August Fabric Usage

Since we're heading out of town for a few days, I feel confident that I won't be using more fabric over the weekend, thus the early report on this month's fabric usage. I knew I'd be bringing in fabric in August or September, as my list of solid fabrics that I needed to re-stash has been growing by the project. What I did not expect was to ignore that need entirely and purchase yards and yards of fabric for projects I hadn't even imagined yet. 

It all started when a fellow quilter was looking to identify a particular fabric - Your Heart Pure from Wonderland by Katarina Roccella. It was familiar to me, and an old favorite, so when I found some on Etsy, I decided to buy a yard for old time's sake, and while I was at it, some Michael Miller Pomegranates jumped into my cart. It was purely a 'this gives me joy' purchase.

Then, I really did need some Kona White, Snow, and Haze to finish up my Ode to Joy quilt back, and some Kona Pistachio for Calendar Cascade. Totally justified, right?

I happen to follow Sewtopia @sewtopia fabric shop, and was smitten by their Boo-tiful Mischief Bundle. I mean I'm not even wild about Halloween, but I loved the modern palette and the not-overtly ghoulish theme. Plus I'd been wanting to give them some business, so why not? While I was at it, I chose a few more fabrics that might go with the bundle, including a couple of solids, to restock if nothing else - Konas Carrot and Orangeade and Ruby Star Rising Basic by Alexia Marcelle Abegg Starry in Nutmeg.

And wouldn't you know, the next day, Kristina of FabricBubb @fabricbubb announced her 14th anniversary sale. Considering there were a couple of fabrics I wanted that Sewtopia didn't carry, I succumbed and purchased Lea in Navy Canvas to recover my pressing table; and Carolina Gingham 1/8 Inch in Black, Cross Stitch in Autumn and Grid in Negative to add to my Boo-tiful bundle. I have a pattern in mind for those fabrics, so that felt somewhat justified.

At any rate, it actually feels great to have the quilt back I was piecing finished, my pressing table refreshed, a new seasonal project to dive into, and a couple of inspirational prints newly stashed. My 'fabric used' number for the year is still higher than my 'fabric brought in' number, so where it matters, I'm making good progress.

August Fabric Usage

Used up: 24.26 yards [16.16 projects + 8.1 recycled, donated, or gifted]
Brought in: 16.75 yards
Net: -7.51 yards

July Fabric Usage

So July was a pretty good fabric usage month, even considering a week away on vacation, and I'm glad for that! The only fabric brought in was Kona Caribbean and Tangerine for my Effervescence quilt binding.

Between a scrappy backing AND binding for Effervescence, I also have two scrappy quilt projects in the works - 16 patch blocks for the #summerscrapbash and improv plus blocks as a result of the latest Improv for Everyone workshop - plus I got caught up on my guild BOM. All of that fabric just added up!

I'm looking forward to making a quilt back (or three?) in August, and (fingers crossed) finishing at least one of those scrappy projects. Time will tell!

July Fabric Usage

Used up: 14.30 yards [11.77 projects + 2.53 recycled]
Brought in: 2 yards
Net: -12.30 yards

June Fabric Usage

Well..... we had a little fabric brought in this month, most of which is already made into something or at least has an intended use. First up was a selection of prints for a baby quilt for my goddaughter. I couldn't resist going to our one local quilt shop and choose something in person. Plus time was of the essence. Between the quilt top, back, and binding, most of the bundle has been used up. Perfect, right?

I also needed some solids for the Ode to Joy quilt top, so while I was at it, I ordered just a few stash replacement solids. I have a lot more on my list to get, but went with just a few extras this time.

And then - I admit, a totally impulsive purchase - just a bit of the new RSS Strawberries by Kimberly Kight @kmelkight; and two cuts of Groove by Emily Van Hoff @emilyvanhoff. I have in mind to make one of her Quilted Thread Cases with the Groove, just because it looks so fun. And the strawberries were purchased with my granddaughter in my mind....

