I'm in the process of 'destashing'. I may buy sometime but only after asking myself Do I really need It, I have fun looking in magazines or quilting books and figuring what I can use from my stash. It brings me to try patterns or techniques I may have overlooked before. I bought those fabrics because they appealed to me once. if I give them away there is a fat chance that they won't be used. I'm gone to be 70 in a couple of months, and I enjoy my new way of quilting.

Same here.I also order on line only when fabric is on sale with free shipping.This wk,a LQS in the town we visited,had the good stuff for $4-4.50 a yd.I bought 4 yds.Mostly now, I like to keep basic BG & blenders in my stash..all bought on sale. If I need a certain color etc I don't have, will find it on sale.Have never bought a whole line,just what appeals.

The best way to do that is to shop on sale only. Works for me.

I have a very small stash and then some leftover scraps. I would not give any of it up because I use the scraps for applique and my stash for inspiration for new projects. I look there first then I conjure up ideas and then I buy fabric.

Please congratulate your friend for me. she is my hero. :thumbup:

i do not mean to imply that those of us who have mountains of stash are wrong. (i don't have a mountain. i have a mountain range :shock: )

i want only to go on record as having immeasurable admiration for anyone with the organizational skills and self-discipline to know the difference between want and need ... and to actually stick to need.

i will also go out on a limb and admit that i sometimes throw away my scraps. i most often bag them and find a home for them. but in the end it's just "stuff" ... "things". and i paid for it with money honestly earned. i do as i please without guilt.

I agree, thats just not RIGHT!!!! lol

I have a very little stash and I don't plan on increasing it at anytime. Course I say that every year this time of the year so we'll see......lol

Thanks, this made me smile! (the quitting watching t.v. part)...

Very Small Stash..... I decided when I started quilting a year ago that I did not want a huge stash as my kids would end up with it....probably toss it! I do buy a little extra for each project and have replaced a color a couple times, but otherwise buy what I need. Fabric changes and my taste evolves so it works for me. I have a Joannes and 2 quilt shops within 20 miles so not too hard to get what I want.

No matter how you handle it, I think "stash" means something different to each of us. The more I sew, the more pieces I have leftover. I have a closet, a 7' high cabinet and a couple of plastic tubs full, but I'll bet that there are only a couple of pieces that are a yard or more. Do I try to use them up? Absolutely. But my stash is like rabbits, multiplying!

I also stopped my "stash". No purpose to it. Tomorrow I will see something I like better than what I bought yesterday and will want to do it right away. As a result, yesterday's purchase is still sitting there waiting. Happened too many times, so I quit accumulating stash and am trying to use up what I already have. Stash is a waste of time and money. It just piles up.

I could not have what stash that I have but recently with the economy the way it is, I have added a new technique to my way of doing things. 1. I went through some of the pattern of quilts that I wanted to make in the future. These were not the ones that had due dates but ones I was interested in trying.2. After that I cut down the list to ones that could be made scrappy. These included hugs and kisses, french braid, log cabin and bow ties. 3 In my sewing room I went and found all my scraps and started cutting the pieces that I would need for these quilts depending on the size of the scrap. These all went into seperate zip locks for each project. I am not done yet with all my scraps but I have enough for 1 row of each of these patterns for the future. They will be my scrapbook of all the projects that I have done even the clothes I sewed for the kids as babies.. So now as I finish a project I can just find the right pieces and recreate new art. I am also using the ones that are 2 small for the postage stamp blocks for stuffing pillows. Si no piece is too small to use. I am using my stash but I am using every strip,block and crumb.

I was thinking PATHETIC :!: How could you call yourself a quilter without a stash :?: :shock: :-o :roll:

I rarely pay full price for fabric.

I have had to put a stop to my "impulse" buying of fabric for this year and made a resolution to use what I have on hand. Making three quilts for little girls this week and had no problem finding what I need in my stash.

Also - my B&W quilt-to-be has sufficient fabric on hand for me to start....now!!!

I started my stash when I was still working so that I would not have to spend as much money when I retired. I pull from it often. I love scrappy. Diane C.

Sounds kind of boring to me..I love looking through my fabric and figuring out what to make with it......just made gobs of doll clothes out of stash for Christmas...fun...

