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January 2024 | Use Your Stash

Happy New Year // Use Your Stash via PreQuilt Fabric Pulls

Hello 2024!

Hello there! It's hard to believe that we're already halfway through January! I find that with the new year comes a flurry of kickoffs - BOMs, quiltalongs, and resolutions. Are you joining any of the fun? Have you made any resolutions this year?

I don't tend to make resolutions anymore. This is mostly because I have found over the past years that I set myself up for failure by not having very realistic expectations, which isn't very self-loving, now is it? But I have started setting a goal or two for myself at the beginning of each year, somethings to work towards.

Last year, I wanted to become a runner. Hard to define, but to me, a runner is someone who WANTS to run. And for the most part, I think I met that goal somewhere in 2023. What really motivated me was that I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and the doc hit me with 30 minutes of HIIT cardio a day and less salt. I've found that running isn't very HIIT oriented, so I also jump the rope to get my heart rate looking like a stegosaurus. Also, geeking out about data has also helped (thank you Garmin & Strava).

This year, I'd like to use fabrics only from my stash. Why? All this fabric I have accumulated over the last 12+ years is starting to make me feel anxious. Can anyone else relate? Yes, I do feel a little guilty sometimes. And yes, I do have a very hard time using the precious fabrics. But mostly, something that brought me so much joy is starting to make me feel anxious and overwhelmed.

I can't use my stash though, if I don't know what's in it. Over the past few days I have been inventorying my fabric, which are mostly solids, and I now know what and how much of it I have. Yes, this was pretty taxing and overwhelming - but more importantly I feel empowered with a strong starting foundation of knowing what I have.

My favorite teacher at OCAD used to repeat to us -- "Hope is not a strategy." But now with an inventory and tools, I have both hope and a strategy. Here are my insights:

  1. Know what you have - Inventory your fabric.

  2. Limit your planning to what you have - Use PreQuilt's Fabric Pull feature!

  3. Improvise! - Use substitutions or make limitation a design feature.

I'll be documenting my making using my stash on my personal IG account (@commonwealthquilts), so if you're interested, please come join me there to see how I fare.

How to Create a Fabric Pull in PreQuilt

A Fabric Pull in PreQuilt is a collection of fabrics that is curated by you! This fabric pull can be composed of both solids and prints and can be pulled from any color card.

Once you have a fabric pull created in PreQuilt, you can then use it as a color card when previewing or randomizing in PreQuilt! This is a great way to limit your planning to what you have and I've already used my custom fabric pull (that reflects my fabric stash) multiple times this year. It's helping me feel empowered and optimistic that I'll be able to use what I have to make all the beautiful quilts.

01 | Create a Fabric Pull

  1. Click on the FABRIC PULL tab at the top of your dashboard.

  2. Click on Create Fabric Pull button.

  3. A pop-up window will appear.

    • The left box is where the preloaded solid color cards and your printed fabrics are viewable.

    • The right box will showcase the fabrics you are pulling. You can give this pull a name.

    • Note: You are not moving any fabric swatches, but rather just creating a digital representation of a group of fabrics.

  4. Select the fabric manufacturer from the dropdown menu. In this example, I'm pulling from Free Spirit.

  5. Click on all the color card swatches that you would like to add to your fabric pull.

    • Once selected, a copy of the color swatch will be added to your fabric pull in the right box. In this example, I added Cornflower.

  6. To add printed fabric swatches, click on the Fabrics tab and click on the Select button under your printed fabric swatch.

  7. Repeat steps 4-6 until all fabric swatches are added to the fabric pull. Once finished, click on the Save button.

  8. You can now see your new fabric pull on your Fabric Pull dashboard.

02 | Edit / Reorder a Fabric Pull

It's easy to delete, add, or reorder digital fabric swatches after you create one.

a | Delete a Fabric Swatch

  1. Click on the Edit Palette button for your fabric pull.

  2. Click on the toggle button so that it's set to 'Click to Delete'.

  3. Click on the swatches you want to delete. They will be removed.

  4. Once finished, click on the Save button once finished deleting swatches.

b | Add a Fabric Swatch

  1. Click on the Edit Palette button for your fabric pull.

  2. Select the fabric manufacturer from the dropdown menu. In this example, I'm pulling from Free Spirit.

  3. Click on all the swatches that you would like to add to your fabric pull.

  4. Repeat steps 2-3 until all fabric swatches are added to the fabric pull. Once finished, click on the Save button.

c | Reorder Fabric Swatches

  1. Click on the Edit Palette button for your fabric pull.

  2. Click on the toggle button so that it's set to 'Click and Drag to Reorder'.

  3. Click and hold on a swatch on your fabric pull and drag it to its new location.

  4. They are now reordered as desired.

  5. Once finished, click on the Save button.

03 | Use Fabric Pull in PreQuilt

There are 2 different ways you can use a custom fabric pull in PreQuilt:

  1. As a Collection Color Card

  2. Filtering for Randomizing

    1. In your own quilt

    2. On a digital coloring page

a | Collection Color Card

To view your fabric pull in PreQuilt, you can select it as a collection when editing a Fabric Link.

  1. Click on the FABRIC LINKS tab on the left side control panel.

  2. Click on the Edit button for the Fabric Link you would like to edit.

  3. A pop-up will slide in. Click on the dropdown menu for fabric collections and select your desired fabric pull (you will need to scroll to the bottom).

  4. Now only fabrics from my fabric pull are visible for selection and use.

b | Randomizing Your Quilt Design

You can limit what fabrics PreQuilt uses when it randomizes by assigning a specific fabric pull or fabric collection. This is a great feature for planning using only fabrics you have!

  1. Click on the RANDOMIZE tab on the left side control panel.

  3. Select Randomize using your Fabric Pull.

  4. A pop-up will open. Click on the Select button associated with your desired fabric pull/collection.

  5. Now, when you randomize fabrics, it will only use options available in the assigned fabric pull.

c | Randomizing on a Digital Coloring Page

You can also filter or limit the randomizer even when you're using a digital coloring page on PreQuilt.

  1. Go to the desired digital coloring page. In this example, I'm working on Shannon Fraser's Little Forest BOM coloring page.

  2. On the left side control panel, click on the Randomize using your Fabric Pull Kona button.

  3. A pop-up will open. Click on the Select button associated with your desired fabric pull/collection.

  5. This is my mockup in progress, using only the fabrics from my fabric stash.

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