I am in the mid forties. Cannot wait to retire to have more time to quilt. Less than a month ago, I had the urgency of making a bed quilt for my 5 yr old son. (I'll post a picture when I finish it)- to make the story short. I was looking into my stash to make this quilt for him and I realized of 2 really bad things- or 3.
1- my stash is not really big- I have to keep working on it...
2- I picked some fabrics to start his quilt but didn't have all to finished it- I needed more fabric/s either to combine with the ones I had or the yardage I had was not enough
3- I will have to keep buying fabric for ever!! I have to re-do my figures to ensure I'll have money for it in my retirment plan.
Does it happen to you? Do you think of buying fabric for your future projects? Should I not worry as there will be always websites where to buy fabric... and money to sustain my hobby!

I buy when I find good sales... prices will always be going up, but my income doesn't increase at the same rate :wink:

I would look really hard at some of the wonderful designers out there and examine their lines. If you are attracted to a particular line then pick up some charms or some yardage. Each season when they come out with new patterns, they will be in the same color schemes, like the Kansas by Moda. Then you can add to it over time....

Have fun!!!!

Keep in mind that the reason so many people has such large stash is in part because your taste changes. You love a fabric and buy it. ready to make a new quilt but nothing you already have works. Time to go shopping again. Months or maybe years down the road, those fabrics work great for a totally different quilt. Or you hate them forever and end up giving them away. No way to predict what you will like later.

Buying fabric now may seem like a good idea but your tastes will change. You might try just getting blenders or more neutral colors now and then get what's in style later on. Some things, of course, never go out of style such as your 30's and 40's, Civil War, or any other vintage prints. So keep that in mind when you're buying now for future use. When you do retire, you will find a way to afford fabric. The money you save on lunches, travel, extra clothing will go to pay for fabric.

Well said. That is where I am with some of mine.

I did buy for the future, as I knew a while ago that the company I was working for was going under, so I stocked up :wink: LOL Now I have the time to do the things I wanted to do, but spend way too much time here :oops: LOL

For the record I am in my mid 40's and now have enough fabric to last me ooohhh... maybe 20 years if I made a quit a week :roll: LOL

I think stocking up on good thread, batting and backing fabric would be a better stash for retirement. Those are basic and always cost more then you want to spend.

OH by the way Welcome to the board :thumbup:

I dont stock up, since I cant really afford it....but if I see some at a garage sale, even if it isnt my style, I buy it. You never know what you might need in the future or someone else can use. I do collect 30's prints though, for scrappy quilts, but I buy a fat quarter just once in a while as a treat.

I know the fabric stores are getting thin, but as one also in my mid 40's, Quilters will always find a way !!
Cause no way will the world go nudist... :)

When i see a fabric i like at a good price...i buy! I will find a reason to use it later HAHA. That's why every quilter needs their own room!! Styles may change but the desire to make things from fabric Never will!!! :lol:

When I was working I bought what I wanted when I wanted... HUGE stash... I looked at it as a 'retirement fund.' However... I'm using it now - and I'm in my late 40's. Not sure what I'll be using when I'm 60 or 70, but I'm confident I'll have something!! :)

I'm like Amma too. I only buy when there's a sale. Of course, there are times when I had to buy b/c I need to finish my project.

When our local Joann's closed about 10 yrs ago I used my Christmas bonus check to really stock up on fabric. I look at some of it now and ask "What was I thinking? Did I buy THAT?" Everyone's right-tastes and styles change. Batting, blenders, backing fabrics are always good purchases for future use.

I added to my stash for about 10 years, I have a good sized stash. Being laid off from work almost 1 1/2 yrs ago it has sustained me, and kept me creative. I do not add to it anymore unless I find a great sale. When all those years I was adding to my stash, I would laugh and say this is for when I cann't afford to buy more.... How true those words are..

I buy when it's on sale! I have noticed though that I buy in spurts... like one month, charm packs, the next scraps, then notions etc... I have more than enough to last my lifetime and pass onto my daughter (who is 11 and also building her own stash). My tastes are changing so I keep buying!

I have a healthy stash, too. I've also found that when I go to use something from it, I have to buy coordinating fabric to finish the project. This surprised me at first. Now, I just have to stop thinking that I can make whole quilts just out of stash and feel better about supplementing what I already have. One thing that I have found is that I didn't buy enough yardage of some of the fabrics I really loved. I only got 1 yard pieces instead of getting larger amounts that would work better for me in the long run.

I don't buy fabric much any more unless it's for a specific project. My goal in retirement is to use up most of my stash.

I retired last August. I have a stash of mostly small florals. I have learned that many of the quilts I want to make will require a new purchase. There are so many new fabric designs and color options that my stash don't include. I have also learned that the quality of some of the fabrics are not equal and can not be used together. I am of the old school and will try to make quilts to use what I have. I have also purchased fabric on e-bay to build my stash the past few months. I have gotten a lot of the newer quilt shop pieces. Now I just need to dedicate the time and get them started, and not spend so much time on this board.

Welcome to the board from Southern California!!!
I have enough fabric in my stash for hundreds of future projects. Now, I still feel the need to buy more fabrics or maybe add a different fabric to some I already have. There are such pretty new fabrics that come out all the time and they just call my name!