I've heard of people like this..........they really exist?!? Hmmmmm

I have been a garment maker since I was 13- and my garage is lined with shelves of fabric- some that old and in good shape. I always said when I retired I would quilt, so I always kept my scraps not knowing they had to be cotton! Now I'm disabled/retired and have begun quilting and all I hear from my girfriends is "well, what about in your stash?". So I'm trying to build my proper one up, and I will get rid of the remnants that I won't use from garment making that are too small. I've done pretty good so far- we have a quilt shop that runs 40% days every so often, so you can buy the just because fabrics and not feel so guilty.I plan on being around a while yet, too!!

I try really hard NOT have a stash. I find that there is ususlly not the
"correct" fabric for a new pattern so I end up going and buying more fabric to match. or I do not have enough fabric to make patter. I just made a quilt that I did not have enought focas fabric to make the true pattern so I had to improvise (I was very proud of myself). Also I can not afford to have fabric stash with material that I am not going to use right a way. I try to buy fabric to go with a certain pattern.

Are you FU$%^ing kidding me? How can you stereotype people like that when you don't even know them. Just because we don't keep it for ourselves does not mean we throw it away and it doesn't mean that we are LAZY! Just because I do not keep every little tiny crumble of fabric doesn't mean that I am LAZY. It means I am NOT a hoarder, and I DON'T keep trash in my house. I have the money to blow on whatever I want. HOWEVER I CHOOSE!!!!! not to. Would you go buy a new couch if you didn't have the room for one? or if it was going to set out in the garage and NEVER get used. I guess some people would. However some of us use our minds wisely and we choose not to waste our money on something that we may never get around to using.

Further more the comments saying that she is "SICK" or that she has "LOST HER QUILTING WINGS" or that she is not as worthy of a quilter....are you KIDDING ME? This isn't a race. If you were to die today, your dead can't take it with you and its not going to pay for your funeral. I find it SICK that people would spend so much time and money GATHERING.....just gathering fabric. How is that healthy?

hoard (hôrd, hrd)
n.
A hidden fund or supply stored for future use; a cache.
v. hoard·ed, hoard·ing, hoards
v.intr.
To gather or accumulate a hoard.
v.tr.
1. To accumulate a hoard of.
2. To keep hidden or private.

Just because your house doesn't look like those on TV doesn't mean you don't have a problem.

I will be leaving this "race" now cause it is painfully obvious that this is about who has the most to spend on fabric.
To the MODS, maybe you could start a board just for those who hoard fabric. I know I am tired of seeing five or six posts a day about people and their stash.

"I was thinking PATHETIC :!: How could you call yourself a quilter without a stash :?: :shock: :-o :roll:[/quote]

I call myself a POOR QUILTER!

I have so much fabric that i don't know what to do, now that is a shame, when the grandkids started comeing i was so busy taking care of them i didn't have the time to sew, now i'm taking care of my sons two little boys and still don't have the time. Oh, what a great way to live. I get the best of both

Serious?

WOW!

Scrappy quilts are my favorite. I am making a scrappy grandmother's flower garden right now. I take all the tiny scraps from my quilting friends. I love the variety.

To each his own. If that works for someone, to not have a stash, that's OK.
I love the fact that I can go downstairs and shop in my stash and make FREE quilts. I live in an area that I have to go at least 30 to 60 miles to have more of a selection of quilt shops and fabric. I like to have supplies on hand.
The term "Free Quilts" is one that my DH came up with. When I told him one time that I got all the fabric out of my stash - he said that is was free. So, I use this term all the time now.

I do not have a stash - ON PURPOSE. That said, I do NOT give my scraps away. They are stored neatly and I draw from them when I can, or when I need a project but can't afford to buy.

We should avoid to judge the stash of our friend quilters. We all live in a free country where there is no quilt police to inspect our stash. Some of us have the money or the credit card to buy at will. Some of us hide what they buy, some are happy to go to garage sales, Some will quilt on the kitchen table, some have a quilting room all to themselves. Some make quilts by the dozen, some produce one every two years. We are all women (men) with a different life story, and a passion that cannot be measured of love of quilting. We learn one from the others, we commiserate on our hard spots in life, we are happy to share our joys.The new year is just beginning , can we just take the resolution of respecting each other.

