When I saw the title of this thread I thought maybe you were talking about the naked man quilt that was shown at the Houston Internation quilt festival a few years ago. It was quite the shocker of the day. :)

Christine
http://www.quiltdasher.blogspot.com/

As someone said, Houston is a very large metropolis. I live on the East side and not familiar with the NW side for quilt shops. Since he's going to be here for a month, GRS has a great selection of old and new Moda fabrics, plus a few others. Lots of luck getting your fabric home. Might have to leave DH there for an extended stay, :)

I keep forgetting how big y'all are :D. I live in a city of 220,000 and on a Sunday could drive from one side to the other in about 15 minutes (which is why we have only one LQS :hunf:).

Last time I was there I didn't quilt :shock:, just knit. DD was pregnant with our first GS. Had to buy an extra holdall - it was like dragging a body bag, I had so much stuff in it.............

I just tried to pay for a pattern ($4.95) and $2.38 tax and shipping but even though I can pay in dollars, because I have a UK PayPal and therefore email address, it keeps defaulting to $23.95 shipping :mad:. I've emailed them to see how I can get round this.

Definitely an extra suitcase at $50 or $60 is worth the extra fee if you can get him to fill it with the full 50 lbs. Of course, filling that 50 lbs will be pricey....

We always come back to Poland at full limit. Actually 50 lbs of fabric is quite a bit, and will give you a bit of sewing for some time. He can have the carry on space. :) That's what we do with our kids. We tell them they pack their own carry ons with the clothes that they want for the month or two that we are in the states. I use the rest of the space. Occasionally they do need to give me a few things to put in the big suitcases. But it works out well as then they don't have a lot of excess clothes in the U.S. as we always end up getting more either given to us or finding (usually at thrift stores). Plus, then I can plan what goes into the suitcases that we bring back. it pays to have newer suitcases or strong duffel bags that are light weight, so you aren't using up precious weight with the weight of the luggage itself like some of the older ones suitcases are.

I live in a SW suburb of Houston. Two of the shops I like are Quilter's Emporium (Stafford, TX) .and Quilter's Cottage (Richmond, TX). I think it's fair to say that most of the new, full price fabric at these locations is $11/yd.

Are you on the Joann's mailing list so you can use coupons??

Okay, so hubby loves you dearly and your wish is his command? Right? Does he have the experience to "shop"? I am on GRS & Quilters Crossing websites/email, but I would not be able to order from what I have seen....maybe just me. Both shops have wonderful sales clerks and/or owners who will help everyone find exactly what they need. I frequent them both...as regularly as I can. So.... does hubby have a list in his pocket? Do you need solids, prints, wild & crazy, Texas, backing? Do you need particular colors? Do you want yardage or pre-cuts? Or do you want him to surprise you? I think you could call Deb at Quilters Crossing and tell her what you want and you could trust her to completely satisfy you. She is just down the street and around the corner from my home....way too close....LOL. Most of her fabrics are about 1/2 the price of yours. FYI-Everything is neat, clean and organized in her shop too. OOPS, gotta go.....I think I need to go over there....just finished my last quilts....LOL

All the local shops folks have mentioned are really excellent. If he wants to take a drive one Saturday, tell him to check out the Painted Pony in La Porte. It's a drive, but it seriously is worth it. And the ladies there will be happy to help him make fabric selections to take back to you. I have frequented every single one of the local shops mentioned here, as I am currently in the NW section of the county, but I grew up in La Porte, and my folks still live there, so I make it to PP fairly often; it's my favorite LQS in Houston!

When in calif. I went to gooddwill for another luggage. Got a nice one and filled it full. So much cheaper then postage. Enjoy, post pic.

He should go to a resale shop or thrift store and purchase a huge suitcase, then put all the "goodies" in it and bring it back as an extra bag. Extra bags on airlines generally run $25. It is much cheaper than shipping. Last time I made a trip, I purchased so many goodies, that's what I did, I purchased a huge big extra suitcase and filled it to the brim with my goodies!

Thousands of bolts is a great place to shop on line for fabric, especially backing. They take pay pall and you can have different shipping and billing addresses. Before check out, thousands of bolts tells you how many yards you have left to order before you hit the next level of shipping charge. It is worth paying for shipping with them because the quality of the fabric is great and prices are low. Good luck!