working (and buying) habits

Yesterday we talked all about scraps. Today I'd like to talk about using (or more specifically buying) fabric. One of the most common questions I get asked is "how much fabric do you buy at a time?" If you know me, you know it's not going to be a short answer...it will take an entire blog post. If you want to know the answer, read on. :)

When I am working on a quilt, I would say 85-90% of the time the entire quilt comes from my stash...backing, binding and all. When do I build my stash? When I travel, mainly. I have a few favorite local fabric shops, too. When I see a good sale, I stock up. I don't buy much fabric on line at all-I much prefer to buy in person. Shopping on-line can be dangerous and my husband does enough on-line shopping for the both of us. He admitted that himself.

Most commonly I buy half yard cuts. This is a great size because it is enough to bind up to a lap size quilt. It is also easy to cut into fat quarters, which are great for swapping. I've swapped fat quarters recently with my sister and a few friends. It's a nice way to add variety to the stash without spending any more cash. Notice that most of the fabric I buy is only one color and white? I find that I gravitate to simple color schemes, which tend to last longer in the stash. That's a good thing when there is a 2 year lag time between purchasing and actually using your fabric.

These are fat eighths. I LOVE this size and wish they were more readily available. When you use scraps the size I do (tiny), yardage feels more like acreage! A fat eighth is a nice size to buy because you can get a lot of variety for your money. And variety is good! I find that these are the easiest size for me to cut into.

These are all 1 yard cuts. I bought 5 out of 6 of these in one weekend. My theory? You can never have too many red and white polka dots! They could be my weakness. Some were on sale, some were a good price, and some were so good that I didn't mind paying full price.

I've started to buy mini charms here and there. A whole variety of a fabric line in a 2 1/2" square? Sign me up!

This cute fabric was on sale but there was a minimum of a one yard cut. If you are shopping with a friend, that is a good time to split a yard, if you can agree on which fabrics to buy. Sometimes you just have to get a whole yard. Because, c'mon. Smiling carrots? Hard to pass up!

This is a full yard, and it was full price, but I could see using it for labeling quilts. I've gotten so lazy about that step, so I'm using it as motivation to start labeling them again.

These were both on sale and both fabrics are ones that I could use in a variety of quilts. Or I could see using them on quilt backs. That is when the words "I'll take the rest of the bolt" slip out.

I am buying whole fabric lines less and less. The last entire fabric line I purchase (before this one, and not in a pre-cut form) was Chicopee. That was awhile ago! This line is Briar Rose by Heather Ross. I debated for a good while about purchasing it. I was trying hard to decide if I was going to buy it just because everyone else was buying it or if I was buying it because I really wanted to buy it! (Know what I mean?) I think I'm glad I bought it, but it will probably sit untouched for a good while.

Then I had to buy additional fat eighths of this stuff. I will actually USE these, rather than hoard it like the FQs. (Oh, it kind of hurts to admit that. But it's true!)

And sometimes (not often) I buy fabric as a reward for myself. These were on sale and I purchased  them the day all 5 of us spent 7 hours shopping for school supplies. I think (I know!) I earned them! These are 1/4 yard cuts. I didn't need a ton of each print, but I liked the variety of prints and the limited color scheme. I'm anxious to cut into these!!!

There you go! Way too much info on how I buy fabric. I hope that those of you who have asked this question have found the answer helpful.

So, how much fabric do you buy at a time? I'd love to hear, if you care to share!