So yikes. Maybe? Or maybe not. Meanwhile, I have a couple of quilt finishes to show for myself this month, so I don't feel too bad. Onward!

June Fabric Usage

Used up: 18.18 yards [11.7 projects + 4.55 recycled + 1.93 donated]
Brought in: 14.5 yards
Net: -3.68 yards

May Fabric Usage

Whew! May felt very full, both in real-life schedule, and sewing to-do list. I felt like I was racing to accomplish several projects - the Vertices scrap quilt, bee blocks, and the PIVOT project of the month. Then came the unexpected project for a family friend, and several smaller projects, including a new bag for myself that I am enjoying very much - the Fairfax Sling. And through it all, in the evenings when I sat to hand-stitch, I've still been working on mending the Lucky Stars quilt for my daughter and son-in-law, and it's almost done! Some of those projects used stash fabric, and some, not at all. Over all, though, I think it was a decent fabric usage month.

For intake, there was some unplanned yardage from the guild free table - that orange/green circle print on the left. One and a half yards of a Brandon Malby print, which I love. Sure I could have left it there, but it seemed like it would be a great jumping off point for a new project, and was a nice sized piece. A little treat for myself, I guess.

The solids were purchased all to support the Vertices quilt finish and the Bee Sewcial blocks. Honestly, I could have ordered a much larger selection of solids to replace others I've used up, and that will be done one of these days. But for now, I ordered just what I needed to bolster current projects. So here are the stats for May:

May Fabric Usage

Used up: 13.53 yards [7.63 projects + 5.9 recycled]
Brought in: 4.5 yards
Net: -9.03 yards

April Fabric Usage

April was a good month fabric-wise! And productivity-wise, with my Pantone challenge entry, Brew; catching up with our guild BOM, Cascade Calendar; making a final piece for Block Studies Collective, Abstractions Redux; mini Easter baskets for the family brunch; AND my latest Open Jar response, Birdsong. To be honest, that all felt really good, and I'm excited about moving into a fresh slate of a month.

For fabric intake, there was just two yards of Prisma Dyes Artisan Batiks as possible bindings for the Lucky Stars quilt I am repairing for my daughter. Luckily, the darker fabric works! 

Another reason my fabric numbers look good is that I went through my entire stash and gathered up things I thought someone else could make better use of - 11 yards worth! So I'll be taking that all to the next guild meeting for the free table. Fingers crossed it'll find a better home than mine.

So that all finally put me in the negative for the year - a whopping net -10.67 yards used. That feels good, yes it does.

April Fabric Usage

Used up: 21.8 yards [7.45 projects + 2.46 recycled + 11.89 donated]
Brought in: 2.0 yards
Net: -19.8 yards

March Fabric Use

None of the fabric that came in last month did I foresee coming. First, was a birthday gift from a friend - several yards of coordinating prints from Fantasticats by Laurel Burch. I've already used a good portion of it for a pair of pillowcases for my younger grandgirl.

Then, there was this warp & weft charm pack on the free table at our last guild meeting, and I just couldn't leave it behind. I just thought it would be fun to play with one of these days.

And finally, no photo, but there was a 5" x 7" piece of retroreflective fabric from Stephanie @spontaneousthreads for this month's Bee Sewcial bee blocks. Barely worth counting (and no photo) but I did.

So finally, I had a negative net usage this month, first time this year. But it wasn't enough to give me a negative net usage for the year yet, so I still need to conquer that. Today's a new day.


March Fabric Usage

Used up: 14.28 yards [11.1 projects + 3.18 recycled]
Brought in: 6.71 yards
Net: -7.57 yards

February Fabric Usage

Oh dear. Depending how you look at it, things may have gone from bad to worse. But I'm not going there. Life happens, and even good opportunities happen, and taking advantage of them isn't always (usually?) a bad thing.

