3000+ yards of fabric....really? Will we see you on TLC's program Horders, in the not to distant future?

I am very lucky. I have a friend who makes paper. When we get together I give him bags of all scraps from retreats, friends and me. He will take anything that is cotton. Sometimes it is hard for me not to go picking in the bags. As many of you have said...some scraps are big enough to make a quilt :-)

I found the "mile-a-minute" pattern on the internet. My friend who did a lot of RV traveling recommended it as a way of eliminating scrap clutter in her limited space.

I just have to comment, there are non-quilters (and non-sewers) that absolutely get it and I love it. I started quilting about 4 years ago now. My sister lives across the country from me and I've probably seen her twice in that time. She LOVES visiting quilt shops and fondling fabric. Seriously, she's not a sewer, quilter, crafter...but she loves fabric. She's actually been collecting fabric for a while and she's given me so much. She's up here visiting right now and stopped at a shop in Foam Lake, Saskatchewan on her drive up here and picked up a $140 fat quarter bundle of Japanese fabrics, fresh from the last market. She walked in the door at 1 a.m., after driving for 3 days, and promptly handed me the bag and said you have to look at this! We were up to 2 a.m. fondling and dreaming of what I could do with it.

So trust me, there are those out there that totally get it!

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I don't make little scrappy squares, but do save my scraps for a lady who does. I just don't have the patience smile. Big and simple is my motto........lol..I do understand.

QUOTE=Lori S;5345560]You are so right .. they really do not get it... at all. But I have run into some quilters that don't get it either.. when it comes to smallish pieces... they just say pitch the scraps... but some quilters don't get the scrap thing either.
I am glad my sewing space in in the basement.. guests don't see my "stuff" unless they are very "quilter friendly". That way I don't have to provide any "reason" for the "stuff".[/QUOTE]

I save everything except for crumbs - defined as less than 1"x1"! I have reupholstered my daughter's dining room chairs with selvedges and they are sooooo cool! I have only been quilting for 4.5 years and I have been saving my strings and selvedges since the beginning. I love making my own fabric by sewing my strings together as leaders/enders. If a strip is less than 5" long I will cut it into the largest square possible, down to 1" sq. I honestly don't need to buy any fabric for the rest of my life, but it does give me pleasure to find great deals on fabric. Most of my stash is in tubs now since I took most of it to Florida for my 10 month stay there and then brought it home again. I am lucky to have a daughter who is getting into quilting, so she will get my stash of material, thread, embroidery machine, sewing machines and longarm.

But I have had even quilters be surprised at the size of my stash!!! What can you do when a store is going out of business and the material is $2.67 a yard??? Even if it is "ugly", I can cut it small or use it in a backing!!!

Now I need to get my behind back up to my loft and quilt!!!

when my husband was alive he never gave me grief about my quilting because he had his hobbies too, he collected coins, stamps, guns, and many other things. my son has a computer room that matches my quilting room for sheer volume of stuff, so he understands. my poor daughter-in-law doesn't keep anything that isn't functional, at the moment, even if it will be needed soon. she doesn't get it.

i appreciate looking at the tidiness of people who don't get it but wouldn't want to live there. where do they go for comfort when feeling down? how do they get warm when it gets cold? what do they touch for that warm, fuzzy feeling? i need to pet some fabric!

You're absolutely right about non-quilters and some quilters not understanding about our fabric "stash". I admit I had quite a "stash", and when we were forced to leave our home of 33+ years, giving it back to the bank I suffered with every piece of fabric I had to leave behind, including the fabric I got from my sister's stash when she passed away the year before. It was gut wrenching to say the least. I logically knew that I could not take all my fabric, but I gave the bulk of it to a friend of mine, then I just put my foot down and said "NO MORE:". I knew that I had to keep quilting for my sanity, being with mydisabled husband 24/7, so I have bins in my bedroom and a few more in the dining room. I knew I could not afford to buy more fabric, and knew that eventually I would use it up. Case in point, when making the family reunion quilt, I had the background and backing fabric in my "stash", although I had to ask my friend for one large piece back for the quilt backing, but having that fabric and my niece who sent me the batting, I made that quilt and didn't need to buy any fabric. Now that is a fantastic proposition, and the quilt was a big hit at the reunion. Sometimes I just need to pick up my fabric and plan what t o make, but at least it is there for me to use. You just have to realize that some people never completely understand and probably never will.

By any chance do you mean Quiltiques? They have such nice displays

Too funny!