Sunday 17 April 2011

Stash Quilting or Buy-as-you-quilt?

How do you use your stash?  I have discovered that drawing my fabric from "stash" doesn't really work for me.  When I start a new quilt, I very seldom can find bits in my stash that work together, or are the right amounts, for what I want to do.  I'm really not a scrap quilter and prefer a more uniform look, so trying to work with the fabric in my stash for a new project just doesn't make me happy.  I definitely do better, and like my results better, if I buy fresh with a goal in mind for each project.  So my goal now is to use up what I have - probably mostly in backings, or charity quilties - and buy as I go for new projects.

I was a busy beaver last week, as I tried to get as much done as I could, before my mother arrived for my visit.  My sewing room is also the guest room, so the machines are packed away for the next few weeks while she is here (and if I'm smart, I'll run my machine in for service during this time, too).  But my efforts to get ahead made a noticeable dent in my stash this past week.   I finished one quilt, and pieced some stash fabric for the backing - 2.5 yards used for that.  And I made the blocks for another quilt, and used 6 yards of stash fabric for that one.  So, a good week, and hopefully a start to more regular accounting of my fabric. 

For this week, and my first stash report of this year:
8.5 yards out

Head over to Judy's blog at Patchwork Times, to see what other quilters have done with their stash this week.

3 comments:

  1. Welcome to the stash report! Sometimes I think I should stop "stashing" fabric for the same reasons you have, but I can never stop myself...

    ReplyDelete
  2. you've identified why you buy fabric and it works for you!! You have fun with your mother while she's visiting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If you increase your stash with fabrics you love, you'd be able to find fabrics that will go easily into a quilt.

    ReplyDelete