First, there were just a couple of stash restocks - Essex linen in Natural, and Kona Snow. While I was ordering, I took a follower's suggestion and ordered just a bit of AGF Studio Pure Solids in Mink, as a possible 'match' for the Pantone COTY Mocha Mousse. (I'm sticking with Painter's Palette Mocha.)

THEN my friend Kristina at FabricBubb @fabricbubb announced she was moving back to the PNW and was having a big closing (temporarily) sale. Since I needed a few things for our guild BOM, I took that opportunity to stock up on several solids + a few prints just to help a girl (Kristina) out.

Finally. I went to QuiltCon. Enough said? One of our favorite connections through Seattle MQG is Island Quilter @islandquilter, and they had a booth, so I had to stop by, say HI, and purchase a few yards.

So I'm not feeling terrible about it. But I am hoping to keep focused and really use some of it up as I move forward. March is a busy month for me outside of the studio (ie. a couple of short travels), but I'm looking forward to working on my list of projects that will be using fabric I now have stashed.


February Fabric Usage

Used up: 8.69 yards [4.59 projects + 4.1 recycled/donated]
Brought in: 15.5 yards
Net: 6.81 yards

January Fabric Usage

OK, I more than made up for my excellent fabric usage stats in December. Yikes! I started off with this big ole bundle, full of restashed solids, some selections to include in the Effervescence qal pull, and a few options for the Pantone COTY Mocha Mousse.

And then there were a few more Mocha Mousse options....

And of course, just a bit of the new Kona COTY, Nocturne.

In all honesty, I also have to include the fabric included in the afore-mentioned Studio Mystery Box from Anna Graham.

All in all, that's A LOT. But it does feel good to have a bit of fresh stock as we head into the new year. Already I'm putting it to good use.

January Fabric Usage

Used up: 16.33 yards [10.44 projects + 5.89 recycled/gifted]
Brought in: 26.95 yards
Net: 10.62 yards

2024 Fabric Usage

Guess what?! I didn't bring in an inch of new fabric into the studio this month save a scrap I picked off the free table at the guild holiday party. A very irregular shape, I figure it's about .19 of a yard. Does that even count? ;-)

In good faith, I say yes. 

Overall it was a very good fabric usage month, with the Merry Mix quilt (+ back and binding prepped), several small gifts, and some general recycling. I already have plans for some January intake, as I need to refresh some solids, check out some options for the new Pantone COTY + stash some new Kona Nocture, and get going on the Effervescence quilt along, for which I expect to purchase the majority of the fabric needed. So brace yourselves. Meanwhile, let's see how December looked.

December Fabric Usage

Used up: 16.96 yards [12.87 projects + 4.09 recycled/donated]
Brought in: .19 yards
Net: -16.77 yards


And I might as well glance at the year-end totals....

2024 Fabric Usage Totals
2024 Used up: 177.107 yards [vs. 178.22 yards in 2023]

2024 Brought in: 105.7 yards [vs. 92.275 in 2023]  

2024 Net: -71.407 yards [vs. -85.945 yards in 2023]


Again, I brought in more that I would have expected, as I was pretty thoughtful about purchases all year. But looking back, there were only three months when more than a few yards (or 0) came in, and they were 1-use of a generous gift card I received as a thank you for creating the liturgy tryptch (25 yards!), 2-a solids restock + necessary fabrics for BSC & BOM (17 yards), 3-fabric for Christmas (gift bags etc.) & the Merry Mix quilt along (19 yards). That all equals 61 yards, or nearly 60% of the year's total. Whatever, I'm grateful to be able to use and refresh my stash throughout the year, without a doubt. Here's to a new creative year in 2025.

November Fabric Usage

Brace yourselves. Worse than October, I brought in A LOT of fabric last month....

First a stack destined for Christmas gift-giving bags + a solid needed for Block Studies Collective this month + that top black and white stripe, which was stash-necessary, and I'd used it up on those black and orange potholders.

Knowing December would be busy, I treated myself to the Tara Faughnan-curated bundle for BSC. I committed to that a couple of months ago, so what can I say?

