ok,, this may sound like I am an alien that dropped here,, HOW EVER,,, I only have fabric that I know I have a quilt for it... Is this normal? I see all the wonderful pictures of your sewing spaces and see tons of fabric,, I love them,, but I have never had bulk of any one kind. I am fairly new to quilting, so will this change as I get more confident in quilting? May sound like a question from far left field ,, just wondering?lol... :-D

I was the same way at first. I find I over buy and that adds to my stash or if the sale is really good I buy 5-6 yards and then use as needed. My quilts are scrappy. It has taken several years to have a decent stash. I really don't want it any bigger because of space in my sewing room.
Whatever works for you.....

You are not alone :wink: there are quilters who only buy as they go... The rest of us may be just as hooked on fabric as we are making quilts :D:D:D
Over time, you may find that you just HAVE to have this fabric or THAT one.... LOL

I too only buy material for the one I am working on so you are not alone.

Guess it depends on which "Bug" bites you first! LOL
The Quilting Bug or the Fabric Bug. Be aware too that there are also Gadget Bugs, Pattern Bugs, Forum Bugs, Swap Bugs, Machine Bugs...

Ladies did I forget anything? :)

Hmm, you know, it just may be a syndrome: FODS.. Fabric Obsessive Disease. Be glad you don't have it (yet) :mrgreen:

I think it will change. A little over a year ago I taught a friend to quilt and she would laugh when I bought fabric without a quilt in mind. She would just buy what she needed. 18 months later her stash is bigger than mine. LOL

I will say I don't buy as much as I use to.

I use to buy as I quilted. But lately, to keep costs down I have I have been buying from garage sales/thrift shops, I buy when it's available. It's going to be a bit of a challenge to create a quilt, but I think I'll like the challenge.

I am planning on making a bargello and that I will buy to use for a specific purpose.

I think there are probably more, but I can't think of them right now. Except for the QMB bug! :P

I try to buy for a specific project, but I always buy much more than I need, so my stash is growing. It will soon outgrow the available space for it.

I have a sewing room that is 18 x 18. Three walls, my hubby built shelves on for me, and those three walls cover three of the bedroom walls and are loaded with fabric. So I have been "Paying it Forward" and sending people who need it a box at a time. I did all I could this month but will post again next month which is just around the corner. I teach quilting at the senior center and other places and people have donated the fabric from relatives when they pass. Plus I am a fabricaholic. I seem to buy too much but can't refuse a sale. So let's hope the bug doesn't bite you too soon. I also have a short wall with bins of Projects to start and projects to finish, etc. The other half of that wall is quilt tops completed and ready to quilt or be donated to one of the kids organizations. So I have decided to give fabric away until they stay within the walls of my roonm and not fall into the hallway. LOL.In a year, you post again and let us know how much you have gathered.LOL

Should we send her to the vintage machine shoppe?

welcome, and thanks for posting your ? we all learn from each other

At first, my stash built slowly from extra fabric left from projects. Then I got bitten by the FQ bug and I have lots of those. Now, I will buy yardage of something that strikes my fancy just because I like it. My stash is still not as impressive as many I've seen on this board. I just don't have storage space for it.

My favorite quilts are scrappy. I rarely make a quilt with less than 20 different fabrics in it, and usually more, so I tend to have lots of fat quarters, then lots of scraps from fat quarters, plus my vintage fabrics that I can't seem to stop buying. But for me, I have been unable to complete a quilt with only a few fabrics. I just lose interest. It's the fabrics and playing with color and pattern that I love.

I've never had the money to buy ahead, so when I want to make something, I wait until I have cash and then buy what I need. My "stash" as you call it is what would be small remments leftover from sewing clothes for my granddaughters. I kept those so I could make baby quilts for them someday. When I see some of the sewing rooms and stashes on here, I just drool. How wonderful it would be to have rooms like those instead of a corner in my bedroom, and to have fabric on hand to choose from when I see a pretty pattern on here that I would love to try. I'm not complaining, and I am so glad for you who are able to do things that way, can. And to those of you who pay forward, I think you are wonderful , generous ladies . Bless you all!!!

I'm like everyone else, I bought what I needed at first then I bought what I liked & extra of it for a stash. I like to do scrappy quilts, a little of this & a little of that!! I don't need any more fabric, but ......! Did I forget to mention that I'm going to Hancock's today?

LOL... I will post in a year,, lol.. maybe it will hit me by then,,,

whoo,, I was beginning to think I was alone in this matter,, I see alot of fabric I love and owuld love to have,, but I was always worried that I would have to have it,,then when it came time to cutting it,, I would not want to because it was so pretty.. or that I would have so much,, that I would get overwhelmed by what I have,, and not be able to choose,,lol... does think make sense to anyone else besides me? :?: :-o

My mom only buys fabric as she needs it. I keep teasing her she's not a real quilter. :mrgreen: She is shocked by my stash and can't understand why I would collect it before I actually need it. Just another thing we don't see eye to eye on.

I think it's just what makes you happier or more comfortable.

Oh my, you are so abnormal. JUST KIDDING!!!
It made me smile when I read it. I started the same way. Signed up for a beginning quilting class, bought exactly what I needed. That was about a million yards of fabric ago :D:D
Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!

