Earlier this week I read a convicting post by Rossie/Fresh Modern Quilts on "What to Stash". She referred back to a series of 2011 posts by Jeni/In Color Order on "The Art of Choosing," specifically the post on Building a Well Rounded Stash. It didn't quite ring true for Rossie, who discovered that "personally [she didn't] need a well-rounded stash" and I encourage you to read her post to see what she has to say about that, as it's thoughtfully written.
For me, I find both posts were imminently helpful. When I read Jeni's original post, I was a new blogger with pretty much no stash at all. I had been quilting for years, but rarely purchased fabric that wasn't for a very specific project. And I had just discovered the modern quilting movement, so whatever bits of fabric I had left from my projects were not quite what the bloggers I was getting acquainted with were using. As I got more involved in the online quilting community, I began joining swaps and bees and such. And I soon realized that I needed to build a stash, and a modern one at that. So slowly, over the next 18 months or so, following Jeni's advice and watching others, I built that stash that allowed me to pretty much always have something suitable on hand whatever project or sewing whim presented itself. For the first time ever, I had a rainbow of prints to choose from, and solids even! And linen!
Fast forward 3 years, to a place where that well rounded stash has served me very well indeed. I pretty much quit "building" a while ago and as Rossie suggests, am more "maintaining." When I'm running low on certain solids or Essex or text prints, I get more, because I know those are standbys for me, and I'll need them to do what I do. Which brings me to Rossie's basic guidelines for herself which she kindly gave me permission to share:
I'm not suggesting that her rules should necessarily apply to you, me, or anyone else but her. But I
do think the whole subject is worth some thoughtful consideration. And even though I'm working on the "admire, don't acquire" bit, I was also touched by something
Molli Sparkles shared in
his post yesterday, where as an intentional challenge to himself he joined a fabric swap for fabric that didn't really grab him. And after working with it, he found he loved it! So yeah, sometimes I, too, purchase fabric just to see what all the fuss is about. Or because a certain grouping just is
so nicely done. Or, yes, just because fabric therapy is a real thing and I need some. But I also want to be attentive to what I have already gathered - because it's helped bring me to where I am - and I can trust it to serve me well going forward.
So give it some thought. I'm pretty sure happy medium wins again.
Thank you for pointing to these great articles. It certainly cleared up a few things for me. Especially about organic and geometric prints, which I always struggle a little with because I tend to buy both but not really use them.
ReplyDeletegood food for thought. I find I have 2 stashes now... my old, "traditional" fabrics (which I let my young sewing friends rummage through when they come to learn) and my newer "modern" stash (which I tend to hide from them, HA!)
ReplyDeleteI wish my stash was so tidy. I need to sort out into colours.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post, Debbie, and the other two links as well. I've noticed a shift in my quilting style the past few years, and subsequently in the fabrics I buy. I agree it's important to make sure we buy fabrics we'll actually use and stay true to our personal aesthetic.
ReplyDeleteSince my brain creates quilts far faster than my hands do, for the last 25 years (since 100% cotton began being widely available) I've used "building stash" as a pseudonym for "gotta have it but probably won't use it right away."
ReplyDeleteBack when cotton was hard to find, I did try to fill in missing colors, etc. When manufacturers finally understood that quilting was more than a fad, the supply of fabrics exploded.
Great, great post, Debbie. Such a good topic for discussion.
ReplyDelete"Fabric therapy is a real thing, and I need some"--HILARIOUS! In spite of that, you make a good point about being intentional with one's stash.
ReplyDeleteThe very limited choice of fabrics in the area were I live in Italy have brought me in the past to buy fabrics I wasn't completely convinced about. Now they are hanging around in my "stash". The very high cost of fabric also is a limit and so I'm trying to avoid the "got to get some new fabric" impulsiveness and planning what I buy more.
ReplyDeleteI wish I would have read this and thought about me stash more seriously before I ore ordered all the cotton and steel. As I'm reading this my order just arrived. I hope I'm not going yo regret it. Time to get sewing now
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts. I've gone through the "buy EVERYTHING" stage and come out with quilts that I don't love, and a whole lot of novelty prints that I rarely use. I've shifted to your starting point - buying only what I need for a project, or buying blenders. I did buy a LOT in Korea, but it was basic colors and blenders for t-shirt quilts...which is about as un-modern as you can get. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd really trying the last rule...but as my Wee Wander purchase shows, I don't always stick to it.
I missed Jeni's article the first time, as I wasn't quilting then, never mind collecting fabric, but a lot of that made its way into her talk I saw at Sewing Summit which I did see at the end of 2012.
ReplyDeleteI have 3 stashes really - I have a nicely rounded rainbow of FQs, many of which I built up from the Pink Castle Colour Club the first year they ran it, and I keep them for bee blocks, as I'm in entirely stash bees. I have a small rainbow pile of half yards which are also for bee blocks, or whenever I need to grab a particular colour that needs more than an FQ, but they've been built up more because I needed to fill an envelope and a FQ wasn't an option!
My 2nd stash is for bag making, and consists of bigger cuts (mainly half yards, but some yards), maybe a few from a line that will co-ordinate nicely, but often just the one from a line along that I like and thought would make a great feature, never an entire line.
My 3rd stash is my 'just bought for me that I'm not sharing with anyone' stash of my very favourite fabrics, but it's very small, as I don't often get a chance to make things for myself!
I'm so glad you pointed out Rossie's post. When I read it something really hit home and I was quoting her to a friend all weekend.
ReplyDeleteMy stash is a blessing and a curse since I can't out-sew it. I do love to share with friends and make for charity with what I know others will love even if "I'm over it".
Thanks for the shout out Debbie! Like you I have definitely slowed down in my collecting and am now more maintaining. I love the idea of admire versus acquire and I am usually pretty successful. But as I stare at the pretty potent fat quarter bundle that just arrived last week I agree sometimes we slip up! This year my goal was to achieve fabric neutrality, and I must say that I'm actually at less than what I started with! Yay!
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a stash either, until about 2.5 years ago. I just bought what I needed or kits, and kept left overs. Unfortunately I entered the "I must have that" phase at the time Australia went equal to the American dollar and it was so easy to shop online. This also coincided with me returning to work after maternity leave and having an income. Hence the stash is now huge! As is the list of what I want to use it for, and no time to sew now I work so much. I've tamed it back recently to only buying fabric I have a definite idea what I'll use it in.
ReplyDelete