Hey Mark! Call on Mark, his posse, and friends to solve your home dec and quilting problems. If you have a quilting or home dec question, blast an email to editor Mark Lipinski at QuiltersHomeMag@aol.com or write to HEY MARK! Quilter's Home 13 Pickle Road Califon, NJ 07830.

From the August issue Hey Mark! I often see lines of fabric that I'm sure I can't live without. My problem is, without a specific quilt pattern in mind, what is a safe amount to purchase for the next project without buying the whole bolt? Are there any rules of thumb say for a lap size, twin, or queen size quilt? Nicole Rezza Idaho Falls, Idaho Hey Nicole! As soon as I read your note I got on the horn with my pal, Bonnie Browning, at American Quilter's Society. She knows everything. Bonnie told me that she buys only a half-yard of those kinds of fabrics, adding that when she's making a quilt using her particular "must have" fabric, it forces her to go out to find fabric that works with what she already has. Bonnie said that she learned this while she was in Japan when someone had asked her the difference between Japanese and American quilts. Not knowing, she compared the two and found that American quilters generally use one focus fabric, one background fabric, and all of the same fabrics in each block, while the Japanese use a lot of different fabrics to make up their backgrounds and blocks. She explained to me that Japanese quilters use all of the same colors, tones and textures in their blocks and backgrounds, but piece block areas using many fabrics. This is something we should at least try. I agree with Bonnie when she says that using more fabrics will give your entire quilt more texture, movement, and interest. By the way, she also says that she's seeing a lot more American quilters beginning to use this multi-fabric approach in their quilts. I also checked with my buddy, Julie Scribner, at P&B Textiles who says that many fabric companies give shops only one chance to purchase fabric, so once it's sold out, it's gone! Unlike Bonnie, Julie urges you to make your fabric purchases for future projects based on how much you love the fabric, and whether you think it would be an accent piece or a main/border piece. If it's just a nice piece for an accent, she thinks a yard is probably fine. But if you LOVE it and want it for a major project or large border, you should think about 3–4 yards-or more!

Hey Mark! I have acquired lots of fabric and it looks like the trend will continue for a long time. My question is: What's the best way to store my stash? I can't seem to find what I need easily. It seems like every time I start something new I end up with most of my fabric pulled out and piled on the floor. HELP! Dori Monica Bogota, NJ Kiddo, I'm the king of clutter so I feel your pain. For help on how to organize all of your fabric, I asked my most organized friend, Cynthia Townley Ewer, the editor of OrganizedHome.com. Here's what she told me. Try this line of attack to keep fabrics out of harm's way and still easy to get to: Under bed storage organizers, often designed for gift wrap (or midnight snacks) make great slide-away organizers for fat quarters. Fold fabric squares to fit, right side out, then arrange them in rows by color, using the rainbow as a guide. Label the front of the organizer ("Fat Quarters: Red, Orange and Yellow") to make it easier to find the fabric you need. Wire cube organizers make configuring fabric storage simple. These inexpensive organizing powerhouses offer wire grids that are assembled into cube shapes with plastic corner clips. Savvy fabric owners use cable ties from the hardware store to insert additional shelves into completed cubes. Stack them, group them or line them up, then fold and store fabrics inside their open faces. You'll be able to see the right length at a glance. Smaller stashes can live happily–and accessibly–in large drawer cart units from the office supply store. Look for oversized drawer units at your local store; most brands can be disassembled easily and the drawer units reconfigured as needed. With casters, drawer carts slide out of the way beneath cutting tables or open desks; multiple units can be combined to fill empty space in a closet. See-through plastic drawers make it easy to spot the lengths you're looking for–but use labels anyway, to make it even faster. Last, don't forget to read the article What to Stash and What to Trash! in the August issue of Quilter's Home magazine.