Warning: Fabric diets are bad for you.

Officials (i.e me) have confirmed a fabric diet is bad for you. Perhaps I just didnt know when to stop, perhaps I didnt have enough to start dieting in the first place, but running out of my basics means I now have to stock up on these staples rather then splash out on something a bit more special, and that list of special fabrics is beginning to grow...fast.

All the time Im not sewing, Im helping myself to goodies from the treat cupboard, granted, I'm curling up with sewing books so Im learning lots but I'm also a lot colder, all that pressing fabric keeps me warm you know!

Starting my diet before Christmas wasnt such a good idea, as the money I may have saved from not buying fabric was getting spent on Christmas, rather then getting put into savings, which is what I should have done instead but I always go OTT at Christmas!

I also failed to plan for the unexpected...I decided I wanted, no, needed a new sewing machine, but I seem to have.. whats the expression - champagne taste but lemonade money.

I'm looking at a few different models and have made a spreadsheet of all my requirements and have narrowed it down to:

Bernina Aurora 440QE -(but the throat space, expensive accessories and lots of tlc the machine needs has put me off somewhat)

Pfaff Quilt Expression 4 -(which seems to have everything I want but has terrible reviews all over the web),

Janome Horizon - which I think is probably what I want most but the...

Janome Memory Craft 6600 - is probably what I will end up getting, as its more affordable then the Horizon and has many wonderful reviews.

So, new sewing machine or new fabric?. Im trying to achieve both but I'm finding it hard as patience was never my strong point... I have 3 projects on the go at once, but I have half the materials for each of them so am unable to actually finish any of them! and its not looking likely that I can start finishing them until the beginning of March....I hope all the saving for the machine will be worth it, I should hopefully be able to get it in August with a little help from my husband:-)

Quilting is definitely not a cheap hobby, but while I havnt been able to craft as much, I have been drowning myself in books and blogs, taking in inspiration and drafting out ideas. I'm also stocking up on equipment and notions and discovering new things that will help me all the time so I guess its not be all bad but I certainly wouldnt turn my nose up at a lottery win right now!