Pat625

I have gotten fabric I liked "Just Because". Many times I fuss and fidget with it putting it into groupings that I think would make a good quilt combination..Eventually I find a pattern that works with it..Other times it's the opposite..Pattern sits as fabrics collect...Until it finds a home it sits in my stash. If I see it-I like it- I buy it..

Lisa_wanna_b_quilter

I don't stash. I can't stand tons of anything around. I buy what I need for a project. I have 3 plastic shoe boxes full of leftovers.

It's hard not to buy some of the beautiful fabrics I see, but I just can't tolerate the clutter. I also have a tough time with UFO's.

mom-6

I've been a fabric collector since long before I started actively quilting. If I see a fabric that "speaks my name" it almost always comes home with me, either right then or when I go back for it. Enough times of going back and it being gone and you know what happens. . . See it, like/love it, buy it.

I may not have a specific pattern on mind when I get it, but I usually have at least a vague plan for it.

I mentally divide all fabrics into two big categories - focus fabric or coordinating fabric. It's really easy to have way too many focus fabrics and not enough coordinating fabrics, so lately I've been consciously seeking ones that will coordinate with what I already have.

I'm finding that pale to light shades of blenders, marbles, and the like are harder to locate, especially in batiks. And those fabrics are the ones I run out of first.

GrannieAnnie

I buy a lot of stuff at yard sales and thrift shops. I MIGHT need it one of these days.

Jan in VA

I buy stash (usually on sale) because I make quilts from my own designs much more often than I copy others or use a pattern. I can choose to make a pattern designed around the prints I have on hand.

If I start drawing something at 6pm and then at 8pm just *have* to start making it right away, what would I do if I didn't have my own fabric store of sorts to shop from?! Just like I keep extra blades, or needles, or thread, or rulers, or any other part of my *tools* on hand, I keep "extra" fabric in a stash.

By having a stash, I have recently made a curved log cabin quilt using 30 fabrics in prints of aquas, red, and yellows ALL pulled from my stash, even the backing. I also made a reds, tans, and navy rail fence lap quilt all from stash.

Oh, yes, I'm ever so thankful I can shop in my own fabric store any hour any day of the week!!

Jan in VA

icul8rg8r

I don't deliberately go seeking fabric to add to my "stash" .... instead, fabric seems to seek out me!

I'll be walking down the aisle at Joanns with the sole purpose of getting a zipper and WHAM! Right on the end of the aisle is the most beautiful fabric I've ever seen. Sometimes a project will immediately come to mind but more often than not I haven't any idea of what to make with it. But if I can swing it financially, I go ahead and get a couple yards of that beautiful just-gotta-have-it fabric that sought me out, AND I'll get 1/2 yard each of several coordinating fabrics in that line, so I have everything I need when I get around to using it for a quilt or project.

I sort and store my fabrics by project so it all stays together. Right now, I probably have 10 to 15 groups ready to go! It's fun having it "in stock", so when I come across a pattern I want to try, I'm ready to dig right in.

Nilla

I have enough fabric set aside for particular projects that I can't find time to piece together, yet I keep adding to my stash. It really is ridiculous. Is a scrappy really a scrappy if you purposely bought a bunch of 1/4 yards and fat quarters just to cut up and add to your scrappy stash? I don't think I'd succeed at the fabric moratorium, but lately I've been thinking about putting myself on a specific budget for fabric to cut down on what I buy. I think I could make quilts for years before I truly needed fabric.

scrappingfaye58

I am fortunate to have a modest stash (don't ask my husband his opinion on that though... he thinks it is HUGE lol) but most of mine was either bought on a HUGE sale, or gifted to me. I have TONS of scraps that were given to me, and I still buy for a specific project and if the finances are good at the moment, will buy at least a yard extra if I like the fabric and think I will use it someday. I too, have bought with a specific project, and years later, find these nice coordinating fabrics in a box, and think "what the *&^^ did I have in mind for this fabric" So, it goes into the regular stash.

BellaBoo

I love to quilt and will use a lot of fabric in a few months time. If I had to shop for each project I'd be shopping more then quilting. I usually buy 3 - 9 yards of one fabric at a time when I find a great sale. I buy focus fabric as I need it for each quilt but I have background, blender, and backing in my stash. I have the room to store it neatly so it's not cluttered or stuck in bins.

berryberry

Fabric lines come and go so fast. I'll go to the LQS and see some new fabric that I know by the time I finish my current project will not be there. True some else will be, but if I really like a fabric I buy it when I see it so I do get to work with it. That's how I have built up a stash. Then there's yardage or fat quarters I need like staples you keep in a kitchen that are part of my stash. My stash also has complete projects yet to completed. Last but no least, if there's a sale there's a reason to go to the LQS which always results in a purchase.