Talking About the Stash

There is always a lot of talk on quilting blogs about using up the stash. I love fabric, and have never been tempted to go on a self-inflicted Fabric Diet. The only thing that sends me into a zero fabric buying period is lack of funds.

I certainly bought my fair share of duds when I first started quilting. For quite some time I couldn't toss anything out, even though I knew I wouldn't use it, especially as fabric is so expensive here. I still feel that way a bit, as I often read about quilters who use their ugly fabrics in a scrap quilt and the ugliness miraculously goes away, so you never know when it might get used up. I was reading Mereth's blog today, and she shows a quilt just like that.

Then I discovered the joys of fabric buying from the US via the internet. So cheap! Then I got smart and started selling half of what I bought on ebay to pay for the half that I kept. Free fabric - can't go wrong there. But of course that leads to having to think about what would sell and what wouldn't, and there starts the complicated business of buying for the market. I quickly learnt that just because I like it, doesn't mean other people would - in fact I was constantly amazed by what would sell and what wouldn't.

So then I found I was left with fabric I didn't like. I quickly figured out that I had to buy fabric that the customers might like, that I also didn't mind being left with if it didn't sell. In the meantime though, I ended up with some fabric I didn't really want.

I stopped selling in the end as the competition was becoming fierce and ebay put up its fees, so it wasn't worth it anymore. About 6 months ago, I was in need of a bit of extra cash, so I went through the stash and dragged out everything I didn't really want, and listed it all on ebay quite cheaply. I sold most of it, and then spent the money on a big internet fabric buy, just for me! So much for needing the money for other things - but I did need fabric too! Here is what I bought.

So now I have quite a big stash I feel - big enough for me, but most of it is fabric that I like and will use, or else fabric that I'm not in love with, but could use in a scrap or charity quilt. The 'over-pink flowery number' springs to mind.

Also my tastes have changed and broadened over the last few years. I just love the reproduction fabrics, the extra benefit with them is that they never go out of date. I have a large Japanese fabric collection (container top left of photo that is only partly visible), and also some more modern fabrics like Kaffe and Amy Butler. I have the black and white bins, the plain fabric bins, and a few other bits and pieces, mainly brights and neutrals. The 1800s fabric is by far the largest category, and I love it all. I can spend time just looking at it all, refolding and rearranging. I'm also now trying to keep my scraps and strips sorted out, and have even cut a few fabrics into strips that I don't think I'll use in a particular quilt. I've started an orphan block bin too.

So no voluntary Fabric Diets for this girl. What happened to Tazzie could happen to me - and we don't want that!