I have this bad habit of buying nice fabrics, especially precuts such as FQs, charm squares, jelly rolls etc, even though I do not have any projects in mind. Then I will search for suitable projects to use them, when it should be the other way round. Now I have too many fabrics lying around, waiting to be used!

Just wondering if you ladies buy fabrics only when needed for projects, or you also collect fabrics just like me. Pls tell me that I'm not the only one who's doing this! :P

I have been trying very hard to stop myself from browsing fabric websites, so as to stop this impulse buying.

I bought what I liked when I had money to spend. Now I try to buy only if I need it and have a plan for it. Sometimes I still falter, but I try because I just can't afford it.

I was a fabricaholic long before I was a quilter! Beautiful fabric talks to me big time - 'buy me! buy me! buy me!' Occasionally I can practice restraint, but not very often!

Most of the fabric I have purchased does/did not have a pattern or a person or a project in mind before purchase. The fabric just called my name!!! It wanted to come and live at my home and have me pet it and admire it. I have enough to make a few (hundred) quilts. The patterns are just waiting to be discovered and matched with the perfect fabrics. And the time is waiting to be able to stand still so that I can make these couple (hundred) projects.
You are not alone!!!!

When I find a great price on fabric I buy it. Hoffman batiks I bought five years ago for $2 a yard looks just as beautiful as the $10 a yard batiks do today. I know the fabric I buy today to use in the next five years will be just as nice as the $20 a yard ones will be then.

I am with all of you! :D And I love it! :D I admit to being a fabric-holic. My problem now is that I am out of room to put anymore fabric. Soooo I have been a good girl the past 2 mos. & not bought any fabric at all. Soon as I get a quilt made, I can then go shopping & replace that fabric. :thumbup: Or I do from time to time, donate fabric to the Seniors where my Mom & Dad live. :wink: That helps free up some shelf space. :D

In this day and age and with fabric prices seeming to raise so quickly, I'm glad I have my stash. Now to start doing something with it. LOL

I told myself I must stop buying fabrics, till I've used up all in storage. But this is easier said than done. I'm a full-time working mother and really do not have much time to quilt. The temptation seeing beautiful fabrics I love is too great to resist! LOL :lol:

If I see a fabric that calls my name, if I don't buy it then or soon, it will be gone and I will never be able to find it again, so I must get it while I can.
And who knows, when I can finally quit working and sew more, I might not be able to afford much fabric.

I only buy fabric with a project in mind. This is the way I've always been, even with yarn when I was a knitter.

Well yes to all of the above.......AND Yes to any and every idea that hits me while shopping. I have been so tired and preoccupied that I buy the same thing as I've bought before when an idea is till an idea. I don't trust me. But, I need to take Sadiemae's approach. It would be safer. Good idea.

Blessings.
Ruth

You mean we are suppose to have a project in mind BEFORE buying the fabric :shock: No wonder I have so much fabric , been doing it backwards all these years ....LOL

I buy the fabric ahead of time not knowing what I'm making with it.

I buy it because I love the colors and design.

I have improved I used to buy 5 yards of everything now I only buy 1 to 2 yards of each design that is a big improvement on me and saving money too.

I said it before and I'll say it again, it is still cheaper than therapy. Some people collect coins, some stamps, we collect fabric and have the added advantage of being able to create something new with our collections.

I stash-build about 99% of the time. The other 1% is buying stuff that I need but don't have to finish a certain project, like backing, binding, border fabric, etc. I keep promising myself I will not do it anymore but I can't seem to stop. Now that I think about it I don't think I have ever bought fabric with a specific project in mind other than what I mentioned above.

Gayle, I believe we were separated at birth.

Most of the fabric I buy is because I love it and have to have it...there is absolutely no project in mind at all...haha...when I actually do a project, if there is any little thing I need to finish I will get something specific but that is rare lol...it's just all so pretty and if I wait to find a pattern it might be gone by then :)

My name is scowlkat and I am a fabricaholic! There I do feel better - lol! If I had started at birth, I couldn't begin to use all my stash. Not bragging, just letting you know that if you think you have a bad habit, there is always someone who has it worse! I even bought a storage unit to hold the overflow fabric! Now since finding this board, it is going to take even longer to use it up!

I have cut way, way down on buying though since being unable to work so now am glad I had this obsession while I had the means to indulge!

I love this board. I finally feel at home, lol. I have fabric in every room of my house except my son's room and the bathrooms. Did I mentioned I have a basement also. I used to be embarassed when people would come over and comment on how much fabric I have. When my exhusband would complain about me buying fabric, I told him when he stop buying beer I would stop buying fabric. Needless to say neither one of us stopped. I tell everybody now what a therapist told me years ago, there are a lot of things in life worst than buying fabric. We could be addicted to drugs. I figure as long as I pay my bills, keep my children fed and clothed, I will buy a piece of fabric if that makes me feel good, without feeling guilty.

I look at it this way, if I ever get to retire from working, I'll have fabric. Kinda like a retirement account. Also, I pay cash and don't put fabric on a charge card. And it makes me happy.

Personally, I am a fabricaolic........
I just love fabric..and really, if I go into a fabric store I'm not coming out without a bag - it's a rule........
Usually, I have a list of things that I am looking for for current projects..so I will shop for those first...and then I look for other interesting things that kind of make me think....
If I see some fun coordinates that I think would be fun for a future project....without having any design in my head..I will pick up anywhere from 1 yard to 2 or 3 or 4 yards of those...(did that on Saturday...in a chocolate brown and pink coloration)......
I always check the sale section to see if there something that I can add to my stash...and if so, I will pick up 1 or 2 yards of the ones that interest me the most..especially of the prices are good.....
I like to have enough in my stash so that on any given day - if I want to start a new project...whether it's because I don't want to go out - or because it's a snowy day, I can just start a new project..because of the choices that I have in my stash.....and like redvette54..if ever I ge to retire from working...or perhaps work less..I will have lots of toys to keep me busy :-)

Yes, I'm a fabric addict. But I have given myself a rule...never buy at regular price...if I want it, I ahve to have a coupon or wait for a sale (although I am still the Remnant Queen!

