Maureen

I think about this all the time, don't know what I will do, my kids would not burn or sell any of it. Im pretty sure they would donate or give it all away though. They will both take my quilts and distribute them in the family as well. However, I think I will write all this down for them! Just in case!!!!

ABDraz

My Aunt Darlene passed a few years ago unexpectedly to outsiders, but after a long decline to very close family (my mom and her brother). She was mostly a shut-in the last 3-5 years of her life and all she did was buy fabric and quilt. It took a year for my uncle to want to go through her things and it was this past winter when he offered up half of her stash to my mom and half up to me. I'd earned his trust that it would go to good use when I made a quilt out of one of the kits she'd purchased before her death that my mom wouldn't take (the tumbler quilt in pictures). Since my mom and my aunt used to teach quilting, they both had a considerable stash. Because my mom has a small space, she didn't collect any more fabric than she could sew so didn't have quite the stash as my aunt. We ended up splitting my aunt's stash 2/3 to me and 1/3 to my mom. My share completely filled my SUV three times, enough to store on about 5 metal garage racks with 5 shelves. I went from rags to riches. My mom's stash, should she pass, will go to her quilt ladies first if any are around and then to me. I insisted she do that because she spends more time with her quilt ladies and I have enough fabric my DH said only on special occasions should I go to the quilt store for more fabric. I'm not too worried about that because I have enough kits to last a good many years. My daughter, who's 10, has shown an interest in sewing and quilting and will get what's left from me when I pass, hopefully not for another 40yrs.

quilt9226

my friend has made arrangements for her stash by donating it to 2 charities that make and give away quilts. We are to sell everything and split the money between the 2 charities. The charity that I am part of gets lots of fabric donations but our biggest expense is batting. I think my friend is wise to want a sale of her stash. We will charge by the pound for fabric, patterns and books will be X amount each. I know there are 2 machines, a Pfaff and a Featherweight and there may be antique/vintage quilt tops.

carolynjo

My husband has said he will burn it in the driveway! Since I can no longer sit comfortably to quilt or sew, I gave my stash away to keep such a tragedy from happening. I sometimes wonder what of his I could threaten to burn in the driveway????

Cam's gram

All of my quilting stuff (fabric, sewing machines, longarm, tools, etc) goes to my BFF. My family knows and she does too. I told her I hope that by that time it's all used up! I have no daughters or sisters and my two dils have no interest. My dgd is 21 and so far no interest either.

Unsewing

I hope people with significant stashes will tell their families and friends about charities that would love to have their fabric and tools. Add it to the will. My chapter for Quilts for Kids got a call one day from the daughter of a very craftsy woman. No one in the family cared for all of the supplies ad equipment she had accumulated. She had told her daughter she wanted all her arts and crafts items to be donated to a charity. And they found our group -- Silicon Valley Quilts for Kids. This lady had lived through the Great Depression and treated her belongings as treasures. We were given about half of her fabric -- anything we wanted from her stash. She was also into beads and in one box we found hundreds of dollars of Mill Hill beads. Huge cutting mats, two sewing machines, all manner of tools. In the garage was a box of perhaps 30 pairs of Gingher scissors, snips and shears. All were mint in condition. We took two finished bed-sized quilt tops, quilted and bound them and gave back to the family the following month. They were dumbstruck -- the grandsons had something to remember their Grandmother with. Great experience! I think about her every time I pick up these small scissors with the beaded fob she made. Wish I had met her but her generosity lives on.

Tothill

I have it in my Will, who is to get my sewing machines, long arm, fabric, notions and books.

The only problem is that sometimes stuff is distributed or trashed prior to a will being read. My kids all know the contents of my Will, so hopefully it will not be a problem.

nanna-up-north

I read through all the posts and I'm so glad most all of you have thought ahead and have plans for your great collections. My DH and I have discussed this many times so I know what to do with his collections (and he has some amazing ones) and he knows what to do with my treasures. I'm sure the DD will have something to say about what she wants, too. She's starting to quilt more as she gets older and I already have her come to my stash to shop when she needs something. Heaven knows I don't need it all.

Anyway, I just had to tell you all about a great fabric shop I stumbled across just this past week. It's a shop where ladies that have died or cannot do their craft anymore are either selling their things on consignment or the shop buys everything outright. It's a great shop. There are bolts of fabric, fabric pieces less than 1 yard, kits, yarn, lots of books and notions. You name it, she's got it. What a great niche she's found. She's so busy getting all the stuff she gets pressed, folded, priced, etc. She's even opened a second shop 30 miles down the road. I'm going to go visit that one tomorrow.

The shop owner told me of one lady that's gone into a home due to age and disabilities. The lady is selling some things on consignment but had an amazing 'she shed' as her sewing studio. I guess her stuff must have been lined in gold because the she shed got sold with its contents. The selling price was $600,000. It sold!! Okay, does that tell you what your stuff is worth? It makes you think, doesn't it?

SuzzyQ

I've enclosed a letter with my will - and the executors have copies of both - and the other kids know such a thing exists - so I'm pretty sure that my stash won't be trashed. Having said that though, I'm also actively purging everything - and sharing with my DD's and DGD who have expressed interest. There may even be a bit of a war over the machine they learned to sew on!
But we have lots of fun when I'm purging and they are there!
And they know I "will" come back to haunt them....

Flyboy Jim

My thought about this is that it might of been your husband"s way of telling you to "deal with getting rid of your own stash" instead of leaving it for someone else to have to deal with. Especially since you're no longer able to quilt or sew.

And yes I feel that "what goes around comes around" and that you have a perfect right to do the same for him.

My wife and I are getting a lot of enjoyment with passing things we no longer need or want to family and friends, while we're still alive.

Just a thought, Jim