Originally Posted by Iceblossom

I should always mention in my getting things at thrift stores is that I am lucky to live in a rather affluent part of the country, the Seattle area. Not all thrift store shops are equal and the best stuff is typically in the higher-priced zip codes. There is a surplus of high-quality everything here. I don't buy every piece of fabric I come across, and those I buy are from known brand names. I'm often getting entire collections from someone who bought it new at the LQS and never used it and is now downsizing or moving or getting out of the hobby. Last year for example, I bought a large bag of someone's batik souvenirs from a trip to Indonesia. Yards and yards of gorgeous high quality heavily gold embellished fabrics perfect for an OBW or many other things for $5.99. You are just not going to be able to find things like that often, even here, much less somewhere else.