Oh.My.Goodness!!!!!

Quote for the Day:

"Behind every quilter is a big pile of fabric."

~author unknown

Well, well, well...what a weekend!  Whew!  

Okay...let me start from the beginning...

On Friday night Andy & I went to an estate auction that advertised a "sewing machine" and "quilt frames".  Well, you know when you see those things listed together that it is probably a quilter's estate and there will probably be quilt-related items there.

Heavens to Betsy, you wouldn't BELIEVE what was at the auction...and what came home with me!!!  Let's just say that it is a good thing that we had taken both Subaru Outback station wagons...because they were both packed to the brim by the end of the night!  (Andy had come from home and I had come from work so we had both cars there.)

Let's start with the sewing machine...MY "new" sewing machine...a Husqvarna Viking 936 Huskylock, about 3 years old, originally $1400+...AND the custom-fitted sewing table (would not have been included in the $1400 price tag)...AND boxes upon boxes of quilt-store-quality fabric...AND, not one, not two, but THREE sewing baskets...one of them is a Longaberger sewing basket with liner and protectors (paid $6 for the box-lot that one was in!!!  WOOHOO!!!).

This lady must have been ultra-organized because all of her stash was in organizer totes with the pattern tucked inside...all nice and neat.  And let me tell you from the get-go that only about 1/10 of the stash they had for sale there came home with me.   I've spent all of Saturday and Sunday going through all the totes and measuring fabric and organizing it into my stash.  Some of the patterns she had chosen were not my style, etc., so that fabric got taken out of the tote and refolded into my stash.  There were 9 projects in various stages of completion...one was not started at all, a few were partially done and a couple were almost finished...I left those in their totes with the instructions and I hope to finish them off.

These nine totes hold the projects that I hope to complete.

Now for pictures of the fabric that I added to the stash this weekend...

These are the 1/8 up to 1/4 yard cuts...

The 1/4 up to 1/2 yard cuts...

The 1/2 up to 1 yard cuts...

And the greater-than 1 yard pieces...

There was one "jelly roll"...

And one "layer cake"...

And twelve "charm packs"...

And not to be forgotten...2 small Christmas wall quilt kits...

Three quilt panels...

 And the flannel fabric...

 Fifty-six spools of Mettler embroidery thread...

These two rolling sewing machine totes...the one on the left is empty and is for my current machine...the one on the right contains the sewing machine I bought at the auction.  I haven't set it up yet and am not sure if I will keep it or resell it on Ebay...I can double my money if I put it on Ebay!  :)

Totes and totes full of quilt patterns, miscellaneous pillow panels, sewing notions, and cross-stitch supplies, etc., that I will be putting up on Ebay...

 

I am just starting to go through the non-fabric items and so far have found no less than 6 pair of scissors...2 of them Gingher!  (The BEST on the market!)  I've also found 3 Ott-lites so far!  LOL   From my figuring, I spent about 50 cents/yard for quilt shop quality fabric that normally runs $8/yard!  I think I did very well!

And just the cost of the 22 totes alone (that the fabric was in) is over $100!!

Here is what I still need to go through...

In the above picture you can see a box of yarn that was in one of the box-lots.  We will take it to Andy's mom next time we go to Maine.  :)

I've already listed 4 items on Ebay and will continue to do so as I go through and categorize things.  

Andy bought 3 box-lots from the auction and got some nice things in them...including a Sony Walkman MP3 player and a ventriloquist's dummy!  :)   haha  That dummy is hysterical!  We are calling him "Chuckie" and he is sitting on top of a tall box in the living room right now.  If he moves or starts talking HE.IS.OUTTA.HERE!!!  ;)

It's been like Christmas around here...going through the boxes and finding all the little "goodies" in them!  :)  We are planning a yard-sale in August or September, so what we don't want and don't sell on Ebay will be gotten rid of then.

I have a box of miscellaneous craft, clothing and upholstery fabric "Freecycle" and another small bag of fabric to pass along to a friend.  

While going through this haul of fabric it made me realize that if I don't make a concerted effort to use up my stash, my family will one day have to go through it...just like this person's family did.  It made me resolve to myself to "shop my stash" and not buy any fabric for a LONG time!    I can truthfully say that I am "set" for quite a while with my quilting!  :)

Loretta