Originally Posted by SueSew
I like the looks of them, but ...
they often (Clothworks, Windham) end up using 12 or more different fabrics from the same line, which becomes expensive, especially for a relatively new quilter who might make a mistake on the layout/cutting.
sometimes they are less about a real pattern than a way to show off the fabrics. (Clothworks)
I agree with you on this point! It's kind of unappealing for us, as a shop, to have to buy a whole bunch of similar, not-so-exciting coordinates from a line, just to have the all the fabrics to do up the pattern. What happens is that we sell through the "feature" prints (the interesting fabrics) and get stuck with the coordinates. And if we go back to buy more of the feature prints... they are usually unavailable by that time.
So I usually just order the feature prints for our shop, and maybe just one or two of my favorite coordinates. It's encouraging to read that so many folks shop their stash to fill in... because now I don't feel so bad about not ordering the full lines!