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What’s in Your Stash

Today on Lime Green Kitchen:

Springerle Cookies – You asked for it.  If you don’t like anise, you’re probably not going to like these cookies.  If you like anise . . you’ll love these!

I asked this question yesterday in another group so I’ll ask it here too.  I have a habit of repeating myself! 🙂

What’s in your stash?  Is it mostly scraps, fat quarters, towers, jelly rolls, yardage?

Have you always kinda bought the same thing? Like .  . did you start out buying fat quarters and now you buy yardage or do you still buy fat quarters mostly?

Have you changed the style of fabric you buy now from what you were buying 3 or 5 years ago?  Maybe you bought florals at one time but only buy dots now . . or something like that.

Thanks for your answers!

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  1. I started by buying FQ’s and joining Sweet Treats, which I never wanted to use as they looked so pretty… all that has ended now, I try to buy between 1 and 3 metre lengths. On my visits to the Ohio Amish I like to stock up on my plain colours and usually by a yard of every colour!! up to my flying weight limit!

    Diana in England

  2. I started out with fats and that’s still what I buy predominately. I do buy more 1 metre pieces or 2 1/2 for borders now though if I fall in love.

  3. I, unfortunately, tend to buy larger yardage, 3-5 yards, and if a great price, 7-10 yards. And yet, still hate to cut into it for “fear” that if I use one yard for THIS quilt, when I need alot for ‘another, as yet to be chosen’ quilt I won’t have enough. This tends to paralyze me on cutting up my larger yardage. I seem to like the cutsie fabric and have to force myself into purchasing those fabrics that read as solids. I look at other peoples pictures of their stash and see so many solid type fabrics and wonder if they have any of the cutsie or busier fabrics at all? I did start with the florals, moved to animals, into Christmas and on and on. I tried to get into the fat quarter buying, but They are sooooo small.. I sometimes had to go back and purchase the same fabric in yardage, just to ease my poor brain! Oh my, putting all this down in writing makes me see how silly I have been. After Christmas maybe I can do something with all that larger yardage! Thank you, Judy!

  4. I started out (when I was working outside the home and couldn’t really quilt, but wanted to so badly) buying fat quarters………LOTS and LOTS of fat quarters. I bought them indiscriminately on eBay, so I got lots of not so nice stuff.

    Now that I’m home (and quilting regularly) I’m working on purging the not so nice stuff from my stash. That’s going pretty well.

    Now, I still buy lots of fat quarters, but I’m starting to buy a few kits, too. Occasionally, I buy yardage on sale.

    My style has changed. I was buying willy-nilly before, but now that I have made note of what I really like, I buy a certain style. I’ve made it a goal to begin purchasing some stuff “out of my comfort zone” and make quilts with it in the New Year (think Anna Maria Horner or Heather Baily, etc).

    Also, I’m not a tone-on-tone gal, but I want to start purchasing some TOT fabrics to compliment what I have in my stash already. I’m finding myself thinking, “Wow, I really wish I had some TOT to do that quilt!” (Like, especially the quilts of a certain lady–who shall remain nameless–who generously provides patterns for all of us in blogland, and LOVES TOT fabrics.)

  5. I have containers and containers of scraps going back years and years of being a garment sewer. Even then I preferred 100 percent cotton. (I’ve got to become a leaders/enders person). I used to buy lots of loose fat quarters because I didn’t have a lot of $ to spend on quilting stuff. I quilt scrappy, mostly, so this works out. In the last few years I’ve had a little more discretionary funds for quilting purchases, so I’ve moved to towers and yardage. So that works out, too, because I can use the yardages for borders and backings and can do all scrappy or controlled scrappy. It’s all good!

  6. Yardage, mostly. 1 to 2 yards, mostly. When Hobby Lobby used to have great deals in the clearance bins, I often bought 4 to 6 yard pieces. “Bake shop” sized pieces are too fiddly for me (and I prefer to prewash all my fabric).

    I also have stashes of household linens (tablecloths, embroidered pieces, aprons), vintage fabrics, and fashion fabrics (which are themselves on the way to becoming vintage).

