Cause I do. Thanks to some ruthless post-pregnancy closet curating (aka purging) this weekend, I realized today that I might have more storage space devoted to sewing and knitting supplies than I do to actual wearable sewn, knit and RTW items. I now have eight small drawers and half a closet for all of my clothes and shoes in the entire universe (including off-season clothes, special occasion clothes, etc)... and six very large drawers and a sewing cabinet full of fabric, yarn, patterns and suchlike.
And remember, I live in an 850-sq-ft apartment with my husband, a baby, two cats, and my mom (she stays with us during the week to watch Z). So my definition of ruthless purging might be different than yours... Also remember: this is AFTER a series of similarly harsh fabric, pattern and yarn destashings.
What does that say about me? That I'm forward-thinking, and ready to accept lovely new clothes into my life? That I'm living in a fanciful future, and not the actual present? Hmm....
It certainly makes getting dressed easier, since my options are so limited--most of the pre-preg clothes I didn't donate away are just SLIGHTLY too tight now to zip up.
And I'm really getting some serious wear out of that reversible skirt... even though I sewed it 35 lbs ago! The black swiss dot side is one of only two solid-color skirts I own that fit, and I'm kind of digging the patterned edge that accidentally peeks out at the hem, though it annoyed me at the time.
(Apologies for evening flash photos and my messy hair--I had my mom snap these when I got home from work as I don't have time for morning shoots these days).
How about you, dear readers?
At this point I might be neck and neck, but fabric does seem to be edging its way forward. Clearly I need to purge one or the other ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd I also love the way the other fabric peeks out of the bottom of your skirt. It seems intentional and it looks great!
I definitely have more clothes than fabric, but only b causesmy husband has this insane rule where I'm not allowed to buy fabric until I finish at least 2 projects.
ReplyDeleteI have a 2ft length of closet space, one large drawer, and two 'underwear' sized drawers for my clothes, and 2 large plastic tubs for fabric. My husband has twice as much closet AND drawer space as I do (though to be fair half of his closet is work uniforms).
Oh, that is a very harsh but very exact way to describe my situation. The virtual wins out, no contest. Ouch.
ReplyDeleteThere is more fabric than clothes and more yarn than fabric. Mind you, I would need 3 wardrobes to fit it all in if it were clothes...
ReplyDeleteWAAAAAAY more fabric that clothes! Of course, I sew for me, dh, and 3 kids, so maybe if you added up all of the clothes in the house... Nah, I think I still have more fabric. And that's the way I like it! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAck, wrote a comment and then deleted it. I don't have more fashion fabrics than clothes (but I have a ton of clothes). My problem is that I have trouble purging fashion fabrics - if something had potential when I bought it, even if I don't like it as much anymore I still feel like it needs to get the chance to get made. But I get more excited by the fabrics that are newer to the collection. I also have trouble with seasonality in fabric buying/project planning...so if I make something it's likely to be something I just bought rather than something that's been sitting around for awhile. I feel especially bad for the fabrics that I've pre-washed but still haven't sewn anything out of. And for baby clothes I'm kind of waiting until he gets here to know what size he'll be before I spend the time making something that won't even fit for long or would be the wrong season.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, definitely more fabric than clothes. I pretty good at purging garments if they don't fit or don't get worn (even ones I've sewn myself), but fabric has so much *potential*. I think I'm the same way about art supplies versus finished paintings too. Also hear you completely about the limited clothing options post-prego, though it does make getting dressed easier.
ReplyDeleteYou know, it's very hard for me to concentrate when you're flashing such a cute baby at me all the time!!
ReplyDeleteI will say yes, more fabric than clothes, but only because earlier this year I viciously purged my clothes, then was unable to buy replacements, and have not yet been able to sew or purge the fabric. Hopefully things will reverse themselves next year, I really don't like looking at stash fabric.
Also, I am more motivated because I just got the first of the shipments I'll be getting from my grandmother's house, and it included a pattern and fabric she bought to make a dress...in 1971!!! I so do not want to have UFOs hanging around for 40 years!
Well, I have a ton of clothes. And yet, I'm pretty confident that I have more fabric than clothes. Yikes. If they were all made up into clothes I would have to turn the sewing room into a giant closet.
ReplyDeleteHmm. Do you mean every-day, wearable clothes, or all the clothes including the costume and fancy-dress stuff? Because if the latter, I probably still have more clothes, but if the former, I think the fabric's winning. It didn't help that I bought six metres of wool coating the other day, though. That stuff takes up a LOT of room!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI have just read through your lovely blog and wanted to leave a general compliment. I like how you write and how you sew and your baby is so lovely! When I was pregnant with my second baby I designes a reversible skirt also but after the pregnancy I wanted all new clothes and I was tired of wearing things that I had worn beeing a whale ;-) But still the idea seems good. Propably the reason for me was, that my skirt was made of an bright pink-yellow Anne Maria Horner fabric that seemes a little to bright after a while.
Anyway, I do have a lot of Fabrics and patterns in stash too and I consirder it as luxus (<--forgotten the english spelling: luxuros?)
Greetings from Berlin! Catherine
No, definitely more clothes than fabric. I am a self-stitched every day kind of sewist. It's not that I make a lot of clothes, it's that I wear the ones I make a lot! If my fabric stash gets too big, I get kind of embarrassed and anxious - as if I've got a big pile of marking waiting for me (I'm a teacher). But I buy fabric in batches. So every couple of months/every season I sew it down as fast as possible. If it gets too big I impose a "three out, one in" rule".... . I understand why people have big stashes, and I feel that urge to buy everything in the fabric store but if my stash gets much bigger than a carry-on case I really feel bad! We're all made differently, I suppose
ReplyDeleteHatty
Cuuuute baby.
ReplyDeleteI have more clothes than fabric because I ruthlessly purge and refashion and don't stash longer than a few months. It is becoming a problem. Sigh.