sweetpea

I thank my lucke star's for my stach everday. and twice on the days I look at the price of fabric's today.

Wanabee Quiltin

Join our club ! I recently cleaned my sewing room and put each group of color and holiday fabrics into bins on my shelves. I would have way more than 211 different fabrics easily if I had counted them. I did find some beautiful fabric that I had forgotten I had. It was a great journey for me to see all the fabric and the next week someone needed something I had, so off it went. I am making scrap quilts now and was very happy with the last one I made. I found it to be very time consuming cutting all those scraps up for this quilt but it was worth it.

oldtisme

I'm a counter too, the number of tiles on the floor, the number of pictures on a wall..count count count

Dina

Glad to know I am not alone!! I am surprised I had never counted my fabric before. I know I will from now on.

Dina

MS quilter

Don't be horrified, be grateful. You are blessed.

romanojg

I've seen on this site where some have almost that in bolts; so no, you aren't unusual. Once I got most of mine out on shelves where I could see them I was surprised at how much I have. But compared to others I don't have that much. Last yr I decided that from now on unless I needed fabric for a particular project that I wasn't going to buy any more. I've been so very good and haven't bought any unless it was to either finish or do a certain project. When I go to Hancock's etc I don't roam the isles like I used too and only go when I need to go. My daughter even raids my stash once in a while if she needs something that I have. I'm surprised that a non-quilter/sewer would even care or ask. One of my quilting teachers only shows her quilt room to quilters; no non-quilters allowed because a non-quilter is shocked by the amount she has and a quilter drolls over how much she has. The quilter understands. If you can afford it and like it then buy it. In the past two yrs I've also gotten into embroidery, so now I have tons of thread and stabilizer and I'm slowly getting into clothes making and now starting on doll clothes. I'm sure I'll find good use for my fabric even though I don't think most would call it a stash but I'm good with it and so is my wallet.

jeannedog

When my neighbor visits me, she looks around and asks ---what are you going to do with all this fabric?
Jeannedog

Jan in VA

There are many of us who "quilt" like this; many feel guilty about creating so many UFOs by working this way.

BUT, I encourage you to realize that this is just a variance of artistic method. For instance, I took me a while -- a few years, actually -- to realize that I love discovering how the patterns and colors work together; finishing the project isn't necessarily always the interest. If I have learned something -- how that green is surprisingly close to the the other mediums rather the light I thought it was, and therefore, doesn't give the whole enough contrast in values to be fully eye-appealing -- then "spending" the fabric on the process (not the project) still makes it a valid quilting experience.

I still save these efforts in a UFO container (containERS!) and occasionally I send them off to the community quilts project through our quild. I'm always delighted at how someone else makes sweet lemonade out of my "eh - lemons".

If you can't see this as a valid way to work, then just remember that many great artists left works unfinished, and no one denies their genius!

Jan in VA

donna13350

One other good reason to have a good sized stash is economy. Not too long ago you could buy Quilt shop fabric for 5 or 6 dollars a yard, and in a very short time (cotton crop/ drought/etc) that price easily doubled.There is no sign that it will come down in price..just keep rising..so if you have a good sized stash of basic blenders and backings, you can save yourself a ton of money on every quilt you make by using blensers or backing from your stash.
Also..some of the theme fabrics are here and gone in a flash..if you like it you had better buy it when you see it, because it won't be there when you are ready to make a quilt. Harry Potter fabric comes to mind..that stuff is selling for a huge amount on e-bay and other sites now..if you were a fan and wanted to "someday" make a quilt..you're either out of luck or going to pay big now. Other fabrics just disappear...never to be seen again..so if you like birds or cats, or whatever, and you see it and love it, better invest!
If you can afford it, and it's your hobby...you aren't hurting anyone...everyone needs a hobby and something that makes them happy...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

GrannieAnnie

Horrified? I'd be proud to have that much fabric and be able to KNOW where each piece is.