I like the idea of saving the money now, because styles, interests and colors change. I have a friend who retired a couple years ago with 3 closests, 1 a double wide, and under beds full of fabric and supplies. I honestly don't know if anyone could use up the amount of fabric she has. And some of the stuff in the back of her closet is the "what where you thinking? Why did you buy this?" type of fabric. We can't find anything to go with it, so we throw it back and wait to see if something will come along that works with it.
And she still finds sales now that she has time to hunt for them. She'll take a road trip someplace 1-2 hrs away with a couple of friends and buy more fabric.
I'm not stocking up for retirement, granted I still have a few years for retirement, but I buy fabric and supplies when it's on sale-stores, friends, yardsales.
When I hear people talking about this subject, it makes me sad. I sew with a group and we received a huge donation of fabrics from a family. Their mother had stocked up on fabrics to make charity quilts when she retired. Shortly after she retired she was diagnosed with cancer and died within a year. She never got to make all those things. Seriously she had a ton of fabric. Our group received 2 large car loads (fully packed, floor boards to roof) worth of wonderful quilting fabrics, the family wanted to share the wealth among all the charity groups in our area.
Take the time now to sew every day if it's something you enjoy. Even if it's just 10-15 minutes, do a little bit now because you never know what tomorrow will bring. Don't wait for retirement to do the things you love. Which isn't what you asked about...but I thought I'd jump on the ol' soap box for a minute.
Last edited by charity-crafter; 09-04-2012 at 05:29 AM.