Epic Fail - Fabriholics Anonymous February Check In

It has been time to check in for my Fabric Diet for over a week, and I've been avoiding it.  Why?  Because I was naughty of course!

It all started innocently enough (doesn't it always).  My first purchase in February was to get some more of the fabric I needed to sash my Wee Wander quilts.  I had originally ordered only 1/2 yard of each, and I think I needed 1 & 1/3 yards total to sash and use for the binding.  So I ordered just what I needed and left it at that.  No harm done, right?  I NEEDED the fabric to finish.

Next up came a totally spontaneous purchase.  I BLAME Katie!  Yeah, I'm pointing a finger!  (I think they call that "transference of guilt" or something like that.)  As if posting about all her marvelous finds during the Instagram destash wasn't enough, she alerted me to Missouri Star Quilt Co.'s daily deal one day on Carolyn Friedlander's Botanics charm pack.  It was just a little charm pack.  That barely counts as breaking a diet right?  I mean it is like popping one little chocolate chip in your mouth when you are staring down a huge bowl of cookie dough.  Totally doesn't count.

Turns out, that was just a pin hole leak in the Hoover Dam.  I don't remember when exactly it happened, but getting those packages in the mail was pure bliss.  Now, I have admitted in the past that my ordering is emotionally based and normally occurs when I am stressed or lonely.  I don't know if subconsciously I was feeling lonely not getting squishy mail from all the bees I didn't participate in this quarter or what, but I got those packages and went a little crazy.

I started with fabrics I "needed" to finish my 4th of July quilt (reds and white/black).  Then I remember how I totally lacked "light" fabrics when I made that block using the Scrapitude instructions, so I added some low volume and some white on white and cream on creams - you know for future use.  Then I browsed through some of the other colors that my stash is low on.  I'm sure you've heard similar stories before, right?

It doesn't look so bad when it is all folded and organized, or does it?

To make matters worse, I got a little excited when I hit a few "Jackpots", where Fabric.com gives you the end of the bolt.  I have no idea how they decide who gets it and how much.  Usually I just get a few extra inches, but with this black & white polka dot fabric it ended up being just shy of a 1/2 yard extra???

I hit 5 jackpots with my order, and I was so hyped that I started thinking about all the backing I forgot to order.  I made a list and ordered away.  Terrible.  Hopefully the arrival of that package will not cause another lapse.

So bottom line - EPIC FAIL on the diet.

I'm just not perfect.  I will try again next month.

Jen

January Check-In -- Fabriholics Anonymous

Time to check in.  January is almost over, and I am happy to report that I haven't purchased any fabric.   It has been extremely difficult for me, especially during this trip.  I have pinpointed my weak spots - loneliness and boredom. I tend to buy when I am alone at night after the kids have gone to bed and when my DH is travelling.  I miss him and don't have him there as a distraction from the buy now button.

And wasn't the Great De-stash on Instagram a pain?  For those of you with the willpower and fortitude to actually just de-stash and not buy, all the power too you.  I don't have that discipline, and was sorely tempted every time I opened Instagram.  I had to turn it off to survive.

While on my trip, I have really struggled too.  My body has clung to West Coast time and after I leave Gram and go to my room, I am up for hours trying to make myself sleepy and what am I doing?  Surfing the internet of course.  I try really hard to stay away from the actual online fabric store sites, but catching up on my blog reading is almost as bad since many people are sharing their latest purchases or projects with new, fabulous fabric.  I've also been making mental lists of all the projects I want to get started on when I get home, some of which may need some supplemental fabric (or not).  I am literally starting to twitch a bit thinking about it.

Then of course, there is the fact that I am a total CHEATER.  I pre-ordered some fabric back in November, before I signed up for this challenge, and it arrived the day before I left.  Lovely, new, beautiful fabric that I can't wait to cut into when I return.  I am hoping that the promise of doing just that will help me make it a few more days.

Ahhhhhhh! (twitch, twitch)  If you are imagining me sitting at the computer twitching and gnawing at my fingers as if to free them from an invisible trap enclosing them, you might be accurate.

In other news, I have also managed not to buy any more Craftsy classes, and have even been watching some of the ones I already have late at night while I try to settle down.

Thanks for reading,

Jen