dressy suit!  And some people think I have an illness.....HA!

Of course, I still have fabric to sort through and put away somewhere.  That would be because I spent the rest of my day canning tomatoes--six pints and four quarts.  With onions, peppers, celery and salt in the jars, they're ready for spaghetti sauce, soups, gravy, chili, okra gumbo and anything else that could use just a little flavoring.  Already I have more put up than I had last year, so we should be good if this rain finishes off the tomato plants.  But, if we manage to squeeze a few more tomatoes into jars I'll be happy.  It turns out we like these tomatoes like salsa although it's not as flavorful.

And I almost wrapped up a quilt yesterday, as well.  I have to sew on the label, but I don't have a name for the quilt.  Here's a photo.  I could use some ideas if you have any to share.  It's my version of D9P with a quirky twist, quite modern, and quilted in a square motif.  See why I'm stuck?