bj riley

Thank you, you have all been so helpful. I am going to try and get more organized, as suggested I will probably get more use from my stash if I can see it all.
I need to make 3 baby quilt maybe I will make them all scrappy!!

Nammie to 7

I think once you get a bit more experience with values you will discover the beauty of your stash. When I started quilting it was very difficult for me to see how to use fabric unless it was purchased for a specific project. Now it is much easier. I just reviewed a bunch of my pictures and found that all the quilts I made this year came from my stash.
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w1613s

I can see mental pictures of everything BUT color. I also have trouble seeing what the graphics on fabric will do with reference to each other and solids. Now that we are through with true confessions, exit directly to the bottom line:

My stash is a big help because I can sit down at my huge dining room table and spread everything out so I can see how the physical picture of colors and prints with their colors look like in reference to each other. It helps with working on a prospective quilt or solving a problem with one. It does not help with voyeurs who take a look at the chaos. Yes, it does look as though I grabbed my stash, threw it to the ceiling, and let it settle around me. My stash and chaos are the way I get to quit copying other people's creativity and enjoy my own. The larger my stash, the more choices.

There is a "Chaos Theory" in mathematics. Do you think I have created a "Chaos Theory" for quilting?

:-) Pat

MargeD

I have several large plastic totes that hold my stash, much to my husband's chagrin when we moved, but last Christmas I made an applique and pieced quilt for her bed and didn't have to buy any fabric for the top, although I did have to buy fabric for the backing. Since my DH is disabled and I cannot work any more, we are on Social Security, so I'm glad I brought that fabric with me when we moved to an apt. Yes, I still shop for fabric when I don't have just the right fabric I'm looking for, but I'm also slowly using up my stash, even though I think the fabric multiplies behind my back.

dc989

I have a huge stash and now have my mom's stash too. I didn't use it as much as I should until I made myself organize and integrate the two. Just yesterday I found a perfect piece for borders on my civil war quilt. I needed a little more, but just made the borders a little narrower. It worked and now I'm finished with another UFO. With the price of fabric I am making myself shop at home first.

tncorrente

Early this year by DH thought it would be best if I used up my stash before I bought more fabric. Since I have always loved scrappy quilts but never thought I could put one together I took this as a challenge. So far I have completed 7 quilt tops from my scraps! DH says he can't tell I've used any of the stash. This has certainly been a win-win for me. Pretty soon I will HAVE to go shopping.

quiltmom04

Stashes are great when you want to be inspired by the fabric and not by the pattern. If I want to use my stash fabrics ( a lot of them are fabrics I loved, but didn't have a use for at the time ), I gather the fabrics FIRST and then find ( or create ) a pattern to suit them. It always seems that if I find a pattern first, I never can fit the fabrics I have into it.

Emma S

Sewnoma: Great plan, I think the sound of my neighbors screaming might take some of the pleasure away from the quilting. I might have to shut the curtains and turn on the radio. Nammie: Beautiful work! Knowing it all came from stash makes it even better. I have shied away from using white in string quilts but love the way yours turned out. Next one will have some white in it. Pat: I call your dining table method a fabric explosion. Maybe the quilters BIG BANG?

JudyTheSewer

This is mostly why I have a very large stash also. I have dozens of reds, browns, etc. so when I want to make a scrappy red quilt I can shop from my stash. My Dear Jane is being sewn from my large stash of repro civil war fabrics; there will be no two blocks with the same fabric. I like "controlled" scrappy quilts and that means I need lots of variety and that means a large stash!! I buy fabrics that I like when they are on sale so I always have a nice supply. I don't buy many focus fabrics. Most of my stash is blenders and neutrals. However, I do buy a few yards of larger prints if I love it and I think it will work well as a border.

Dolphyngyrl

This is why I buy for projects, my stash consists of fabric I have brought for projects. I have a few random pieces, and honestly don't know what to do with them, even have a novelty print, really have no clue on that one