Same here!! :thumbup:

HI my name is Patty.I am a fabriholic....and proud of it.
My stash is growing and growing and I just love it

Most often I have a pattern or project in mind when I buy fabric. Being on a pension income, I really can't afford to buy fabrics unless I know what I'm going to make with it. Also good quality fabric is not cheap here - some batiks run to $15 - $20 a metre and some of the brand name fabrics can be $12 - $15 a metre - that's Canadian dollars. I do pick up the odd fat quarter and am slowly building a stash of them. I also order online from Over the Rainbow, Hancocks of Paducah, and other online shops when I can get a really good price. Even with the exchange, shipping and handling added on, I can get some really good deals.

I look at some of the pictures of the stashes here on this board and I am consumed with envy!!

I too am a fabriholic. I made a rule this year to buy no more. I too am out of stash space. I confess I broke my rule a couple of times, but I am trying to use my stash and only my stash this year. When I buy it HAS to be on sale. If the fabric is less than $5/yd. I'm looking. I just got back from visiting my DS and 2 grands in Seattle. They don't see the need to visit fabric shops, so I only hit one and went to Martingale publishing for their tour and scratch and dent store at the end. So I did come back with about 10 yds. and lots of books. I try to sell them when I'm done with them and I'm thinking of selling quilts or patterns to help off set my addiction costs. HIH

When I find a fabric that "speaks" to me, I buy yards. Sometimes, a FQ just isn't enough. The right pattern will come along or I will make something up to do with it.

I have stopped buying impulse fabric, just cause I can't afford it. I only buy if it for a project I'm working on or for a near future one. The fabric I have no plans for is either given away or sold on here. If I have too much clutter I lose my creativity.

I'm am also a member of this "club". I don't have a large amount of fabric in my stash but I do buy more than I'll prob ever use in my lifetime. I dread the day my DIL has to come in and get rid of things--I can just see her rolling her eyes!!

One problem I have is: I bought some fabric that I think is just too pretty to cut!! I had a vague idea of a project when I bought it, but now I just keep looking at it and petting it and don't want to cut it. Do any of you have this problem??

I've spent years building my stash, and I buy fabric if it speaks to me. Lately tho, I haven't, since I lost my job. Now I need to sell stuff~

I used to buy lots of fabrics to build a stash. A couple of years ago I decided to do something with the bulk of it before I bought more. Even to make a scrappy quilt the fabrics have to go together in an eye appealing way so I decided to do smaller projects. I now have quite a large collection of runners, placemats and tote bags. When I buy now I usually have a project in mind.

I used to buy lots of fabrics to build a stash. A couple of years ago I decided to do something with the bulk of it before I bought more. Even to make a scrappy quilt the fabrics have to go together in an eye appealing way so I decided to do smaller projects. I now have quite a large collection of runners, placemats and tote bags. When I buy now I usually have a project in mind.

Me! I guess I enjoy admiring my beautiful fabrics more than the thought of cutting and using them! Such a heartache...

I really love those Japanese fabrics from Lecien Fabrics and they are so pretty, the last thing I wanna do is to cut them up! :P

I'm only into my 3rd year of quilting. My stash started when I bought a whole lot of FQs from a quilter who's having a clearance sale in ebay. Since then, have bought yardages and pre-cuts to add to my collection. Thereafter, I realise that I do not have much use for those FQs unless I start on scrap quilt projects. I'm even thinking if I should sell some of them away in bulk.

Last month I was on a fabric buying streak (good thing I pay the bills...LOL). I actually had 6 quilt projects to finish before Nov. so I needed some fabric....but most of it I just "wanted"! I acquired several charm packs, a couple jelly rolls, a honey bun, a dessert roll, and a couple turnovers! I must have been hungry when I went shopping...LOL

Haha your statement is hilarious! Yup I've got a huge appetite for all those pre-cuts too. They are too yummy to resist! :p

I LOVE this subject! I started out buying just what I needed for a project (1981) For my daughters baby quilt. Now I like bolts, 6 yard pieces, 2 yard pieces, FQ's, 4 , 5, or 6 inch charms. I buy fabric in themes (roses, polka dots, cats, roosters n chickens, chicks, big floral, Native American, pansies, marbles, stars, stripes...). I have fabric in storage too and in my sewing room and in the back room. I LOVE fabric, the colors, the feel of it the bright ones and the muted...love it all.
The prices have gotten out of hand though. way out of hand. I find great deals on ebay or etsy at times. Rarely buy new anymore.

I've inherited fabrics from two of my hubby's aunts, from a friend's mom, and from a friend. Many different types. THEN I get a wild hair and go buy fabric.@@

I've got so many different types of projects started. Last summer, a few friends helped me make about 40 blankets for kids-----------some donated here, some there, all out of the inherited fabrics.

Now I'm piecing some single block tops--much out of some of the donated fabrics.

About buying fabric-------------if the Wally World near you remodels, take a couple hundred dollars to the 50% off sale. I forgot about all that stuff I bought last spring.

I used to buy fabric for no other reason than I loved it - hence lots of FQ etc. so now only buy for a specific project and in between am using up my stash but I do slip up like yesterday when I went to a small quilt exhibition and one of the traders had this lovely piece just calling and calling me - did hesitate for a minute but has now found a new home - what will I do with it? am sure it will find its place sometime lol