[NFB-Krafters-Korner] For Quilters...

Mon Aug 2 17:19:53 UTC 2021

Joyce, this is good.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Linda B

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From: NFB-Krafters-Korner <nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf
Of Joyce Kane via NFB-Krafters-Korner
Sent: Sunday, August 1, 2021 5:35 PM
To: 'List for blind crafters and artists' <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
Cc: blindhands at aol.com
Subject: [NFB-Krafters-Korner] For Quilters...

I found this in a news letter from Accuquilt:

<https://blog.accuquilt.com/uncategorized/10-new-ways-to-hide-your-quilting-
fabric> 10 New Ways to Hide Your Quilting Fabric

 Jan 18, 2016 11:53:00 AM / by  <https://blog.accuquilt.com/author/mary-lee>
Mary Lee

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*	Share
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Quilters have been known to create some very inventive places to hide their
quilting fabric. Why do they hide fabrics you ask? Well, here's how I
imagine this strange habit evolved...long, long ago.

Let's say her name was Ugga. She and all her neighbors lived in various cave
dwellings where they kept all of their meager belongings. Their daily
routines consisted of the cave men going out each day to hunt animals for
food, while the women gathered berries and did their best to create a
flavorful meal.

Ugga knew she was different. She enjoyed using colorful plants to draw
creative pictures on the wall. She would search for vines, the stronger the
better, and collect them to tie things together. Rather than simply draping
fur pelts over her family's bodies, she would connect pieces by punching
small holes and weaving the vines in and out of the skins. This made for a
much better fit.

She began to trade berries and seeds for pelts from other places and soon
found herself always looking for creative places to hide her collection. Her
cave man just didn't understand why she needed so many different furs! Why
in the world would one prefer to pile them up rather than using them
immediately? Ugga knew there was no way to explain the joy of collecting so
many pelts. It was even more difficult to make him understand her plan to
cut these furs and then reconnect the pieces together. And so it began...

Quilting Fabric - Back to the Future

I have always loved quilting fabric and came by my love honestly. My mother,
although she was not a quilter, was an amazing seamstress. Curtains would
become a jacket, netting from the bassinet was turned into a flower girl
dress, and a bedspread could easily morf into a pair of pajamas. Her stash
was always hidden in a locked cedar closet. It's possible that I am a
descendent of Ugga on my mother's side!  

I was once married. As it turned out, he was an uncooperative cave man
(perhaps a descendent of Ugga's husband). My quilting fabric hiding place
was one that many women use.the trunk of the car.  It was a safe place for
years, at least until my husband drove my car and was "rear ended" by a
drunk gentleman who fell asleep at the wheel. After towing my car to the
auto body shop and prying open the trunk, the multiple bags of quilting
fabric were discovered. I will tell you that these bags of quilting fabric
were the booty from a wonderful "Shop Hop." Need I say more?

Hiding quilting fabric is a topic of conversation common to many quilters
who are married or have concerned family and friends. For those of you who
married that man who doesn't mind how much fabric you buy..I would like to
ask, "Does he have a brother that's single?"

If you've been considering new ways to hide fabric, here are ten different
ideas from quilters I have met over the years. Their names have been changed
to protect the guilty.

1.  Helen says she irons her fabric less now that she lays it flat and
stores it between the box springs and the mattress of all the beds in the
house.

2. Janet found that since she always keeps clean towels and washcloths in
each bathroom, she has been able to change her linen closet to her "cotton
stash closet." The down side is that the bathrooms are a little more crowded
with the towel shelving that had to be added.

3.Teresa keeps all of her shoes under the beds. That way the shoeboxes can
be used for storing fabric. Each box has a large colored dot on the visible
end to denote the color of the fabrics within.

4. Donna hangs all of her clothes in her closet, separated by color. Under
each item of clothing hangs yardage of fabrics in the same color. For
example, a royal blue blouse would be unbuttoned to reveal royal blue
fabrics hanging inside. Just the hanging of the clothes by color is way too
OCD for me but it has worked successfully for her for many years.

5. Sandy told me that her husband drank (at one time) much more than he
should have. When she insisted he quit, the liquor cabinet was transformed
into her fabric cupboard. "Sometimes I catch myself looking to make sure
there isn't a liquor bottle hiding in there somewhere," she said.

6. Marnice and her husband have an antique car. There is a back seat that
can be pulled up with a storage area underneath. She has been hiding her
quilting fabric there for over 10 years!

7. Sarah's sewing room is above the garage. She was excited to discover an
unknown adjacent attic space.  While her husband was out of town for two
weeks she hired a handyman to cut through and finish a small room behind the
wall.  She made a quilt that exactly covers the door and she can
conveniently store and retrieve quilting fabric whenever she wants.  I asked
how long they had lived in the house and she answered, " 36 years." Then
before I had the chance to ask, she said, "The room has been there for 34!"
(I met Sarah at a quilting class in the 80's and have always wondered if she
and her husband are still living in that same house.)

8. Denise has a sewing room with hardwood floors and a large area rug.  She
now has more quilting fabric than she can possibly fit on her shelving. Her
overage is stored under the rug.

9. Deb told me there is an old upright piano that has long been out of tune
and not played for over 20 years.  It belonged to her husband's grandmother
and since no one in the family plays, it has become her secret fabric
storage place. " It's perfect," she said." When nobody is home and I am
sewing, I simply step up on the piano stool, open the top and reach in to
get the fabrics I need."

10. JoAnna has three children. They each had their own toy chest. When they
became teenagers she let them choose what toys they wanted to keep, boxed
them up and put them in the attic. They have all moved out, gone to college
and have their own places.  Now she has the three chests stacked on top of
each other with her quilting  fabric stashed by color inside. The fabrics
that are most used are on top and the quilt fabric least used is on the
bottom.

For those of you who can't possibly relate to this story, I am happy for
you. For those of you who can relate, I hope you enjoyed the story and have
been inspired to be even more creative in your pursuit of finding places to
hide your quilting fabric. 

I hope you will share your favorite quilting fabric hiding places with me
and the other Ugga's of the world.

Mary Lee

Mary Lee is the AccuQuilt Social Media Coordinator. She resides in
Lexington, Kentucky. An artist in several mediums, she pursues folk art,
painting, photography, jewelry making, quilt pattern design, and her
favorite: quilting and collecting quilting fabric. She has belonged to the
same local quilting group for over 30 years. 

Joyce Kane

Kane Kids Shop

 <https://www.etsy.com/shop/KaneKidsShop?ref=shop_sugg>
https://www.etsy.com/shop/KaneKidsShop?ref=shop_sugg

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