I have been quilting 3 years. In the beginning my stash was shameful due to the learning curve of appropriate cutting and piecing etc,. But I must say I treasure my stash and find myself buying a yard here or there just to have on hand. If I really like a fabric I will but more. Being on a fixed income it is difficult just to go purchase an entire quil's worth of material at once. My stash has taught me design, strip quilting and my beloved scrap piecing, which I have come to adore. My quilts all have a common thread- a similar something, but certainly not cookie cutter. They are just mine, reflecting my color loves and piecing favourites. I look to my stash as an undiscovered quilt or two. I also love to piece my backs, so that to is served by all those 1 & 2 yard purchases. It is very rare, that I can just wip out the change for 6-8 yards for a backing or binding. That stash is my "treasure chest" that about once ever two or three months takes fligh, landing as it may, while I step back, squint, and choice my next quit. I know---- perhaps I"m a bit excentric. It certainly isn't the first time I have been called as such! LOL