A Blank Slate

Of course new fabric isn't really blank (even if it's a solid), and maybe that's the challenge? But there's something a bit daunting about a lovely unsullied stack. Perhaps like a writer or an artist might feel with a fresh blank sheet of paper?

Field Study favourites, interspersed with a couple from the Chicopee range (voltage dot in red and ladder dot in black)

All those possibilities...

The doubts creep in: I might ruin it...

or waste it...! I feel I need to do justice to the fabric and that's a bit intimidating somehow.

I know some people (not usually quilters) who feel there's something a bit odd about taking perfectly nice, carefully designed fabric and chopping it up and sewing it back together. I sort of get that; even if I don't agree!

A couple of shot cottons (Prune and Moor); Sweetwater Reunion; Madrona Road Memoir (x2); Kokka script; Curious Nature and two from Valori Wells Wrenly collection 

It doesn't look so much not folded in half again! (1/2 yd of each except the Coordinates in Midnight, of which there's 1yd)

All those possibilities...

The same as above, inverted.

Where to start...?

Well that large print Wrenly was bought with Christmas Crackers in mind, but I'm wondering if the scale is too large? The script ones are for my text cross quilt (in the pipeline).

Sometimes I'm surprised by the scale when buying from the internet. I haven't seen these lines in shops here. Not everyone online has a scale guide and I was particularly surprised by some of the Field Study fabrics. I'd pictured the Coordinates (destined for a skirt I think) as circles about 3cm in diameter and they're actually twice that, similarly with Mind's Eye. The Migratory Lace was also bigger than I'd pictured. Strangely the Sundials was as I imagined!

For now I've filed these in colour order with my other fabric and I'm really appreciating beginning to build a stash to draw from when starting a new project, or looking for inspiration. I'm still figuring out how much to buy for stash building. So far I've gone for 1/2 yd generally. What do you do?