I understand completely. The same thing happens to me in my stash in general.

However, about 9 years ago, I found a focus fabric I absolutely loved and knew I would continue to love. So I bought fabric to go with that, and now have a nice collection. I can go to that collection when I am ready to make the next quilt in that series. I keep it separate from the general stash.

Now there's an interesting distinction I just noticed: I call fabric bought just because I liked it, but without necessarily matching it with anything, my stash. But I call planned fabrics, centering around a focus fabric, my collection. The collection is easier to use because the matching is already done, whereas the stash might require looking in each box, pulling out a lot of stuff, auditioning all of it. Stash would be less defined potential, then. A collection would be a highly-defined and pre-auditioned fabric group that goes together and is restricted to a certain color scheme and theme, in this case, blue-greens, yellow-greens, and other blues, greens, and blue-violets (and red-violets) - all batiks.

So how many of you have stashes, and how many of you have collections?

Cricket

I wouldn't even consider counting my stash, I don't have that much time hahahahahahah

You fit right in! Once we fall in love with fabric - it's all over!!! Hahaha! And unlike a painter, if we need a color, we can't mix fabrics together together the correct one, we need to have THAT one. Hence, the stash! But, you are NOT alone!!! :)

While not horrified, I was amazed at how much fabric I had when we were downsizing from a 3-bedroom home to a 2 bedroom apartment. Because people knew that I quilted, they would pass on their fabrics, plus when my sister passed away, I inherited her "stash". I did manage to give away about half of my stash to a dear friend, who passed on some of the fabrics to another friend who did charity quilts, so I know the fabric won't go to waste. Because of "budget cuts" since we are both on Social Security, I no longer make lots of visit to JoAnn's or order fabric off the internet, but I still have a significant amount of fabric. That said, I did make a quilt for our DGD that was made entirely from my stash, and I will post the picture when I get it quilted, hopefully in the not too distant future when the Dr. says I can use my arm again. I had surgery to repair a pretty bad torn rotator cuff in my right arm (of course), but I'm beginning to do some sewing and hope to be able to start quilting again soon. I plan to send a picture of the finished quilt to QB.

This post prompted me to count my fabrics and I have you beat by some. However, I too like to sew at night and I am grateful to have such a variety to chose from. That said, sometimes a fabric just speaks to me and I want to have it in my stash for a future project or honestly, just to look at.

Yours is the spirit we should all have. :)

I could easily buy more...bug my shelves are overflowing...I keep telling hubby I need new shelves but I have no more wll space or floor space in my itty bitty room..so yes I need to use some frabric...but there is some that I just like to look at and can't bring myself to cut into it!! I am so bad!!

My stash isn't much smaller, but I'm not horrified by it...I'm delighted by it! I have given myself permission to keep as much fabric as I want, and I use fabric from my stash quite a bit. I add to it quite a bit too...I don't see a problem with that as long as it's not piled up to the point where it's getting destroyed (now THAT would be horrifying) and I'm not overspending...I'm still paying all my bills, putting money in savings, even started saving for my niece & nephew's college funds. So I figure as long as it's all under control the size of the stash doesn't matter one bit!

I consider it my emergency preparedness plan- just in case, all the cotton crops die off - I have enough to use or trade for a lifetime. But I still buy from time to time when the right piece crosses my path and sometimes when "the price is right"!

too much fabric ?
 

You can NEVER have too much fabric! I have much more thsn I need, but will still pick up new fabric. Lol I have made 3 scrappy quilts that used up some of my stach. I have even invited a couple of quilting friends over to help me reduce my fabric piles. Would love to hear others ideas.

I will not try to justify my stash, or any collections I have for that matter. They are paid for, are not bothering anyone and no, I can't possibly live long enough to use it all. The point is, it makes me happy and that is all that matters! My oldest DD knows my sewing stuff is part of her inheritance and that makes her happy too! I also will continue to "collect" as I know one day, I probably won't be able to afford to buy, so therefore, I get it while I can, LOL 😋

I have spent the day admiring my stash. :) I can honestly say I am no longer horrified, just grateful. :) My stash is my friend.

Dina

You are a normal quilter. lol

If you only have 211 pieces, I think you better go shopping!

does your stash make you happy? If the answer is yes then I suggest you say "211 fabrics" with pride and your head held high! There are worse things in this crazy life to be addicted to.. =)

You are soooooo in !!!! (lol)

I think your stash is so much like so many of us. We don't realize how much we have until we start looking for something or someone calls it to our attention. Just enjoy

same here-love my stash

you are soooooo not alone ( I would be scared to even begin!) But do not be alarmed, afraid or ashamed. It is like having your freezer stocked! No matter what your financial situation in the future, you will be able to keep on quilting. If you really get tight, you can probably find someone to buy at least some of it (but who would want to get rid of any of our stash???) I think of mine as saving for the future and my retirement (and possibly being unable to work because of my health... diagnosed with Metastatic Melanoma, Fibromyalgia, and Psoriatic Arthritis)

Oh you are perfectly normal...for a quilter.

I thank my lucke star's for my stach everday. and twice on the days I look at the price of fabric's today.

