I buy lots of my fabric at thrift stores as well and have gotten some really beautiful fabrics there, I guess from quilters who no longer quilt. You just have to be sure to go at least once a week to find them before somebody else does. Ebay can be a great place to find bargain-priced fabric if you find the right seller which is getting harder and harder to do. Thread is absolutely over-priced and it makes me mad to have to pay anything from $5 to $10 a spool for something that won't even finish a large quilt.