I have a small stash of left over fabric and some I bought at a yard sale for cheap. But I basically buy for a quilt. I do look at my stash first and then add to that from the store unless it is something that I only want a new modern color scheme then usually my stash doesn't have it.

I do a lot of applique so I need my stash of scraps for that.

I have a very modest supply of fabric on hand, and I like it that way! This last year I spent a lot more on new older machines than on fabric. I started out just getting the fabric I needed for one project, LOL still have some of the left overs from them, back 22 years ago. I found that if you have not used it in that long, you problaly won't so pass it along. And my taste in fabric has changed so much, I gave lots of bags of fabrics I had for years to a group of quilters in a poor area for charity quilts. Better for them to have it and use it than for it just sitting on a shelf here, why?? Just so I can say I have a stash, think not. I do not have a problem with those who do have a nice large stash, and I feel they should not have a problem with me not having a large stash. I've made over 400 quilts to date, so I condider myself a quilter. If I still had all that fabric I would indeed have a nice huge stash. So I guess it just boils down to, what do ya do with all your fabric?? look at it or use it? no problem with me either way!!

I don't know. I think there is something fundamentally wrong with any quilter that doesn't have an ever growing stash! Of course, I'm kidding. :wink: I have a sizeable stash, but I am working on wittling it down and not buying any new fabric until I have made a heavy dent in it. And by the way, that's not working so well for me either! I'm weak! :mrgreen:

I am fairly new at quilting,stashing I have very little of it. When I get thru with quilt I make I call my friend and tell her I have left over fabric and for her to take it if she needs it. I won't buy real expensive fabric. Now I don't mean to hurt anyone but this amazed me someone yesterday I believe their showed their stash and it was a wide wall and from top to bottom of the room full of fabric,my first thought was "she's Nuts' but then I said I bet she is one of those real experienced quilters who makes those real fancy quilts. To each his own.

My sister has very little stash. She only keeps the leftovers long enough to make a scrap quilt. Other than that, she buys just what she needs, when she needs it. I keep telling her that she is a sick woman and needs counseling, but she is in total denial!!

I am fairly new at quilting,stashing I have very little of it. When I get thru with quilt I make I call my friend and told her I have left over fabric and for her to take it if she needs it. I won't buy real expensive fabric. Now I don't mean to hurt anyone but this amazed me someone yesterday I believe showed their stash and it was a wide wall and from top to bottom of the room full of fabric,my first thought was "she's Nuts' but then I said I bet she is one of those real experienced quilters who makes those real fancy quilts. To each his own.

Much of my stash has been attained the same way. I really like having the faric to chose from when I am ready to make a quilt. I enjoy my hobby of quilting and yet I have to make it financially feasible.

Sometimes I go into my tiny sewing room just to look at all the beautiful colors and dream of future projects. I now only buy fabric for specific projects, unless I can't live without a piece that is on sale!!! OK, I admit it, I am a fabriholic, don't see that I have a problem and am not interested in a cure. Seriously, have enjoyed having extra batting, pretty threads, and all the extras we accumulate on hand, for a spur of the moment project.

That sounds like my story. Went to JoAnn's with a gift card. Walked out without buying one thing. Kind of depressed me. :cry:

To each his own. I would love to have a bigger stash but maybe because I do not I can concentrate more on getting projects done because when I see something I like my mind goes to working.

I agree with her. My stash depresses me. IMHO, it is money that is sitting there unused. When I see sewing rooms with thousands of dollars of fabric and the person is not a professional, I cringe. To each their own, but the next post is about getting fabric at goodwill for pennies on the dollar. Fabric is not an investment.

Quilting is a hobby for most of us. If it makes you happy to have thousands of dollars in fabric, etc, that you will never use, then it's cool with me. What makes me happy in quilting is finishing a project not having the ability to make 200 but not getting them done.

I made my "stash" last year when I went to Paducah and Shipshewanna. I will get through it but I am not adding to it.

I've been trying to build my stash. That way I can just pick some material and work on something. It's not convenient for me to just run out to get what I need. I do try very hard to buy on sale or clearance, because if I didn't have a stash, started a new pattern, had to go buy material, I would end up spending so much more. So a stash actually saves me money in the long run.