Join our club ! I recently cleaned my sewing room and put each group of color and holiday fabrics into bins on my shelves. I would have way more than 211 different fabrics easily if I had counted them. I did find some beautiful fabric that I had forgotten I had. It was a great journey for me to see all the fabric and the next week someone needed something I had, so off it went. I am making scrap quilts now and was very happy with the last one I made. I found it to be very time consuming cutting all those scraps up for this quilt but it was worth it.

I'm a counter too, the number of tiles on the floor, the number of pictures on a wall..count count count

Glad to know I am not alone!! I am surprised I had never counted my fabric before. I know I will from now on. :)

Dina

Don't be horrified, be grateful. You are blessed.

I've seen on this site where some have almost that in bolts; so no, you aren't unusual. Once I got most of mine out on shelves where I could see them I was surprised at how much I have. But compared to others I don't have that much. Last yr I decided that from now on unless I needed fabric for a particular project that I wasn't going to buy any more. I've been so very good and haven't bought any unless it was to either finish or do a certain project. When I go to Hancock's etc I don't roam the isles like I used too and only go when I need to go. My daughter even raids my stash once in a while if she needs something that I have. I'm surprised that a non-quilter/sewer would even care or ask. One of my quilting teachers only shows her quilt room to quilters; no non-quilters allowed because a non-quilter is shocked by the amount she has and a quilter drolls over how much she has. The quilter understands. If you can afford it and like it then buy it. In the past two yrs I've also gotten into embroidery, so now I have tons of thread and stabilizer and I'm slowly getting into clothes making and now starting on doll clothes. I'm sure I'll find good use for my fabric even though I don't think most would call it a stash but I'm good with it and so is my wallet.

When my neighbor visits me, she looks around and asks ---what are you going to do with all this fabric?
Jeannedog

There are many of us who "quilt" like this; many feel guilty about creating so many UFOs by working this way.

BUT, I encourage you to realize that this is just a variance of artistic method. For instance, I took me a while -- a few years, actually -- to realize that I love discovering how the patterns and colors work together; finishing the project isn't necessarily always the interest. If I have learned something -- how that green is surprisingly close to the the other mediums rather the light I thought it was, and therefore, doesn't give the whole enough contrast in values to be fully eye-appealing -- then "spending" the fabric on the process (not the project) still makes it a valid quilting experience.

I still save these efforts in a UFO container (containERS!) and occasionally I send them off to the community quilts project through our quild. I'm always delighted at how someone else makes sweet lemonade out of my "eh - lemons".

If you can't see this as a valid way to work, then just remember that many great artists left works unfinished, and no one denies their genius! :D

Jan in VA

One other good reason to have a good sized stash is economy. Not too long ago you could buy Quilt shop fabric for 5 or 6 dollars a yard, and in a very short time (cotton crop/ drought/etc) that price easily doubled.There is no sign that it will come down in price..just keep rising..so if you have a good sized stash of basic blenders and backings, you can save yourself a ton of money on every quilt you make by using blensers or backing from your stash.
Also..some of the theme fabrics are here and gone in a flash..if you like it you had better buy it when you see it, because it won't be there when you are ready to make a quilt. Harry Potter fabric comes to mind..that stuff is selling for a huge amount on e-bay and other sites now..if you were a fan and wanted to "someday" make a quilt..you're either out of luck or going to pay big now. Other fabrics just disappear...never to be seen again..so if you like birds or cats, or whatever, and you see it and love it, better invest!
If you can afford it, and it's your hobby...you aren't hurting anyone...everyone needs a hobby and something that makes them happy...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Horrified? I'd be proud to have that much fabric and be able to KNOW where each piece is.

Admire it!

LOL, someone after my heart!

A lot of my fabric is inherited. Not all is quilting cotton. What I need to do is start an old fashioned crazy quilt to use some fancies.

Depends on how much I like something. If I love it, I might buy 5 yards. If I like it a lot, 3 yards.

When my neighbor visited she looked around my sewing room and said "what is going to happen to all this when you are dead?" LOL

I'm ROF LMAO no not at you, with you because I just started a project that will take 1000 pieces which I plan on NOT using the same piece twice in the whole quilt. I have plenty of scraps to do it with from all the pieces I've saved from previous projects. The only problem I'm having is finding enough yellow and orange colors. Those are the only two that I don't use that much, but I still have more then 1000 different fabrics to chose from with out going in to my good stuff. LOL

You are doing fine and yes you are now just beginning to fit right in with us fabric hoarders. LOL Enjoy the prestige!!!!

Jan, glad to see that you are feeling well enough to join us on the board. Hopefully, you will be back to full speed soon. Take care & rest as much as you need to.

You may be a bit on the low side ...Fabric follows me home

I recently ordered a batik quilt kit online; in the pkg was a note to NOT prewash the batiks before sewing the quilt. Was advised to use a Shout color catcher when washing it when finished. This coming week, I will need to dig into making that quilt for a church raffle and now am baffled as to hand prewash OR not prewash. Comments anyone?

Oh oh i am in trouble then. Been quilting for a year and just out of curiosity, since you brought it up, i went and did a check and i stopped at 350 pieces of one yard or larger pieces with plenty left to count.lol oh well i am having fun.