rryder

I like my stash. Having been an artist and crafter for all my life (even during my working years when I had a different career), I have a stash of spinning fibers, yarns, metal sheet for jewelry making, paints, markers, pastels, etc. and also the tools to go with several hobbies/near careers I have enjoyed over the years. I've been quilting off and on since about 1981 and have gone through periods where I only had fabric on hand for the quilt I was making at the time and periods where I had a larger stash than what I've now got. I joined the fabric moratorium several years ago just to help remind myself that I'm not getting any younger and my storage space isn't getting any bigger.

For me, having a not too large, but not too small stash means that I can pull out my fabrics and play whenever I want without having to pre-plan and then shop. That's what works for me at this point in my life. I periodically evaluate my stash to determine if it has holes that need to be plugged- neutrals and blenders often need to be replenished. Sometimes a quilt I'm working on needs something that's not available in my stash, so I get the fun of visiting the LQS without getting overwhelmed by (and possibly buying) all the beautiful fabrics they've got in stock.

I donated a bunch of yarn several years ago when DH and I decided that we were not likely to be weaving any more and sold the last of the looms, but I haven't yet felt a need to part with any of my fabric (other than by using it up). Probably if you added all my scraps and yardage together I'd have about 300-400 yards of fabric in my stash at any given time. That's down from a high of about 600 yards several years ago.

I think I'd probably get overwhelmed if I had more than that.

Edited to add- Come to think of it, I probably have some home dec and upholstery fabric stuck somewhere that I should get rid of....but it's probably not more than 10 yards or so... mainly scrap left over from various home dec projects over the years...

Rob