Lots and lots of Stash questions, well maybe not lots but at least I couple I hope you lovely ladies can give me your opinions on. Thanks in advance.

1. When you see a fabric in a store or online that just "speaks" to you and you just have to have it but you don't have a quilt in mind yet.... how much of that fabric do you buy?

2. Storing your stash, what is the best way?

3. Knowing how much you have? For example you bought a yard of fabric and only needed half a yard, how do you know a year from now how much you have? My thought was to make a little note and pin it to the fabric so I know how much fabric is there (as well as how much the fabric cost b/c i want to know how much the quilt cost me)....but will that ruin the fabric having a small pin hole in it for 3-6-12 months?

Thanks in advance for you opinions!

When I first started, I though I 'had' to have a stash. Storage got out of hand and now, I'm having problems using it up! I could probably make 20 to 30 quilts out of the stash. I now try to buy just what I need for a quilt that I have in mind. If I can, I pull out of my stash, but I really like new fabrics!!!

I'm a fan of scrappy type quilts, so I usually just end up buying fat quarters of fabrics I like, unless I have something in mind that I need more for.

If it's fabric that I fell in love with, I'll usually buy 2 yards.
If there's not much left on the bolt, I'll buy the entire bolt.
I've bought fabric, gone to use it later only to find out that I don't have enough and they don't sell the fabric ANYWHERE anymore.

I have a container that I put my fat quarters in. I have a bin that holds scraps of all sizes...I usually have to dig in that to find something I want.
Large pieces...over 2 yards are kept in one dresser and others, smaller one yard cuts are in another dresser.
My Christmas fabric is on a shelf of it own, along with seasonal fabric.

I tried to sort by color, but failed miserably at that, so I just stack it.

Pinning to the fabric won't hurt it...I just pulled a piece of fabric the other day, and honest to God, the label on it was dated 2006 and it was pinned. Can't see where I pulled the pin out.

Ok, now you are asking....why was the fabric in there so long? Did I forget about it? Yep! I forgot about it. Actually, it was in a bin off to the side that didn't get unpacked from our move.

I'm a new quilter and one of the first things I learned is that a Fat Quarter doesn't go very far! Now when I see a fabric I like, I always buy at least a yard, and if I *really* like it, or it's on sale very cheap, or I have a specific project in mind that needs more than a yard, I buy two or three yards. I don't have a lot of money to spare, so though I'd dearly love to go on a stash-building frenzy, I simply can't afford to - so I trawl the remainder and discount racks of the fabric stores for my stash.

As a result, my stash is so small that I can remember what I have. If I ever have trouble remembering, I think what I will do is take a digital photo of the fabric and make myself a computer file with the photo and how much of the fabric I have, that way I'll be able to see at a glance what I have, all in one place on my computer (but I'm a bit of a computer geek, anyway).

I don't have a good storage solution (yet). I have a small plastic bin with my FQs and a large cardboard box with yardage and WIPs.

Cheers,
Jan

If I see something I really like, I buy at least 2 yards -- more if it's on sale or really inexpensive!!

I store my fabric in those plastic see thru bins. The only problem I have with that is that due to back problems, I can no longer move the stacked ones around:cry: -- ticks me off to no end that I have to have somebody move my fabric boxes around just so I can pet it!!

I too am a fairly new quilter but have sewn for years.
First off all my large pieces (1yard or more) are folded & on shelves above my cutting area. Smaller pieces are in tubs. Strips are in labeled small bins. All clear tubs so I can see at a glance what's inside.
I've never pinned anything and if you should chose to be sure to use good pins that will not rust with time.
I have another wall in my room that all the tools, rulers, accessories, embelishments, etc are hanging.
Then under my work tables are the tubs of lace, ribbon, large serger spools and a two 2 drawer file cabinets for my patterns.
On the floor I got 2 of the huge cutting mats - this makes it easier to lay out the back, batting and top for pinning & trimming and protects my carpet. I put velcro under them to keep them from sliding around.
I'm a crafter and quilter using a nice size 10 x 13 room with southern exposure natural light plus a series of track lights. I work with 4 different sewing machines and when I enter my little haven I can do what I want and leave it as it is by simply closing the door behind me.
Hope these suggestions help. We all eventually find what works best for us. Just find a way to make it fun! :lol:

I never had a stash really, just odds and ends and leftovers. This year I started building one and I've made many fat quarter bundle purchases, one was 144 FQs on eBay. No, FQs alone don't go very far so unless I have the whole collection that can go together into a design then it will likely end up in a scrappy type quilt.

I just ordered some fabric yesterday from Whittle's Fabric online and at $3.50 to $4.50 per yard it only came to $90-something for 22 yards. I don't have anything specific in mind for them so I bought 1 yard each of most of them. I usually will get a set of fabrics in a collection, ALL of them if I can. I bought 2 yards each of one collection that there were only 4 fabrics of since I figure a full or queen size quilt in a simple pattern would be at least 8 yards plus border. I also will buy more of the "background" fabric, 3 or 4 yards.

Whittle's is just great, IMO. I placed the order yesterday morning and I got an email at 1:00 in the afternoon informing me that the order had shipped.

My approach to a stash is a little different. I "buy" only if it is a great deal I can't pass up or I "find" yardage at garage sales for practically nothing. I also buy (regular prices...) for a specific quilt I'm planning to make. Right now, I have fabric purchased for the next three quilts that are planned for differant people.

Even so, though, (sigh.....) sometimes a fabric will speak to me and I will have to have it. I buy a couple of yards and take it home and enjoy petting it until it has a specific purpose.

I sort by color but honestly the stash really needs some refolding and organizing. I use shoe holders that can be hung in a closet. It isn't working too well as the weight of the fabric is exceeding the capacity of the shoe holders.

I buy one yard cuts and stack them by color in wire cubes in my closet.
1/2 yds I have in a bin.
Batiks in a bin of their own. Also marbles.
I buy backings and they have a cube of their own.
Christmas has its own cube. Special fabrics like panels I hang on pants hangers
Fat quarters I store in plastic baskets by color that I get at the dollartree store. Then they go on a bookcase.
I have a plastic drawer unit for special fabrics like red, white and blue for wounded warrior quilts our group makes.
I hang my most used rulers on peg board along with rotar cutters, scisors etc. Some larger rulers and very small ones with no holes are in an inclined sorter.