Culling My Fabric Stash for National Sewing Month!

Readers, you probably have heard that September is National Sewing Month.

To celebrate, I decided to spend a few hours doing an inventory of my fabric stash and getting rid of stuff I'm unlikely to ever sew with.  As you can see up top, I had four bags' worth of discards.  Off to the thrift store they went; we kept the dog.

Decluttering 2016 -- Keep or Toss?

Readers, as you know, the ongoing challenge of preventing my stuff from overwhelming my apartment and its inhabitants has been a theme here at MPB since the beginning.

New Pattern, New Fabric, New DECLUTTERING!

I can't remember whether I showed you this beautiful gray cotton lawn I picked up last month at Elliot Berman.

Home Again and Getting Organized!

It's always fun to go on an adventure and what better place than the Costa Rican rainforest?

Two sewing machines gone, two more heading out.

This morning as I sipped my coffee and glanced at the sewing table in the corner of my kitchen, I had an epiphany: 

FIVE TIPS for Downsizing Your Fabric Stash (or anything else)

Digging out the bedroom: there's a bed under there somewhere!

Despite my having written many posts about decluttering, one of the areas I've never tackled is my fabric stash.

Getting Others to Clean My Clutter!

Readers, remember that famous scene in Mark Twain's classic, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," when Tom's Aunt Polly wants Tom to whitewash the picket fence and clever Tom gets the other neighborhood boys to do it by pretending it's the most fun thing in the world?

OMG, that's what I did yesterday with friend and fellow blogger, Suzanne, and she totally fell for it!

FINISHED SHIRT + Name That Clutter!

Whoopee -- I finished my shirt, Vogue 8889!

Peter's Saturday "Ditch 'n B*tch"

Friends, today I'd like to take a break from sewing men's boxer shorts and return to something we all can relate to: The Daily Ditch!

Please don't think I wasn't ditching this week during the sew-along, because I was.  And would you believe there is still more ditching to come?  Decluttering my apartment is very much like digging a subway in Rome: you unearth ancient Roman ruins, only to find Etruscan ruins underneath, and then you're digging up dinosaur bones and pieces of Fred Flintstone's old car.

Self-sewn Trash

I'm on a roll, readers, oh, am I on a roll!

Yesterday I asked you about the challenge of ditching home-sewn garments, as opposed to throwing away ready-to-wear.  Well, I've discovered that it's not that hard.  There are three key questions one must ask oneself:

"Out with the Old, In with the New" + CONTEST!

Readers, I'm not a fan of dogmatic people, and I would hate to come across as one.  My Daily Ditch© method of personal transformation does create miracles, but it's important to allow a few things into your life, too -- otherwise, you'll have nothing left to ditch.  Think about it.

Happiness is a Clean Sewing Table

This may not look like anything to brag about to you, neat readers, but for me this is as good as it gets.  I can actually see the table under my sewing machines!

Tuesday Tidbits

Friends, if this image looks just like one I posted yesterday, it's because I never got started on my skirt alteration project -- I was paralyzed with anxiety after reading your comments, with predictions of time required ranging anywhere from 20 minutes to 3-4 days.  Whom to believe?  No, I think I'll just put this one on the back burner for a while.  Anyway, I won't see Stephanie for a week.  

Jeans Sew-Along 10.5 -- Rivets FAIL + Gifts Galore!

Friends, contrary to popular opinion, I am just a person.  Like you, I have my highs and my lows, my successes and my failures.  In the latter camp must go jeans rivets.  Try as I might I simply cannot manage to attach them correctly.  I can poke the hole in the fabric all right, it's everything else.

Scary girdles and other new acquisitions

WARNING: CLUTTER ADDICTS PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

In other news...

Friends, do you ever have rescue fantasies?  I do -- in fact, I'm having one right now.  I bring this up because yesterday, out of nowhere, I was rescued and let me tell you, readers, it felt wonderful.  (Don't let them tell you otherwise.)

MPB SNOW DAY SPECIAL --100% men's shirt free!

Friends, as you can see, we had another big snow dump yesterday.  It kind of makes me want to crawl back into bed and it definitely makes me want to take a break from talking about shirts.  We all need a rest now and then, no?  (But since you asked, somebody please remind me to talk about pattern tracing paper -- maybe you can recommend some?)

Positively the LAST decluttering post

Brace yourself, friends, my notable Necchi is no more.  She won't be picked up till next week but I have a deposit.  How exciting is that?  Five sewing machines sold in four days.  Let's all take a deep breath.

Decluttering downsides

I know this is getting a little wearisome for some of you, but rest assured, the decluttering is winding down.

Yesterday I bid good-bye to my Brother LS2125, now owned by former Floridian Melissa.  So touched was I by her excitement, I threw in a vintage McCall's hardcover sewing book for free.  Melissa seemed delighted.

More DECLUTTERING delight!

Meet Marcia (name changed to protect her from envious MPB stalkers), the proud new owner of my beloved Singer Genie.  Please don't hate her.  The machine was actually a gift to Marcia from a friend (an MPB reader, no less) and Marcia came to pick it up not even knowing what it would be.  I could have given her my old razor with no questions asked.