Terri - I gather you still don't know when ---

There's this great fabric store about a mile from the entrance to Little Creek, called The Fabric Hut about 7000 bolts of fabric. One of our favorite stores in the country.

Yes, I got the 'quilters travel companion' for mother's day and there are several around each other. Norfolk-'Fabric Hut' , Chesapeake -'The Quilting Bee', Virginia Beach- 'What's Your Stitch'n Stuff', Newport News-'Nancy's Calico Patch'......Terri...you are going to be in quilter's Heaven!! There's even more north of there and one out in the water somehow:)Mabye start checking into these places for when their shop hops are happening to when you are coming! You have some serious catching up to do:)Skeat

Now I KNOW I'm going to visit Terri on the way to my son's new digs! Maybe even before she moves there!

We are headed to the area, Norfolk, to get our house there ready to put on the market. I told my lovely Lady that there are two places I want to go, one is Fabric Hut and A Different Touch in Chesapeake. They are the dealer we bought our Bernina's from and just wonderful people. I lived in the area for about 8 years and honestly, being a Texas boy, most folks in the area are just downright surly from my point of view. East Coast people are different, glad I'm back in Texas.

I tend to go in difference directions depending on my mood of the day. I use to buy anything I really liked, might put a couple matching pieces with it as well. Then I went through a phase where I would see a picture of a quilt I liked, buy everything for that project. My thoughts were, someday I'll be retired and won't be able to buy everything I want so I'll have plenty of projects to choice from. I've grouped fabrics together in bags along with the pattern or magazine and last count I was up to 12 projects. So, the time has come. I'm officially retiring come the end of June, so my plan now is to tackle those projects as I feel like it. Now I buy only what I need to go with what I'm doing. Off to a shop at lunchtime to get more of a brown for binding on a baby quilt that's almost done. This quilt was not from my planned projects, everything except for the binding is from my scrap bucket.

This is what I do ... most of the time. I choose the fabrics and THEN I choose the quilt pattern to suit the fabrics. This is primarily because of 2 reasons: (1) both the time available and my mood to shop have to be just right, and (2) I buy, almost exclusively, quality fabric at sale prices. In this way, I have no alternative but to build a fabric stash.

While shopping, if both the fabric and the price are right, I cannot afford to pass it up. I then keep some snippets of my fabric stash in an envelope in my purse so, on the occasions that I do get some time to browse and shop for fabric, I have the samples with me to find matching fabric. On the rare occasion that I choose a pattern first and then go shopping for the specific fabrics for that pattern, it's usually difficult to find what I want with all the requirements: color, quality, and price (and I refuse to buy poor quality fabric ever again ... been there, done that!)

I quite enjoy my method of buying fabulous fabric on sale and then choosing what to use it for; in the long run, I believe it saves me money.

My Mother-in-law did that....only bought fabric for the quilt planned. She nearly fainted when she saw my sewing room a couple of years ago and my stash has multiplied since then.

Quite honestly, I'm a fabricoholic...it is ALL about the fabric. Quilts are just an afterthought. (hmmm, did I really say that?) I have a huge collection of patterns for quilts that I couldn't complete in 2 lifetimes.

warm quilt hugs, sue

LOL! Yes, you DID say that! Sometimes it is all about the fabric. buying a great fabric and then figuring out what to do with it.

I have been organizing my stash and I have found fabric I forgot I bought for a certain project, but of course have not started or on some not finished. I go to the stores with a project in mind and I buy the fabric for that project, but I always end up seeing more new fabrics I like.