  7. Wow, what a great question. I am trying to cut back on buying novelties. & I am buying more Kona Solids.

  8. I have lots of lots of things 😛

    I LOVE jewel tones in batiks and tone on tones, so I have a bunch of those in FQs and 1 yard pieces. I seldom buy long cuts unless it is for a specific project.

    There are also a lot of smaller pieces that are obnoxious 🙂 I run a swap of obnoxious fabrics and have quite a pile of them!

  9. I started buying FQ. I really couldn’t afford to buy yardage at quilt shop prices, but buying 10 fats and getting one free as most of my LQS’s used to offer I’d still be spending $25 but a got a lot of different fabrics. Now I try to buy what I need for a specific project and only occasionally will I buy piece just because I love it. I’ve learned that if I don’t use it, in a couple years I’m not going to love it anymore and it will end up in a quilt back. I do like to buy those charm packs, although I don’t really make quilts from them, tote bags mostly. But I love having all those coordinating fabrics right there in an inexpensive little package.

  10. Over the years I have tuned in to what I really like and in the last few months I realize that if it doesn’t have a lot of different fabrics I don’t really want to make it. That is not to say that a matchy quilt is not pretty, it is just not my style.

    I have alway bought smaller amounts because I could convince myself that I wasn’t really spending that much. I also save every little piece so I have lots of scraps. I now buy in mostly 1 yard pieces instead of fat quarters. Lately I have been buying large amounts when I find a good price but these are for backings.

    I like florals and prints a lot but not novelties too much. I really like clear, rich colors but I am starting to appreciate civil war types. So yes I would say that my taste has evolved over the years.

  11. like most quilters on here i started out with fat quarters. When i did buy yardage i noticed that almost all of it was designed by..Robyn Pandolph! So i started collecting what i could afford of her lines. When she switched from Moda (and a local quilt store went out of business about the same time), i bought up as much as i could afford of her fabrics, and came home with two very large bags full. I’ve made tops from those purchases and kitted up the rest for more quilts.

    Now i have a tendency to purchase fabrics by my favorite designers rather than by size, but jelly rolls and layer cakes have a definite space in my stash as an economical way to collect the lines as they come out.

    • A tower is a collection of fat quarters from one of a designer’s lines – you could buy one fat quarter each from, say, Jo Morton’s Providence line. That would maybe be 15 fat quarters, depending, so it would be a tall stack of fat quarters – that’s why they call it a tower.

  13. I started buying FQ’s but now prefer to buy mostly yardage. I’m drawn towards anything Autumnal so most of my stash tends to be in these colours and creams, ecrus etc. I keep all my scraps and make up scrap quilts with these. Anything really small and unusable goes to my friend who teaches Foundation year, they then use them for collage, craft etc. I haven’t bought any jelly rolls or layer cakes yet although I have made quilts using patterns for these – I cut my own from scraps. I can see that purchasing jelly rolls etc would be a good way to acquire new designs as they were released.

    Penny in England

  14. I started buying fat quarters – mainly because I started sewing/quilting small wall hangings. Especially Christmas ones, so I have a LOT of Christmas FQs. Now that I’m making larger quilts I buy yardage – usually 2-3 yards and I’ll usually buy 2-3 yards of the coordinating fabric. I love batiks but I also seem to gravitate to prints. I’ve been trying to buy fabric for a specific project rather than just adding to my stash. I have limited space and I’m rapidly running out. With that being said, I still tend to spend a lot of time in my favorite quilt shop and I rarely leave empty handed!

  15. I started out buying yardage, because they did not have fat quarters. Now I buy both. LOL I find myself picking up fat quarters often I like scrap quilts so they work well for that. If I really like a fabric I buy three yards..If I really really like a fabric I might buy the bolt or whatever is left on the bolt. I don’t think I have ever collected any one fabric…dots, stripes or flowers. My tastes in fabric has changed over the years. In the beginning I bought anything and everything. Now I buy less fabric but usually better quality fabric.

  16. I started out buying yardage, large yardages. I used to make a lot of quilts that would use only 2, 3, or 4 fabrics in the entire quilt. But over the years my style has changed to incorporate more fabrics in similar color/value so now I tend to buy 1/2 yards. But I’m not purhcasing much these days, I’m out of shelf room until I use some of this accumulated yardage up!

