Thursday, December 10, 2009

Name Dropper

*Someone* (not mentioning any names JAYE!!!) asked me to post photos of my stash. This first photo contains about 90% of it. There are a two boxes on the high shelf that have themed fabrics in them for Christmas and Halloween. The rest of the boxes have various embellishments, odd supplies, and patterns in them.

The four drawer black file cabinet contains most of my organized fabrics.

The bottom drawer of the file cabinet is the least organized. Most of the fabric on the left side is wrapped on cardboard from the fabric store. All my fabrics are pre-washed before going in the cabinet.
I don't like the purple in there. It was for another project and didn't work out.

The second from the bottom drawer is all folded onto hanging file folders and roughly organized into color families. In the back is a partial bolt of stabilizer.
Here is a closer shot of the second drawer:

The third drawer from the bottom has both hanging files and yardages on cardboard.

The top drawer is the same as the second one. I try to keep novelty fabrics in the top drawer that are on the hanging folders. All the fabrics in all the drawers, that are on cardboard, are not organized in any particular way.
I buy 90% of my fabric ONLY if it is on sale (45% off or more) and 99% of it is from quilt shops and not stores like Jo-Ann's or Hancock's. (YES, I am a fabric snob and find I dislike MOST Cranston Fabrics too!) The oldest fabrics I have, are around nine years old. I started buying yardages of fabric in the past two years, to put on the cardboard so that I would always have enough to do any project with. Many fabrics were chosen to save as backings for quilts.

The fabrics on the hanging folders are at least a yard but less than two yards. The ones on the cardboard are always three or more yards. The only exception to buying only fabric on sale, has been Kona solid black and one piece of Kona red that I needed to finish out a quilt. I am always needing good quality black fabric.

I don't know if I could pick a fabric that I would buy, just because I liked it! I truly only look at sale and clearance fabrics, both online and in my LQS's. I will often choose fabrics with specific people in mind and plans to make them a quilt in the future. I sometimes buy a color that I might think I don't have enough of.

I now have my FQ stash parred WAY down to about twenty. I make a concentrated effort to not buy any. Hmmm...I just realized that I never buy fabric "just because!" It always seems that it has to be on sale! lol

I DO have two fabric groups picked out to make a future quilt from though. I picked them because I liked them AND they were in a clearance sale. :) In the top drawer of the cabinet you can see the soft pastel bird print with the coordinating teal/blue and purple...that is for a froo-froo quilt I hope to make for just ME someday. I also have a baggie of bright jewel-tone colors that I got as a 'sample of the month' a few years back. I think it was a Benartex collection, similar to their 'Mardi Gras' fabrics. I have 10" and 4" squares and hope to make a stunning and vibrant quilt from it someday.

I guess if I had to pick a fabric I would buy that wasn't on sale, I would lean towards fabrics that are William Morris-esque, stunning paisley's, or a castle/renaissance theme such as stained glass windows, diamonds, and such. I don't like flowers even though I have a lot in my stash. I try to send all my dots away. I am not a huge fan of calico's, even though the House Medallion quilt is from old fashioned prints.

Ack, I am thinking too hard!!! lol It has been fun to 'talk' about this with you all though. It makes me think, "Just what DO I like in fabrics, JUST for ME????"

(current favorite in my stash, bottom drawer)

3 comments:

Jaye said...

It is really interesting to see how people store and organize their fabric. I think you are REALLY organized. I also like the way you think about fabric buying. I almost always buy fabric because I like it and then I find a way to use it. There are specific fabrics that I buy for totes or non-quilt projects. I have always bought half yard pieces, but am tending to buy larger pieces now since I never know what project the fabric will end up in. Lately I am finding that I buy things and then I think 'why in the world did I buy this?" so in 2010, I am going to look at that.
Great post.

Anonymous said...

I am so jealous. You are so organized. My fabric stash is .. wherever it can be stashed. lol
SNAP

Sherri said...

Thanks Jaye and Snap. My fabric purchases have been evolving over the years as well. Organizing became an issue when I could not find anything and bought duplicate colors! lol