@WMUTeach I've been doing some thinking about fabric acquisition meta stuff. The whys and such.
I joined the Fabric Moratorium while I was still acquiring thrift and estate fabric but recognizing that while I may not have won the race of she with the most fabric, I at least placed and for me, I had too much. I've known people with entire rooms or basements or storage units full of fabric. I maintain there is nothing wrong with collecting fabric or anything else. I have changed a lot of my feelings about material goods including material, and I wish to curate and enjoy what I collect and not longer just hoard. I have decided that roughly a large closet of space is what I wish to fill with fabric at my command. That still leaves all the fabric in the world available should I need and I can let the world collect it for me.
Part of what I really enjoy bout my quilting, scrappy overall style, and stash is the putting together of the bits and pieces. I'd like to think that with a hefty budget that I can go into a store and put together a pretty darn awesome project with just enough yardage to allow for some mistakes or whatever. But I've been denied that hefty budget for most of my adult life. On the other hand, while I might moan about the math of it, I get really happy when my desires, my math, and my fabric all come together -- it is a real kick for me when something like this project comes along
With the thrift stores, I was typically buying at $1-2/yard or I think about $2-3 bucks a pound? Depending on how tight the year was, I tried to have $20 a week as a purely expendable budget, whether that was a lunch out, or my usual Thursday thrift store run. That was also my cheap entertainment, going to the various spots usually took about 4 hours. I had other things to look for than fabric, and you just never know what would be out there. Some days I'd come back with my $20, other days I'd come back with a car just full of stuff.
Anyway -- Short Enabler Form
Be aware of acquisition but congratulate yourself on maintaining a NEW fabric moratorium. I don't think you even need a birthday exemption for "used" fabric -- just Grats on the day and finds.