  17. I pretty much have everything in my stash. I started with buying yardage but now I also buy jelly rolls, charm packs, towers and honey buns. I’m also a pack rat, so I have lots of scraps that I can’t part with. When I get fed up with the mess and decide to get rid of the scraps, that is when my eight year old daughter swoops in and takes them for her “collection.” (She’s a pack rat too. Go figure.)

  18. mostly yardage though now “no buy”
    also own maybe 300 fat quarters..still look longingly
    make scrap quilts–used to do samplers.
    the fabrics I love now are Civil War repro types, formerly was crazy for30’s repros..have extensive of both
    LOVER OF PURPLE, lime green, double pinks and Cheddar and now gravitate to geometric fabrics and DOTS-don’t like calicos any more
    I own way too much..moving to new house and having to put two rooms into just one so much may be donated

  19. Most of my stash is in yardage. I now buy fat quarters more often and only yardage in longer lengths if I want it for a border or sashing, backgrounds, and of course backings. I really like scrappy looking quilts. I only buy good quilt shop quality fabrics.

  20. I am a sucker for reproduction fabrics especially the revolutionary and civil war era fabrics. Actually start drooling when Iam around them. Don’t care much for the 30’s era and don’t like cutsy fabrics. Love getting those fat quarters too but buying more yardage now than before. Good question!

  21. Five years ago I only made garments so I bought novelty prints and anything I liked for clothing. Now I piece quilts so my novelty prints are sometimes not suitable. I always bought yardage. Now, though, I piece scrap quilts so I buy salesmen’s samples from my favorite quilt shop. She has a back room and sells these samples by the pound. I buy fat quarters occasionally also. Don’t buy much yardage anymore.

  22. I don’t have much stash, mostly extras from quilts I have made. However my tastes have changed BIG time, I think it comes from having a grandson (now 2). I was really into pastels (think Robyn Pandolph) and Thimbleberries, now it is more BRIGHT, Kaffe Fassett, Amy Butler, Michael Millar. I do find my colour tastes change as well, you can pretty much see what my favourite colour was at any time by the paint choices in various rooms!

  23. As a grandma this may explain my stash. I just spent two weeks sorting, and sorting fabric. Number 1 is character prints. 2 is children prints. 3 flowers, 4 misc and mostly ugly fabric that I have been given. I have very few solid color fabric. Now that it is organized I am over whelmed with enough children fabric for a hundred quilts. New motto make at least two children’s quilts a month. I want to make Black Friday so I will be out purchasing all new fabric for that one. Since I tend to make children’s quilts I tend to buy yardage as in the whole bolt.

  24. I started buying fat quarters, then FQ bundles, then a yard of this and a yard of that. Now I buy the occasional pre-cut (jelly roll / charm pack / layer cake), but it’s mostly yardage of 3-8 yards. My thinking is three yards I can do a border or mix into a quilt; 8 yards I can usually do a backing. If 8 yards isn’t quite enough for a back, I can piece in something else.

  25. It’s a combination of fat quarter and one to two yard pieces. Oh, and my string stash which takes over a whole corner of the room.

  26. I have never just bought. I never wanted to use the same color in anything. So I drafted the pattern then bought by the inch of what I needed. Now days my fabric has been donated to me so it has variety of both color , theme, and size. I have 4 boxes full, if more comes I’ll have to sew faster! I still draft my patterns useing up the scraps, the larger peices are backs, borders, or cut up as I need them. I dont think cuttting mountain of strips and stuffing them in a box is USING the stash,

    It’s not a quilt till its quilted. ~karylsquilts

  27. **CONFESSION TIME**

    Lately I have been buying SCRAPS!! That’s right, other people’s scraps. Yellow Bird Art, our local honey of a quilt shop, has an old zinc washtub filled with scraps and you can have all you can cram into a ziploc bag for six bucks. I love it. I can pick up smidgens of fabrics that I would probably never buy a yard of, and not feel guilty.

    Don’t tell my husband, anyone. He doesn’t get the scrap thing at all, thinks I should throw everything out after each project, and if he knew I actually paid real money for more scraps, his brain would explode.

    • What a bunch of interesting and different responses! I think it does show that what a person has been sewing when she comes to quilting shows in her early purchases. Those coming from garment backgrounds are going to buy larger amounts than those coming from a craft background.

