bearisgray

I do have a stash - some people have a lot more fabric than I do - many people have a lot less -

Would I acquire as much fabric again?

I am not sure -

Sometimes blessings can turn into burdens - such as having no place to adequately store my "stuff"

My kids are not enthused about dealing with all my sewing stuff when I am no longer able to do anything with it.

I'm not getting it all used up.

The money I spent on sewing things might have been more useful spent elsewhere.

Do I have regrets? Yes and no. I did have great fun while in my "acquiring" mode. If I traveled or went out a lot, the money would have been spent and I would only have memories.

At the time I was in my acquiring mode, it was my way of dealing with emotional "stuff". Was it the best way? It was my way of coping in what I felt was "acceptable" behavior at the time.

Anyone else with mixed feelings about their stash?

Iceblossom

I've decided to reduce my stash. I've also decided that there is absolutely nothing wrong with collecting fabric, or anything. I know many people with rooms full of fabric who have room for that. It's when the collections that get in your way that you have to question it and I have a small house that goes with my small budget.

No regrets, but I never really spent a lot of money at one time. Sure, $20 here and there and that adds up after a few decades but other people bought lattes or cigarettes or whatever. I would never have done anything sensible or noticeable with the money it was always discretionary funds.

We've talked about it before in other threads, but for me it took a diagnosis of unpreventable progressive vision loss to make me decide what I truly value. I've done the "your house is on fire and you have 5 minutes" test and the fabric and the quilts never made it on the list. The pets go out first, anything after that is gravy and can be replaced. There is another test which is "how long am I willing to carry that?", if you can only have what you can carry how much and how far are you willing to carry it.

I still love my fabric. I still love fabric that isn't mine. I want it and I want it all. And that's ok, I want but I don't need. If I'm going to use it, I buy it. But if I'm not going to use it, well then I want to reduce the amount I have. I want the space more than I want the fabric in there. It used to be hard on me to use up the last little scrap of my godchild's baby blanket or whatever and I felt I had to find the perfect use. Now I realize the perfect use is whatever I am doing that I can use it in, I hold a little memory ceremony and then I use it and move on. Sometimes the perfect use for me is to send it to someone who does want and will use it.

I was ready to let go and I've let go of a lot! I find it comforting that there is still only one piece I regret sending out -- but I also recognize it would still be sitting here unused, it's "perfect"use still not found. Yeah, there has been a twinge here and there but nothing I can't live with. Recently I was filling a collector's request and I had two small pieces left of a really great fabric I had already used. I was really tempted to keep one but then the "therapist" voice in my head went off and asked me what I thought I'd do with it and when, and I put in both pieces. If I regret it later, well, by this point in my life I've learned to live with regret and I've found that there is always more fabric to be found... if not that piece something else.

Macybaby

I don't feel that way about my stash - but I sure feel that way about my sewing machine collection. It was also part "therapy" for me as I did most of that while my mother and then MIL were in their final stages. We found out right after my mother passed (long illness) that MIL had brain cancer - she was gone 6 months later.

I met a lot of very nice people while collecting sewing machines, and shared a lot of stories of the relatives that had owned the machines - as most often I was buying them from the "heirs". Lots of talking about final illnesses and dealing with those issues. And I know I was able to give some people and outlet for their grief, and a bit of closure for them in letting go of their grandmother/mother's beloved sewing machine, even though most of the time it had not been used in 30 years.

I know my kids could easily donate the fabric and it would end up going to good use. 150 cast iron antique/vintage sewing machines are not near as easy to rehome. But I'm 58 so I hope to get that number way down by the time I retire.

Mousie

mixed feelings about stash? Yes Ma'am!
Many of those feelings are a lot like yours.
I was shopping and distracting myself from emotional issues.
I was telling myself it was all about "being ready" for retirement years, but as you
said, too much can become a burden and it did.
It was burdensome for several years and then it became a blessing again in ways.
We had a family crisis of sorts and the downsizing began as a way to help recover
financially. This helped me "redeem" myself for buying too much.
Since it is now helping I don't know if I would do it differently if I could do it over
or not. That's complicated. You'd have to know the future, lol.

SarahBethie

I don’t have a stash but I remember a comment a carpenter made during my kitchen remodel. He mentioned the glassware and china and shared tidbits about his collection. He went on to lament the realities he faced because his children didn’t want it and he’d begun to downsize. I don’t have much and I pruned the kitchen recently.

I suppose that’s the issue. I don’t want to saddle anyone with lots of stuff to sort through. Let alone a fabric horde. Or fill my room with bins to house it all. I’d need a studio and a financial reason (read: business) to invest in that manner. And even so, it’s hard to keep things orderly when you have a lot. Some of the studios I’ve seen in Stampington magazines make my eyes cross.

I have other interests including crafts, gourmet cooking, and photography with the requisite extras they bring. I have to be practical.

Tartan

​I don’t have a huge stash but I am content with it. I enjoyed buying it, working with it and dreaming of ideas to use it. I don’t care if I don’t use it all before I die but I’m sure going to try!

Onebyone

I got rid of 75% of my extensive stash. Didn't use it that much anyway. Haven't missed it. I seem to generate scraps with every project so scraps are always around of the same old stuff! Why did I keep those? I buy precuts a lot. They look great on the shelf and gives me motivation to make something. I didn't want to leave a room full of stuff for my DDS to have to deal with. They are able to buy their own stash if they want one.

NZquilter

My stash isn't huge, but definitely big enough for me. I'm personally glad I have it, because I "shop" from it all the time. Most has been acquired through scrap bags at thrift stores or clearance at Walmart, so I have a lot of odds and ends. I love finding "that perfect" scrap for a block. It feels so nice that I have it and didn't need to buy a specific piece.

I have not been thrift store splurging in a while, which is probably good. I've been able to sew up some of my stash, while saving money. It's an investment.

I'm not yet 30 years old, so I'm not even worrying about my kids cleaning up after me. I might finish everything, but probably not!

I don't regret my stash at all.

Jordan

I do have mixed feelings about so much stash and where to store it. My husband just doesn't understand why I need so much fabric. I always tell him it makes me happy. I love to go thru my fabrics once in awhile and just dream about what I can make with it.

Stitchnripper

I don’t have a stash except for some bins of scraps, a few fat quarters and those remnant rolls left over from Hancock’s before they went out of business. Those are what I might regret because they never seem to be right for any project I start. I can afford fabric and have plenty of place to store it but just seeing what my quilting friends have makes me happy I don’t have to contend with managing it and finding the right this or that for a project. My quilting friends don’t understand that part of me at all. The beauty of quilting is that there is no one size fits all.