And then, after rummaging through stash for what I wanted/needed for the upcoming Merry Mix  Advent quilt along, I placed an order for several more solids. One downfall of normally purchasing half-yard cuts is that you don't have enough to really do a project such as this. Hubby and I actually worked together to choose colors for this quilt, so at least I'll be making something that coordinates with our other holiday decor and that we'll both appreciate. In fact, there were two of the lighter teals here (pictured below), so we could see which we liked best, so the other will go into the stash. And then that aqua star print was a bonus, since I'm liking that print so much. 

So yeah, that's a lot. I feel better knowing it all was (mostly) purchased for a specific project, but still. Hoping December is spent just using it up!

November Fabric Usage

Used up: 13.97 yards [10.17 projects + 3.8 recycled/donated]
Brought in: 19.25 yards 
Net: 5.28 yards

October Fabric Usage

After bringing in zero new fabric in September, I had anticipated some new acquisitions in October. So the first handful of prints and a lot of the solids I ended up getting were planned. BUT with an unexpected travel purchase, and joining Tara Faughnan's Block Studies Collective, the purchases added up. I decided to just go for it, hoping this month would be much quieter.

So once the calendar turned to October, I went and chose a few cuts of Night Rainbow by Deborah Fisher @fishmuseum. I'd had my eye on that new line, especially that Boundless Binding in Gingersnap print shown below on the far right. I went ahead and grabbed a coordinating print as well as a pair of tone-on-tone prints, which my stash is currently lacking.

When in Pleasanton CA visiting our son and dil, we went to the Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival, where I surprisingly saw Paul of Island Quilter @islandquilter. He and his partner Anya have been longtime friends of Seattle MQG, often bringing their mobile store to our retreats.

Of course I had to give them a little business, and purchased half-yard cuts of Alison Glass Topography in four colors, focusing on tone-on-tone prints again.

And then I placed a generous order of solids, both to restock my stash, get several for next month's BSC palette, and a solid necessary to finish my BOM. It is what it is, right?

It added up, no doubt about it. But I very nearly used as much as I brought it. I figure, I'll just keep sewing.

October Fabric Usage

Used up: 13.78 yards [5.66 projects + 8.12 recycled/donated]
Brought in: 17.5 yards 
Net: 3.72 yards

September Fabric Usage

Guess what?! I didn't bring in an inch of fabric this month! To be honest, I WANTED to. There is a new line I'm itching to select a few pieces from, as well as several solids I need to restock. 

But I forced myself to wait a few weeks, as I knew my usage wouldn't be that great. Taking a vacation was awesome, but it doesn't help the productivity does it? 😉 So other than bee and BOM blocks and backings for a couple of embroidery samplers, all the fabric used was for the chair quilt - top and back. And that's ok!

September Fabric Usage

Used up: 6.45 yards [5.15 projects + 1.3 recycled/donated]
Brought in: 0.0 yards 
Net: -6.45 yards

August Fabric Usage

Sad, but true. August was a pretty uneventful month in my little creative universe. Between a slow-going improv chair project and COVID invading our house, there wasn't energy for much. Early on, though, I bought a small stack of solids as considerations for said chairs, and also a beautiful floral for a planned bag project.

The Haralson Belt Bag did become reality, thankfully, and is now with its new owner. Other than that and a couple of drawstring bags, a mini quilt, BOM blocks, and the new Plover Pouch that.is.all. It is what it is, right? At any rate, I look forward to stepping in with fresh eyes and energy after a bit of vacation.

August Fabric Usage

Used up: 9.70 yards [6.22 projects + 3.48 recycled/donated]
Brought in: 6.0 yards 
Net: -3.70 yards

July Fabric Usage

After making just a few chair blocks early in the month, I knew I wanted to make more. AND I wanted to feature a very particular fabric - the multi-colored print in the chair block below.

