My Fabric Stash - Buying and Using It

I've lost count of how many times

I've been asked HOW I buy my fabric.

How much do you buy?

My answer?  

It depends.

Keep reading and you'll gain a better understanding 

for my somewhat unpredictable and 

sometimes seemingly random

stash enhancement process.

Early on, like most new quilters,

I purchased whatever the pattern suggested

in terms of quantity.

Beginning with my very first quilt

I never actually used the suggested colors.

After those very early years

I took off on my liberated journey

and quit relying so heavily on patterns.

It was at that point that my buying habits changed dramatically.

Why?

I needed a deep stash to work from when an idea happened.

Fabric and I have a wonderful but eclectic relationship.

I love bold saturated colors.

I love many of the Kaffe Fassett collective prints.

I bought a lot of Marcia Derse fabrics.

I love blenders that fit into lots of different profiles,

black and white yardages of all sorts,

and low volumes, especially text prints.

And then there are the fabrics that take my breath away.

That doesn't always mean I buy them,

but they do make my heart sing.

As my friend Lynne says,

"don't fall in love with your fabric."

She's right - those pieces are so hard to cut into

and tend to gather dust on the shelf.

All of the photos up to this point

were taken on one day in late 2010 

when Chris and I visited the original location

of Delta Patchwork in Collierville, TN.

Normally an online seller only,

Chris had made arrangements for us to visit in person.

We shopped and shopped 

and bought more than either of us

had ever purchased at one time

or ever have since that day.

What an epiphany . . .

I bought 2-4 yards of most of what you see

in these photos because I was building that deep stash.

It was only when the total was calculated

that I had any (not many) second thoughts --

I chose to purchase all of it and I've never, ever been sorry.

Today I tend to purchase one yard cuts -

especially since I am a scrappy quilt maker

and running out of a given fabric is a good thing

because it forces me to grab another related piece 

and keep right on going.

If I anticipate that a particular piece

might be used as a single-fabric backing,

I buy four yards.

Sometimes I have a project in mind.

Other times I just "know" that particular piece

was destined to come home with me.

Honestly, there have been very few of those

"meant to come home" pieces that I've ever regretted.

(those few were donated to comfort quilt making groups)

In 2015 after I delivered the manuscript 

and gallery quilts for my book to the AQS offices

I spent a couple of hours shopping at Hancock's of Paducah.

My stash had been well-used and had some "holes" 

or gaps in the various color families.

My challenge was to fill those openings.

I took photos of my stash before I left home

so that I would have an accurate reference

once I was in the fabric store --

colors, quantities, etc. are SO easy to confuse

when confronted with bolts and bolts of new fabric.

I stuck to my one yard general guideline,

buying more only if I knew that there was a  

particular project that needed more.

Although by this point I was as happy if not happier

 designing a scrappy quilt back using yardage already in the stash

than I was buying a new single knock-out fabric.

What about pre-cuts?

They're displayed and packaged so invitingly

but once I get them home I struggle with buyer's remorse

and find them extremely limiting to work with.

Even though I try VERY hard not to bring any into the studio

the only way they really work for me is to take them apart 

and sort the pieces into my resource boxes by color.

In 2016 I was thrilled to be enrolled in a class

to be taught by Gwen Marston at AQS Chattanooga.

(taking a class with her had been on my bucket list for years)

Better yet, two long distance friends

were enrolled in the same class.

I bought an array solids as instructed since I didn't have any.

But Gwen had to have knee surgery and couldn't teach the class.

So I learned how to use solids from Lynn Carson Harris

who was chosen by Gwen to teach the class.

And now I incorporate solids into a great many of my projects.

(I use Moda Bella solids)

I do not segregate solids (or any other "type") in the stash.

Color groups are usually kept in their own stacks

but they sit on the open shelves

right beside their print and batik cousins

because segregating types of fabrics 

tends not to work well for me.

The yardage in this photo was deliberately purchased

as a quilt backing and the fat quarters

were specifically chosen to go with that backing.

I had a specific project in mind

with the remaining fabrics already in the stash.

Ironically, when it came time to make that quilt

I used the backing but many of the fat quarters

were rejected and sent to the resource boxes

where they were used later in other scrappy projects.

That tends to be the story in my studio.

Plan and ponder, ponder some more,

create a fabric pull, edit it a dozen times, start making 

and realize the quilt has a mind of its own.

In 2018 I had a well-defined project in mind

for the Ad-Hoc Improv Quilters 

"playing with scale" challenge.

I didn't have many polka dots in my stash

and needed a wide variety for my plan.

So when I had the opportunity to shop two stores

during a weekend away, I focused on that need.

One yard cuts for most, a few fat quarters to spice things up,

and the lower two (purple and orange) were two yard lengths.

(the resulting quilt is named The Spotted Winkel - the link 

will take you to a series of posts  shared during its making)

So to sum things up on the buying side,

I don't have any hard and fast rules

that govern my fabric purchases.

I've learned through the years

to honor my intuitive color sense

and I've learned by watching others 

and seeing their stashes in person.

Experience really is an excellent teacher.

* * *

The page for My Studio Space

is a good reference for the stash

and how I have it organized.

These two posts from September 2018

are also illustrative of the stash:

Following Up Part II

and 

Following Up Part III

Throughout my blog posts there labels including

 STASH, 

USE THE STASH,

and 

SHOPPING THE STASH.

(a long list of labels appears in the sidebar)

Grab your favorite beverage

and spend some time clicking and reading.

Taking a look at how I use my stash

is another not-so-easy-to-define process.

I love the designing process.

I love pulling fabrics and creating stacks

for "this could be" possibilities.

I am always looking for ways to use what I have

instead of simply buying more.

(Like others, I had to grow into this phase)

* * *

My current series of Kitchen Table Quilts 

came about because I wanted/needed to USE 

some of the perfectly good but well-aged pieces

that had been on the shelves too long.

If you click on the Kitchen Table Quilts label in the side bar

or use the tab under the header above for their dedicated page

you'll see many of their fabric pulls

along with subsequent edits and tweaks

and - as I complete them - the finished quilts.

* * *

Another extensive series of quilts

have come from my participation

in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Look for the tab under the header

for their dedicated page here on the blog

or use the RSC labels for each year.

* * *

Because I share so much of my process in my posts,

tracing a single project from beginning to end 

is actually the best way to understand how I work.

Many of my projects have labels. 

I stopped using them for a few years

but I've been slowly going back and adding labels

to those posts that were skipped.

Process and Pondering are two places to start.

You can also use the Blogger search box

in the upper left hand corner of the screen

if you don't see a label that fits what you're looking for.

If all else fails, send me an email.

(look in my profile - there's a link there)

* * *

And then there is the Ad-Hoc Squirrel Club.

A squirrel is a sudden distraction that pulls us

away from projects already underway. 

Something so exciting that we drop 

what we’re doing to enjoy the unexpected. 

(the term comes from the movie UP 

where the dog named Doug is talking 

and suddenly his head whips to one side 

as he shouts SQUIRREL and he’s off to chase it)

There's a label for squirrel club

if you want to see the kinds of projects

that fit into this style of working.

It really is all about honoring your own preferences

and taking time to play with possibilities.

As Picasso once said:

"Why do two colors put one next to the other sing? 

Can one really explain this? No."

So quit thinking/worrying and go USE your fabric!