Pat625

When I see a sale I have to buy 2-3 yards of the fabrics I like..no particular project in mind..The leftovers from projects are saved and smaller pieces are cut down and stored by square size, strip size, and one box to later be cut into hexagons for my hickory nut quilt. I rarely buy precuts, because of priice mainly. I will buy from just about anywhere, even ebay. Of course once I choose fabrics from the stash I find I need a shopping trip to get another (or two, or three) fabrics to coordinate with it..THen I check the sales, look at my coupons and I am off and running..I hope one of my 7 daughters takes upo quilting seriously, because when I go, there will be tons of fabric still left!!

w7sue

I have been quilting since 1998 - I have built my stash by saving the leftovers from previous projects - I have never bought yards of fabric just because I liked it - always afraid I wouldn't be able to find something to go with it later when I wanted to use it. Also, a friend of mine did that and now she has a lot of fabric that she doesn't really like.

I also buy from garage sales and, of course, always take donations! I don't have a huge stash - I sort into shoe-box size boxes according to colors - pink/purple, black/white, tan/cream/brown, yellow/range, blue, green, red ... you get the idea - also boxes for batiks, 30's, civil war, thimbleberries, christmas. When the box gets full and the lid no longer sits down on it, it is time for a quilt from that color.

Thank goodness I LOVE SCRAPPY QUILTS. They have almost become an obsession - now when I finish a project, I cut the leftovers into 1.5", 2.0", 2.5" squares - I am also collecting for a specific project so those sizes are cut if the piece is big enough - I keep a post-a-note on my 12.5" ruler with the sizes I am saving so I don't have to look it up all the time.

ploverwi2

My advice is that you think before you start to gather up a huge stash. It becomes a habit, and you acquire way more than you will ever use in this lifetime. I am fortunate to have my stash in a nice size storage room that is part of my tiny one bedroom apt. I have gotten rid of or given away much of my other things that I have had for far too long without having ever used them. My quilting is my most joyful hobby. After about only 7 years of what I think was compulsive fabric buying, I have far too much fabric. I wish I could give away some of it, but no one around here that I know of is a quilter. So I will keep on saving it all, and I will try to organize it in in such a way that when I am gone, my family will not have a disaster to cean up. I don't even have a desire to go out and buy more, although I do at times, get the urge to buy online from fabrics.com, my favorite place to buy fabrics from. I just tell myself that I don't need it, and so far, for about a year, I have succeeded in being satisfied with what I have. I am so blessed to be able to just open the door, to my "fabrichology" lab and just walk into the heveanly stash and get whatever I want. Yes, at times I do find that I just don't seem to have what I think I need for a project, but then I just shift gears and improvise

SouthPStitches

Probably 85% of my stash is fabric bought at a great price. I've been "building my retirement fund" for several years now. Just last week I got 10 yards on sale from Connecting Threads. Some wonderful solids and blenders that I was a bit short on. The rest is good size pieces of leftovers and some splurges I couldn't live without. Never, ever seem to have enough creams and whites, however.

Judi in Ohio

I started quilting by accident. I bought an embroidery machine from a friend and she told me I would love to quilt. "Not me", says I. 1/4" seam, no way. I find that hysterical. I decided I needed quilting lessons to learn to square blocks and such for my embroidery. I've never looked back.
I was making a scrappy log cabin and I had no stash, I went into my LQS and had them cut lots of neutral 1/4 yard strips. Afterwards, I thought about how silly that was. Neutrals are always used. So, I bought lots of 1-2 yds lengths. Then an on line retailer LQS started selling scraps for $2.95 a yard. I bought over a hundred yards, and that's the story of my stash. I, also buy 2 yds lengths for pillowcases. Gives me 1 1/2 for the cases and 1/2 for me. I love, love, love scrappy quilts and I've put lots of time into my scrap storage ala Bonnie Hunter. She's my idol. I have huge storage for my 1 1/2", 2", and 2 1/2" strips. I cut squares as needed, and I have loads of hst & such from other projects. I'm set for life. lol

clsurz

I never have anything in mind when I buy fabric. If I see something I like and it speaks to me I buy it.

I particularly will buy 99% of all Batiks I see and will buy a good amount of solids along the way. I do buy some prints and it all depends on what it is and if it speaks to me or I relize I can put it with some other fabric I already have than I'll buy some.

I will on a whim buy bolts of fabrics if price is so cheap that you just can't leave it there for someone else to grab up.

I am more of a free form improvisional quilter so you never know what I'll buy. I mix all types of cotton fabrics into a piece and in the end it all seems to come out all right.

Latrinka

Have collected it for so many years, some of it I don't even know where it came from! I'm a bargain hunter, so I shop the clearance bins, the remnants, sales, etc. unless its something specific I need for a project.

QandE2010

I usually buy for a project I mind, but will buy 1-2 yards additional of any of the fabrics that can clearly be used in another project. I would say that 90% of the quilts I make are king size, so I buy 3-4 yards minimum of fabric I love, knowing that I'll use it now or in the future. I cant remember when I paid full price for fabric. I watch for sales, use coupons, buy close-outs, (a few LQS's went out of business & I picked up at least 15 pieces at each one at substantial savings), buy on-line (when I buy online, I buy by manufacturers that I know)

Caroline S

You made me chuckle Tippysmom. You WANT STASH! Don't expect to get stash overnight. It is a gradual process. At first you don't have STASH but don't despair you will eventually have STASH. My STASH is a 35 year accumulation from my mother, my aunts, prior sewing and quilting projects, and thrift stores. Don't discard anything except the smallest scraps and that may be difficult (don't ask me how I know). STASH will appear. You will know when you have STASH when your significant other asks you "what are you going to do with all that fabric" or "more fabric?, don't you have enough already".

romanojg

I started just picking out fabric as I go; FQ that I really like or a yd of this or that. Last yr a lady posted on CL that she had some quilting fabric to get rid of so I jumped at the chance. I still have to go thru the box and already know that it all isn't quilting fabric but some is really nice. What I don't use for quilting/sewing will go to thrift store.

Another time a lady wanted someone to make "quilts" for her in exchange for fabric. They were more like double layered recieving blankets. I got some really nice fabric from her. So mine is a collection of lots of FQ, etc that just happened to catch my eye and some leftover from projects. When I started taking Civil War classes I went all over collecting it because I didn't always want what was in my kit each month so I have quite a bit of that but that too is mostly FQ. A little of this and a little of that makes my sewing room look like I have a lot to anyone who doesn't really sew.