Is Grandma Spinning in Her Grave?

As I was folding fat quarters and putting them in my new Missouri Star Quilt Company storage bags, I got to thinking about the fabric used in quilts. In Grandma's day, they quilted from scraps. Bits and pieces left over from making clothing or better yet clothing that had out lived it usefulness. I was sitting folding this beautiful fabric and the thought occurred to me what pretty curtains and pillows this piece would make. Another piece would be gorgeous in a dress or skirt.

I wonder if fabric designers think about what it will be used for when they design fabric. I know there are a few of us garment makers out there still but I believe the majority of people buying fabric do so for quilts. I wonder what those statistics really are.

My great grandmother, grandmother or even mother would have bought this beautiful fabric for an article of clothing. I bought it to put in a quilt. I wonder if they are turning over in their graves at the thought of me cutting up that fabric into little pieces. They are probably stunned at the wastefulness of my hobby.

A few years back I was buying fabric to teach my oldest daughter (now 32) to sew. We had picked out the pattern and the fabric. When it came time for the clerk to cut the white fabric for the collar, I asked for 2 yards more than we needed for the pattern. My daughter was confused. I had just shown her how to determine what she needed and now I was asking for a lot more. In answer to her confused question, I stated I always buy extra white so I have it for quilts. I think she was 10 at the time and eager to be making her own dress, so I didn't have to make sense.

Here it is years later and I rarely sew garments anymore. I do however buy lots of fabric, mostly for quilting. Oh don't get me wrong if I see fabric at the right price that I think will make a great skirt or dress I will buy it in sufficient quantity to make such an article. But nowadays, I am so overweight that I don't enjoy sewing for myself. My 2 daughters that are still at home are trim but they get really particular about the fabric they want for their clothes. It becomes a battle to just pick out the fabric. I rarely sew for them. So now my stash consists of mainly smaller cuts for quilting. At least one of the daughters at home does like to quilt so she benefits from my stash.

I do have a daughter that sews clothes. She lives in Nevada and well she sews for her baby daughter. I should probably send her some of the larger cuts from my stash. Maybe we could make a deal where she sends me back the scraps? That might help keep my grandmothers and great grandmothers from spinning in their graves each time I cut a large piece of fabric up for quilts. One can hope.