BOM Club question
 

I keep getting email offers for BOM clubs where you sign up and they send you fabric, etc. for a block every month and at the end you have a quilt top. But it seems to me like a very expensive way to go. Isn't it generally more cost effective to buy a kit if you want to do something like that? I can't figure out what the appeal of these clubs is.

It is expensive. However, some women enjoy the fun of a monthly package coming. Some of the shops do an extraordinary job of kitting up these BOMS and they mostly have fabulous fabric. I love having hundreds of different fabrics in my quilts and this is the easiest way to do it. I mean it is not cheap to buy 1/4 yard of all the scraps needed for a complex quilt. So there is are a number of reasons to get a kit or BOM. For some, money is not an issue.

My idea is to buy them off ebay or garage sales/estate sales once the mailing is finished. Lots of quilters change their mind about making a complex quilt or die and leave an estate, or whatever and get rid of their kits. I have made Lori Smith BOMs, oriental sampler, fat quarter shop sampler, and many others. I even got a Lynette Anderson Raining Cats and Dogs BOM.

Many quilt shops do a version where you buy the first month and then bring the finished block back next month to get the next block for free. A set of quilt blocks can be $5-20 and then you add whatever finishing kit or fabric you want to finish it up. This is fun but quite a commitment.

Sometimes an entire project can be overwhelming. If you know you only have 1 block to do, it's doable. And it's probably exciting to get it in the mail too! I don't think it's that much more $$, if you calculate the yardage. I've never done it tho! LOL

Not everyone is all about the price of things. The cost is spread out over several months and that actually makes it fairly affordable. You get to do a gorgeous quilt for $25 to $35 a month instead of having to come up with $250+ all at once. I'm doing two block of the months right now. One of them has very complicated blocks and it's done in a beautiful Christmas fabric collection. The other one is the Vintage Valentine BOM and I've loved that quilt since the first time I saw it. I love the collection of fabrics the shop is doing the quilt in. I don't have to search for or coordinate the 10 to 15 fabrics in each of these quilts.

I don't do any mail order ones but usually do one offered at my LQS each year. First month is $20-30. Each month you bring back a completed block, that months pieces are free. In reality you can get all your blocks for your top for that one initial investment. They base their size variations (lap to king) on using sashings; extra blocks; plain blocks whatever. The 'finishing kits' are extra and the price varies predicated on size.

The primary reason I like doing this is the skill-building aspect. I'm generally not a 'sampler or scrappy' kind of person but they usually come up with either different techniques for same units (flying geese come to mind) or some other skill building exercise.

And sometimes, it works out that the colors, etc. are something that I'm planning for gifting anyhow so it all works.

I aggree many BOM are quilts that have a lot of fabric you need in small amounts, some quilts you can end up spending more if you don't have a lot of scraps for applique, say uou need a 4x4 square of only one fabric, you will not find a place that will cut just that size for you and . I ended up buying a ton of fat quarters for an applique quilt for small pieces because I don't have a lot of scraps., so for appliques quilts with intricate piecing I would certainly do a BOM

Also, a lot of BOMs are patterns that you can not buy separately - only way to get them is BOM. Sometimes they do offer the pattern separately but be prepared to spend $$$. The patterns usually fo for about $60

I don't do BOM clubs although I may like a particular pattern that they're doing, I want to make it with MY fabrics, otherwise why not just buy a quilt from the store, since everyone making the pattern using their(company), each of them would be exactly the same. Is this why we quilt? To make the exact same pattern, exact same fabric, etc., the only thing different would be the actual quilting.

I'm doing one right now but changing the layout. I don't have access to all these fabrics and it would cost more to buy all the fabric. It's a very spring batik appliqué quilt from laundry basket quilts.

My LQS offers the block of the month kits like NJQuilter's does. It is a lot of fun and just enough of a challenge to keep the interest. Once you buy the first block, you don't have to pay any more except for backing and binding and sometimes the neutral blocks. I have several in my UFO collection. Someday they will be finished.
Sue