So, I'm going on a diet...a fabric and yarn diet that is:)
I've developed quite a stash of both recently and really need to use up some of what I have before there is room for more. But, before declaring a full-on Fabric Watchers program, I did take stock and make a few last minute purchases to fill in the holes in my collection...this way I have no excuse. The collection is complete and there is no reason to buy anything else, right???
My knitting generally consists of small toys for my girls or for gifts. My favorite yarn for toy knitting is KnitPicks Comfy Worsted. I've turned into quite the yarn snob over the last few years and almost didn't try this yarn because of the acrylic content. But I prefer cotton toys for my kiddos because they have ultra-sensitive skin...and most cotton yarn on the market just isn't very soft. AND, I really needed to find a more affordable yarn option than constantly ordering hand-dyed or hand-painted yarns from Etsy. So, I thought I would give this one a try...and I LOVE it! It is super-soft and the perfect weight for toys. And I don't end up with hand cramps after knitting with it. Over the last few months, I've gathered a collection of animal colors (grays, browns, white, black, etc.) and a nice collection of colors for garments...mostly on the paler end of the spectrum. Before I started my diet (which officially begins today), I grabbed up a couple of coordinating brighter colors. I also purchased the fingerling version in black and white for embroidering faces.
I have recently acquired a new toy knitting pattern for a dragon, and the solid colors of my favorite yarn just weren't going to cut it. So I added the hand-dyed, Blue Safari cotton yarn above to my collection, along with the dill and teal Sunseeker yarns below.
I think those metallic threads and going to add a special touch to the wings and other details!
And with that, my yarn stash was complete, and I moved on to fabric.
My fabric stash has gotten a lot of extra padding in the last couple of months. I primarily stocked up on low volume prints because I had greatly depleted my supply. And I was pretty sure that my stash was good to go, but...
Right now, I'm on a quilted pillow kick. I was making lots of mini-quilts, because I could try new techniques and fabric combinations without commiting to an entire quilt. But, when I really started to think about it...a pillow is just a mini-quilt with a back..and so much more functional. So, now I find myself dreaming of pillow covers:) As I looked at what pillows I wanted to make in the coming months, I knew I really wanted to get some subtle holiday pillows working. And then I found it...the hole in my fabric stash.
I have NO holiday fabrics!
For pillows, I knew I wouldn't need much, so I picked up a couple of charm packs and called it a day.
But, there is a Christmas quilt in the plans for this year, and I knew I was going to run short. So, a couple of last fabrics were selected...this Heather Ross flannel pajama pants leg (for those of you who don't linger on Etsy for hours on end, I know you're thinking I'm crazy, but that's the only way you can get some of her older prints) and some Katie Jump Rope Green Dot Stripe will make the fussy cut centers and the binding respectively.
I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I have enough of the solids I'm planning to use for the blocks...but I can always adjust the size of the quilt based on the available fabric if necessary.
So, like any good diet, I started with a splurge:) And now that it's out of my system, my Paypal account is going dark. In honor of bikini season, I'm going to shed some weight, burn through some fabric, and come out lighter and leaner on the back side. Wish me luck!
