The care and feeding of a fabric stash

My friends roll my eyes at me when I say be careful buying all that fabric BUT I warn them with the full knowledge of the power and demands of a huge stash.   Dare I say ASK ME HOW I KNOW?

Back when I started quilting again I read that Ruth McDowell had three six foot book cases of fabric and thought that was a good goal to strive for.  Fast forward 15 years, I have gotten there...and maybe more than that.

BEWARE!!! It's very easy to acquire heaps of fabric but much harder to use it up said she who has fabric in every concievable spot in her bedrooms.

The following was stored in the guest bathroom pullout laundry basket (THINK BIG BOX!)

Asking for care and feeding!!

This is just a small sample of the quantity.  These are all SILK-yes silk- dupioni by the yard in just about any color, chiffon by the yard, hand dyed raw silk, velvet silk, shiboried charmeuse...you name it it's in this pile.

Here's a link to various kinds of silk...I think I have them all covered!!

Which leads me to my first point.  You have to fold and sort your fabric stash.  WHO KNEW?  I thought that was what laundry was about! And my stash is NOT laundry.  It's supposed to be FUN!!   This is part of the heap folded...it did not all fit in a huge many quart tub.

Here's the rest of the heap.  This is just the velvets and heavier silk.  

How long did the sorting take...a couple of hours!! Quite a few sneezes!! All that dust!  Did I say there is more yardage of raw silk in the hall cupboard...a lovely turquoise and a   pinky red.  

Multiply this heap by 30 and you have the extent of my problem.