So is mine! Anything to "protect" our precious fabric!

i can so totally relate to that - yup - most of my fabric is happily sleeping quite safe from any sharp rotary cutters or pointy needles.

sanann wrote:
I nearly fell of the chair laughing and love it....lol lol lol.....still going......

It depends on the fabric for me. I do a lot of different kinds of quilts, and many of them include a landscape type background. I get really crabby when I find the perfect fabric to make distant craggy mountains and run out because it's almost impossible to get it again, for instance. So I buy 2 or even 3 yards for some fabrics but only 1/2 yard for others. Recently, I bought a bunch of 10 inch squares of a variety of silks for an applique quilt I'm planning. I will say that I was extremely happy when I retired last January to come into my studio and organize my fabrics into a well-stocked stash. After I organized everything, I spent another bit on filling in the blanks, which is what I do now--fill in blanks. So I have made several quilts lately that I only had to buy more threads (that's another stash issue). I bought bolts of black and steam-a-seam 2.

Sounds like you must have quite a stash now

Hi,

Quilt shops in my area, Tulsa, Oklahoma, usually recommend 2-3 yards. That's what I buy. Most of the quilts I do I want them to fit a min. twin bed, even if it is a throw because I have only men in my family 6ft +. I do alot of mystery quilts and they seem to always call for 1 1/2 to 2+ yards so like they say, if you think it might show up on your bed best get 3 yards a throw 1 1/2 to 2 yards. I tend to over buy so i can make a scrapy quilt later and allow for errors.

Happy Quilting,
Sonja

Ann,
Loved your post! And regarding your decade...don't even think about it. I was at a seminar & they did the
door prize thingy of youngest attendee, etc. When they got to oldest attendee, it was a woman in her 90's!
At a break, we spoke to her & she had just gotten a new sewing machine! So, we've got years ahead.

So sorry to hear about your DH & his friend and their struggles with Alzheimer's.
You are in my thoughts & prayers.
love & hugs,

I used to buy a lot of FQ's of novelty fabrics and found them lanquishing in my stash with no where to go. I also had a lot of one to two yd lengths of "focus fabrics" (usually florals or large prints) that I thought I would use some where. Every year I would sort out my stash and donate fabrics that I knew I would not use to a friend who makes charity quilts.

Then because my quilting style had changed, I began to buy only hand dyes or batiks for the basics in my stash. I will occasionally buy a FQ of a fabric that will make a good applique or will fit into something I really need but I am really careful about my "impulse fabric " purchases.

I have limited space for my stash. Two cabinets that are closet organizer cupboards that we have laid on their side and one shoe container (all from a standard closet organizer source) so when I cannot fit fabric in there, I know my stash is too large. (I have to admit I have a few small back up spaces for things I cannot really part with yet but that space is still really limited to I have to keep my stash building tendencies in check) I love fabric and given the dollars and space, I would have the stash to DREAM OF but I have neither and I really have no desire to win the prize of the biggest stash when I die. I would love to use up every scrap. Maybe won't happen since I am in my seventh decade but I can DREAM!!!!!! Hugs to all, Ann

crocus999 wrote: Great idea.

sanann wrote:
That's a good one!

sanann wrote:

I don't know how many FQs i have but probably around 90. And then there is the yardage - just lots okay! I buy 1 1/2yards of fabric if I think it would be nice as a border. But then there are the threads And now the buttons and sequins. It will end in tears (as my mother used to say!)

that's it - keep it safe - let it breathe - give it a chance to shine another day
and one day - it will shine in a quilt and be loved to bits

I refuse to feel guilty about my stash. I take very good care of it. Wash it, fold it, separate it into colors, types and specialties, place it in drawers where it is safe from my rotary cutter.