The REST of my personal stash

So ... when I showed you the stash I kept a month ago, those were only my RECENT acquisitions. Today I bite the bullet and dive into these last 4 boxes full of old stuff that came out of my scary closet ...

And as long as I'm working on things I can't show you yet, you have to put up with me sharing my organizing and cleaning up.

There are many things that I need to deal with in this closet, but to do that I need space! So the process begins.

First these things I will be donating to the theater department at my local Community College.  My mother designed and ran the costume shop at a Community College for years and was always grateful for fabrics. I really do try not to give them junk or pieces too small to be of any use.

Looking at this pile reminds me that I used to really like brown. That was before I started having a lot of grey hair.  I just don't think brown looks good on me anymore.

Now for what I'm keeping.  These are two pieces that I love, but really would only be good for a costume. The stripe is silk, the brocade cotton and rayon, I think. There is enough to make a renaissance gown.  Not sure when that might happen, but I really to like these fabrics. And remember that is my criteria.

I'm only keeping 3 of the cotton prints. The two on the left because I love them and the University of Maryland one because my husband, one of my sons and I am affiliated with the University and it might come in handy for something.

These will be stored with the stash here, I organized last month.  I'm keeping all the fabrics I want to use for personal projects on a shelf I will look at frequently. (out of sight, out of mind) The shelf below is where I store all the working copies of my Simplicity pattern projects, so I'm in and out of this part of the closet frequently.

I'm keeping these. Onethe left is black and off white dull polyester satin and on the right is three colors of raw silk.  I have no idea for any of this yet, but they are all good fabrics.

LOOK what I found at the bottom of one of the boxes.  We spent a month in Munich 16 or 17 years ago. You all know I found my Swedish roots this last summer. But, I found my German roots in Munich all those years ago and brought back materials and patterns to my myself and my sister dirndls.

I have this silk brocade and fringed scarf left.  It was very fashionable to wear a fringed scarf around your shoulders when wearing an evening dirndl out to the theater in the 90's.  The German dirndl is interesting because it isn't a national costume that is frozen in time. It changes right along with contemporary fashion. The hems go up and down as do the colors, sleeve and collar change. All the while staying a dirndl. So interesting.

I also have these FUN man and woman buttons ...

and lacing hooks. These get sewn to the front of a dirndl bodice so it can be laced closed.

This is some beautiful fabric I cannot give away. The embellished border lace was given to me by my mother about 15 years ago when I was still singing in local concerts. I needed evening gowns (very fun!), so she gave this to me, but I never made it up.  So, it will be for someone some day. I love it too much to not keep it.

This is my collection of what's left of a bunch of hand woven fabric from Egypt, Thailand and Guatemala. There is one 3 yard piece left. BUT, this hand woven fabric is so beautiful.  I want to patch all the scraps together to make something ... a pillow? an artsy top?  Don't know yet.

This is what's left. Four pieces of fabric I put on the shelf I look at everyday.  The beautiful silks and dressy fabrics are in these boxes and I've carefully labeled what's up there so I don't forget.

I'm starting to get addicted to the wonderful light feeling I get every time I clear out another section in my house. But, I've got to get back on that project I can't show you yet.