The Stash's Stash
 

What's in your stash's stash, the I just can't use it yet, if I cut it up I won't have it, I've been saving this a long time, etc.

When are we ever going to break down and make something out of these lovely fabrics. I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

Mine consist of mainly gold enhanced asian prints of cranes and butterflies. Yardage that was quite expensive but I could not pass up.

What's in your stash's stash?

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My extra stash is in totes. The stuff that I'm saving and don't want to accidentally use for an oridinary project.

The problem is that I keep collecting, and then when I finally get around to making the project, I find I've enough fabric for 3-4 quilts.

Batiks, batiks and more batiks. I have a lot of yardage in batiks and I keep collecting more.

Beautiful fabrics Battle Axe. I have so much stash that I don't even know what ones are my favorite.

Battle Axe - our tastes are similar! I have pieces of your black Asian (top right corner), the black with the multi color circles (middle of picture) and the blue/purpley cranes at the bottom left. Since you have them, I don't need to show mine! :)

Quite a lot of my stash is small pieces, less than 1/4 yard. I am currently into making scrap quilts. Haven't quite gotten to make crumb quilts, but I am heading in that direction. I do have some yardage put away, but I have been "good" and have been cutting into them when I need that particular color or pattern.

I am spread out into multiple plastic bins - and lately my stash is over running me! I guess this means I have to get busier and use it. DH is of the school - "use it or lose it". Some years ago, he drastically thinned my stash - threw most of it in a dumpster. Not being mean, just practical. A lot of the fabric was in bins in a damp garage, so it got mildewed. I did manage to save some of my favorites. My stash is almost back to where it was when DH dumped it. Uh oh....off to the sewing room I go to use some up.

Gee I have cabinets and cabinets and many many totes full of fabric I just love that I have bought over the last decade. Now, I’ve come to realize that many of these are not my style, I really prefer to work with Batiks. So, I have been going through all of my stash and selling what no longer calls to me. Just when I think I’ve pulled everything I want to sell, I go back and go through it again and rethink if I really want to keep it. So far I’ve done this 3x and it’s working I always manage to add a few more items. I plan to set aside the proceeds for a Batik Shopping spree next year, or perhaps set it aside towards a upgrade my longarm in the future. I also have a stash of Asian prints that I am collecting to make a quilt, as I too love the prints!

I use my stash for donation quilts. Many times I reach for a fabric to use and put it back because I'd rather use it for a quilt for me LOL

The only thing in my stash’s stash are the hand dyed fabrics my sister made for me. Some went into her daughter’s wedding quilt, but the rest are still waiting.

Battleaxe- your fabrics are beautiful!
I hoarded some Jinny Beyer fabric that I just couldn't cut up. But then when I sorted out my stash it didn't have the appeal it once did so now I use my fabric when I'm "in love" with it :)

I am slowly using up a lot of my stash. I am toying with the idea to donate some scraps and one of a kind blocks.

I'll just describe my "stash". LOL You know the pattern cabinets in the fabric stores? I have 8 of those in my sewing room, 7 with fabric, the 8th is full of pre-cuts, that I pre-cut. I also have fabrics on top of counters because there isn't room in the pattern cabinets.

My stash used to have a stash, but I think I've finally learned that there will always be more fabrics. Now I'm just trying to decide what to do with those favorites. Sometimes they're the hardest to put into a quilt, because they don't always play well with others.

I have a few Laurel Burch fabrics--one is of my favourite cat prints that was given to me by a friend. I just cannot figure out how to cut them up without losing their 'specialness'. I also have a couple of asian crane prints and a gorgeous flame red batik. They all speak to me.

I guess I don't have a stash of special stash material. There is nothing in my stash I won't cut up, but I do wait for the right pattern or coordinating fabric.

I have some French General that I am waiting for the right quilt pattern....I have been waiting now for several years.lol. It is so pretty and I am not sure I can cut it.

I have a different name for them. They are my pets! :)

I have some Ricky Tims hand-dyed fabric that I got when I went to one of his talks that I take out to pet occassionally.

I have a very large stash, most of which I “inherited”. Finally decided it was time to let some go. I cut enough to make 105 simple pillowcases to donate to a children’s shelter. Friends helped with the sewing part. Also collected enough $ to donate 190 pillows. Thanks to Kohl’s for a sale on pillows. My shelves are still well stocked. May make this a project for next year as well. Time to pay it forward!

JENNR8R, I have those same fabrics! I don't seem to have a problem cutting any of my stash fabricsexcept my Ricky Tims fabric. I even have them in a separate place so they won't accidentally get cut up. :)

Don't have a pic of it but it was a yard of a white fleece with glitter all over on 1 side. Finally found the perfect project for it this year. Making a quilt to go over my hall bench made up of 5 appliqued snowmen using Sweetpea's embroidery designs. I'm using the fleece for the body, scraps for the rest of the parts of the snowmen. Its been tough going due to having so many layers........stablizer, batting, full size piece for the background, then the fleece that has some sort of coating to keep the glitter from falling off, then you add scraps for the winter cap and scarf so in some areas there are 5 layers. Had to go to a size 16 needle to get the satin stitch to come out decent plus I decided to use metallic thread for the snowflakes. What was I thinking??? But I finally got to use this fabric after keeping it hidden for over 15 years.

