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.
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.