Today I was teaching a workshop.  Minding my own business, as usual.  Staying out of trouble, as usual.  Not even thinking about buying fabric, as usual.  Suddenly and without warning, someone pulled this fleur de lis fabric out:

Chad loves anything fleur de lis.  I love anything Louisiana.  I was thinking . . I should get some of that fabric but I’m here . . I’m teaching a workshop . . I cannot leave this room.  Then before I could grasp what was happening, one girl said “I’m leaving! I have to go to the quilt shop and get some fabric.  I’ll be back!”  And then another said “Oh, they’re not making any more of this fabric and the quilt shop was lucky to get 8 bolts of it while it was available.”  And then . . before I could stop myself, I had my phone in my hand, my credit card in the other hand and I said “Does anyone have the number for the quilt shop?”  15 voices shouted the number in unison!  They all knew it! I called.  I said “If I give you my credit card number, will you send 6 yards of the fleur de lis fabric with the lady who’s coming from the workshop?”  And they said yes and . . that’s how I came home today with 6 yards of fabric.

I sent Chad a picture of the fabric and his response was “Get it please!”  Got it!

Oh, those quilting friends .. they lead me into temptation and catch me at a weak moment and when I’m being so nice and agreeable, they steer me right into a quilt shop!  First thing you know, I have an armload of bolts of fabric and I hear someone, who sounds a lot like me . . saying I’ll take 3 yards of this, 5 yards of that and what’s left on the bolt of this, this, and this! And, then I say OH MY GOODNESS!  What have I done?  Do I have to be honest?  Does this have to go on my stash report? And through the jeers and laughter, I hear a resounding  yes!  It must be reported.

Sorry about the picture quality.  Phone camera and hotel lighting.  It was fun though . . and I’m not sorry . . not til time for the stash report on Sunday . . then I’ll be sorry!

The greens!  They started the whole buying binge.  Three Dimples for my new Dimple obsession; three that aren’t dimples.  See the one in the middle of the front row .. the kind of limey Dimples.  Oh, I love that fabric!

The stashbusting effort for 2009 is just plain history!  Since I always have to blame someone besides myself, I would like to blame it on AQS (American Quilter’s Society).  They’re my publisher and since my next book is in their hands, I shouldn’t blame them but I did read this blog post but unfortunately, it was after I’d bought fabric . . lots of fabric.

As honest as I try to be, if ever I weren’t going to be honest, this is that time.  You don’t know how tempted I have been to just pretend it didn’t happen and never report it.  Can’t do it though.  I will report it on Sunday . . every blasted yard of it.

In my own defense, because I know no one else is going to defend me . . I was tired of never having the right white because those Itty Bitty Pretty Ditty or whatever that Lakehouse dot is called . . it isn’t going to last forever.  I’ve made 3 or 4 quilts with it and I’m starting to sweat when I look at the little bit of it that’s left.  So I got plenty of white and I got plenty of ecru.  And, I never have the right shade of purple.  Everything I have is too pink or too blue or too red so I bought enough purple that if I don’t have the right shade, then darn it . . the right shade doesn’t exist!  And, green! You know how much green I have but everything seems to be lime green or olive green.  I had nothing (well . . almost nothing) that’s grass green or Christmas green.  And, all my reds were the wrong shade of red.  No clear red.  No Christmas red.  And blues . . I have lots of light blue and aquaish blue but really no navy or royal.

As of today, I think I have plenty of white on white, ecru on ecru, purples, greens, reds, blues.  Oh, my . . I blew it!  I really blew it.

Please don’t try to distract me because I’ll be in the sewing room til December 31 trying my best to at least end the year with a positive number.