Anything on this board may or may not make sense but it doesn't matter :) I DO get overwhelmed at times though, so I'm using up my way-to-large stash and if some doesn't get used it's okay. Getting overwhelmed for me is from the amount, not that I won't be able to choose. I can keep it, give it away. or just enjoy looking at it. I eventually seem to use most though.

My sister was like that but she's not a quilter so I explained to her that it's like an artist only having one color of paint. My husband is really understanding about it- but he's creative himself so I think it's easy to understand for him.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Have fun, dear!! You deserve it b/c you just made me LOL :D

Don't feel as your out in left field by yourself. We all started that way. When the sales happened, so did I!!! Then I just kept looking and little by little I grew to 17 containers of fabric!!! Honey, you'll get there!! :lol: :lol: Welcome to the club!!

Consider yourself lucky! You obviously do not have the buying for the sake of buying bug. It's a devil in disguise. I am currently on a self-proclaimed buying moratorium. It's hard!

Okay, I confess, I am a fabriholic...You are not going to get me in rehab! I love fabric and I love scrap quilts. It is amazing how many quilts my favorite fabrics show up in and it is really tramatic when I run out of a favorite! But like so many others I am running out of space so I am "slowing" down on my fabric purchases.

I agree with this completely. I have been quilting for 35 years - so I've had a lot of time to collect fabrics. I make mostly scrap quilts. My purchasing habits: I buy remnants unless I hate them. I buy yardage when I need it. I buy fat quarters for the variety. If there is a really good sale - watch out pocketbook!
I bought a book years ago called Color and Cloth (Mary Coyne Penders) and from doing some of her exercises found the colors that I avoided. I filled those empty spots in.
I now have 2 1/2 dressers full of neatly folded, color organized fabric. I rarely have to go searching for the "right" one. I can't imagine going into a store to pick out 6 fabrics that work together in one trip. Just isn't going to happen.
Buy what you like. Enjoy the process. And keep your scraps!

I started out this way, just buying what I needed for a project. As time went on though, while buying fabric for a project I would see other fabrics that I just had to have.
When I see a "must have" fabric I buy 3yds, other's that I really like I will buy 1-2yds. I don't have a huge stash, but I have enough that I have slowed down on buying "extras". :-D

Sorry, I am Hooked on Fabric! I wish I were more like you but I love fabric. I love looking at it, buying it, making things out of it-- or not, I love fondling it, smelling it, telling others about it, gloating if I get a great deal on it, and on and on and on....

Maybe I am just different. I had a stash before I ever thought about quilting.
Everytime I sewed something I always had leftovers and always kept them. I think it is something learned from DM and GM. I guess in my case it runs in the family..LOL:)

Yes, FREE embroidery designs and thread..........I got so many I don't think I will ever use them, but just in case, I download it, because someday I might need it. hahaha :lol:

I got the fabric bug bad!

I started out making baby quilts, still my favorites. Then I found a pattern I really liked that called for "not quite" 1 yard of focus fabric, and 2 1/2 yards of secondary fabric. Then I started buying 1 yard cuts of kids fabric I loved. Now I buy 1 yard of anything under $5 I like, 3 yards if I love, and 5 yards if I can't live without it. But, I have very few 5 yard cuts and about 100 1-yard kids cuts.

People have donated fabric to me by the bolt. I use that for backs if I don't like it. I give it away to new quilters.

I buy fqs if I find them under $1, will pay no more than that. Still have a pretty large collection.

I have one shelf of "boxes of quilts". These are complete quilt kits I have made, with the pattern, and the beautiful fabrics, for "someday."

Let's face it folks, most of us have a not so rare form if OCD - we have OCFBF: Obsessive Compulsive Fabric Buying Disease

I started out just buying what I needed. Now I buy because I love it. My stash isn't as big as some but is big enough for me.

lol...... :lol:

I used to buy enough fabric for only one project... but I'd buy a bit more than needed 'cause I was still learning and if I messed up, well I could just sew the extra fabric rather than take that dreaded seam-ripper out. As I got better I built up a tiny stash with the extra fabric I wasn't using 'cause I wasn't messing up. Then I made my first scrappy quilt from the leftovers... and boy am I hooked now. I buy remanants and fat quarters 'cause the budget is still really tight but I find that now I crave the variety.

I just have to be prepared. If I wake up in the morning and decide I want to start a project, I don't want to have to spend half the day looking for fabric to start it.

My stash also grows because I choose fabric to start a project, then one of the fabrics I have chosen will send me back to shop for more fabric to add another level of color or print. Which also leads to purchasing additional fabric. It is necessary to be flexible, especially as your project evolves and grows.

We share lots of fabrics in our quilt guild -- it offers each of us more options. Often someone else will have that fabric that we would not give a second glance to, but our block needs that little something to make it complete.

And, buying fabric just makes me feel good!

I buy fabric I like when I see it because it may not be there again when I want it. Fabrics and fabric lines are constantly changing. My SIL who quilts told me if you like it, buy one yard: if you love it, buy 2: if you REALLY love it, buy three. I have found that to be good advice. My stash is not large but I know over time it will get bigger. I just love fabric shopping! :D

And please show us some pics of the results of yourwork.
I am always looking for new[to me] patterns of scrap quilts.
I have a small stash and would like to put it to good use.