Paisleyc

You are a treasure of a friend to help her to display her fabric. Maybe you could suggest to her that pieces she is not very fond of could be donated for a quilt or club or form one to make quilts for charity or homeless or people who have no one or people in chemo, or many other causes.
Let it be her legacy by donating the fabric.

Carol from NC

mudsprite

I don't know about most people on the board but my nearest fabric shop is about 50 plus to a small town - 120 miles one way to a major city and the shops there. I quilt as inspiration strikes usually when shops are closed and given gas prices I try to buy large enough pieces to be useful. Jenny Beyer and others state if you LOVE it, get six yards, can't pass it up, three yards, useful filler, one yard. Base stash around theme fabrics and others as fillers. Further, to look at a color wheel and see what colors are and are not represented in your stash.
A trip to town is costly, about 20 a trip as a minimum so I try to buy now with a plan with stocking what colors I don't have. In this process realized I had very, very few theme fabrics or fabrics to build a quilt around but rather had lots and lots of support fabrics.

I have a lot of old calico that are pastels and have been looking for a way to update and make bright enough for quilts for children's hosp, victims of domestic violence, etc.
Would appreciate any advise on this project.

champagnebubbles

Ditto

;-)

eaglebeak1960

ok wow that is a lot of fabric!!!!!! Send some my way! LOL if you cannot find what you need then it gets to be too much

Chris

Quilter2B

IMHO my stash is too big. I would purchase fabric with grand plans to make this or that and then never get around to it. I would find great snags at the thrift stores that I couldn't pass up. Needless to say I have a room to sew in but also have many bins in a small room off the garage. Most of this was from before I started quilting (I used to sew alot of my clothes and clothes for my family).

I have been unemployed now for longer than I would like to admit but we have been able to manage. When we moved my movers asked if I had a bigger sewing room before because there was so much stuff.

I think it is wonderful that you are able to spend time with your elderly friend and help her get better organized. Maybe she has just been overwhelmed by her collection, maybe at her age she has forgotten what she has already bought. Once you get her to a point where she sees what she has the two of you can start a project together to start to whittle away at what she has. Bless you for being there for her.
I don't buy any more fabric "just because" unless it is from the thrift store. I try to stay away from the store and IF I buy it is because it is on sale/50% coupon and needed for a particular project. I have four bankers boxes, plus two baskets and a sewing suitcase full of paper patterns that I have plans to put on the web.

But having this stash also gives me resources to be creative. I made all four of my grandkids (9, 6, 5 & 2) flannel lined jackets for Christmas and only had to by the lining (that was on sale) :-) and four of my WIPs came directly from my stash.

bamamama

I've completely stopped buying fabric unless I am starting a new project and need it just for that. If I have left over, that goes to my stash. I've found that it just accumlates and I don't make anything out of most of it.

I love scrappy quilts so I've started working on using up my stash on those. I've made 2 tops without even putting a dent in it. I wonder if I made tops using just whats in my stash and only bought backing and sashing fabrics how many quilts I could make before I ran out of fabric?

ladyredhawk

I don't think you can have too much because if you get rid of it then you find where you could use it.

JanieH

Thank you for such a great answer. Many of the things you said really "spoke" to me. I think I will take a vow to get my stash under control and to use it!

naperson

I realized within the last year that my stash was keeping me from being creative and doing projects. So I am cleaning out. I found a place where you rent a table and can sell your fabric and fibers. I hope to get rid of a lot and will donate to a group of quilters who make quilts to be used by the police etc. I not only have quilting fabric but fabric for clothing also. I am looking forward to the clean out. I have gone through my quilting fabric and put kits together with a pattern so I will always have a project ready to go.

NannaJen

I quess if you can afford it and have the space for it you just keep accumulating. I don't have either so my stash would be considered small. I do still have a lot of fabric stored securely in my shed, from my dressmaking days, just can't bear to part with it and I do use bits and pieces in quilting and also making things for grandkids, and home-decorating..