Collecting Fabric

What is it about fabric that make sit so hard to actually use it?

I buy two categories of fabric. No, three. First, fabric for a specific purpose. Second, a print so wonderful I can't live without it. Third, a great sale that is bound to be useful someday, or would make a perfect backing.

The specific purpose fabric gets used, of course. Most often, it's used for its original intention, unless something else comes along before I finish the intended project.

The second bunch is the hardest to use. Once sewn, it's gone. What if later I find a better project for it, and I don't have it anymore? I have a few totes worth of this fabric.

The last bunch seems like it would be the easiest to use, but sometimes it's much harder. Again, I worry about a better suit in a later project. If I was thinking backing, I am afraid to use some and not have enough for backing later. It's as if I think there is a limited amount of fabric on the earth.

This tote is made of second and third group fabric. The main print was a discount bolt, 50% off if you buy the bolt. I loved it, so I got what was left. I was saving it for a gorgeous quilt someday.

The blue was bought with another had-to-have fabric as the perfect coordinate. I made a purse of out of some of the other fabrics but was saving this to make a small quilt with the leftovers of the other.

The green was a sale print that goes with many of the colors I normally buy.
I love how they work together, and I have large enough pieces left to do something with.

As I finished that tote and looked at the overflowing remaining stash, I realized I could cut down a good portion of it by making quick and easy 1-yard shopping bags. Then I could organize what I had and maybe find some wonderful pairings for an amazing quilt.

Then I took a deep breath and calmed myself back down. Don't you realize how much energy it will take to cut into some of these fabrics? What if I find the perfect pattern two months later, and don't have enough fabric left?

Pattern, that reminds me. I have a box full of perfect patterns printed off the internet, just waiting to be used. The problem is, I no longer remember what fabric they were perfect for, and I probably have cut into some of those bigger pieces...