Hita's Whimsy: Stash Busting Parrots

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Good-bye 2022. Hello 2023!!

I'm getting very excited. We are closing out 2022 in just a little over 24 hours from the time of starting to compose this update. And I am excited because in 2023 I am taking on a new venture. I am starting a Use Your Stash club at The Old Craft Store in Carrollton, TX.

Quilters tend to acquire fabric. I don't know if it's intentional. I'm convinced it just happens! I have intermittently worked in a fabric shop over the last 30 years. I have a fabric stash that I truly doubt I can use up in the next 10 years. And yet, The Old Craft Store just had their End of Bolt Sale, and I eagerly purchased several yards of fabric to add to my stash. I will happily admit that not one of the pieces were purchased for any specific project. I simply had to have them because the colors or prints caught my eye AND it was a good sale!

The above is only part of my stash story. I have accepted fabric from friends and friends of friends that were downsizing their own stashes. I have scooped up free fabric at quilt guild meetings. I have rescued other quilter's unwanteds. I tell myself that I'm sure I can find a use for every piece.

However, often times that fabric is put to the side. I say I'm waiting to use it in the perfect quilt, waiting for the perfect pattern, waiting for the perfect ___(fill in the blank)_____. The true story is - the fabric is waiting.

At the quilt store, we are hearing customers say, "I have to use what's in my stash." And I understand completely! And it clicked for me. I really enjoy finding fabrics in my stash and making scrappy quilts. This is part of the quilting process that works for me. I believe it's because I struggle with color selection. Scrappy stash quilts give me a bit of wiggle room. I don't have to decide if the reddish-blue works better than greenish-blue next to the orangish-red. I can simply put both blues into the quilt plus a dash of turquoise as well. It works! It blends. To me, it adds interest. It's exciting to see a quilt grow from pieces of fabric that have been left on the shelf.

That's what I want to inspire in 2023 with the Use Your Stash club. We will get together on the first Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. I will present a Stash Busting idea. Members are encouraged to bring their sewing machines and projects to work on. They can work on the suggested stash buster or a project they are already working on. I will bring soup for lunch in January, but there are also several restaurants near the store for lunch.

My goal with Use Your Stash is to get members looking at their fabric stashes with fresh eyes. I want to show how patterns can be altered - by adding color, by changing the layout, by adding an element. I have many ideas for later in the year. But I’m going to let members lead where this Stash Busting journey goes!

In January, Stash Busting Parrots is going to be the big kick-off for Use Your Stash club.

I looked back in my last few blog updates looking for some information on the Stash Busting Parrots quilt top. However, I didn't find that I've blogged much about it! There was a quick mention about what I'm doing with the leftover cut-off corner triangles a few updates ago, but that's it. I think it’s time to share some of the story with you.

I want to show side by side, the inspiration quilt by Michelle McKillop (mckillopmichelle on Instagram) and my finished Stash Busting Parrots quilt top as displayed at The Old Craft Store. (I think I have linked the original IG post by Michelle McKillop in the screenshot. Please, let me know if the link works.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc4qZgTpzVx/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The two quilt tops look so different, don't they? The construction is exactly as Michelle explained. I simply added a bit of color planning. Here are some of the progress photos.

Started: May 20, 2022. The parrot print has been in my stash for at least 8 years. I chose to use it as the main fabric and I selected colors to match for the color rounds.

I also started with 4 yards of the black Twinkle for the accent color.,I did have to go back for at least 5/8ths yard more to have enough for the border.

My first intention was to do a rainbow color order, but I guess I got a little distracted from that thought. I really don't mind. I love the way it turned out!

It was slow going. I cut one square at a time, auditioning each piece.

I was so certain about getting yellow into this quilt. But it wasn't making me happy. I felt like it was blaring neon. My Heartbeat suggested purple. I auditioned some pieces over the yellow...

... and it was perfect!!

July 24, I had other projects with deadlines that I needed to work on, but it was really difficult staying away from this one. Pieces just seemed to be magically falling into place.

Also adding to the time, I was stitching a second seam before cutting the corner triangle off... to be used in another project soon. Shoo fly blocks are being made from the smaller Half-Square-Triangles.