      I’ve always been a scavenger so I get my fabrics wherever I get the best bang for my buck; alot of times that is at the thrift store. Almost all of my quilts are scrap style and are donated so I don’t limit my choices to current fabric lines. I don’t have a problem working with “old” fabrics as long as the colors work for my ideas. I tend to use curtains and sheets alot for backing fabrics; although, lately I have a deal with myself to unload alot of my longer yardage pieces as backing.

      I have had a very successful year of not buying yardage fabric and have used quite a bit of my stash. I expect next year to be more of the same. After 20+ years of quilting I am ready for most of my fabric to go live somewhere else!

  28. Started out with fat quarters because its all I could afford and still get a little taste of the pretties. I still buy fats alot but also buy yardage. You know how it is if you don’t buy it now it’s gone when you go back. I have a large stash that I will probably never use because my color tastes have changed dramatically. I wouldn’t even think about wasting time doing a blue quilt now but way back when that’s all I bought. I try to remember that when I’m tempted by a new line that I think I NEED!

  29. I started out buying fat quarters…they were the quilters candy….now there are charm packs for that! I have yardage, fat quarters, charm packs, jelly rolls, turnovers………but now I tend to buy kits…….I am trying really hard NOT to buy anything right now but………………..

  30. I have lots of quarter yards, half yards, and yards with bits cut out. I usually don’t buy large yardage because I like to have variety. I am working on that bad habit. The Assistant (my 3 1/2 year old daughter) likes fat quarter bundles but is currently going after my yardage to chop under her scissors! My color preferences are about the same as when I began, but now I can afford better fabric (I was in high school and college when I began).

  31. I have never bought a jelly roll or layer cake or any of those. I have very few fat quarters and usually buy 1-3 yards of something that I find that I like. I have a large percentage of florals because that is what I normally bought. I have just recently started buying Kona solids and have to say I LOVE them and love using them. I inherited my mom’s stash when she passed away and have just recently started buying solids and TOT fabrics to go with these.

  32. I started out buying 1 and 3 yard pieces. Then graduated to buying the rest of the bolt! After several years of quilting, decided to start using the stash. Now, I try to buy pieces to finish projects, but will still pick up 3 yard pieces of border stripe fabrics ocassionally. Each year, I look at my stash to see what colours I have the least of, and then start searching just for that colour or pattern, stripes, dots, plaids, etc. I do pick up the occasional fat quarter, as I have been doing more applique lately, and find them useful, especially for those odd shades that don’t seem to get used very often. I purchased my first 5 inch charm pack this year, but it is for a specific pattern that we are doing as a group this winter. I have already made one quilt top as a sample of the finished quilt, showing it in an alternative colour to the original pattern, to encourage the group to make the quilt their own!

  33. When I first started quilting, I bought what I needed for each project, and when I bought fabric “just because,” I bought half yards. The shop I lived closest to didn’t sell FQs, but only 1/2 yard cuts. Now, I buy FQs, and yardage, and jelly rolls (LOVE THOSE!!), and the odd charm pack or layer cake.

    Now I do a lot less of the limited palette thing, and more scrappy, so I don’t tend to buy for a particular project unless I need something to fill in. I’m also not buying as much “on spec” as I used to, but still when something begs me to take it home, I do. I’ll buy 3 yards or more of good, interesting fabrics that will do as backgrounds — not plain vanilla pudding WOW or COC stuff, but things with colored dots on tan or a subtle plaid on a fairly light ground or those kinds of things. I don’t really use the boring backgrounds much any more. For other fabric, it depends — if it’s on sale and/or I love it, I’ll buy more. Typically the least I’ll buy is a yard.

    I also have lots of scraps, cut up into different strip widths and squares. When I’m doing something scrappy, I go to the bin of the right size strips first, before I cut anything from pieces of yardage.

    My tastes aren’t changing so much as my sphere of what I like is expanding. I used to be a Civil War/Thimbleberries/Kansas Troubles kinda gal, and didn’t really care for brights. Now, while I still love all those original things, sometimes the brights call to me, and so do homespuns, dots, TOTs, all sorts of things. I used to be an absolutely sucker for cat prints and sewing notion novelty prints, but I’ve hit a bit of a saturation point with them at this point. I’m not a floral person, but a good paisley? Oh, yes!

