Spotlight treasure plus Fabric Locker iPhone App

There's not much that makes me happier than kittens, but a recent surprising discovery at Spotlight completely made my day - it was equivalent to a 4-kitten rating. You know you're truly a fabric tragic when you find a fabric that makes you want to turn cartwheels you're so excited to find it.
This will eventually become a Lisette Traveller (not sure which view, probably C). The fabric is a pure cotton seersucker, navy and printed with little tiny coral and cream apples. I just love it. Love love love. Its very 1940's and just the perfect combination of colour, texture and pattern for me. Spotty isn't renowned for having a huge supply of gorgeous things, but there's always a treasure to be found there if you take the time to ferret through the mess.




The point of this post though, is to discuss a very nifty iPhone app I have been using to try to 'control' my stash a little better and it came in very handily when I ripped my above-mentioned fabric off the shelf and cuddled it around Spotlight last weekend.

A couple of weeks ago I was in my local awesome fabric shoppe Darn Cheap and was dazzled by a completely impractical but lovely shiny printed cotton fabric. I immediately thought 'That'd make an awesome Banksia', conveniently forgetting I am yet to make one, and have at least 3 different fabrics in my stash already that would also make an 'awesome Banksia'. I didn't have the pattern with me and couldn't remember the fabric requirements, and eventually sanity prevailed and I left the fabric behind, but kept thinking how great it would be to have an app where I could record all my patterns, their fabric requirements, and what I already had at home. By the time I got home I was convinced I'd make my millions designing one, and of course when I checked the App Store there were plenty there already! It really is hard to have a new idea these days. Anyway, I settled on Fabric Locker which was only about $2. Its not perfect, and doesn't have every function I would want, but its ok, and I've spent a nice week or so adding in all my patterns, and elaborating on the fabric and notion requirements for different views and fabric widths.

Part of the stash catalogued...
Details of fabric - recent Fabric Shop purchase, destined for a Colette Peony


Another fabric - a future Banksia






You have the option to add in the pattern, take a photo of it (handy if there are multi views like the Lisette Traveller), categorise it into garment type, fabric type, and then write some notes - this is where I put in the fabric and notion requirements. On my phone the app consistently crashes and makes my phone freeze when its time to add the photo IF I try to add a photo I've already taken rather than taking the photo at the time. It hasn't crashed at all when I take the photo fresh each time. Now I'm slowly adding in my stash fabrics. The fabric section is a bit better than the pattern section - you can add fabric content, designer, manufacturer, type, length plus notes which is where I record any special care instructions (eg dry clean only) plus ideas for future project plans!

Now that I have this in my phone I am poised to snap up the perfect amount of fabric at any time or place when I have a certain project in mind! Less chance of underestimating or overestimating fabric. Awesome!

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