Dearth of interesting fabrics
 

I am so glad i got interested in quilting when I did. I have enough fabric (excluding existing started projects) for at least another ten to fifteen quilts. But I'll tell you, I go to the shows, I get ads from places like ChristaQuilts.com, and I am completely uninspired.

What has happened to Robert Kaufmann? He use to hire some of the most innovative designers like Sherill Kahn. Now, we get Starwars (how tired is that?) and a thousand theme designs all aimed at 6 year olds. Michael Miller? Him of Fairy Frost fame as well as many more lines... now, just nothing.

Here is the kicker... I am down to maybe $150 bucks in fabric purchases a year. usually only pieces I need to accent (or backs of) what I already have.

How do you get inspired with the selection of mostly retro and bland pattern fabric that most quilt shops and on line shops carry?

tim in san jose

Sorry, I don't seem to have this problem. I want to keep buying, buying, buying...:p

I rarely buy fabric without a quilt in mind, but when I do it is an outstanding timeless type of fabric, something that will look fresh even 20 years from now. Same is with fashion. I hate the clothes that was imposed to us in the last couple of years, but wearing classics will never go out of style. I guess I brought ideas from my 30 years of garment sewing into my quilting. I get inspiration from the world around me and that's when my hunt for fabrics begins. Good luck and happy quilting!

Not a problem for me :) -- I like both classic things and of-the-moment things. There is always far more that I want to buy than I can afford or find time to sew. I do sometimes have trouble finding bright, clear colors in fabrics other than children's designs, and at the moment I'm going mad trying to find good greens.

Oh, Wow, I wish I had your problem. Mine is the opposite. I try to keep it at about $50 a month, but don't always suceed.

I also do not have that problem, matter a fact, I could possibly have the opposite problem. Although I refrain from buying too much, I love so many of the new lines being released, can't make up my mind which ones I should buy for the next project.

I wonder if it has something to do with where we are at in our quilting journey. My friend who got me into quilting used to give me all her scraps (often not my taste, but still fun). She gave me less and less because she bought less, and she was never interested when I was given fabric from other sources. Me, I love fabric, especially when it's on sale!

But lately, I have felt less inclined to buy and more inclined to use what I have. I rarely see a must-have fabric. I see lots of collections that I pass right over. But maybe it's just me and that I'm satiated by my stash and I'm not as hungry for new fabric as I was in my early days. Or maybe it's just a phase – we'll see!

In some ways, I have had similar experiences as the original poster. I've been super excited to have the day off, have extra spending money, and make a long trek to a fabric store, only to hunt and hunt and hunt for something to buy. I chalked it up (mostly) to being in a quilting slump. But I am also a quilter that does not have young children in my immediate circle of family and friends and thus I pass by on all the kiddie stuff.

As for the inspiration part, I have found that if I flip through an older magazine, I can see a pattern that was done in calicoes that I know I can make look more timely by using my own stash. Scrappy quilts become more interesting to me.
Here is an example of something that motivated me. The pattern, called Pulsar, was published in a magazine 18 years ago. I used up a good amount of leftover scrap stash for it and then only had to hunt for the dark blue border fabric.

I personally think that there is a pretty good mix out there. I still see things I want, although since my stash is huge I don't buy unless I need it for a project or have a pattern that it would be perfect for. There are a lot more juvenile lines coming out but that is because we have a lot of younger quilters (moms) and a lot of us who have been quilting for years are becoming grandparents or great aunts/uncles. Also a lot of the newer retro and modern lines are aimed at the younger quilters (although I like a lot of them) and personally I am thankful - need to keep them interested. For those of us who are very traditional, Civil War lines and traditional/timeless fabrics (beautiflu florals and Jenny Beyer).