Saturday, May 12, 2012

The point system

I am a woman motivated by incentives. Plus, as a librarian, I like to categorize and sort things. This started at a very young age, when I divided up my Grandpa's rock collection by color and subdivided by size until everything was sorted out and assigned (not joking) a Family and Species name that I had made up.

When facing my fabric stash I knew that I could not sew just for the sake of working down my fabric stash. I knew that I couldn't even just sew for the sake of becoming a better seamstress.There had to be a built in reward system. I had to get something for all my hard work. And on another level I wanted to improve my fabric stash. It is filled with a mish mash of quilting fabric, scraps from SCRAP, upholstery weight, flannel, fake fur (!!!), oil cloth . . . the list goes on. However, if I wanted to make a solid color dress or really a solid color anything I would have the choice of a yard of red cotton poly blend or that black heavy wool coating I got super cheap to make a cape out of. Yes, a cape. This was before capes were cool.

My first idea was to get 52 projects/yards out of my stash. Why 52? I was thinking that 1 a week was a decent goal and that I would take a year with this project. At every quarter or 13 projects/yards I would get a reward of some sort like a pattern or fabric. This was a good idea, but I realized was a little like binge dieting. I might get the first wave of fabric out of my stash, but then what? Would I just gain it all back?

I knew I needed something sustainable, so I decided that for every 20 points I will get a reward. This way I would be motivated to keep sewing, to up the ante, to explore and not just acquire. My hope is that this will help me grow as a seamstress, build pieces that I am excited about into my wardrobe and have a reasonable, usable stash at some point.

Points are defined as follows:
  • Any project that uses under 2 yards of fabric=1 point. I figure the projects that take under a yard will balance out with those that take just over or close to 2 yards. No fractions in this area.
  • Projects over 2 yards = 2pts + actual yardage over 2 yards in half yard increments (rounded in mathematical terms). This is not as convoluted as it sounds. A project that takes 2.25 would get 2 points, a project that takes 2.75 yards would get 3pts, but a project somewhere in the middle of those numbers would get 2.5. Again, it would all balance out at some point.
  • Mending, alterations, redesigns=1 point for each project that gets out of my sewing space and into my wardrobe.
  • Donated fabric=Half of actual yardage in points. For example, two yards given away would equal one point. This will encourage me to use fabric rather than dump it, but also encourage me to part with fabric that I know that I am not going to use. I will have to have a substantial amount to give away at once to make it worth it.
I will likely reference this system from time to time when I am posting about projects, but at 20 point markers I will post an accounting along with the reward. Coming soon . . .

1 comment:

  1. That's such a wonderful idea! I might have to do that with my yarn. It's the whole satisfaction of checking things of lists that makes it more official and gratifying.

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