I Love My Stash!

I love my fabric stash! This picture only shows part of it, just the fat quarters & 1/2 yard cuts. There is a small bookcase to the right that holds 2 yard pieces and the green bins at the top hold 1 yard cuts. And that is only what is in this part of my studio...

I once figured out how many pieces I have in fat quarters in this cabinet - there are twelve sections across and seven high and an average of eighteen fabrics per slot for a total guesstimate of around FIFTEEN HUNDRED different fabrics in this cabinet alone (I was again so astonished by that number that I had to do the math several times to be sure it was correct).

And that is certainly not all of it. Holy Mackeral.

Here's more... the one yard cuts in the green bins.

My quilter friends totally understand this - we have been elbow to elbow at quilt shows, rifling through row after row of fabric, starting out "just looking' and leaving with a few more yards that we have no plans for.

My non-quilter friends, however, don't quite get it.

Even with all of this fabric I sometimes find myself stuck for a piece in just the right color or scale. Not just any 'ol green will do, it has to be the perfect shade, the right visual texture. It's the same thing with ribbon - it can be tricky to find the perfect combination of color, pattern and width - and then to have enough of it!

Some days, when I've had a long work day and have no energy left to create when I get home, I will head to my studio just to visit my stash. Sometimes I'll pull out fabric and try different combinations. Other times I'll just re-arrange things so the "rainbow" of my cabinet looks better. Sometimes I just sit in the quiet & look at it - my version of meditation.

I have been collecting fabric for a lot of years and I have many pieces that are especially memorable and I can remember where I bought it or some detail of its purchase. As I write this I realize that it makes me sound a little dotty ... which reminds me of the time I had a very difficult time finding red fabric with 1/2" white dots for the Humpty Dumpty doll I made for my granddaughter (I was trying to replicate her mother's much loved one from her own childhood). I finally found it from a vendor at the Northern Star Quilt Show - she had 1/4 yard cuts rolled up & stuck in a small metal pail. Crazy that I remember that, isn't it?

When I was a kid, I was thrilled to have the "big box" of 64 Crayola crayons - I loved having every color of crayons (my favorite was, and still is, "Midnight Blue") and I love having every color of fabric just as much. Makes me one happy girl, it does!