Managing Your Stash (9/97)

Managing Your Stash

We quilters have a fondness for collecting fabric. I believe it is a requirement to buy fabric for no other purpose at the time than to become part of "the stash". Managing these pieces of fabric becomes a bit of a chore, especially when you think about actually cutting into a piece for use in a quilting project. There seems to be a lot of effort involved in pulling a particular fabric from the shelf, unfolding, cutting, refolding and then replacing into the stash.

Here is a photo of my current stash. Well, except for the pile on the floor that won't fit on the shelves. I've devised a plan that works well for me. Liking to use many different fabrics in my quilts, pulling dozens from the stash and then reorganizing was getting to be too much work. I found myself getting lazy and settling for using what was already strewn about.
An alternative solution: Cut a 6" strip from every fabric in the stash!

my stash basket

As I usually purchase 1/2 yard cuts, most strips measured 6" by 18" cut on the lengthwise grain. I cut the salvage off first then cut strips the width of my 6" ruler.

These strips are folded in half and stored in a wire basket. Now I can pull all, say, blue fabrics, determine which ones I will use, then cut a few pieces from each strip. The remaining fabric is put back in the basket for use next time. If, for some reason, I don't have enough fabric in the 6" strip for the number of pieces needed, I find the remainder of the 1/2 yard in the stash and cut from it.

I bring these strips to workshops. It is especially convenient when you are traveling by air and suitcase space is at a premium. So many workshops require "lights, mediums and darks", or "fabrics that look like trees, grass, stones, sky, etc." How will I know what will look like a rock until I get to class? Most of the time only a small piece of fabric is needed. We all know the feeling of bringing "all the wrong stuff" and that the perfect fabric needed is "at home in my stash". By using these 6" strips a much greater variety of fabric can enhance the classroom experience. Although, it doesn't alleviate that envious feeling you get when you look at the fabric everyone else in class brought!

"Where did you ever find such beautiful fabric? Oh,the quest goes on.... Just remember to cut a strip from each fabric you bring home to add to the stash!

This is a photo of the gorgeous, handcrafted wooden sewing box I recently purchased from Nelson Designs here in Missoula. I decided to add a unique top for decoration and chose to use the mariner's compass block from audition samples for "Joie de Vie". As you can see, this block utilizes 36 different fabrics, 12 in each round. I cut only one piece from each fabric, but by stacking my 6" strips about 6 layers deep, it took a reasonable amount of time to cut the pieces required.

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