using stash or hoarding??

Sam over at http://spamantha.typepad.com/ asked a great question and I felt it needed more space than what fits within a comment.

Yes, I am guilty of hoarding fabric. And, yes, I have made myself cut into and use up some of my "special" fabric...because someone shared with me how much more I would enjoy a quilt with those fabrics in it...rather than buried 0n my shelf. Which is not to say: I also have fabric up on my wall that is waiting for the "right" quilt to showcase it. Or I just like looking at it on it's own. Or I am waiting for the right go with fabrics to show up *vbs*.....

I have lamented not having more of some fabric and shaken my head over yards and yards of "what was I thinking!" fabric too. My stash runs the spectrum of diversity of fabrics...except- I literally shipped off all my 30's repros to LJ and maybe a few found their way to Pam as well. I am using up as much of my stash as I can-some of it fabric I no longer love -going into quilts for those that will love those fabrics used-some stash I do love a lot going into personal projects I will enjoy using sooner rather than later.

Do I have too much stash? or not enough? the answer is of course both ...sometimes I do not have just the right fabric for what a quilt design calls for...other times, I have almost too many choices to pick from. Also, I would make a quilt for someone and make sure I had enough to make myself one too-have I done that??? NO....but, I could if I felt the need to and sometimes having that extra duplicate fabric has allowed me to release quilts to folks without any regrets.

Nowadays...I am gleeful about using up ALL of a fabric-and boy, it is a challenge at times to truly use up every last scrap. Some fabric seems to live forever in the scrap bin!

Gorgeous new fabric is coming out all the time...if I can use up enough stash to truly feel I have made a dent- then yes, I don't feel guilty or bad about buying some new. I do think adding new fabric from time to time is good for keeping your stash fresh and inspiring. Nothing beats the feeling I get when I can pull everything from my stash to make a quilt I have decided I MUST make- in the evening, long after any fabric store is closed. My stash is always open and available when I am home - and I am most thankful to have it.