It has always astounded me that non sewers/quilters are shocked at the amount of "stash" we all have. Maybe its because nuts/bolts/tools/stamps/coins/are all MUCH smaller and of course collected phenomenally well by the male species, but I have never heard ANYONE wander up to a guy and say GEE you SURE have lots of nuts/bolts/stamps/coins, WHEN are you going to use them all?? I have never apologized for a being a fabric fondler (even pre quilting days) and collector. I always said I would win the race to have the most fabric and I see no reason to not continue to work to attain that goal :::::snicker::::snicker:::: Although I do admit that I have slowed down some the last couple of years, its very painful for me to spend $12 a yard for fabric, so I am "shopping my stash" more these days!

I have been building my stash up, too. My problem is that I've run out of room to put any more. I have had times when my stash came in handy. Just wish I had a bigger area to store it....I would break my fabrics down more so it would be easier to find exactly what I'm looking for. There's been times where I knew I had a certain fabric but finding it has been the problem. Of course, this won't stop me from buying more. I just need to live another hundred years to do all the quilts I want and to use up my stash. Ya'll have helped me to not feel a little quilty about my stash. I thank you for that!!

Well....hmmm can't give you any reason not to buy a stash. Who would I be kidding if I did since I just added 4 yards each of these very colorful fabrics to my stash.....

http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/...psf7f16740.jpg

Rosie

Oh yes, one more thing. Have a supply of reasons handy why you bought it, if DH ask why you bought it. Usually I sneak it into the house and put it with my stash. Then if he should ask, then say "Oh, that's been there for awhile", he just does not need to know for how long.

Yep....you are now truly bitten by that quilting bug...see you in the "Fabric Moratorium" posts a couple more years down the track:)

Isn't that the truth? Wouldn't it be great if we could hit the moderation "easy" button?

My stash came from freecycle, yardsales, friends de-stashing, local quilters who needed more space and great sales at Walmart and JoAnns-back when you could pick up decent fabric on clearance for $1-2 a yard. You had to be careful and search for the better stuff.

Now that the economy has taken a nose dive and Walmart no longer has fabric, the cheapest I've found it on clearance is $3 for not so exciting fabric. The "What were they thinking when they came up with this idea?" fabrics

Rosie, I love your new fabrics!

My stash is huge though I have friends whose stashes dwarf mine. I've not bought fabric in 3 years except for a wedding gift quilt and some backings. I have solely shopped from my stash. And, last year alone, I used at least 55 yards in donation quilts. I'm not sure how many yards for other quilts were used. And the sad thing? No one but me can tell my stash is somewhat reduced.

My stash makes me feel warm and cozy...it's like a good friend...keeps me grounded and ready for the next "idea" I agree with the price of fabric these days, it's great just to shop in the stash. Making 6 valentine tablerunners for family and friends..all came from my stash. Using my stash makes me feel frugal...ha ha

I have a stash since I live in the country. If I want to start or finish a project at 10:30 p.m. I can. Because I have a stash. I cant run to the LQS at the cost of gas, so that is my reason to build a stash. Not to mention that I can.
I buy when I get great prices for the most part. Even outdated fabric looks good in a scrappy, darn it, now I want to go buy more fabric!

Yes, a stash is very important. For example, if you suddenly find that you are going to a baby shower or a birthday party the day after tomorrow, you need the fabric to make something, not spend the day shopping for something. Of course, BEFORE I was a quilter, I had 125 boxes of fabric for costumes and lost it all in a flood, so I may not be the best source of information. Now I only have 16 large dressers worth.