I leave tomorrow for Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA. We all know what that means, two and a half days of strolling through a magnificent quilt show and shopping 'til I drop in the vendor's mall! I've vowed this year to not make any impulsive purchases and confine my shopping to the "window" variety, there's certainly nothing that I can't live without. Famous last words, right? That leads me to this week's question:What is the one quilt or sewing related purchase that has been your greatest single source of "buyer's remorse"?
For me, it happened over ten years ago. After my daughter graduated from college I drove, with my parents, from Auburn AL to their home in New England. We stopped at a quilt shop in Staunton, VA, Rachel's Quilt Patch, along the way; where I fell in love, instantly, with a wallhanging that was being offered in a block of the month format ( here's the kicker...with fabric included) by mail order. At that time I was living in Europe and it's not that I didn't realize there would be a price differential for postage but I gave them my credit card information anyway and was added to the auto-ship mailing list! "Woo-hoo" quickly turned into "boo-hoo" when those credit card postings began adding up; big time. I have all of the kits (15), stacked in order, and I still love the wallhanging, but I've only managed to complete one block since the summer of 1998! I know that I need to turn my attention to this project again, I certainly have enough invested in it, but I'm at an impasse. To make matters worse, a few years ago the entire series was compiled and published in book form, which means that I have spent roughly twelve times the cost of that book and I've done next to nothing with it. Oh, yeah... I do have the fabric though... ouch!
...and sew, "let's talk"...
Life is Good!
Life is Good!
20 comments:
I have several projects that I've since had buyer's remorse for, but the one that gets to me the most is the Square in a Square system that I bought at the Road2Cali Quilt show in 2008. I knew at the time that I couldn't wrap my "pea" brain around it, you know teach an old dog new tricks and all, but I just had to have it. I have used some of the fabrics in other projects so that's good, right?
I might just throw those books and rulers out and get over it...lol
I bought 2 bolts of terrible, ugly, off grain fabric-2 bolts! After 4 years, I had just shoved them father and farther back in my sewing cubby. So I finally donated them. I hate even thinking about the amount of nice stuff I could have bought.
Have fun at the quilt show :)
My Number One Buyer's Remorse Moment: "Moonglow". (Salem Stitcher just laughted out loud.) I bought the kit, over $200 probably 9-10 years ago. I have to say, the sales pitch was great and I bought it, hook, line & sinker. Brought it home, showed the pic to DH and he did not care for it at all. I actually made two of the blocks, but have recently liberated some of the fabric and used it in another, much happier project. I am proud to say that I will never, never, ever regret NOT doing Moonglow!
Kits. I have 3 of them stashed, I believe. It used to be 4, but I gave one of the applique kits to my SIL. You know the ones: pre-printed on whole cloth with the pre-printed appliques included. After I realized it consisted of poly/cotton I lost all enthusiasm. Even tho I got them at a reduced price ($75.00 reduced to $25) I still have buyer's remorse.
Have a great trip!
I can't think of any quilt related buyer's remorse at the moment.... except maybe I have too many quilt books and should not have bought that last one. But that doesn't count since I'm a book collector. :-)
My buyer's remorse centers on fabric(s)... purchases made when I fell into the "I want to be like her" mode and purchased a slew of something(s) that another quilter had worked magic with, only to come to my senses later and realize that it was completely wrong for ME. I've managed to liberate most of these through swaps, donations, and scrappy quilts... and I'm trying hard to honor what I've learned and resist those impulsive responses... but there are still a few more to work through before I'm out from under.
Buying everything on the list for an embellished clothing class. I felt like a pack horse going into the room...what was I thinking. There was no way we could have used even half the stuff in a half day class! There were beads, buttons, gauzey stuff, stamps, silk, shiny iron-on-stuff, stuff that went puffy and stuff that just glittered (so me?!) Anyway, it all stayed in the same bag I left the class with for two moves until I found a teenager to gift it all to....all that money in plain old cotton would have made a half dozen quilt tops!
Fabrics at a great price wrapped all pretty. I fell for 'em. Two years later I opened them up only to find the fabric was 3rd Rate with lines and runs in it.
