Woman after my own heart! I just retired at 62 so I could have some time to work through all the material I've purchased over the years and didn't have time to work on. As far as I'm concerned, you have a stash the instant you acquire some material that you don't have immediate plans for. For the record, most of my quilts are very bright colors. When you have to look at something for a long time to complete it, make it colors you like to see - happy colors!