I have only purchased all the fabric for a quilt two or three times. I buy exclusively on sale and design my quilts from my stash. It keeps the cost down and, since I really like scrappy quilts, the amount I have is always the right amount.

I just like to look at all my fabric. It gives me pleasure, plus if I need something I usually have it in my stash.

I buy fabric when I see it and love it. Sometimes at the LQS..sometimes at estate sales, church sales, garage sales. I have a great stash...fun and sometimes overwhelming. Oh well!

I just love fabric. When I first started quilting we did not have all the wonderful choices we have now, it was hard to find just what you had in mind to make a quilt. I started just buying what I needed for the quilt I was making but as more and more beautiful fabric came out I started buying what I fell in love with and that is where my stash came from as I am still doing that I now have quite a stash. It didn't start out as trying to build a stash it just turned out that way.

I have both a stash and projects. If I see fabric that I love (mostly batiks) and especially if they're on sale, I'll buy them. I'll also buy particularly sale fabric for projects that I would like to try like stack n whack and "Wonderful 1 Fabric Quilts" projects, where I paid $2-5 per yard for fabric.

I am getting more selective though as time goes on, since I know I can't buy everything. :)

I had a stash when I started quilting too from fabric left over from clothing I used to make. And I do take advantage of a lot of the Missouri Star daily specials, that's where a lot of my stash comes from and I am also in Annie's monthly fabric club so my stash is slowly getting bigger without a project in mind but when I need it it's there for me. I WILL make a quilt for all my kids & grandbabies so it will get used eventually.

And while I have a lot of fabric I bought a bunch of charms on sale and am now working with them, and will use some of stach to go with them.

I never intended to have a stash, or just a small one. Then I found myself at an estate sale for a former quilter. This woman had a STASH! It was separated into color groups, with the lightest at one end, prints in the middle and darkest fabric at the other end. Every color was represented, I kid you not. And it wasn't old stuff. This lady had obviously been working on her stash, and turning it over, so it's not as if I got a lot of fabric that was old. It was set out in two huge bookcases, plus some in drawers (pre-cuts) and even some boxes (home decor fabric). It was the last day of the sale, and the daughter of the woman had not sold any fabric. I expressed an interest. She said I could have the whole lot for $50 if I'd just cart it away myself that day. Done deal! I don't know how many hundreds of yards I ended up with, but I've been sewing out of that stash with virtually no additions for over 3 years, and I still had 6 big storage tubs, plus some boxes, stuffed full of it when I moved into this house a couple of months ago. Best deal I ever made. Now I'm so used to having a stash the I can't live without one - albeit a much smaller one. LOL!

I buy what jumps out at me (though I am trying not to this year -- but I have slipped a bit). I am making some I Spy quilts and 90% of the novelty fabrics are from my stash. I went looking for fabric for the sashing and border for the row quilt and (sigh) I found some novelties that I just had to have. Since I am making at least 3 I Spies, I have cut 189 5.5" blocks so far -- the first quilt has 99 different fabrics. I figured I have been doing things backwards -- most of my focus fabrics are too much and my blenders too little so will probably be doing piano key borders.