momto5

My stash is a combo of 40+ years of quilting, my Mom's stash when she passed away, and LOTS of "just 'cause I can" purchases. Out of my five kids, I have a son who is also an enabler...LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! to go shopping with that man! I also have leftovers from many, many quilts I have made; and I make quilts for charity, the homeless, the animal shelter; and of course, the many I have made for customers, family and friends. I have a sizable stash and enjoy it - a lot - and I hope that my family enjoys it too. My most fun now is thinking how much fun they'll have when I pass on...says she as yet another order comes in...

Neesie

All of the above. I usually start out, looking for something for a specific project. Then I see something else and must get it. I'm a sucker, for sales bins.

burchquilts

Me, too. My stash has come from all the places mentioned. If I see something that I like but have no use for (at that moment), I usually buy 2.5 yards. I buy pre-cuts. I have tons leftover from sewing or clothes I've cut up. I have bolts of stuff I've gotten on sale. I just have tons of fabric period.

burchquilts

I love that... it just happened! Mine, too. Mine's like Topsy... it just growed!

craftyheart2

I love scrappy so most of my stash buying is FQ though when a LQS shut down I tried to think ahead and buy larger amounts for borders and backgrounds. I take any scraps offered to me and make a few charity quilt tops each year. I live in Australia and fabric is quite expensive so my stash is not over the top. When I want to make a scrappy top first I shop my precut squares and strips and then my stash shelves for the rest (if I need to go that far).

janegb

Its been so long ago that I purchased fabric by the yard. Mainly I make patchwork type quilts. I do buy from Miss. Quilt Co their daily deal on occasion, when its like 2.95 for 70 5" squares. Have a huge stash from friends, thrift stores and garage sales that has lots of yardage. I use sheets for backing.

Edie

I started with fat quarters! Then I got more daring and bought 1/2 yd at a time. I decided first on what to make and that was how I started my stash. Now, if there is a super sale with fabric at $2.00 a yard (and good stuff too) I buy three yards and work from that! I also ask at garage sales "Do you have any cotton fabric?" "Oh, do you quilt?" "Yes, I do".
And out of nowhere I get the most beautiful fabric. I bought Hoffman "Tiffany Windows" this past weekend at a yard sale. What a beautiful piece of fabric - 50 cents - Probably three yards! I have been quilting for about 15 years now and I have a bookcase with my fabric folded on the shelves. It is my treasure. And the very best part, I could tell you each and every place I purchased the fabric. I buy fabric if I like it. The one fabric I buy for a specific purpose is my backing fabric. With that I take the quilt top and bring it along to the fabric shop and pick out my fabric to go with that and purchase just what I need. Backing is not the most beautiful of fabrics, I think. One of these days I am going to make my own backing with some of my stash. My two sided quilt!!!!! I am going to be starting a new stash soon - I am going to make a flannel quilt (which I have never attempted) for our cold winter (if we have one) and that will be the start of another new stash. I have those plastic shoe boxes that I put my fat quarters and leftover fabric in (by color) and when I am making a "Floating Stars" or need small pieces, I go to them. Then I don't have to go out and buy 1/2 yard of this or that, I already have it. I love fat quarters. Some are so beautiful you hate to use them. I got a fat quarter pack (6 fat quarters) from my friend who went to Alaska and the fabric had batik, tonal, patterns all connected to Alaskan design. I used some of the fabric and made her a Sampler coverlet and she was so pleased that I included that fabric in it. It became a memory for her and her trip to Alaska as much as it did for me by showing her how much I appreciated the fabric. I still have pieces of it left and save it for something very special.

There is a whole new world in your stash. It is a wonderful world. You cannot have too little or too much. If you don't need it and you like it and the price is in your range, get it. You'll use it. I love making sampler quilts and I use a lot of fabric that way. Go to Quilters Cache on line. Have fun! Edie

Fabricbug

Too funny. I collect too. I was with a group of my quilting buddies and there was a woman down sizing her fabric, I'm talking quality quality stuff for a dollar a yard. Buy the time we left, and this was her second day, she had $250 more dollars in her pocket. And I had 50 yards of fabric, washed and ironed in my stash.

I was a fat quarter person still am for scrappy things and novelity prints, but I've started to buy yardage, at least 2 because if I'm making a quilt with a pattern you usually need more than a yard.

I'm taking a Bonnie Hunter class next month hope to make room for more!

Sometimes you choose the fabric sometimes the fabric chooses you!

JaniceP

I love the fat quarters for lap quilts and have several in mind for the grand kids, kids and thought they would make nice table runners to use as gifts. So I started with that, was given a big box of scraps, have washed and ironed each piece and grouped them together with color or print as I choose. I'm putting these in a plastic tower that has like 6 drawers. Then when I come accross a pretty fabric that I'm drawn to I pick up 1 to 3 yards with a quilt in mind, thinking I need 3 to 5 prints to make it pretty.

Suzan88

Ooooh - sell it. Lots of us LOVE Kona solids