bearisgray - you spoke to my heart. I have acquired way more fabric than I need and for many of the same reasons you gave. I find I am now giving it away to reduce my stash. Many fabrics I just don't like any more. Others frustrate me because I do not have enough of it to do what I want. I do find joy in giving it away. I have given a lot to a lady who makes pillows and quilts for veterans with the American Legion. And several of my friends have benefitted from my stash reduction. If I had it to do over, I would find a pattern I like and then buy the fabric I need for it with maybe a "little" extra for goofs. This is what I am now trying to do. It made me feel good to know I was not alone in this.

Hi and welcome from a North Carolina little old lady quilter! You'll find many friends here!

You are all amateurs! LOL I have a room that is bursting with fabric! I'm not really a quilter, just a fabric collector. I like the acronym: SABLE=stash acquired beyond life expectancy. My favorite LQS was next door to my job so I was there for every sale. Gorgeous fat quarters in a barrel for $1.00. Generous rainbow and tone-matched collections of scraps in a bag for $2.00. I started small but the addiction set in. A stressful day at work and I'd lunch at the quilt store. I dropped $1,000 on their going-out-of-business sale. I then moved to Connecting Threads and visited that website for my lunchbreaks. They used to have half price sales on fat quarters all the time! I've done fabric purges several times and took bags to Salvation Army. I've donated to charities and advertised on Freecycle. I've created "Welcome to Quilting Kits" for friends with books, patterms, tools and cutting boards for those who expressed an interest. In 14 years of hoarding, I've enjoyed getting rid of it almost as much as I have acquiring it! During that time I've probably made a dozen quilts and two pillows. Now that I'm retired, I hope I can buckle down and actually sew! Thanks for the topic!

OMG where do i start, I have sew much fabric, she who dies with the most wins, yep, thats me, my kids r already having a fit, cause I'm not getting any younger and they do not want me to leave it for them to figure out what to do with it, but guess what, that is just what i am going to do, die and let them figure it out. I also have a lot of yarn at least 20 rubber maid storage containers full, and the books, I bet I could feed a lot of earwigs on the paper alone. Anyway, I will let the kids worry cause I am not, lol

I haven't been quilting as long as most and had started a stash, a few pieces of fabric I loved. Then a lady I work for loss a quilting friend.This friends children did not want anything their mother had,they gave all the fabric and craft stuff to the lady I work for.This lady gave it all to me.Then this lady moved 2 times,I helped her both times as she went to down sizing she gave me tubs of wonderful fabric. I have been blessed beyond measure with all the fabric.To try to make a long story short, I have a small business where I have older ladies as clients,these ladies quilt and are on a fixed income.I have been passing a great deal of the fabric on.This has been beyond anything I could ever imagined.I have said all this to say, If you have acquired more then you will ever use ,maybe you could pass some on.In no way have I passed all this fabric on, because I do quilt and give quilts away. There may be someone you know with a "need" to keep busy.But in no way should you feel bad at yourself for buying and using something that makes you happy.Do what makes you happy life is short.

Sure, some days I am overwhelmed, others I'm a go-getter. Some days I cut up fabric for a specific pattern, bag and put a copy of the pattern in the plastic bag. Kits take up WAY less space then the actual folded fabric. Plus is that I can cut the binding at the same time. I then take the leftover fabric and pas it down the line.

My kids area also not interested. So in my Trust I have a letter telling them Who gets first grab at my fabric. I do want them to keep certain machine as I pray that I'll be able to teach my closest GD, who started learning when she was 3.5 yrs. Mom is mad at me so she doesn't get to continue her lesson.

Having a Play it Forward plan will be very helpful in the end. BUT in the mean time, I'm cutting, bagging and sewing as much as I can. Not buying a lot either. I have More than enough to make a ton of quilts.

I am glad I built up my stash because now that I am retired, I don’t have to buy much.

Well said, same here. I am currently moving in stages to be near my son in Texas. As I go through my stuff, I can't believe the amount of fabric I have purchased! Most, if not all, I purchased on sale, so got more for my $$$$! I asked my husband, "what was I thinking", he just laughs and says you were thinking about all the fun you would have sewing after retiring from my job as a Prison Nurse. thankfully, I have a dedicated room in the new house - not sure it all is going to fit, but the garage can get the overflow. I also have a "stash" of sewing machines - those are going to be sold, new house just does not have the room for them (treadles, and old singers).

I have a stash that will out live me with out a doubt! Do I regret having this much fabric, "sometimes". The bigger challenge is how my tastes have changed over the years. What I do like is now I am working from my stash more than ever. I will still pick up fabrics here or there but only 'after' I have checked with what I already have. Of course I think of the money spend and them realize I have spent far less than many others. I got the majority of my fabrics from a woman's estate when she passed away. That would account for more than 2/3's. I have been selling some of it off slowly and am doing a large number of scrappy quilts as of late. I can't seem to part with even the smallest scrap. Would I do it again. Most likely. I have always been one to sew and I love my quilting to much. I want fabrics at a finger time when I am ready to go.

Right now my 8-1/2 year old grandson wants me to make him a shirt using a hawaiian print. Saturday we went out and I picked up Simplicity 8852 but it's not so easy to find hawaiian prints in New Hampshire, lol.[/QUOTE]

Butterfli19 - did you find a Hawaiian print. i have one in my stash I picked up in a give away. I would live to see it used. it is Maroon with pineapples. I can take a picture if ya would like. It's a time like this that i appreciate my stash :)