Finding the Right Fabric

It's no secret that Patchworkers and Quilters are always on the look out for fabrics. This seems to be the case whether we have a project in mind or not. Once you get the fabric bug (and I warn you it is very addictive) the mere look and feel of a special piece of fabric is all that is needed to get us in a buying frenzy. In fact I have the condition so bad that the fabric doesn't even have to be special. Sometimes I just take pity on even the most ordinary looking fabric in the hope that I can transform it into something beautiful one day. I've even been known to take on the discarded remnants of someone else's stash.

My most precious pieces of fabric are in my old pine cupboard. They are all stacked in colour ways, neatly folded and waiting for that special day when I discover a project worthy of them. But I am about to disclose a secret. I have a second stash that only my closest friends know about. I don't mind sharing this secret with you though because I know you will understand. My second stash, which is far less glamorous than the first, resides in the attic. It is made up of lots of fabrics, many of which date back to a past life when I used to sew clothing for myself and kids.

The magical thing about this stash is that each piece of fabric tells a story that only I know. This became apparent to me just recently when a fellow sewing friend came to my door in need last week. This sewing friend had discovered my secret last year when we plunged head first into the box in an attempt to find fabrics suitable for craft items for the school fair.

This year the mission was to make items for Mother's day and so we both journeyed upstairs into the darkness and warmth of the room. Before long the box was reopened and we were pulling out lengths of fabric. As each piece saw the light of day its story had to be revealed. Fabric that was once used for a skirt, fabric that had once belonged to my Grandmother, fabric that was once used to make a dress for one of my daughters, fabric that was intended for a shirt for my hubby and fabric that once belonged to my sister in law. As all the memories associated with these fabrics floated out of that box I found it almost hard to let go of some of them. Although I was glad that their day had arrived, I felt the memories almost disappear as my thankful sewing friend hurried out the door clutching bundles of fabric.

And so the box was resealed for another day.

As I descended the stairs I was comforted in the thought that parting with old fabric surely meant that I had paved the way for new fabric to enter my life. Yippee!

This is particularly exciting because I keep finding more fabric that I just want to have in my precious stash.My fabric passion has lead me to starting another blog site called Find a Fabric. I figured if I was trying to find certain fabrics then maybe fellow fabric collectors may find my trail useful as well. I write about fabrics I find on sale, as well as fabrics I just adore. I also let everyone know about new designers and ranges I come across.

So if you are looking for some more fabric for your stash take a look at my fabric blog, it's here to help you on your quest for the right fabric.

Click here for my Find a Fabric blog.

Hope you enjoy it.

Happy fabric hunting!

Warmly Lenna