Dear Keep it Thimble,
I inherited an armful of fabric from a local quilter who passed away and it has been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years. She had a tendency toward traditional fabrics and patterns; I don’t share that. I don’t know what to do with this. Keep it until I find a use for it? give it away? I am afraid that the minute I give it away I will find a use for it. And I feel badly since this fabric was a gift from her husband, who wanted other quilters to have it.
But I have little storage space and this stuff is taking up badly needed space…I favor bright colors, batiks, polka dots, not flowers. Any suggestions?
Susan
Hi Susan,
Thanks for writing. If you haven’t found a use for it yet, and you know you don’t really care for it, it’s unlikely you will find something to do with it in the next few years. Since it sounds like you can use the space, you want to explore ways you can either give away the fabric with a clear conscience, or at least swap it out for fabric that is more to your liking.
One idea would be have a fabric swap where you invite some friends over to swap out pieces from your stash. This doesn’t solve the storage issue, but maybe it will make it easier to part with the fabric that you aren’t too crazy about and be assured that this fabric is going home with someone who wants it and has a plan for it.
Another idea is to use the fabric to sew up some quilt for charity. There are always organizations that can use these quilts and this might be a nice use for the fabric since you don’t plan to use it for personal projects. Here’s a link to a list of charities you can check out:
http://www.quiltersworld.com/makeadifference.php
You could also donate the fabric to a local quilt guild. They can use it to make quilts for charity and will make sure it gets put to good use. Another option, less altruistic, is to have a quilter’s yard sale to get rid of the fabric. I’ve done this twice in the past and have had great success. Depending on the quality and age of the fabric, you could get $2 – $5 yard, which can add up quickly.
Hope this helps. Keep it thimble!
Heather
Keep it Thimble 
You could become a horder and get your own TV show
Haha, that’s a good one!
HI, you gave me some Spongebob fabric a couple of years ago, when you had a yard sale.
I used it to make quilts to donate to Margaret’s Hope Chest.
I still have a bit to make maybe one more.
MHC could use some fabric donations,
http://margaretshopechest.blogspot.com/
scroll down to October 9th, there’s an address to send fabrics to.
First read the latest post, it will make you glad to donate!
Yes, I remember you! Thanks for the link, good to know. I actually have some stuff that I will try to get in the mail to her.
What about creating a few soft toys ? You can also used them as UNDER fabric when sewing log cabins patchwork.
That’s a good idea too! I like the idea of using it as under fabric or backing fabric.