Sunday, January 3, 2016

First Stash Report for 2016

This is the last day of our holiday vacation.  My Guy and I go back to work tomorrow and Drama Teen goes back to school.  We've had a really good holiday.  My Guy and I got lots done this last week. We've slowed down on the deep cleaning since New Years, focusing more on our regular chores, like laundry.  I did get to spend yesterday afternoon in my sewing room.  I have two blocks of Allietare completely assembled, with several more close to being done.  I won't have my top together tomorrow, but there should be enough blocks on the design wall to show what one corner will look like.  

I usually count my fabric as out when a block is completed.  So I have my two Allietare blocks to count as out for this first stash report of 2016.  

Used last week:  0.28 yards
Used in January:  0.28 yards
Used year to date:  0.28  yards
Purchased year to date: 0 yards
Net used for 2015: 0.28 yards

Back in February and August of last year, I measured the height of my "in use" fabric.  If I'm making progress on my UFOs and WIPs it should be going down.  Between February and August it actually rose an inch as I had added fabric for a backing and started a new quilt.  It's an imperfect measure, but it's a nice visual of the amount of fabric that could go out of the stash if I'd finish up all my projects.  

The stack was at 19" back in August. 




It was at 15.25" last night. 



I've completed three quilts since August, so that must account for the reduction of almost 4".  Of course not all of that fabric went into the quilts, the left over fabrics were removed from the stack and returned to the stash closet. Still it's nice to see a bit of a reduction in anything related to the stash.  

Another of my 2016 goals is to use more fabric than I buy.  In order to use more fabric, I have to get to the sewing room.  Some days that is more of a challenge than it should be.  Having to report my progress on the blog has been a good motivator for me, most of the time.  So in addition to the stash report, I'm going to start reporting how many days I've managed to spend at least 15 minutes in the sewing room.  Here's how I've done since the start of 2016.

Days with 15 minutes of stitching this week: 2 days
Days with 15 minutes of stitching January: 2 days
Days with 15 minutes of stitching this year:  2 days

That's it for me this week.  I'm linking up with Judy's Patchwork Times for the stash report.  Now it's time for another cup of coffee and a bit of blog reading before I go start the laundry.  

8 comments:

Denise :) said...

I never thought about counting fabric out when a block was made ... but it makes sense, seeing as how once it's used in a block, it's used! I like the ruler measuring the stack of UFOs; you're right, it is a good visual! Glad you're bringing back the fifteen minutes for 2016! :)

Charlene S said...

My problem is I go into the Studio for 15 minutes and come out 4 hours later. My DH says there is a time warp connected every time the sewing machine starts.

The Colorful Fabriholic said...

The ruler measurement of in-use fabrics is a nice visual, and it's great you were able to reduce the stack so much in 2015. Good luck in 2016 with both your fabric usage and your time in the sewing room.

Shelia said...

I think you have had e great year with your fabric diet, the quilts you have finished, WIPS and working full time. Wishing you a great 2016.

Pack Rat With a Plan said...

I like your idea of counting the fabric out when the block is made. I so something similar and count mine out when all of a specific part is done - Block A, Block B, sashings, borders, etc. Motivates me more than waiting for the entire quilt to be finished since I only get to sew in bits and pieces and have to take my accomplishments where I can. I like keeping track of 15 min days. I might be able to make that happen.

Julie in GA said...

Good job on reducing that stack of project fabrics! I also count my fabrics as used once they are pieced into blocks. I have been tracking my 15 minutes of quilting time and will be reporting that every week along with you.

Anonymous said...

Hello again!
I am restarting stash reporting with the goals of getting my quilt room back in order, start sewing again and finish some quilts. I remembered the 15 minutes a day tracking you started several years ago and decided to add that to my reporting. It was nice to see that you also decided to include the days tracking.

Here's to a great year of quilting!

Liz

Jennifer said...

I like your systems of measuring the "in progress" stack and the number of days you spend in the sewing room. I too find that I have trouble just getting in there...but once I do, I am usually good to go for at least an hour! Good luck in your goals!