Originally Posted by
deborahscanlon
I do have lots of fabric and I buy more not for specific projects but I'm getting close to retirement age and I fear I won't have extra money to buy so I buy now. But there is always the thought in my head that what if I die, where will this fabric go? T
Deborah, I have heard a lot of ladies worry about these issues...how to afford fabric post retirement and also what happens to your stash if you die. First of all, I love having a big stash. It gets my creative juices flowing. I get a lot of joy out of collecting the fabrics, too. I do a lot of improv so a big stash really helps there.
Many guilds donate the stashes of members who have passed on to the younger quilters who cannot afford fabric. Last year in one local guild a young woman got up and thanked members for putting fabric out on the free table at meetings as free was all she could afford. She was making really lovely quilts from these cast-offs. So your fabric will find another home.
On the subject of UFO's...I am totally guilty of being a starter and not a finisher. There are three reasons why I keep generating tops and filling my UFO cupboard:
1. I get really jazzed by something I see or dream up and just have to start it right away! I actually like having a few projects on the go as I tend to get bored with only one. I like to switch it up.
2. I find I start a project, often in a workshop to learn a new technique and find I do not like the class work I bring home. I have learned to walk away from projects like that...ones I do not enjoy. Pieced work unfinished goes into an orphan block basket. It's big...
3. I got my piecing skills refined wayyyyyy before I learned to free motion quilt. Quilting is a completely separate skill set, and I did not want my really beautifully made tops being quilted up badly. So I am now refining my free motion skills so I can get the work done from start to finish. But...that means I have a lot of tops waiting.