when I made my quarantine log cabin quilt, there was a LOT of information about all the choices in that quilt. Having piled so much meaning into the fabric choices in my quarantine log cabin quilt, and having written about each block as I made it, it seemed like all those words needed to be recorded on the quilt label...
What I Stash
While keeping my stash organized is important for my creative flow (see my post about stash management here), another consideration is making sure that my stash actually contains the fabrics I am going to use. Or should I say the fabrics I need? Fabric sometimes feels like oxygen!
While, of course, making do with what is on hand can lead to discoveries and explorations and growth, I try to keep the fabrics I’m going to want nearby so that my improvisations are guided by my design decisions most of the time. I also make a lot of quilts and go through a lot of fabric, so a continual restock is essential.
At this moment, my studio is located next to Pink Castle Fabrics, and I can pop over to grab a fat quarter of this or a half-yard of that, but due to an increase in rent, I’m relocating my studio. It looks like I’m going to end up about 30 minutes away from my favorite fabric store (more details on that once the move happens!) I will survive, but it means I have been reflecting on when and how I buy fabric.
The first time I thought seriously about this was in 2011, when Jeni Baker did a brilliant blog series called “the art of choosing” on her blog. The final post in that series was called Building a Well-Rounded Stash. What I remember thinking at the time, which occurred to me again as I re-read it, is that I personally don’t need a “well-rounded” stash. My fabric needs are decidedly lop-sided and so my stash should be as well. Jeni prescribes a lot of basics for stash-building, and I agree, but when I look at her pictures of her basics, they really don’t look much like mine. She’s way more into brights than I am! I have very few bright fabrics in my stash. In fact, I think the only bright I consistently use is bright green.
In the last few years I have learned to spend the bulk of my fabric budget on replacing what I’m actually using. In doing so, I have discovered my own personal basics.
The above picture is a selection of fabrics from my stash that I think represent the stash as a whole.
My basics are…
blues and greens that are fairly pastel, sort of pure + a touch of dustiness
dusty or dark yellows, oranges, and pinks
light dusty gray or medium gray + white prints
darker reds that are rich but not preppy
low volume prints that aren’t too cute or fussy
Other stash observations…
I almost never use two-way prints, geometric prints, stripes, polka dots, zig zags, chevrons, or tossed prints, so I don’t stash them.
I’m extremely picky about brown, blue, and black prints, so I have LARGE cuts of the few that I like
I haven’t been stashing solids because for the most part they are always available and can be bought on a project-by-project basis.
I have a serious fondness for using prints that combine any shade of white + one or two other colors.
I don’t have very many tone-on-tone prints.
I really like to use text fabrics, but not all text fabrics…size and color matter.
I go through a lot of low volume prints and tend to add some of these to almost any fabric order I place to try to keep up with my use and need for variety.
The more multi-colored and novelty-esque a print, the harder I find it to use, so I have to truly love it to stash it. Of course, these are lovely when you do find the right way to use them!
My point here is that my stash suits me and my needs…and yours should suit you!
Some of my stashing is simply a response to what is regularly available and what is scarce.
I have learned over time which of my favorite colors are used by designers less often, which means I buy a bigger cut of a rare color when I see it in a new fabric that I love. Of course, fabric trends change, so while gray and mustard used to be harder to find, now its fairly easy! Right now, a cerise or magenta print that I like is a bit harder to find, so I buy bigger cuts of those.
What about fabric lines?
Instagram and the blogosphere is full of excited talk about new and upcoming fabric lines. I do get excited about new fabric myself sometimes, as with this picture of me with Rashida Coleman-Hale’s Koi line when it arrived at Pink Castle Fabrics. I love that line so much!
However, I don’t often buy entire fabric lines. And I almost never use an entire fabric line all together; I prefer to use pieces of it across different quilts. This largely comes down to personal preference: I tend to find quilts that use all one fabric line plus white or a few solids just look too polished and promotional to me. However, when I really love a fabric line, I can find it hard to resist buying the whole thing, or using the whole thing together. Therefore, sometimes I challenge myself to buy JUST ONE PRINT of a big fabric line. I find that this helps me to use the fabric in a more individual way and it helps with staying on target with my fabric budget!
Thinking about my stash has helped me to discover my voice and I think careful stashing can help any quilter to cultivate their own aesthetic while saving money and making awesome projects.
Related Posts
This Post Has 30 Comments
Comments are closed.
Great post!
I know that I am a scrappy quilter – I'd rather have 300 pieces in my quilt than 10 that go great together. So I know that I need to buy several small pieces rather that 1 large piece. But I did not "say that" until I read this & had an "A-ha" moment that it is o.k. to do what is right for your self & more importantly your stash.