Snooze, the guy at the Featherweight shop in Idaho had some special sewing machine needles on sale today that would glide through things like that. Just Google Featherweight Shop and the eleventh day of Christmas. Marcia

Stash and a half! That is what I have. Go to the stash first is my motto anymore. Not only are my stash cupboards full but so are tote and totes and totes and a few suitcases! Because of the holidays am 3 deep in toes in my studio with barely a place to walk through. Even though things are well sorted by color or themes, like holiday or batiks or 1930 repos etc. I still find myself searching for the right piece that I know is in there somewhere. It is the looking that is dangerous for me because I have to pull large sections out to get at a single piece and then putting it away can be the biggest challenge of all.

Oooh, I'm guilty of having a few I consider 'almost too good to use'! One of my favorite illustrators, Julie Paschkis, has designed for In The Beginning fabrics. Her collection "Luminaria" is *amazing*. I have full panels (and a few coordinates) I haven't yet touched. I just bring them out once in a while, drool on them, re-fold and imagine what I might do with them some day. Some day in my head, is when my skills are honed enough to *not* screw it up if I do. You can imagine that's a fairly high bar I set myself!

I too have way too much fabric it tends to run over to other places. I have one piece I dearly love and I just can’t use it yet. I take it out of the tote every once in a while and love it and the put it back. I will use it in a quilt for myself one day .i save bits and pieces cause someone might use them and go thru every once in awhile and give them away. I’m organized have stuff sorted into kits with pattern and baskets that have color families. Just recently retired and love being able to go to the sewing room each day if I choose too.

Well, most of my stash has been moved/packed for the holidays, but I know for sure it is very similar to yours! I have the lower right panel, upper right panel, and the colorful bubbles/dots next to the butterflies! I may have another piece or two also. I also have a lot of the gold enhanced matching smaller prints. Cranes galore, and a couple of peacocks also!

I had a lot of little bits of fabric, the last scraps from "precious" projects or fabrics that I was saving for the right project. Over the last few years I've been working on the concept that the perfect project is any project that can use that piece. I have a little memory ceremony, use it and move on. It's helped a lot.

Likewise, this last year I've been pulling out the pieces in the stash that speak to me and go together into a "potential projects" box. These haven't been decided on what exactly to do with them but that I wish to use them and here's a start. So when I see a project I like, I first think of what is in the box that would work.

I pulled out my various metallic fabrics and am figuring ways to use them, one quilt top down, one quilt planned, at least one to two quilts worth of fabric still available.

Likewise, I am also going to be working with my civil war fabrics this year. Again, one project planned, it will be very scrappy and use up at least some of my 10" swapping squares. Another project semi-planned. And yes, probably 4 quilts worth of fabric total.

Sometimes when I'm working on collections of fabric I need to really carefully curate each piece. Other times, it's everyone in the pool! Here's a picture and the story the first of my metallic stash projects, made mostly from 6-10" swapping squares.
https://www.quiltingboard.com/quilti...ml#post8320378

Iceblossom, I just went through your links and 'project notes'. I really love the thought behind, and the execution of that Scrap Metal quilt - it hits home! I have some physical challenges too, and feel like I'm up against creating before I cannot any more. I wonder if I could follow a bit of your process myself, and free up my stress about getting the projects done 'in time', and without compromise. Thanks for sharing all of that!

luvstoquilt, I, too, have some Fr Gen fabrics that I've been hoarding...this summer bought some blue toned Fr Gen for $3 a yard at a LQS closing, so now have 2 sets of it. I have 2 groupings of 3 Sisters fabrics, one soft blue Sanctuary and the other soft corals I also got for $3 a yard. I love paisleys and have a hard time randomly cutting into any of those.

Oh! Your comments speak to me! I have a room filled with 5 6' tall shelving units with 4 shelves each. For 20 years I collected batiks. Then I realized I am reluctant to cut into them for concern that I may "ruin" them. For the last couple of years I have only collected blue and orange batiks and Kaffe Fassett. Same story. I think I am just going to have to bite the bullet, pick a pattern, cut into them and see what results.

I have a yd of the circle Kaffe Fassett fabric between the butterflies and, the red/cream orange peel. I bought it to make a little jumper for my 1st grand daughter. She's 7.5 and I still have it...LOL I would suspect that we all have some of "that fabric" that we just can't seem to let go of.. yet... I mean really, the perfect quilt pattern is right on the horizon.

I just seriously busted my stash down to make room for more fabric, so right now, I'm stash-stash-less, LOL.

There is one piece that I haven't used that I probably won't until I know for sure it's not a discontinued fabric, it's white with different sizes of butterflies that I swear will be great for applique'd butterflies sprinkled on a baby quilt or even a teen quilt. It's a heavier fabric, almost feels like very lightweight canvas and cannot, for the life of me, remember where I picked it up and even why.

I do the same. I have made some quilts that would look great in batiks, but I just can't bring myself to cut them. And like you I keep buying more :)