Stash is Not the Problem

All over blog land I see the badges that Kim creates each month, badges for those who have taken the pledge to purchase no new fabric. There are, of course, some clauses, some conditions that people will cite as exceptions, the most popular being the need to purchase additional fabric to complete a project. I'm impressed with their commitment and their determination; I'd probably be impressed with their stashes, too.
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Buying more fabric isn't my particular problem. Rather, it is starting new projects! For example, the project to the left is something I started yesterday. I'd been dazzled by the Disappearing Nine Patch quilts that people have blogged about and had been thinking of doing one. Sometime. And then it turns out that Diana is adopting a little girl from Central America and, of course, I want to make a quilt for this wonderful new person. So yesterday I grabbed a pair of those charm packs that I've been wondering what to do with, and started my project. I did buy a small amount of yardage to accompany the charm packs, so I'll be able to put borders on this as soon as it is finished.
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But, as I was saying, it isn't a voluminous stash of fabric that is my bugaboo. I really only very seldom buy more than a FQ without a plan. My problem, my weakness, isn't busting stash but rather it is busting blocks. I'd start talking about blockbusting, but a movie rental chain has pretty much claimed that name.
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I sign up for swaps. I run swaps. I enter lottos. I accumulate sets of blocks. These are the Amish Star blocks from a recent birthday block swap, put together and waiting for a border (do you get the feeling I'm in for a weekend of "border issues"?). I've only had these blocks since February, so this is pretty near record time for my getting something together.
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My plan at present is to try to get block sets made into flimsies and then store the flimsies until the appropriate occasion for finishing the quilt appears on the horizon. Flimsies are easier to store than completed quilts.
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Sets of blocks abound. Here we have appliqued animals and things from the Farm Swap; we have miscellaneous small blocks from a Halloween mini-block swap of about eight years ago; we have more applique blocks, these from the Garden Theme swap; and the terrific Coffee and Cream Churn Dash yield and the glorious Almost Amish batiks on black. Back in the upper left corner, you can't really see the Assorted Chickens. And these are just some of the collections of blocks waiting to be made into tops.
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And a conflict, of course, has to do with the scraps that live in two great big Rubbermaid storage bins -- one batik, the other not -- that lurk, piquing my interest. Which would lead to making more blocks that will need to be made into more projects. Ah, well, there is never a lack of options!