*giggles* Your stash sounds typical :) They're never big enough and they never have exactly all that you need for the 'pending project'. That's what's so great about them! We get to still buy something!

Some of us have to take part time jobs to feed our stash habits lol

I'm not really a stasher. I've found, for me at least, that stashing leaves me with things I don't really want years later. I buy for a specific project. However, it's always nice to have something on hand to whip up quick gifts. I'm just not keeping several king sized quilts worth on hand.

I am the same way. I am stocking up on "kits". I find a quilt pattern I especially like in a magazine and buy what fabric I need to make it. Then I put the fabric and pattern in a shoe box from WalMart and put it on a shelf. I have quite a few right now, but then I am 61 and plan to retire in 5 more years, so it really is my "retirement fund".

You who talk about retiring or are already retired are very fortunate. I am 70 and still working and don't know really when I will be able to retire. My stash is huge and like many others have said, when I start to quilt I always have to buy some more fabric. I have built my stash over the years for when I "retire." Now, I'm not so sure that's ever going to happen for me.

When I was working I'd buy fabric if I liked it. Then I started buying sale fabric picking out things that would blend or go with what I had in my stash. Last year I accepted the buy out my employer was offering, so now without a regular paycheck I find that I only buy when it's a really good sale or when I need 1 color I don't have. Yellow seems to be the color I have least of and never can match with what I have. Backing and batting are my major purchases with a treat of a yard or two of bali's in between just to make me feel good.

My girlfriend and I refer to our Stash's as our Fabric 401k plan.
After all, a yard is a yard is a yard, purchased at 1990 prices or 2020 prices!!!

I have a fairly large stash - and even then I don't always have what I need. 9 times out of 10 I'll have to add something to my stash to complete a quilt. If you buy something for a particular quilt, put it all together in a zip bag, so you don't inadvertently use it for something else till you get to it.

I like your suggestion. I just retired and have had the time to research different patterns I want to do. Now I will get those zip bags and put those plans into action. -- Thanks.

For me, yellow is the color I have the most trouble with. Never seem to find just the right yellow for a project, even at the store!

I love shopping in my stash! It keeps piling up. I know I won't ever use it in my lifetime but it is a comfort to know it is there. I did not start seriously quilting until retirement. I share with my friends when they need something I have.

Lordy, I have enough stash to open a quilt shop but if I am looking for something I can never find anything that "works".
Never the right shade, not the correct theme, not sure I want to cut this piece/saving it for something "special". See where I'm going...
Sure enough there are others here in the same boat. No matter how much fabric you have it's never, ever, enough.
As has been said before, it's a disease.

I made this a light anwser, but in my world have had some wonderful quilt women, when those around you know thats what you enjoy, they will somehow make it possible to keep you in fabrics.
I've always had my own stash, but when Mom passed away, I came home one day and my sister had collected all from her home and dropped it off at my place. 17 totes assorted !!
Had a neighbor lady I really enjoyed (neat lady) at her funeral her daughter, ask me to come by the house, her Mom wanted me to have her fabric, " What an Honor" I cryed.... Bring the pickup O , and what ever you don't want we don't want it back. some went to charity and still use the remainder as needed.
I can just imagine those 2 hanging out on fluffy laughing at what went thru my mind as I sorted out all that. They both had a fun sense of humor (little onrey too) :D

In doing 20 plus moves in 50 yrs of marriage my husband usually says 2 things..."Do you really want to carry this around to the next move" and "Never sell what you are emotionally attached to," After unloading the truck in 1998 I sold boxes and boxes of fabric (even the polyester)but kept some cottons that I really loved. Now I am in the very solw process of replacing with SS income only. Does take a while and I must weigh every purchase carefully. Happy stitchin'. fmd36 in NH

My sister & I both suffer from the same disease - SABLE
Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy! I see here that it is more contagious than I thought! I love my stash - especially in winter when I don't have to leave my house to hunt for fabric. Sometimes I do comb through my sister's stash and she returns the favor.

I have a pretty healthy stash, although I hardly ever buy fabric for it. Whenever I buy specific fabric for a specific project, I buy more than I need (1/2 yd - 1yd). The leftover goes in the stash.

I allow myself to spend $50/month on fabric and/or sewing/quilting supplies. This week I will buy a camping table for use for sewing machine and cutting.

Hee Hee..... as I mentioned in another post....I have bought LOTS of it when it's on sale knowing I will use it someday. I probably have enough fabric in my stash right now to complete about 30* quilts plus backing..lol.

I buy pretty much as I need it. My tastes have also changed over the years. The first big quilt I made (and have not finished , from the early 90's) was mauve and light blue. I am into Batiks and kids fabrics for baby quilts. I try and finish my projects as I get one done then I go to the next one. I do have a few going right now but not a lot of extra fabric. However if "The who dies with the most fabric wins" That will be my sister.

I have a large stash and usually add something to it every month. I make mostly scrap and applique quilts which don't usually require a lot of any one fabric. I am learning more with each quilt how to complete without those 2 to 4 yard amounts of any one fabric. Made a top this week with pieced asymmetrical borders. Will post a pic tomorrow when I learn how to get it on the computer, you can look for "Rainbows Over Kyoto" if you would like to see it.