But Its Only Cloth.

Help! I need a twelve step program. I am addicted to fabric. I have stacks of Rubbermaid containers filled with my goods. Sometimes I take my cloth out and rearrange it and plan projects. “This pile of flannel I will make into a quilt. This pile of cotton I will save for a patchwork skirt.” Then I put my material away, rubbing my hands together, saying, “It’s mine, all mine.”

I was at a rummage sale last weekend and found the best deal - a whole bag of fabric for fifty cents. Sure, it was already cut into pieces for someone else’s project, but hey, I can do something with it, right?

You should have seen me last year when the quilting store in town went out of business. I got a whole tote of various cloth in various shapes and sizes for ten bucks. Of course, when I make such a score, I have to wash and dry it and then iron it.

That’s when I realized the other night that I might have a problem. As I was ironing this entire armful of material, my upper right arm down to my elbow started screaming in pain. Perhaps this obsession has contributed to my frozen shoulder. Maybe I even had an ironing injury that I forgot about that started that whole thing. I switched the iron to my left hand.

Another sign that I may have a problem is that I sneak my purchases into the house so that my husband doesn’t know how bad it is. And I tell him I just have to run to Wal-mart for shampoo, but I really run to JoAnn Fabrics.

I have thought about taking a quilting class to maybe use up some of my fabric, but wouldn’t that be like sending an alcoholic to a wine tasting class? Would it feed my addiction? Or would I be kicked out? “What do you mean I only get one glass of wine?” “What do you mean I can only use three different fabrics on this project?”

Plus, then some of my material would be used up and I would just have to buy more. So what would be the point of actually sewing something?

OK this is something I must do for myself.

Step 1 - I admit that I have become powerless over fabric - my life has become unmanageable because of it.

Step 2- I believe that only my Higher Power can -

Hold it! Isn’t there a sale at JoAnn Fabrics this weekend? I gotta go.