Hooray! It's so useful to know what you use and how you use it!
Damn, it looks like blogger ate my comment.
Short version – great post, thanks for verbalizing a different stash building point of view.
Nope, you're okay, the first comment came through!
I agree with you. I do get taken up by fabric and admire some of it immensely. However I always try to think of it as a medium for my art, similar to paint for a painting. It should not be about the paint but the painting.
Yes! That's a great way to think about it.
Great post Rossie! I'm going to need to remember to admire more and acquire less!!
It's such a useful phrase to have at the ready!
I have been quilting "modernly" since 2010 and I think my stash has transitioned 3 times now. I am definitely in the camp that would rather make my own "collection" of fabrics rather then buy one…although there are a few exceptions (Denyse Schmidt being one of them). I might have to write my own blog post about this, I really like your concept thanks for sharing.
Oh, I didn't even think about how my stash has transitioned…but I definitely has! Let me know if you write your own post and I'll link it here!
Really great post! I think this works when you know your own taste, something that's taken me a while to discover. I'm now ok with not loving what everyone else seems to and ok admitting when I do! I'm all for splitting fabric lines and I definitely go for an eclectic look much more now. Rashida's collection for cotton and steel is my current love – for the matchsticks and the geometrics, which are brilliant!
Yes! Though I do think it is tricky to learn your own taste if you are just following trends. It's definitely not wise to stash a lot of fabric before figuring out what you'll actually use, don't you think? And yes, Rashida's work is amazing.
I really appreciate your post! I know I need to trust my own taste more, and I'm working at doing that. Is is ok if I repost your ending graphic and link back to your post? I'd love for me readers to hear your good advice….
Absolutely, share away! And thanks for stopping by!
We are SO on the same page. Thanks for the great post and love the What To Stash bullet points, it's great to be reminded and not fall into habits that aren't in our best interest. I'm going through an assessing and reorganizing phase right now and thinking about choices make it easier to let go.
You're welcome! Staying organized and spending money wisely can be a struggle, but I do find it rewarding!
Love your post and considered advice for stash building. I'm totally with you on the love of text prints, low volume prints and not buying a whole fabric line (although to tell the truth I couldn't justify the cost of a WHOLE line, even if I did love it!). However, my stash HAS to contain spots and dots of all types … they just 'call' to me! Great that everyone is different.
Good luck with you studio move 🙂
And I just made a quilt top that has yards and yards of pastel dots in it…so there are always exceptions and deviations! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
Anyone want some of DS Quilts fabrics that I stashed, and will never use? I also need a helper to make me break open stacks of fat quarters from a line of fabric so I will actually use them. thanks for a great post.
You're welcome. Good luck with your stash!
ok, "admire, don't acquire" is my new favorite thing. i will try to make that my new mantra. though i write that while staring at the largest pile of fabric ever that i just bought.
Been there!
"admire, don't acquire" is absolutely genius! I've been telling myself to "enjoy without possessing" especially when I see a gorgeous quilt that someone else has completed and I'm tempted to go buy ALL the fabric. Great article, thanks for sharing!
Yes! I wish I could remember where I picked up that phrase. It is one that is good to reach for in moments of retail weakness.
This is a great post. Love "admire, don't acquire". I think I have come to the same realization this Year when Spring cleaning my sewing room and taking a look at my stash an realizing it wasn't working. I started to attack the WIPs, scraps, and my huge D.S. Collection. I realized that I need to buy what I want, and not what is a good sale or what others are using or even new lines of my favorite designer. Hopefully, after my purge, I'll be happy with my stash and able to create what I want.
Awesome! Good luck to you and your stash!
Really nice post…..interesting point about the solids and very true. Also, great advice about getting one (or maybe two) key prints of a new line.
Great post that really stresses being true to yourself and your style. Thanks.
What a nice and well thought out post. When I moved last year I gave away most of my stash to a local guild – they made charity quilts. I like to pick fabric for a quilt and have never used just one fabric line. That's part of the fun for me. With the exception of 3 fabric lines I generally don't like every fabric in one line. My favorite quilts are scrappy quilts I like to mix and match many fabrics. So unless I'm choosing fabric for a backing I usually get 1/4, 1/2 yard cuts, sometimes a yard but not usually.
Learning to find your own voice is tricky but using your stash to help is a great idea. Stash management is something we all struggle with and making your stash something you use rather than just admire is something I have been working on over the past year. It is getting there. I am finding that the longer I quilt the more my tastes change which necessitates some destashing to make my stash really useful.