Originally Posted by Quilter7x
I took a tour of Cranston Printworks in Webster, Mass about ten years ago. It was fascinating to see how fabric is received in huge bolts, how it's straightened, pressed and then printed.
At that time, they told us the VIP line was their exclusive line only sold in WalMart. It could have changed in the past ten years, but back then VIP was only available in WM.
I believe they have sold and gone out of the country now, which is really too bad. I've been on two tours there, they were wonderful people and always gave us a little piece of fabric at the end of the tour, usually a pillow panel or something like that.
I also was lucky enough to be able to tour their factory in Webster, Mass. This was about a year before they stopped printing there.
At the time, they were printing their Quilting Treasures lines overseas already. Only the VIP brand was still printed in Mass.
Now all their lines are printed overseas, sadly.
They also now have a VIP Exclusive line, which is priced a bit less than the Quilting Treasures fabrics, but more than their VIP line which can be found in Wal-Mart. JoAnn's carries their holiday lines and occasionally a few of their other VIP fabrics, either in the novelty section or on their calico wall.
We also carry some of their oldies-but-goodies (from the VIP line), such as the wolves by Hautman and their very pretty grape fabrics. And we can special order full bolts of anything Cranston makes, for customers who can use that much (usually 10 - 12 yards).
Personally, I've always been satisfied with the quality of the VIP fabrics, even the ones that are in the chain stores. I've made lots of placemats out of them, and those get washed time and again and still held up well. So I would not hesitate to recommend them. I definitely like them better than the "budget" fabrics that are on the calico wall at JoAnn's for $4.99. The VIP ones have a much nicer feel to them.