Most of my quilts start with stash and scraps and then I have to add new fabrics. I've only managed to make a few small ones entirely from my stash. Lately I've been thinking it would save me money in the long run to just buy when I have a specific project to work on, but I'm not sure if that would work with my style of inspiration.

Oops, double post.

Ditto!

with YEARS of collecting, i am now in the process of choosing from my stash.. can't quilt fast enough... i'm getting older!!!:)

i just think that in the end, one has a tendancy to pick colors they love and eventually they all blend pretty well for a project that requires X amount of colors... and then there are always SCRAPS to piece...

Like alot of people I started my stash by collecting fat quarters, so I have alot of those. I mostly have to buy to get the yardage I need for any new project.

This is what I do. I have stopped buying just for the sake of adding to my stash. I only buy what I need for the current project. I do scrappy a lot, so the my stash is usually enough.

Depends on what you like. I enjoy buying stuff for each project so I would rather not build a huge stash. I would rather buy fabric for a pattern I want to do then look for a pattern that would fit all this fabric that I have bought. And I like new stuff. I have a bit of buyers remorse. So every time I go to the lqs I see something that I like better than what I bought the time before and wish that maybe I shouldn't have bought what I did last time. So it works for me to just buy what I need.

And not to offend anyone (promise) but I sometimes don't understand some of the stashes I have seen. Is there any real chance that they are ever going to use all that fabric? And when do you get to the point that you ever stop buying? I haven't heard anyone yet say they will NOT buy anymore fabric. There is always the exceptions of a bit more for this or something to match this. I also don't want to buy fabric that I wont use 5 years down the road. Am I still going to love it? Maybe, maybe not. Would I be able to find something that I love just as much later on down the road? Probably.

I think in the long run buying fabric on a need basis will be cheaper than buying a stash. Even with the rise in fabric costs. Good luck on whatever you decide

I have fun going thru my stash, but it depends on who I am making it for. If it is a charity, then I would from choose my stash, most likely a scrappie. They are my favorites! If I need to go to the fabric store then, that is ok too! It's all good!

Same here...mostly over buy for a project - creating a stash but some times I just "have to have" it.

I can proudly say the last 4 quilts tops have been made from my stash.

I think I've built up a reasonable stash and now try to use as much as I can from what I already have. I think it can depend on whether you are a process quilter or a product quilter. (Just found those terms in a Pacific Rim newsletter and think they describe the differences between some of us very well). I have never regretted a piece of fabric I've bought, at least, once I developed a sense of what nice fabric feels like, etc. I have been trying to buy more blenders on sale to go with what I already have.