Unfortunately, "it" [Mod Tex Flower in Sorbet by Studio RK] has been out of print for a long time, and I really had to hunt to 1) identify it, and 2) find some to purchase. But I was successful, and have begun to gather a few other coordinating prints as well.

So that was it, until I decided to make a bag for my daughter, Rachel @snippetsofsweetness. That plan resulted in my ordering some exterior fabric and a few possible choices for a lining. Wouldn't you know, the color of the exterior wasn't quite right, but one of the lining options was a winner, and coordinated well with a fabric for the exterior that I had in stash. So all's good there, and I'm happy to stash a few of those blues for later use.

So it wasn't an overly productive month in using stash, but still a step in the right direction. I'm not feeling bad about it one bit.

July Fabric Usage

Used up: 10.42 yards [7.025 projects + 3.395 recycled/donated]
Brought in: 6.5 yards 
Net: -3.92 yards

June Fabric Usage

Here I thought I was going to make it with no fabric purchases in June, but the need to provide a color palette in real fabric for my Bee Sewcial mates arose, so I did order a few small cuts.

Basically though, I sewed with stash and scrap both, having a pretty productive month taking it as it came. I also fulfilled a fabric wish for someone I follow online - they were looking for a particular fabric, and I happened to have yardage I thought I could live without, so I sent it off. That gave me a bump start for my fabric usage for the month. So here's my stats:

June Fabric Usage

Used up: 22.09 yards [14.06 projects + 8.03 recycled/sold]
Brought in: 2.5 yards 
Net: -19.59 yards

I thought since we're half-way through the year, it might be fun to see my YTD fabric stats:

Used up: 105.83
Brought in: 56.26
Net: -49.57

Kind of a shocking amount of fabric brought in, but remember in March I used a gift card that accounts for 25 of those yards? So I'm not really feeling too bad about that. Anyway, onwards! I'm not really sure what July holds for me sewing-wise, but I'm looking forward to finding out!

May Fabric Usage

Happily, May felt like another productive month fabric-wise, with three quilt finishes:

• Snippets, made completely of my stashed Carolyn Friedlander fabrics
• Plus, begun with squares of original Cotton + Steel fabrics left from a previous project, and filled in and finished with stashed C + S
• Mixtape, made primarily with the scraps from Snippets

Add to that another nearly finished quilt, a new clergy stole for our son, bee blocks and BOM blocks, and let's just say the fabric usage added up. That said, I did bring in two cuts of fabric - 1) backing fabric for the aforementioned nearly finished quilt, which required something particular; and 2) a yard of CF Doe Grid, which I totally used up in Mixtape, and I couldn't bear to not have in my stash. Actually, what I got is in a different colorway, but was what I could find. I'll take it.

In addition to the fabric I used in projects, I also took several yards to leave on the free table at our recent guild meeting. Hopefully that old adage, "one man's trash is another man's treasure" rang true. Not that it was trash, but I thought someone else could use it better than I.

So here are the stats for May....

May Fabric Usage

Used up: 24.32 yards [15.63 projects + 8.69 recycled/donated/gifted]
Brought in: 5.0 yards 
Net: -19.32 yards

I'm looking forward to seeing where June takes me, as heading in, it is pretty commitment-free, sewing-wise. That said, assignments for June bee and BOM blocks have suddenly appeared, and I dove into a new project last night. So far, so good!

April Fabric Usage

After March's outrageous fabric intake, it was great to bring in just a few yards during April, and for a very specific project, at that. In addition, there were several yards used for:

• Keen, my Pantone challenge project
• a new bag for myself
• recovering my pressing table!
• finishing the drawstring bag project
• the front of a new plus quilt

All that resulted in some pretty respectable fabric usage numbers. Let's see if I can do as good in May!

April Fabric Usage

Used up: 14.83 yards [11.83 projects + 3.0 recycled/donated]
Brought in: 3.50 yards 
Net: -11.33 yards

March Fabric Usage

OK, brace yourself. March was a doozy for fabric intake. First, there were several small purchases as options for the Pantone quilt challenge.

