Save your stash, spend cash!

A lot of people are expressing concern about the rising costs of fuel and groceries. On one of the quilting message boards I frequent, a lot of us are trying to use up our stash to save cash. Hmm. Cash and Stash rhyme - I should be able to come up with some sort of catchy slogan with that (see title, above).

I have joined in the MB conversations announcing that I LOVE scrappy quilts and can use my stash if I want to conserve money. I wrote, “I can work from my stash and have more patterns from books and the internet that I will ever be able to use.”

I’m glad I wrote it in the hypothetical because the truth is, like many quilters, I have a thing about buying fabric. For example, recently, the online quilting store, Thousands of Bolts and Only One Nut,” (yes, this is the name of the store)had a really good sale. See: http://www.thousandsofbolts.com/ if you don't believe it is really a store. I spent $167.00 (but that included shipping).

The box, designed to hold a half sheet cake, arrived on Thursday. I didn’t get around to opening it until Saturday.


Here it is, opened.


With some of the fabric spread out.


Check out Evelyn’s frou frou coat in the back ground!

Friday, I drove to West Virginia for a home visit. While I was in that neck of the woods, I stopped at Webfabrics, which is a brick and mortar AND online store in Virginia. They have great prices. I’ve ordered from them online, before, and it was nice to meet the ladies who actually work there. I kept my purchase to under $40.00.


Sadly, I’ve reached a point where I am on a first name basis with staff selling fabric online. In fact, I correspond through e-mail with several of the owners of quilt shops in Oklahoma. And Maryland. And why not? I may be one of their best customers.

About the only quilty thing I've done all weekend is load bobbins and clean my beloved Janome. I used my Sidewinder so that I could come downstairs and be with the family while loading the bobbins. The sidewinder has worked okay, so far. I hope this batch turns out.


Had an odd dream, last night. For the past 12 – 15 years, I’ve regularly noticed a very old Native American woman in my dreams, off to the side. In some of the dreams, I’ve attempted to speak to her but she does not answer. She doesn't make eye contact with me. The only time she has ever spoken to me in a dream was about 9 – 10 years ago. In the dream, she looked at me and said, “Here is a gift.” And in the dream, my husband (to be) was suddenly standing there, dressed all in red. (he looked a bit like a joker in a card deck). I'd met my husband at that time, but we weren’t an item. I always wondered if that was my subconscious at work. Probably.

Anyway, last night I dreamed of the old woman. This time, the dream was quite different. In the dream, she came to me, walking briskly. She took both my hands in hers, looked me hard in the eye and said, “You must abandon this place.”

Is my subconscious at work, again?

I hear Twilight Zone Music in the background…