crafterbarbara

I am in your position. In addition to stash of fabric I have gathered 1000's of designs. Oh I am sure I will stitch this one. But when? 85 and time is running out. But my being able to choose a 6 inch scrap or larger and stitch something for a friend. Bring smiles. So, yes I have too much, BUT?

rryder

I like my stash. Having been an artist and crafter for all my life (even during my working years when I had a different career), I have a stash of spinning fibers, yarns, metal sheet for jewelry making, paints, markers, pastels, etc. and also the tools to go with several hobbies/near careers I have enjoyed over the years. I've been quilting off and on since about 1981 and have gone through periods where I only had fabric on hand for the quilt I was making at the time and periods where I had a larger stash than what I've now got. I joined the fabric moratorium several years ago just to help remind myself that I'm not getting any younger and my storage space isn't getting any bigger.

For me, having a not too large, but not too small stash means that I can pull out my fabrics and play whenever I want without having to pre-plan and then shop. That's what works for me at this point in my life. I periodically evaluate my stash to determine if it has holes that need to be plugged- neutrals and blenders often need to be replenished. Sometimes a quilt I'm working on needs something that's not available in my stash, so I get the fun of visiting the LQS without getting overwhelmed by (and possibly buying) all the beautiful fabrics they've got in stock.

I donated a bunch of yarn several years ago when DH and I decided that we were not likely to be weaving any more and sold the last of the looms, but I haven't yet felt a need to part with any of my fabric (other than by using it up). Probably if you added all my scraps and yardage together I'd have about 300-400 yards of fabric in my stash at any given time. That's down from a high of about 600 yards several years ago.

I think I'd probably get overwhelmed if I had more than that.

Edited to add- Come to think of it, I probably have some home dec and upholstery fabric stuck somewhere that I should get rid of....but it's probably not more than 10 yards or so... mainly scrap left over from various home dec projects over the years...

Rob

eimay

I recently started "cleaning out". I was shocked at the amount of flannel, polar fleece and quilting fabric that had either intentions that never materialized or had no distinct purpose planned, but I liked it. I donated LOTS to various charity groups, but still have full kits from multiple BOMs that appealed to me at the time.

When I purchase now, I have a distinct plan and work on it almost immediately.

Sharonquilts

My stash of fabrics is very small and may not truly qualify as a "stash". I do have fabrics I purchased with GC's I needed to use when Hancock's closed ... and unfortunately I'm not thrilled to use most of them. Selection was not the best by the time I got to the store.

From what I'm reading, I'm somewhat different ... meaning, I can actually spend an hour in a fabric store and not buy anything. I tend to look at the fabrics for inspiration but if nothing "speaks" to me, I just don't buy. Or sometimes I know exactly what I want to do but can't find the coordinating fabrics. And there are only a few stores to shop from in my area. I've been reading posts lately on how some of you are using up your scraps and you quilts are lovely. But when I look at my scraps, I feel I don't have enough coordinating colors to make a small quilt work. Haha. I'll continue to save them in hopes 1 day I'll be inspired.