thstarfish

I have been quilting about a year, but already have enough of a stash to make many,many quilts. I put them in clear bins by color and put them on a very large section of shelf my hubby put up for me.

If I see a pattern I really like, I usually buy 2 yards and then if there are cordinating fabrics, I try to buy some of it at the same time. I put those in bins together instead of by color as I am hoping to use them first.

I do wish that I had not bought so much fabric in the beginning, but had a fabric shop going out of business with great prices and just could not pass them up.

scrappylouisa

I tried sorting my "small" stash into colors........didn't work for me. I got tired of going through several containers to pull fabrics for projects. Now I sort my stash into fabric types.......cotton, blends, polyester, denim, ect.

Usually I try to buy at least 1 yard of fabric. If it is a fabric that I will use for many projects I might buy 5 or 6 yards. I try to buy several yards of unbleached muslin when Joann's has it on sale. I use it for lining totes and redwork.

I also shop at thrift stores, yard and garage sales and flea marts for fabrics to add to my stash.

Recently I bought a bag about the size of a 10 pound potato sack full of fabric for $2. When I opened it I was amazed to find several pieces were at least 1 yard and there was 2 pieces that were just a little over 3 yards. There was also several pieces that was at least half a yard. I have several projects in mind for most of the fabric already.

I store my quilting books and magazines in a bookcase. Patterns go in clear shoe boxes.

I throw all my scraps into a large plastic container for string quilt blocks or crazy quilt blocks.

rayone

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I'm noooo way near some of you in how large my "stash" is. i'm only starting out and at the moment only buy fabric for the projcts i'm working on. Although last weekend i was at the quilt store picking up the rest of my fabric and had this fabric "talk" to me and I just had to get it, i think i bought a yard or maybe 2... shoot, now i can't remember. But as i was buying it i had no idea how much I should get for a future project. I also picked up a few fat quarters, i have picked up some FQ books along the way and some quilts i want to try.

Thanks again!

shopaholic97

I am like Shelley, there is so much fabric that I don't know when I will ever use it all. My friend told me when I started quilting that I had to have a stash so of course I bought all kinds of fabric and guess what everytime I go to make a quilt I buy the required fabric. So I guess when I retire I will get into making scrap quilts at least I will have enough fabric to keep me going.
Serena

lass

I have sorted by color. My stash is stored in drawers in different pieces of furniture in different rooms. I had some in my sewing room, but the sun is so bright that it began to fade in odd ways. I like it sorted by colors so if I need a particular color I just go to the green drawer or blue drawer. I am thinking of moving in about two years so my dd says that I can't buy too much more. It costs alot to move it, weight and all. I think you can tell there is no right way. Good luck. Di

bearisgray

My stash sort of grew. And grew. And grew.

I think I purchased some (a lot) of it as emotional compensation. Plus there is all that "potential" there.

Now if I can live to be a thousand years old and still want to make things - - --

GailG

[[[[[[[[[[[[[echo]]]]]]]]]]]] Yes, what is it?

I've been reading through the thread rather rapidly, but haven't come across the answer. I've been wondering about that for a while.

Will get back to this thread when I have more time to really sit and enjoy, and perhaps have some of it rub off on me. That time is usually in the wee hours when I'm already awake.

GailG

Oh, how I envy you. I hope that one day I can find my way up there.

Nancy146

I buy bundles of FQs so I have similar but different colors/prints to use. I used to buy one yard but found myself in trouble more than once. Now I buy 1 1/2 yards. If there is some left - it becomes a FQ, strip, or scrap. If you see something that has a larger print that you might want to use as a focus block - get several yards so you can fussy cut that print.

As for stash - I am short on space and have 5 stacked 15 X15 3 sided cubes (thanks to a blue light special at KMart) behind one side of a set of French doors into my sewing room. No one can see it unless they go into the room and close the door. I have some divided by colors and others that I bought 3 or 4 that were designed to go together. I have a separate plastic box for FQ. All my Christmas, baby, novelty and stuff I don't think I ever want to see again are in other boxes. (I made a quilt with 18 shades of purple and I don't think I ever want to see purple again.)

Also, I use masking tape to mark the amount of fabric and the date. It is easy to remove even in the Florida heat - no sticky stuff left behind.

weezie

I've never bought a fat quarter. I tend to make large quilts, so my requirements for purchasing are: that it be on sale or that I can use a coupon; that it be quality fabric that I can't see through; and that I really love the print and color(s). I usually buy the rest of the bolt, which is sometimes a lot and sometimes not. I generally do not buy anything less than a yard.

I store my fabrics (on shelves) by what goes well together in a quilt. There's also a stack of mavericks that don't seem to quite match anything. I keep snippets of the unmatched ones in an envelope in my purse, so that when I'm browsing at the fabric store, I always have them with me in case I'm lucky enough to find matches. I always do, eventually. There are days that the shopping gods look favorably upon me and I come home with excellent additions to my stash and other days ... nothing!

I never worry about having too much of one fabric because I know it will eventually be used, nor do I keep track of how much is left or how much I have of any fabric. Once I choose a quilt project and the fabrics from my stash that I think are right for that quilt, then I measure each piece. If have don't have enough of a chosen fabric and can't find another in my stash with which to replace it, I don't live far from the fabric stores.

This probably doesn't sound very organized, but it has worked well for me for many years.