For anyone who loves to repurpose fabric for quilting, I was just introduced to recycle heaven!
In short - The Goodwill Outlet store.
Recently many of us have been somewhat put off by the rising prices in the thrift store industry, but this is a new one for me.
Don't even get me started on the whole issue of WHY a thrift store should even need an 'outlet' in the first place, but I digress.
In this outlet, everything is $1.40 a pound. If you buy over 25 pounds of 'stuff', it goes down to $1 a pound. But there is a catch. This is not a "browsing" opportunity. You have to move fast.
A worker dumps a bin of clothing onto a table. Shoppers rummage through it taking what they like, then 15 minutes later that worker cleans off the table and it goes into the back (where is a mystery - maybe ground up and resold as loose fiber or something). He then dumps a new pile onto the table. The outlet has a dozen or so such tables. So basically, you take a shopping cart, grab anything that might even vaguely appeal to you and dump it in. When you are "done" ( for me that was in more ways than one) you take your cart aside a go through it. Anything you decide doesn't make the cut, you just toss back onto a table. Then you pay for what you decide you'll take. It's amazing how much you can cram into a bag and still be under 10 pounds!
I am in the process of collecting used denim for a project and scored 7 pair of jeans that I could use. 2 were brand new so I gifted them on freecycle because I just couldn't face cutting them up. I also took a brown suede coat that I'll repurpose into a leather purse, even reusing some of the buckles and clasps. I got several bath sized towels, again some brand new, that will serve my son this summer - who has a real problem thinking that towels are only to be used once, then lost. :( I picked up several cotton bed sheets in good shape that I'll either use for foundation piecing or take with me when our club does a charity sew in for cancer care. Then there is the dreamy ultrasuede jacket that I have yet to decide what to make with it, but LOVE the color and the softness of it.
I found 14 brand new "Magic Schoolhouse" books that I gifted to my son's school grade 1 teacher. I also picked up a "First Communion " book that I'm going to use as a guide to make First Communion scrapbooks for my great nieces.
I think I'm hooked. Just like when you get addicted to vintage sewing machines, it's a sickness. But it's fun!!!