Stash Enhancement...the final word

For anyone interested in the continued topic of stash enhancing, in a previous post Kristi left the following comments:

"....wondering how much to buy since I'm fairly new to quilting. My main problem when I go to make something is I don't have enough background fabric for a pattern...do you buy background fabric

for each quilt you make or do you deal with background fabric another way?"

I buy my background like I buy my prints...in fat quarters and 1/2 yards.  I don't typically buy any more than that unless I just absolutely love it or its for a specific project.  And the reason why I do it this way is I often find that those impulse 1+ yardage purchases never end up being enough for the project I want to use them in.  So I just try not to do it.

And let's be honest, 9 times out of 10  when I start a new project it has DOZENS of different fabrics in it.  I don't remember the last time I did a quilt with only three or four fabrics.  I like to mix as much colors and fabric into a quilt as I can.  I just like the look of it.  Here are some examples.

You will notice though that all but one have yardage pieces that were used as a counter balance to all the rest.  I don't imagine these quilts would look as good without that background/setting anchor fabric.

I hope that answers your question Kristi.  Thanks for asking it.  I'm sure it was more more than you ever wanted to know but I couldn't help myself...just like my shopping...LOL.