Expanding the Stash

I have been avoiding something for years. Quilting. Not because I'm afraid I won't like it or that I won't be good at it, but because of the stash of fabric I am sure will come with it.

Over my years as a knitter I have enjoyed maintaining a stash of yarn that inspires me to create. I can go there and find wonderful materials which inspire me. This positive outlook on my stash has only come about recently when I realized that my stash is not out of control and that I enjoy having it.

However, this isn’t to say I’m fearless about it. I have been afraid of my stash suddenly growing to proportions beyond my control. As if I would go to a convention, come back with yarn, and have no where to put it. This fear, whether rational as a practice of managing my possessions or irrational as if my stash was suddenly going to gain Harry(from the-panopticon blog)-like sentience, has prevented me from exploring the realms of crafts outside of knitting.

My sister does not have this fear. She consistently is making astounding pieces of art in various crafts as well as taking art classes to further her skills. Her papercut art, for example, is exquisite. This is one of my favorites from her Create 400 (birds) blog.

I aspire to her kind of exploratory nature, of listening to the call that comes from within to create, to make with my hands.

As I have come to curate my yarn stash as an asset I have also become more willing to create another stash pile. One for fabric.

I have admired quilting from a distance for some time, but have avoided actively exploring it. I think a part of me knew if I got too close I would dive in immediately. I have never perused the quilt books that are ever so close to the knitting books on the library shelf, never stared at quilting fabrics, and never perused quilting blogs.

 

But I’ve finally done it. I’m taking a quilting class. By the end of the class, I’ll have made a baby blanket sized quilt. I have explored two quilting fabric stores and enjoyed the same planning process of choosing materials that I also enjoy when planning a knitting project.

 

I’ve only been to two classes so far; yet, I already created a Quilting Pinterest board where I am saving pictures of inspirational quilts and tutorials. I’ve been reading quilting blogs. Searching for fabric on Etsy. I can feel the call of creativity in this new to me craft. And I think I can find some space next to my yarn stash for some fabric.