Jan,
I am glad to see you back to posting. I am sharing your recovery time and it has been a long, long summer.
If I get to clean-up my dinning room then I will go to the sewing room and storage room. How many fabrics- I hesitate to guess. My DIL took care of me after my heart surgery and she is an organizer to the max! She is patient but very encouraging. I need to read about ORGANIZING.
Hoping your recovery is over soon and you can be back to sewing,

I'm afraid to add all mine up...!! I have mine folded onto boards but I did take the time when I did it to measure it and pin a small piece of paper with the yardage on each..saves a ton of time if I'm looking for a certain amount of fabric..that way I don't have to bother with boards that don't have enough..or sometimes boards that have enough to save for a backing, etc...but add it up?? NEVER !!! I'd be ashamed of myself lol

I don't know what I was thinking when I made a date with a friend to go to the fabric store near her house. Abdul sells really decent quality fabric for $2.50 a yard. I looked online to see what some of the stuff he sells goes for, and there are some that I am saving $10 a yard.. I'm looking around my stash, and I can't even imagine what I might NEED.

Actually..it would feel bad to count mine and only get to 211.... I love my fabric. I love the way it feels, the way it smells, and even the way it speaks to me! Welcome to the club!!!!

Probably a dumb question - but since I am just starting to get into doing quilts (very basic beginner) - when you talk about a stash of fabrics - other than fat quarters which I have more than 211 of already - what size do you buy when you purchase. I was thinking a yard - but while working on my first quilt, I see I need bigger pieces in order to get my borders made. I don't want to have to "shop" every time I need border yardage - but obviously fat quarters won't work and I am not sure 1 yard pieces are big enough. Any suggestions? Rene

Start with buying 2-3 yds of basics....blenders, color on color, whites, blacks, neutrals. Then, as you find focus fabrics you want to use, you will have stash to work with. Eventually, you will find anything goes. If you love it, buy what fits your budget and storage space. If you like a fabric collection, I suggest getting some of all of it...if not, regret is sure to follow. When it is no longer being produced- that is when you want it most!

That's true for me too.

I would say you fit right in. I say to myself that I will not and then turn around and do just that. I think because there are so many quilt patterns out there we just want to try them all. Then we become overwhelmed. When I get coupons in the mail or through e-mail, I make a list of what I can get during the available dateline. This week I had a coupon for 40% off one cut of yardage, so I bought 2 yards of a piece I've been wanting since I've seen it. I also got a fat quarter that was less than $2.00. I walked out of that shop with a bill including tax less than $10.00.

I seem to have this problem too but it's a good excuse to go to the fabric store again. ;-)

Some fabric lines are around for what seems like minutes only. So - if you see something you truly love (and can afford it) - get it. It may not be around next time you go into the shop. Nor anywhere else! For passionate attraction - I suggest a 4.0 yard minimum - because then it is (usually) enough to make uncut borders for up to a king-size quilt. If it is a really large print with a long vertical repeat (24-27 inches) - I would up that amount to allow for pattern placement.

Also - shops can carry only so much at a time - so at times it's necessary to go to several places to get enough of a certain color or style. Color shades also come and go. Some colors seem harder to find than others.

So much of this seems to be learned by experience (in my case, usually by making a mistake!). Nothing like running short of a no longer available fabric to force one to learn improvisational skills!

As a cautionary note: Fabric buying CAN become an addiction.