  34. My stash is totally eclectic! Fat quarters that catch my eye…yardage of solids that I think will work well as coordinates…Christmas prints and patriotics…novelties for I-spy…end of bolts from a local store going out of business. I just love fabric!

  35. What’s in my stash? My initial thought was FQs. Then I spent a few minutes looking at my stash. It roughly breaks down as 44% FQs; 35% yardage; 16% pieces precut; 4% kits and 1% Precuts.

    I seldom buy yardage anymore unless it’s for a specific quilt and then it get kitted up or used immediately. My yardage #s don’t reflect that because this year I was given a bunch of fabric from friends clearing out that included yardage.

    Precuts- charms, layercakes, & jelly rolls are primarily limited to Kansas Troubles Quilt fabric — and I don’t have many of them. Most were purchased with a specific quilt in mind and are kitted together — but since those kits are in my KTQ fabric box and not my kit box they didn’t get counted with my kits.

    Pieces precut are squares, rectangles, strips and strings I’ve cut from my scraps. The only thing I didn’t get figured in was the laundry basket of scraps waiting to be cut. Yes, I do use these. Right now I’m working on Oklahoma Backroads from Bonnie Hunter as my leader/ender project.

    As for buying habits, I started collecting music fabric (8% of my stash – and only 1 quilt top completed) — primarily FQs – I also collected blue FQs (have made several blue quilts) and for a while I was in a cat FQ club (what was I thinking – this is 4% of my stash). As a rule, I’m no longer seeking these out.

    As for shopping, if I’m trying to replenish one of my colors, it’s FQs – the exception is lights (whites, creams, beige, etc). Then it’s either 1/2 yard or yard cuts of multiple fabrics. Occasionally, I’ll run across a fabric that I think falls into that “perfect” category — great combination of colors, would be great for a border or backing — depending on the price and my wallet I’ll buy at least 2 yards and have bought up to 4 yards. But I don’t do this frequently.

    These days, unless I’m looking for fabric for a specific quilt that I’m intending to start now (ok, in the next little bit) or that I need to finish what I’m working on, I’m not buying fabric.

  36. I used to buy lots of fat quarters because I couldn’t afford to get that variety in yardage. Also lots of novelty fabrics in collections, like leaf prints, or love hearts, sewing notions prints, cats, dogs, teapots, etc. And I used to love white-on-white for backgrounds. My tastes have changed now, and I am drawn to fabrics that read as solid from a distance but up close have lots of depth, like any colour of Makower Spraytime, or the little dots that Judy likes. I also favour creamy colours for backgrounds now. But, I’m still sewing mainly from stash, so I will persevere with what I have until it’s mostly gone before I re-stock. 🙂

  37. I seldom buy fat quarters-I have enough scraps that would qualify for a fat quarter. I buy yardage most all the time. I am on the hunt for some scrap quilts- I’d like to get shut of all my scraps. Then when nickle peices were so popular with exchanges-I was in probably 4 exchanges and so far only have 1-yes one- quilt started. My big downfall was a few years ago, buying old feed sacks-mostly bought from EBay-I am now in the process of getting them cut out for a Road To Oklahoma quilt with the border having vines and flowers appliqued on it. (I did buy a lot of flour sacks) Hugs, Bobbie

  38. Lots of yardage to make pillowcases. That means it is usually novelties. Lots of scraps and strings and selvages. Dressmaking fabrics that are often vintage satins and velvets. Lots of harvested denim and other miscellaneous fabrics. I do buy FQs, but not often. I really like asians and batiks, bright jewel colors and most any fabric except civil war repros (too muddy for my tastes). I like only a very few of the current crop of bold graphic fabric designs. Too much like the 70’s which I wore alot of. I like most fabrics. I haven’t bought any of the bake shop collections. I buy as I need getting extra for the stash. Except when with my sister, then I so severe damage and get lots.

  39. I started out buying yard pieces of fabrics I thought interesting at the time. Now I find most of those hard to figure out what to do with. So I cut them up into strips or smaller pieces. Now I mostly buy blenders in a wide range of colors. I’m particularly drawn to dark orange and deep purples. Who would have thought! I have a large number of 6″ squares from a swap that I don’t know what to do with and tons of strings that I need to get made into blocks. I just really need to reduce the amount of fabric I have so I can get more that is more to my liking.

