To have or not to have? That is the question when it comes to your fabric stash.

As I was “growing up” as quilter, quilting enthusiasts were encouraged to add to their fabric stash. “You need to have a range of colors in a variety of values so that you are prepared for whatever fabric a pattern might require”. What a great reason to buy more fabric!

I appreciate the logic of needing a range of colors and values. Having a treasure trove of fabrics from which I could draw has influenced my work as a quilt artist. A painter needs several colors and can mix colors to make more possibilities. Quilters use what we can purchase and cannot mix up new shades (unless you dye or otherwise enhance the fabric design yourself), so we need to have more options available. At least, that’s the theory!

Of course, I didn’t only have a range of colors and values, I also needed to have an array of prints – floral, polka dots, stripes, not many solids – in each of those colors and values. That’s what fabric is all about! Pattern, temperature, distribution, scale; they all come into play when choosing fabrics.

However. Now, the trend is to keep your fabric stash minimal. Downsizing, clutter, space better used for more important “things”. I totally get that. A little freedom for creativity is vital, too. For me, that means fabric.

My fabric stash makes me happy. It sparks joy. Yes, I donate fabric to help others (making face masks, for example), and I am rather frugal so all (well, maybe not quite all!) of my quilt fabric fits into four sets of four plastic drawers each, two for regular fabrics and two for batiks (love my batiks!).

Maybe you have just a bit of fabric, or maybe you have just a bit of fabric. Either way, come with me over the next few weeks as we wander through talking about organizing your stash and about actually using your stash. Now is the perfect time to find the treasures hidden away in your stash!

Here are a one-minute video about what’s coming up and a short video about organizing your stash.

Fabric is a palette of possibilities!

Looking for some help? Here are some resources to help you consider choices from your fabric stash:

• Conquering Color and Fabric, my book on color, value, fabric characteristics, and how to put them all to work in your quilts.

• Blog article “How do you make your quilt your own?”

• The Dynamic Quilting Color and Fabric Plan TM, a downloadable pdf tool to help you choose fabrics for a quilt, using what you learn in Conquering Color and Fabric.

• My free Mirrored Reflections quilt pattern, a good wallhanging pattern for practicing fabric combinations - join my email list and download the pdf pattern.