Thought that I would play along with Sew, Mama, Sew!’s Stash Talk.
What do you usually sew? I am a quilt kinda girl. But, lately, I have been breaking out into other areas like crayon rolls, bags, and most recently a set of place mats that I can’t wait to share.
When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?) If I have a purpose for it, I try to buy what I need, but if not, it depends how much I love it. I tend to want to hoard fabrics that I love even if I don’t have a purpose for them.
Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need? Most of my buying is with a purpose, but I have been stash building quite a bit recently.
Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it? I should prewash more than I do. Maybe if I just washed things as soon as I brought them home, I would be more consistent. I am completely inconsistent with my prewashing.
Do you iron it? I always iron! I like to have things pressed.
How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.) I did some reorganizing recently, and I tried to organize by color. I think I really just grouped things by tones though.
Do you have any special folding techniques? Yup. I read about it first on Crazy Mom Quilts. And, she links here. It is awesome and actually makes things easier to cut when I need them.
How do you store your fabric? Right now, I am using a really cool bookcase. But, I am coveting this because the other one isn’t big enough. It likely will become part of my new craft room wherever we move next.
What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash? I don’t know. I don’t really feel like mine is well-rounded yet. I have some stuff in there that I don’t love and would like to find a new home for.
When do you say enough is enough? I am not sure there is an “enough.” But, I do know that I go through ebbs and flows as to whether I buy anything. The neutrals are what I buy the most of.
What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects? Really, it would just be to go through my to do list and knock things out.
Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let’s see it! No specific favorites. But, I have been loving the new basic grey lines and some of the Amy Butler stand-bys, particularly Daisy Chain.
What’s your definition of the perfect stash? For me, I think it would be a bunch of fabric that I would love to use. Right now, I am getting closer to that, but like I said, there are some prints I need to weed out.
I found your blog through the Sew, Mama, Sew stash post. I like your taste in fabric! You mentioned that you have some stuff you “don’t love and would like to find a new home for” – if you’re ever interested in a swap, let me know. I can’t buy more fabric, but I can certainly trade for it.
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I too, like your blog and found it through Sew Mama Sew. I noticed the walls in your sewing room are almost the same color green as the walls in my sewing room! I think that color sparks creativity or something. Oh, and if you want to get rid of any of your fabric, let me know and we can certainly work something out.
Anna
I was going to say the same thing as Anna– my stash is in my bedroom but the walls are almost identical!