Thoughts on The Stash

 It is Jan 4th. My husband is gone for the day so Sophie (the poodle) and I are having a quite day together...or rather her day is quiet. I am cleaning out my sewing studio. These hours  gave me an opportunity to do some self reflection. The beginning of a new year is when many of us think about the opportunities taken...and missed, the work completed and that on the horizon. In my case there has been a  tabulation of the massive quantities of Christmas goodies that have made me aware of my waistband. (thanks Mom for the cinnamon sticks cookies, thanks Dexter for the fruitcake, thanks Arlene for the Aussie Butter Cookies, thanks Kris for the Sally Lunn bread, etc.)
 Anyway, my studio contains a large number of plastic bins of various sizes. They hold button collections, pattern collections, tailoring supplies, interfacing, etc. Dusting and organizing these bins was really quite pleasant. I had the opportunity to "miser" some of my valuable (at least to me) goodies. It was when I got to the bins of fabric that I did some soul searching.

 I can't think of one sewist that I know that doesn't have a stash of fabric. It is so universal that we all know the word stash. I did find one piece of fabric today that caused me to think about the wisdom of buying fabric futures.

This is a piece of silk that I bought in approximately 1983 at a fabric store in Berkley, CA. called Stone Mountain and Daughter. (I just Googled them and I am happy to say that they are still there: http://www.stonemountainfabric.com/). I only contributed to their bottom line that one time, so I am glad that other people continue to support them!
 I fell in love with the fabric, and it was quite expensive, but I bought it gleefully. Since 1983 I have had many sewing rooms/studios/shops, and they have been mucked out on sort of a regular basis, so for  30 years I have had the opportunity to think about my desision to buy this silk.  The first few years that I didn't make anything from it I told myself that I was waiting for some special occasion. Most of my special occasions then revolved around boating, and these were not the kind of functions that required silk.
 Some years after that I decided that I would surely make a mother of the bride dress for myself when the time came. It turned out that when my oldest daughter married I was so busy that I purchased a dress to wear, and when my youngest daughter married a few months ago the fabric wasn't right for a number of reasons!
 I hate to say it, but the past few times that I have come across this fabric I think "piano bench". Yep, for some reason I see it covering the cushion of a piano bench. My grandchildren play piano, but I feel quite sure that they would not fully appreciate the "preciousness" of the fabric.
  There have been many other misguided fabric purchases over the years that were disposed of without much ceremony. This piece held promise for me, and I still marvel at it's beauty. I am in the acceptance phase. A special occasion may still present itself; say when my grandson plays a piano concert at Carnegie Hall....or maybe some day one of my daughters will find it in my stash, like it, and add it to her stash. That would be nice...