Stash or Buy as Needed?
 

Which do you think is better?

Having a stash - (having more fabric on hand than one can use in a lifetime) ?

or

Buying only enough for a given project and all fabric on the premises will take up less than a cubic yard of space?

I have a small stash, thanks to a generous friend, so I only buy as needed, to either compliment what I have, or just what I need to do a certain pattern. Space and money are a major concern I have to work within. I also see no need in being overwhelmed with fabric and forgetting what's really in that mess.

I have a small stash of fabric and am very grateful for it but I'd rather have the space. If I could go back in time (before losing my job) I wish I had purchased everything it would take to complete a quilt and waited until I finished it to purchase for the next quilt. My taste has changed over the years but my funds have greatly diminished!

I have a very large stash and trying to use up what I can but ----don't you know it----I need just one certain fabric to match what I am making!!! Try explaining that to my DH when he says "with all of your fabric you don't have something to match?????!!!!" Long story short-my daughter and 3 DGD moved in and had to make my sewing room a bedroom and so had to buy a shed for back yard and sometimes I go shopping out in the shed and I am surprised to find fabric I don't even remember I have. Tons of fun to go shopping out there and not spending any money!!!

I was gifted lots of fabrics, but mostly small chunks under FQ size, a few years back. It was fun to get, but does take up a lot of room... I love quilting shops and we make some huge detours when on vacation just to check them out. I always try to buy at least 1 metre of fabric... so I collect with a theme idea each year. The last 2 years were the Row by Rows.... but a couple weeks ago I had to purchase fabric to keep adding borders to my peacock project. One fabric was $18.99/m and the other $20.99/m .... whew.... that's a lot of money, but hopefully the quilt will be worth it.
Long story.... short..... I guess I would choose not to have a stash if I was to start over....

I am very fortunate to have a nice stash. My dgd moved out so I took over the sunroom! I find that I love shopping in my own stash before I go out. I have it all organized which really helps.

I definitely think it's better to have a stash. I love all my fabric and love to "shop" from it. I'm a big Saturday evening and Sunday sewer so I keep a lot on hand since I can't run to the store to pick up extra. I do use my stash. The only fabrics I've bought besides something to go with a certain collection is once a year at Quilt Festival and I don't buy that much. Mostly its just if I see a collection that really catches my eye and I can picture using it in a project.

When I first got the quilting bug, I found great buys at estate sales and bought about 4 large totes of fabric I like at very reasonable prices (from 1 to 5 yards). Two years later, I've used almost none of them. Meanwhile, I've accumulated a large tote of new fabrics for planned projects and have used almost none of them. If I don't donate them, most of them will be in my estate sale.

I also have 5 small totes of "I spy" fabrics and squares, which I use regularly to swap with other "I spy" users. I've only made two "I spy" quilts.

I've come to the conclusion I like searching for fabric and buying it better than sewing. Given I've retired, that has to change.

My cousin, who is about my age, has 70 something quilts planned. She has the patterns, fabrics and backing for all of them. Plus, some are very complicated projects that will take hours and hours to complete. (She's working on 2 hexagon I spy quilts for her DGSs that are fussy cut with triangle corners between charms.) She told me last week that she'll never get all of her projects sewed.

So, my advice is not to buy fabric you don't have a project planned to use it in. Also, limit how many projects you have in the works as what you want to make will change over time.

bkay

Actually both! I have some purchased pre-assembled kits, also (kitting myself) fabrics I have bought that I keep with the pattern so it doesn't get used that need a couple more colors to make, and I have a good sized stash I acquired when two different fabric stores went out of business. (Hancock and Ben Franklin's) Sometimes you run across something that you can't leave without, right?
I also sew home dec and occasionally clothing. So, I have some tubs with that in them. I also have a very large tub with charity donation fabric too. And of course, a couple tubs with scraps from quilting cotton.

Hard as I try, I never seem to make a dent in it. But, I live outside town and when the snow flies I want to know I have something fun to work on.