Addictions

I sit here shaking my head and trying to figure out if quilting has become an addiction for me. New ideas for quilts keep popping up for me to create, and I jump right in! I didn't know it was an addiction until I tried to stop. I can't stop. I don't want to stop. 

One suggestion I made for the huge, huge quilting group on Facebook was to offer a BOM opportunity for folks who have liked it, are following it, and yet are not involved in the monthly swaps. This way, they can be a part of the community and keep their work. Swapping is a huge commitment. Yet, quilters are just people who want to belong, want feedback and want inspiration.

Others who were also discussing the Facebook group, liked the BOM concept and came up with an idea of a 12-block sampler that is easy, and takes 10 Fat Quarters to do the blocks. I pulled out eight FQs from my stash that coordinate nicely in reds, and raced downtown to buy two more FQs (red with black dots and the green & red print). 

Then, when I came home, I pulled the light green FQ to go with the larger print and put more in contrast for the blocks. I am already thinking I might like to get more of that wild print and use it for a border. They haven't given all the fabric requirements yet but buying it while it is in the store makes a lot of sense to me. I want to be sure it will be used in this quilt and not become "stash". The colors excite me, and the reds batiks came to me as a Secret Santa gift.

I had an extremely great conversation tonight with my Cuz in Alaska about addictions, and know that everyone has one or more of them. What happens when a person has an addiction is probably different for each of us.

If quilting is one of mine, it stays pretty much in control. Many quilters buy larger amounts of fabric and build up stash. As it is, my bins take up more than enough space. I am way too practical to over-buy.

Quilting IS an expensive art. I have learned to buy good quality fabric just because buying cheap fabric, and putting all this work into it makes no sense. I have also learned that having good tools makes it easier to work with projects, like sharp needles and pins, fine seam rippers and good rotary blades. However, I have calculated the cost difference between buying a very expensive sewing machine vs. a cheaper one. You can buy an inexpensive machine that costs $.27 a day for its expected life of 5 years vs. a more expensive model that will use up over $9 a day. 

I don't just lay my money down without thinking.

I tried giving myself a fabric budget, and that worked until I left home and got in the car. By the time I got to the fabric store (less than 2 miles away), I had forgotten how much I was going to spend and bought what I wanted. While I used to keep receipts in the early days to know the cost of a quilt, they get tossed. If you have to ask how much it costs, then you probably cannot afford it anyway.

Historically, addiction was a term used to describe an individual's devotion, attachment, dedication and inclination to something outside themselves. Now it is considered more a recurring & uncontrolled compulsion to engage in specific activities despite harmful consequences to health, personal life style and damage to others.

I think what I do could come close. There is a reward for me in quilting. And I monitor the work close enough so that I don't have to experience withdrawals when something interferes. Yet....