Thread: Whats the best way to add blended or solid quilting fabric?

Hello, Quilting Board

I have been wanting to add blended or solid fabrics to my quilting stash but having a hard time deciding what is the best way to do it. I like using ebay because I can buy the fat quarter bundle fabric but I know when I'm out I can get it from walmart or hobby lobby. I want to know how I can save money and what you would do? and what is a better deal? If these prices are too high?

here are some of fabric links of fabric that i'm think of getting.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151562460787...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/131409653984...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Moda-Marble-...item20f6e52f39
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fat-Quarter-...item54154b9382

Not sure I can provide good advice, but I checked out your links.

The first and third are not something I would purchase primarily because I do not like to have the same pattern in all of the different colors; always looks too matchy-matchy to me. The second one is a cotton/poly blend fabric, which I don't normally use because it handles and wears differently than cotton fabrics. The last one is the only one I would even consider, but I don't recognize the manufacturer (Santee) so am unsure about quality.

Do you actually use a lot of these types of fabrics in your quilts? I have found over the years that I have acquired way too much in the way of "stash" fabrics that I may never use because my tastes have changed so much. Nowadays I buy solids only if I have a specific need for them in my next quilt. Pretty much the only fat quarters I will buy now to add to stash are light-colored batiks (because they are so hard to find enough for variety, and because I am planning a batik log cabin in the near future).

I probably won't be much help because I buy yardage, not FQ cuts. I stock up on RK Kona or Moda Bella solids when I see them on sale or have coupons for 50% off, and I buy several different colors because I use lots of solids. Otherwise, I have learned not to just buy random fabrics to build stash as it seems I don't use them. But I would not consider $2 or more per FQ (including shipping) a huge bargain. Instead my stash has been built just from leftovers from fabrics purchased for specific projects. When these get too large, I hunt for a scrappy pattern or two and try to make a few charity quilts. But, I have bought fabrics on eBay and didn't have any problems---it just seems that I can find better deals from local or online fabric stores (like fabric.com or thousandsofbolts.com).

I don't buy pre-cuts, although I have received a few as gifts, the main reasons I don't are price(you're paying someone else to cut your fabric and they're not nearly as careful as you would be), and I don't want "matchy-match, I also have enough fabric stash that I don't NEED to buy any fabric, have no place to put it. LOL Although I'm sure that won't stop me, if I find something I just HAVE to have. LOL

Thank you for your input I think that I will add preproject.

I have found that a solid, because of its "solidness," really has to go with the prints I'm using, or it sticks out as a miss. The blenders are easier. And also that fabric that you buy and never use isn't so much of a bargain. If you're planning to make a quilt with all solids, then buy some assortments that appeal to you. To blend them in, though, I've discovered that Martha's Quilting Corner will work with your swatches to find a match. They get back to you very quickly, too. They have Moda bella and blenders, Kona, and Kaufmann fusions. Better than dealing with online pictures, which can be very unreliable. I recently bought 13 yards from them and was very pleased. Shipping is exactly what the post office is charging, and they can really cram a lot into an envelope -haha!

No affiliation, etc.

Hugs,
Charlotte