And then I received a generous 'thank you' gift card following the installation of the liturgical triptych, so of course, I spent that, on both yardage....

and a FabricBubb bundle. I hardly ever purchase fat quarters any more, but there was something about this bundle. I've already used a few of the fabrics in a bag for myself.

There's also a gift I'm working on behind the scenes that needed specific fabrics.

And in curating the collection above, I ordered a couple of Marcia Derse fabrics, and though they didn't work for this particular project, I'm happy to have them and the blue sample Marcia sent.

I think that's about it. It all made sense - at least to me - but it did add up.

March Fabric Usage

Used up: 13.06 yards [6.24 projects + 6.82 recycled]
Brought in: 32.66 yards 
Net: 19.6 yards

So it is what it is. I'll have finished at least two projects using these fabrics this month, and a possible sew along to join in, so I'm confident I'll turn those numbers around soon!

February Fabric Usage

February was a mediocre fabric-usage month. I sewed several small projects - bee and BOM blocks, some small drawstring bags, and a pair of mini quilts - Golden Honey and Vista. As far as bringing fabric in, I took advantage of a sale at FabricBubb to restock a couple of solids and grab a few inspiration pieces (l-r):

• Skinny Stripe in Azalea from Between the Lines by RJR Fabrics
• Birch in Silver from Quarry Trail by Anna Graham for Robert Kaufman Fabrics
• OOP Cotton + Steel print in Sunshine
• Kona Blueprint
• Kona Blue

And then, since I so enjoyed the Marcia Derse prints I used in the liturgical quilt project, I added a random piece to my stash: Postcards: Back in Ivory from Hawthorne Supply Co.

So all in all, it was an OK month. Brace yourself for March's report, though, as I have a gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket! AND the Pantone Quilt Challenge 2024 is coming! All that means time to build up the ole stash a bit. Meanwhile....

February Fabric Usage

Used up: 10.15 yards [4.9 projects + 2.6 gifted/donated + 3.0 recycled]
Brought in: 5.0 yards 
Net: -5.15 yards

January Fabric Usage

Let's just say it's been a very good month for fabric usage, thanks to several factors. Projects, yes!  There were several small ones - Aurifil Artisan projects, bee and group quilt blocks, a large gift bag. But there were also a couple of larger projects - the entire Cozy quilt sandwich, and a big ole quilt back for my Diamond Flare quilt. That all added up!

But then I gifted some fabric as well. Call it new year's refresh if you will. Some random blocks* went to an IG follower, and a quilt's worth of scrappy hourglass blocks* were rehomed to my friend Ellyn @ellynz. (You should see what she's doing with them!!) A bit also went to Linda @flourishingpalms to help with her group quilt project*, which I'll share more about soon.

And yes, I also brought in some fabric:

• some Kona Bleach White, which I didn't actually realize was treated for dyeing, so I've just stashed it for now.
• two grid prints that I thought would coordinate with the focus fabric for my Cozy quilt.
• a length of limited edition KONA color of the year, Julep, to share with my daughter.
• just a bit of Painter’s Palette solids, which I unfortunately forgot to get a photo of.

So all that adds up to the stats shown below. I've separated out the categories just a bit more than usual. The 'recycled' looks a bit extreme, as it partially carried over from December's sewing, and I am not a ruthless snippet-keeper. But it felt good to gift a couple of the projects I wasn't excited about working on anymore, and overall, it feels like a great start to the year. 

January Fabric Usage

Used up: 21.38 yards [14.15 projects + 4.02 gifted* + 3.21 recycled]
Brought in: 7.6 yards [4.0 yards gift + 3.6 for specific projects]
Net: -13.78 yards

I do feel like I need to start adding back in some fabrics to stash - both solids I've used up, and some newer prints - so expect to see some of that this year. All along, the goal has been to refresh/update the stash and focus on using what I had, and that has definitely happened. Here's to  more of the same.