    Happy Holidays everyone!

  40. I started out buying yardage and I still buy yardage. Though when I first started, I bought 1 print and then coordinating tone-on-tones. Now I like to buy from a single line for a project (generally do jelly rolls/charm squares) to make quilts.

  41. I used to buy only fat quarters until I discovered that sometimes fqs cost more than buying yardage. Now I mostly buy yardage. What and how much I buy depends on the fabric. If it looks like it would be a great background or backing I buy around 5 yds. If it looks like a border fabric or a focus fabric I buy at least 1.5 yds. I don’t like jelly rolls, charm squares or any of those kind of things. I prefer to cut up my own fabric. At least if it’s cut not on the grain I can blame myself. And I don’t like how many threads you get all over after using a jelly roll.

  42. I have never been a big FQ buyer. When I want a lot of variety I buy 1/4 or 1/3 yard cuts. If I like it and am not sure what to do with it I will buy a 1/2 or 1 yard cut. If I love it I will buy 3 yards so I can use it for the border and blocks.
    I hardly ever put pretty fabric on the back opting for muslin instead.
    I started out buying just what I needed for a quilt but quickly bought anything I liked. I have a weekness for civil war fabrics, but love to buy childrens prints too.

  43. I have yardage. When I started quilting in 1983, fat quarters did not exist. A quarter of a yard was 9″ wide by the length of fabric–a real nightmare to wash–tangle city.
    Back then our fabric was limited, so if you saw it and liked it, you had to buy or it would be gone.
    Now the fabric companies have such diverse lines of fabric: so I only buy for specific projects and pull from my stash.
    I had a hard time using a jelly roll. I like selecting my own fabric combinations.
    When I made your Bears in the Farmhouse, I paired the stripe with some of my older pastel solids and new fabrics for the border and background. It turned out wonderful and I used it for the Christmas raffle at my small guild. It was a big hit.
    If it is a JudyL pattern, the quilt will be gorgeous with any combination of fabric.

  44. Mostly yardage I’d say. I am somehow very dissatisfied with anything less than a yard! I do buy FQs and half yard cuts sometimes when I need only that much and the fabric in question costs $$$ 🙂 Otherwise I’ll just buy multiples of yard lengths so I can build my stash even if I need only a bit. I buy good quality fabric but mostly when they are on sale – just takes a little bit of waiting and watching; though I have bought full price $$$ yardage on occasion just because I loved it too much! I have some pre-cut fabric (jelly rolls, charms etc.) but I don’t think I’ll ever use it – they look too pretty. 😀 [There now that I’ve said it, I’ll most likely use it in my next project!] I have some scraps but I am working on growing it!

    I think I’ve definitely changed from loving colourful floral prints to more tone on tone type fabric. I am happy to say that there isn’t much in my stash that makes me cringe; but it is early days yet – my stash is only 5 yrs old.

  45. I buy mostly 1-3 yard pieces now. I’ve been through a country phase, a romantic floral phase, a 30’s phase and a civil war phase. I have a good amount of FQ’S but most of the stash is yardage. I always have to go shopping for backings.

  46. I started quilting coming from a costuming background, where 7 yards _might_ be enough for a dress (9 was better.) It took me a long time to learn that 2 yards was a _lot_ of fabric, not a little.

    In piecing I like a scrappy look and will not use one red where eight will do, and I love applique, where a half-yard of fabric is a lifetime supply! Nowadays I buy half yards and fat quarters, with yardage reserved for specific projects measured out in advance. It has helped that every time I’ve run out of something and had to go get something else, I like the new fabric better than the old. The LQS can store my stash, that works for me!

    Mostly nowadays my stash is tone on tone. I just took a whole pile of multicolored strongly patterned fabric to quilt bee; they loved it. It’s pretty fabric but I’m unlikely to ever use it for anything.

  47. I started out buying yardage and was given 2 boxes of misc material but I alternate between fat quarters and yardage equally I guess.