Oh, and a kit with Dark blues that I love but it requires hand work and I guess I fell out of love there...
Wasteful? Well, I can still be wasteful but I'd rather do that in the confines of my own LQS where I at least know the quality is solid.
Wow, I have a similar story. i bought a BOM of Thimbleberries and have done one or two of the blocks and now they are just sitting around waiting for me to work with them. the sad part is that I don't really like them anymore. *sigh*
I really can't think of any...and I have a decent sized stash (which in the early days I swore I would not do - HA!).
I tend to buy fat quarters to satisfy the lure of fabric pheremones, 1/2 to 1 yards if I like it more and maybe 2 yards if I love it, so it has stayed at a manageable level. And I love the tools I have bought.
I do regret snapping my 24" ruler in half not realizing it was sticking sideways out of my wheeled cart as I pulled it past the car...
Before I started looking at everyone's comments, there was one thing that came to mind... "Moon Glow"...then I read Laura's comment and yes, I laughed out loud. She knows me well. We both bought the sales pitch. I've been slower to liberate mine though.
I have 2, one was some fat quarters that I purchased at the Va. Quilt Show a few years ago....WHY, you ask? Well, not a one of them was a true fat quarter. Not even close. SO, now, unless I buy from a Quilt shop that I know WELL, or watch them being cut, I just don't buy them. Of course I would like to have given the booth the benefit of the doubt, but every single one of them was way short..Lesson learned...There was 14 of them.
Also, I signed up and paid for a class a few weeks back and then couldn't attend ( MY fault) but I feel as though I threw that money away and now I have decided never to make plans like that again. I do want to make it clear to everyone, all of this was my doing, but none the less its very frusterating. I will be more careful from now on.
HI Ladies,
I have a couple of kits just sitting around that should get made up but usually I only like to make my own fabric choices so I am not sure why I bought the kits except I did really like the designs and fabrics- Maybe some day I will get them made.LOL
Is the Moonglow kit- the Jinny beyer one? I remember seeing her kits and admiring that pattern so much ... but decided that it might be complicated to make.
I have a few rulers that I own that I am not sure why I bought them but I think that happens sometimes..
And I am sure that I have fabric
in my stash that if I looked at it now I might wonder why I bought it - was I crazy or what - Mostly I love my stash though...
Happy quilting,
Regards,
Anna
Buyers remorse is an interesting concept! I'm "blessed" with the ability to forget some of my purchases! Until I look in the bins and then I can hyperventilate. But the Moonglow responses reminded me that I too had that entire (unfinished) kit. If anyone from my past is challenged with the concept of regifting (repatterning) for a donation quilt .... I have a donation to contribute. Talk to you soon!
I bought a kit at a quilt show. The sample was fabulous and I had birthday money burning a hole in my pocket.
When I got home, I couldn't figure out the pattern instructions and the fabrics were of such poor quality.
The whole thing languished in the back of the cabinet until last year when I finally tossed the pattern and took the fabrics to goodwill.
My biggest remorse was also a kit. I purchased it on a whim during a quilt shop hop. I guess I got caught up in the moment and thought it was so cute that I just had to have it. It just isn't my taste anymore--I'm not sure that it ever was!:) I still have it nice and secure in the bag. Maybe someday?
I know it is now Wednesday, but I just have to ask - what is it about the Moonglow kit? I think the picture is absolutely gorgeous and I have wanted to buy it for a looong time ... but now I'm thinking that spending my pennies (LOTS and LOTS of pennies)would not be a good thing.
I think my biggest regret..was buying really crummy fabric..when I was less experienced. And being stuck with it still in my stash...cause I can't throw away even ...crummy fabric! What to do with it???
After several comments on the Moonglow kit, I looked it up on ebay and don't you know, those kits are still being sold for somewhere around $200? So, maybe those of you who still have the whole kit could try to sell them that way but for less. Then you would have money to spend on other fabric or kits. Maybe?
My buyer's remorse is a set of patterns for Charlie Kissed Me Quilt that does not have the story with it. Oh well ....
My buyers remorse is for buying to many books. I would see one pattern in the book and buy it. I have quit doing that though.
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