I have a lot of fabric; odds and ends leftover from various projects, overly ambitious plans that never panned out, all manner of old cast offs that I’m convinced I’ll breathe life into and repurpose one fine day.  Sometimes my Mother-in-law sends along fabric she thinks I’ll like, sourced at garage sales.  Years ago when I was making almost all of the kids clothes, I used to buy fabric in bulk, 6 or 10 yards at a pop.  Some remnants of that time still remain.  For a little while I was into fabric co-ops, until I realized that my proclivity towards believing I can do more then is humanly possible and pretty, heavily discounted fabric constantly being dangled in front of me was a bad combination.  I’ve got some fabric.  It’s nothing compared to the sorts of mega “stashes” I hear about sometimes, but if a kid comes to me looking to make, say, a pouch or a doll quilt, he/she’s got options.  The options aren’t endless, but we’re likely to find something along the lines of what they’re looking for.

I am not a hoarder or a clutter-bug.  Craft supplies are the one possible exception to this.  I rationalize this as being the exchange for having a large, creative family.  My stores are constantly being raided and it works well for us to have a lot of variety at our finger tips.  Even so, at the moment I’m craving less storage space and more room for living.  Just a bit of paring down.  I’m parting with certain things that I probably shouldn’t have held on to to begin with.  Let’s face it, by the time I start that rag rug I could probably gather 40 or 50 more pairs of holey jeans and torn corduroy pants.  But I’m also making things.  At a time when I’m hesitant to spend money, it’s a win-win situation.  Any time I feel like I’m approaching life from a feeling of lack, I go whip up a little dress or some pants and hey-presto!  Instant cure.  And a problem solved, whoever needs a garment now has one.

I’ve done an enormous amount of sewing lately.  I don’t think I’ve posted more then a quarter of what I’ve made in the last 9 months or so, if that.  Perhaps at some point I’ll try to go back and fill in the gaps.  Some projects required new fabric, but many, such as all of the dresses I made Seraphina in early autumn, were made from what I had on hand.  Due to limited amounts of most fabrics the two littlest members of the household make the most obvious recipients.

Mairi is in love with cotton velour.  Just now it is the fabric of all her favorite clothes.  I made her a pair of these leggings in the burgundy, as shown, and a second pair in navy.  For a whole week after I made this pair she refused to wear them.  She said she liked them too much and was afraid to mess them up!  Once I made the navy pair she loosened up a bit, knowing she had a back up.  Here they are topped with a Sally Dress, made of a really nice stretch twill and lined with flannel.  I think it’s going to be another season of using the same pattern again and again and I think this, my friends, is that pattern!