  48. I started with fat quarters..any that appealed to me. Now I often do yardages but SMALL amounts….often only half-yards. I have tried to categorize my stash into types…..florals, novely prints, batiks, etc. and also by colors. I seem to overwhelmingly be drawn to greens…LOTS of greens….greens make me happy.

  49. I started out buying yardage, sometimes with projects in mind, but mostly because I liked it. Now I mostly buy fat quarters, usually because I like it. I also buy pieces to add to what I already have if I need to for a specific project. I have never bought a charm pack or jellyroll. I don’t even know what a tower is!

  50. I had to start over with my stash 3 years ago because of a fire that completely destroyed everything we owned. So, I have a lot of FQs, florals, and holiday prints that good and thoughtful people have sent me. Most of the yardage is in 1/4 yard pieces. When I started buying fabric again, I bought FQs just to see what I would like. So, I am loaded down with FQs (at least 100 maybe more), but I have begun to purchase fabric from the LQS in 1 yd. increments. If I know I am using it for a particular quilt, I do buy 2 or 3 yards. I love to do scrappy, so what I have is a good fit for me. I am trying new lines but I can’t remember what their names are right now. I bought a ‘cracker jack’ set of 10″ squares of 1930’s prints. That is the name that our LQS calls it–cracker jack. Thanks for asking the question, Judy. It was fun to read the answers. Joyce.

  51. I buy FQs and 1/2 yard pieces. However, when I decide to do a quilt pattern, I usually go to the store and buy new fabric. So my stash just grows and grows. I also buy a lot of flannel for pj bottoms, baby blankets and the backs of baby quilts. The Black Friday sale at Joann’s doubled my flannel inventory!!!

    My New Year’s resolutions are to 1. Reduce my stash and 2. Complete all my unfinished/backlog projects.

    Thanks for being such an inspiration!! I am so happy that I found your Blog!!

  52. I have tons of small pieces, many smaller than fats. I seldom buy fat quarters. I started accumulating my stash before fat quarter days. Now, I’m always looking for blenders and geometrics to pull together those mostly florals. If a fabric seems well suited for border use –and I have the available $$– I will buy 2 or 3 yards. Usually, I prefer to wait on those purchases until I actually need them. You never know, there might be an even neater fabric in the latest shop offering by the time I really need it! 😉

  53. My stash has everything in it. I love towers, and all the other eye candy pre-cut items. I buy excessive amounts of yardage, too, so I guess it all evens out.

    Surprisingly, my tastes haven’t changed much through the years. There are colors I like way more than others, so those seem to dominate in my stash room.

    Someone mentioned their Robyn Pandolph collection. I have that, too – all of her Moda fabrics. My pride and joy! I had to hunt high and low for a few pieces, though.

    I used to never buy brights, but you and Jane have rubbed off on me a bit on that score. Almost never buy novelties unless it’s for a specific and immediate use. Lots of tone-on-tones, but most of them have a floral feel to them. Have been a lover of Civil War and patriotics from the beginning. I also love the romantic floral lines. Love folk art type quilts, brushed wovens, and I’m getting into wool now.

    Guess I’m all over the place, but really haven’t deviated very much in eight years. Good question!

  54. Like most here, I started out with FQ. My 14 year stash has everything from small pieces to “ill take the rest of the bolt.” As for style it has not changed much since I was 11 to today at 25. I love almost all colors but tend to gravitate towards reds, blues and creams. I occasionally but charm squares but get frustrated with the pinked edges. With very little room left for storing fabric, I joined the stash report for 2010. It is time to use some of the beautiful fabric I have bought and make room for another 50+ years of stash 😉

