Spending Habits of the Dedicated Quilter

I've put together an infographic that I'd like to share with you today - it's all about quilters and the money we spend. I've got a few thoughts at the end of the post, and would like you to share yours, too! I know it's not popular to talk about personal finances, but we can always talk in generalities.

When I first looked at some of these statistics, I was really shocked. I consider myself a dedicated quilter, but $2,422 a year? Wow, that was a lot. How much did I spend in the past year?

Oh.

I spent over that. I mean, partly because I bought a new sewing machine. But still! Wow. It was definitely a wake-up call.

I don't know if that's too much, but it still called for an evaluation - how much should I spend every month? Should I have a fixed monthly budget? Or should it be a rougher, yearly budget, so I have more flexibility depending on what kind of projects I'm making?

I was also interested in the $600 number (minimum amount to spend a year to be considered a "dedicated quilter"). I'm guessing this could allow for about 2 - 6 quilts, depending on size and complexity of pattern (a pattern with more seams requires more fabric and thus costs more). I think one could spend less money and still be a dedicated quilter. For example, if you were making a single, extremely complex quilt that you spent a whole year on - like the Jane Stickle quilt - you would only need to buy supplies for one quilt that year, while still putting in a lot of hours. However, if someone was spending over $600 a year and barely spending any time quilting, I'd suspect they were simply hoarding fabric. Ha.

I also thought it was really interesting to see a dollar amount put on a thread stash. I have no idea how much my stash is worth, and had never even thought about it before. It's definitely an investment, though!

It makes you think - if your house was burned down in a fire, and all of your items with it, how much money would it take to replace just your sewing stuff? According to this, it would probably be above $10,000! Crazy!!

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So, what stuck out to you from this information? How many of you have a budget? Are you strict about it? Do you spend around the average amount of $2,422 per year? Do you think you might have $10,000+ of quilting stuff in your sewing room? Food for thought!