Hi again, all - some great finishes and finishing stories shared!
I fell across this article today while looking for stash-busting ideas:
Why Quilters Should Ditch Stash Culture.
I've read it and thought a bit about it and have to admit that there are some uncomfortable truths (in my often hypersensitive world, anyway) that she examines in her blog post. That being said, it makes me so grateful for this particular Fabric Moratorium thread on the QB forum because I think that we have formed a community where we already recognize the downside(s) to having a "larger than I really need" stash and the joy that can come from clearing some of that burden out of our lives, no matter how we do it. The encouragement and motivation that simmers up and bubbles over here is amazing and I am so inspired by the projects and strategies (and wagon evacuation confessions) that people share. :-)
I acknowledge that I am unlikely to ever be one of the people who buy fabric for a specific project and then gift/donate the leftovers and start with a clean slate on the next project. I do like having a stash. My experience of coming back to quilting during a pandemic where getting access to fabric was sometimes challenging and being able to rely on a few totes of fabric saved from 15-20 years ago has convinced me that I flourish when I have some raw materials to hand.
However, I also recognize that my stash is currently a bit of a problem because the patterns I have most recently been drawn to are not necessarily suited to the random collection I own and so I am tempted to go shopping. So far I've had a good month of saying "I really don't think I need to get anything new right now" and I'm trying to keep that up by looking forward to finding my next great quilt in the fabric I already have and saving a shopping trip for when I actually do need something that I will not have to feel guilty about. :-)