Some may recall that some time back I asked for sites for historic costumes sites for a friend with a husband with a terminal condition and who was doing a fashion design course. Sadly my friend has had to give up the course but through her I met a lovely young Canadian woman who was also on the course.
Before my friend gave up, she asked if I would be the dressmaker's dummy for both of them so they could do pattern fitting on me and then make outfits for me as a part of the course work. The request was framed in terms of, "we want someone who doesn't have a perfect figure!". With such an invite, how could I refuse?
Anyway, to cut a long story shorter, my friend told me I had to dig our ALL of my stash and sort it as she and the Canadian girl would descend on me to pick suitable fabric to make the 3 outfits.
I was somewhat dismayed by this request as some of my stash I probably haven't seen for at least 15 years. When the Canadian girl asked me how I currently had it sorted, I told her that it was 'archaeological'.
What a job! Before I could get to the stash, I had to clean up the sewing room. I found the floor! I vacuumed. I moved in a bookcase. I filed all my books. I can now put my spinning wheels in my sewing room and my lace pillows. Then I got to the stash. How embarrassing! So much fabric (but thanksfully no moths or insects).
It took me AGES but eventually I laid it all out in the spare bedroom in a rough order Knits/woven/fleece/denim/lining/rib trim. Wovens in the order of linen/wool/cotton/silk. And then they descended, laughed and giggled, mauled and tugged. Finally the choice of jacket fabric was made (a hot pink silk with matching lining), and the pants and top are to be a white heavy weight linen.
But THE best thing is that I now have some order in the stash. I have it sorted into colour groups, got the husband to buy enough plastic bins today to put it into and have now been loading the bins up with the fabric that has already been washed and is ready to sew. The fabric that needs washing is gradually being overlocked (if needed) and going thorugh the washer. And what a day for fabric drying! It's blowing a gale of hot air and by the time I had hung out the last piece of fabric from the last load, the fabric which was hung out second to last and third to last were both already dry (synthetic wovens).
I'm now as happy as a pig in a good wallow of mud. What a feeling of achievement.