Stash includes more than fabric!

I'm posting a bunch today because I'm so eager to share - I love this new way we've found to share our passion! Judy says I need three stash-related entries in order to be admitted to the Stash Quilts ring, and if I'm counting correctly this one makes three.

I collect more than just fabric. I collect quilting books. I've put them all on a spreadsheet that I can take with me on my PDA because I've been known to buy two copies of the same book - several times in fact. Once I wanted a book so badly I bought it 3 times before I remembered I'd really bought it and not just planned to buy it. The spreadsheet has 873 titles listed . . . and counting . . . because I have three new books that aren't listed yet. And that doesn't include any of my longarm books or other books of quilting designs I keep upstairs in the longarm room!

I also collect quilt patterns. I've lost count of how many patterns I have - and I keep buying them. Plus quilting magazines. At one time I had subscriptions to 10 different magazines. I've now cut back to only four. When I had over 15 linear feet of magazines I begged for a filing cabinet for Christmas. I went through all the magazines, tearing out articles of interest and every pattern that remotely interested me. Now I have a full filing cabinet and two more years of magazines to go through!

I also am a sucker for kits. My favorite quilt shop is owned by a great lady with a fabulous sense of color and fabric combination. I adore everything she puts together. And she always puts together very generous kits for each of her class samples. Plus I'm a sucker for kits on Jan Patek's and other websites. So I put all my kits onto another spreadsheet labeled "PIGS" - projects in grocery sacks. Mine aren't in grocery sacks - they are in stacking drawers all over the quilting room - but I like the name anyway. As soon as one is started it gets moved off the PIGS list and onto the UFO list. The PIGS list is currently at 58 kits - ARGH! And the UFO list has 46 items. At least I can say that only 17 of them are unfinished tops - the rest are just waiting for me to find time to quilt them.

I tell my family I have to live to be 500 years old to use up this fabric and finish all the projects. Someone at work who obviously doesn't know me at all well asked me why I wanted to retire. "You know you'll probably be bored stiff" was her comment. Good gravy - she obviously doesn't know any quilters!

I tried to post pictures of bookshelves, kit storage and more but blogger doesn't seem to be cooperating. Tomorrow I'll try to edit this post and add the pictures.