I absolutely love this approach! Thank you for taking the time to think it through and post!!

I sell some quilts,give some away and use some.My stash is good sized but not a liability.I am on disability and can not shop much so I view it as an asset.I can make quilts for a long time and only buy batting. I am OK with my daughter pawing thru what is left when I am gone.When my fibro flares I sit and look at my stash while drinking tea and imagine possible future quilts.Juy my opinion on this.

What great ideas!! Thanks so very much! Love your room so neat, I can not do a thing in my room when it is a mess, so I do try to keep it up. If I had used these ideas I might have saved myself from buying the same Kit three times! Yep 3 times I went to the quilt show and each year I got this darling wall hanging kit, Pattern, $13.00 hand drawn face and hands, $14.00 and fabric pack @44.95 close to $72. so last year after I bought the 3ed one and found the first 2 as I was putting it away, took back 2 of the sets and the vender was kind enough to let me trade 2 of the (the quilter) for a witch, kit and mermaid kit. I got real lucky, but how many times I buy second DVD, of one I already have, books I do the same, but ( my kindle helps me out, telling me I already bought it, LOL thank you amazon for this. I have been telling myself NOT to buy another quilter kit this year at the Paducah quilt show. I want to write down some of your ideas and work with them, thank you so much!!!

Your approach is interesting and if I was unhappy with my hobby in any way I might incorporate some of those ideas. Since I don’t have a lack of space, a major lack of funds, or a desire to streamline my production, my hobby is “warehoused” differently.

I look at my large fabric stash as a pleasure and a necessity because I can't run to my local store and find just the "right" pink (or whatever color/style). YES, fabric is trendy. I might want a baby pink striped fabric, a grayed pink with polka dots, a bright pink solid, etc. etc. etc.. Styles and colors do change and I can't always find what I want at the stores - I have hundreds of fabrics in pink and I'm glad to have them. After all, I can't just whip up a certain hue and pattern like I could if I were an oil painting artist. My fabrics are sorted and stored in a way that I know right where to go to find that perfect color, style (repros, modern) , type (flannel, minke), large scraps, strings, etc.. Sometimes I swing by the fabric store on my way home from somewhere else with a coupon in hand. I walk the aisles and don’t find anything I like well enough to add to my stash so I just end up buying a solid or a white-on-white. I guess my point here is that the fabrics in my stash are fabrics that I love and I know I can’t just walk into a store and find them again. My creative process and joy in quilting wouldn’t be the same if I had to choose only from current stock in stores before starting a project.

I think I have 40+ machines and this does not overwhelm me. We have the space and I enjoy them. Some of the machines from the 1800's are nothing short of stunning beauties. Some days I want to treadle, some days I want to use my whisper quiet vintage Necchi Supernova, and some days my Bernina 440QE is just the ticket! You are right, we need to learn to clean and oil and maintain our own machines.

Different strokes for different folks. If my future living space doesn’t allow me to have the same quantity of items organized in a manner that causes analysis paralysis or the inability to easily put my fingers on an item I will need to change my behavior. BTW – I’m sure I have more fabric that I will ever use in my lifetime and I am okay with that!

PS, I make each of my quilts as I was making them for me or hubby, the best job I can do with best fabrics, and thread and batt, after 500 quilts only have less than 50 at home the rest were given, family friends and charity each one had the the very best I could put into it, if ever some day I am in need I hope what goes round comes round.

To me, my quilting is 2/3 hobby and 1/3 business, but I don't tend to follow many rules when I'm creating.

I fully agree with you about making quality charity quilts and learning to do preventative maintenance on your machine(s).

Regarding the size and style of one's fabric "inventory", the number of machines they have, the style and quantity of the quilts one intends to make, etc. ... to me, those are all personal choices. If one has the space, funds, and desire to have a huge stash or 100 machines, I say "go for it!" if it makes them happy. :)

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Take inventory-go through your stash, write down what you have and separate it into projects. In factory terms, this is called kitting. See how many projects you have, determine your output based on the last two years of quilts you made, and see how many years it’ll take to use up your inventory. If it’s more than 5, get rid of some of it, especially if you intend to continue buying more. See more on 5S

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This isn't generally feasible for me, because my creativity is very fluid, so to speak. In other words, it's not uncommon for me to change my mind and decide to do things differently than planned. I would feel rather restricted if my projects were pre-separated.

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Don’t take fabric just because it’s free-inventory is still a drain on your assets if it won’t be used, it’s taking up floor space and space is money. I got a lot of free fabric from a pre-estate sale and most of it I’ll never use. I’ve sorted it, I’m selling some on EBay and giving some to Goodwill. Just think, you may wind up as that old lady with a BASEMENT of fabric and people pawing through it. Don’t be that person.

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I have to somewhat disagree here. My grandmother was "that person", however, her huge fabric stash (and many machines) brought her a LOT of enjoyment. She could afford it. She had the space. Yes, there was a LOT of fabric and supplies left when she passed away, but it was an honor for me to go through all of her stuff. I kept what I wanted, donated what I didn't want, and discarded a few things that had gotten tattered over the years. It was not an inconvenience for me at all, because I knew how much happiness it had brought her. I don't have children, but if I should pass before my husband, I know he won't mind finding new homes for my things, because he knows how much enjoyment it's brought me over the years. In other words, yep, I'll be "that person" too ... and I'm perfectly okay with that. :)

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Branding-you shouldn’t want a quilt exactly like what everyone else is making. Try designing one or put a twist on a pattern you’ve seen.

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To me, this is a personal preference. If I truly like a quilt as it is, I'll make it per the instructions, regardless of what everyone else is doing. If I come up with an idea that I think would improve the quilt, I stray from the pattern and go my own route.

As you can see, I'm not much on rules. :D I just feel that a person should do what makes them happy. :)

Thank you for this post. Your ideas are very helpful as I am cleaning out and reorganizing my sewing space.

Looks like you put a lot of time and effort into your thoughtful post, however, I didn't see the words "enjoy", "play", "create", "explore" or actually anything in that vein. Quilting is my hobby, not my business, so I see no need to apply business principles.

I let quilting reside in my right brain. I don't even think I could left brain it that way
BUT, I certainly appreciate people being left/right brained and dong what they feel is best for them. I suspect you got as much fun deciding all this as I do in my unorganized life. Enjoy!