joe'smom

I have to disclose at the outset that this person irritates the heck out of me (and I mean absolutely no disparagement to those who like her). I find her very condescending (unless she really believes she's writing to 5-year olds). My second disclosure is that I've sensed that my stash is much smaller than what many people have; I've only been quilting for about 10 years and am unable to bend much, or to lift, so no stash hidden away in the basement, no stash in bins, etc. Everything I have I can see and reach easily, so it isn't overwhelming (apart from scraps, which I haven't dealt with yet, but if it turns out I'm not equal to it, I know who will take them).

My initial reaction is that the author has misidentified the problem she's addressing. What she seems to me to be talking about is addiction, or at least a psychological dependency. It sounds like she had a problem and has witnessed it in others, and she's mistakenly pinpointed the fabric, or the 'culture,' as the danger, rather than personal behavior and choices. Of course, I agree that anyone feeling overwhelmed by their stash needs to reexamine their habits, and anyone feeling shame probably has an issue, and anyone feeling, 'if I don't buy it now, I'll never be able to buy pretty fabric again' has a distorted view. But I also think there are lots of quilters who are collecting stash within their means and space and doing it responsibly and joyfully. A stash is necessary to a certain kind of quilting, but perhaps not to this new model of quilting that the author envisions.

I had also observed to myself that the day of the small local quilt shop is over; I think that's mostly because of the internet. Being a person with energy issues, I've never been able to participate in quilting activities outside of the house, so the kind of shop the author describes wouldn't interest me. The small local quilt shop model was perfect for me: go in with a specific need, enjoy the company of friendly, happy quilters, get some help if needed, leave with the perfect backing. But in our current world, I think that smaller, slower-paced model was doomed. I'm so thankful I became acquainted with quilting before my local shop closed! I might not have continued with it minus their friendly encouragement.

So in summary, I agree that addiction is bad, but discipline (which this thread has helped me develop) is priceless, and quilting, fabric and manageable stashes are great. But I can see where the old-fashioned concept of quilting might seem outdated to millenials. After all, it was a different world that many of us grew up in. It may be that traditional quilting fades out due to environmental concerns; in that case, thank heavens for our stashes!

(I don't know why part of my post seems to be in lighter print.)