  55. I have lots of yardage, plenty of FQs, and scraps galore. I used to throw them all away (scraps), and never used to like string quilts, but I have learned that EVERYTHING grows on ME! I discovered Bonnie, now I throw almost NOTHING away! Started out with FQ’s, then THE HUSBAND said, “doesnt that cost more?”, I said ‘sometimes” then he TOLD me to buy yardage. Well, Blow up the DAM already! So I did, 2-5 yards of everything. I liked 30’s scrappy (still do, thank god) and bought enough to fill one of those 4 drawer plastic cab. Then I didnt really like Civil War, (too dull) but someone got me hooked on Dear Jane, and sure enough, I have a plastic cabinet of those FQ’s. Then came the flowers, batiks (hubby’s fav, so i have A LOT of those) the “just because” yardage, oh, and I was doing a lot of baby quilts for awhile, so got some kids fabrics too. FORTUNATELY, I am not so fond of all the new “70’s” type fabric with the big flowers weird colors, or the pale one colorish lines that are out there now, but as they say, Never say never…..I am sure that will grow on me too. Not too many Christmas fabrics, but PLENTY for probably 2 fulls anyway. My husband really likes the Asian stuff too, but I try to curtail SOMETHING. I stopped counting at 2000 yards, not including FQs and scraps, and for those of us who make scrap quilts, you KNOW how many quilts you can get out of those scraps, they never end. And yes, I have bought those too, to “mix up” my collection.
    Sometimes, it just feels better to confess….

  56. I have a huge stash, collected for more than 20 years. I rarely buy FQs unless they’re a huge bargain and never buy packaged fabric cuts. I just buy what I like, not for a specific quilt. The smallest piece I usually buy is a half a yard. Don’t buy reproduction fabrics. Love bright and bold! I don’t care for dull fabrics or ditzy little flowers, but I have some of each. Tropicals, novelties, stripes, dots, plaids, solids are all in my stash, along with a few batiks and some hand-dyed pieces. I like to use many different fabrics in a quilt. It’s more fun that way!

  57. I have been quilting for 10 years now and when I took my first quilting classes, the thing to do was to develop a “stash” so you would have some of every color “just in case”. I have always loved the scrappy look, so I chose to buy fat quarters, and systematically bought a variety of every color until I had a fairly decent selection for just about anything. Then I found fossil ferns and invested in a fq of all 150 colors that were available, lol. I use them when I need a good “unsolid” solid and if I need more yardage of one I order it. Along the way I have bought kits which I liked and learned the joy of buying the whole collection of a designer, which you call a tower. I decide on a pattern, and then buy the yardage I need to finish the quilt and buy the backing to go with it. So, I do have yardage but the majority of it is for a specific purpose. As I have progressed in my quilting I now buy thirds of yards for stashing but only in batiks and Kaffe Fassett. I can’t seem to pass them up. I also have a stash specific to Thimbleberries, Kansas Troubles, civil war, and brights. I love color and when I find a collection that appeals to me, I don’t care what genre it is in, I just buy it. The only thing I have managed to stay away from is Oriental, and have only recently bought any 1930s. And having said that, I might add, I am tryind desparately to quit stashing, as I have run out of room and figure I have approximately 50 “unmade quilts” to make, plus some stash I will never use. I am donating a lot to friends who make charity quilts and do missionary work. I also give a lot away to people new to quilting that can use what I have to learn on before they truly decide what they like as far as quilting is concerned. You did ask, right?

  58. Mostly yardage. For a while I collected 30’s repros, then civil war repros. I seem to have a lot of TOT, geometric prints. Not much for florals, pinks, purples.

  59. In my stash I have mostly 30 cms (12″) or less. My shopping habits have changed – I buy less for stash now. My taste has change too – from the brighter to CW repros and Japanese taupes, and now I buy all kinds of prints if I like the colours, checks included. I used to avoid checks.

  60. I tend to buy Fat Quarters or half meters if I like a fabric, but have no plan. Otherwise the plan dictates the amount (plus extra for future scraps and current miscuts). I love making scrap quilts, so the more the merrier. I’d rather have 20 red than 1.
    I now buy less novelty fabric as I find it real hard to integrate, and alltogether have gone to more tone on tone fabrics than multicolor ones.

  61. I LOVE fat quarters! That is what I collect, any and all! I rarely buy an entire collection, I just pick and choose what strikes my fancy at the time. I rarely buy yardage unless it is for a specific project.

  62. Hi Judy,
    This is a fun question, I hope you don’t mind me answering a little late.

    I used to buy ‘regular’ quilting fabrics, tone on tones, florals and so on. Now I buy batiks handdyes and a lot of whites fabrics that I dye, stamp or decorate in another way myself.
    I am planning to use all regular fabrics in 2010.

    As for sizes, I started buying FQ’s and half metres and occasional yardage for backings and I haven’t changed that.

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