gollytwo

I'll spend for whatever I think I'll find useful
I've had best results with Martelli blades.
Harbor Freight are useful for utility quilts but not when I need really good cuts.
Am devoted to my Steady Betty for ironing as I piece. Have the large and the small.
For threads: Aurifil and Superior's Bottom Line
For needles: Superior's titanium #12
Am probably the only quilter on the Board who dislikes Gingher scissors and I have alot of them, most of them unused. I prefer Fiskars. The one Gingher exception is their thread clipper - like that alot.

Latrinka

I would have to say that I'm frugal. I don't really care about brand names, but like anyone else, I want the most for my money. I did buy the Alto's QuiltCut2 brand new, tried to bid on one on ebay, but lost, so at that time my DH was still living, and he said just go ahead and get what you want! When I first started really getting in to quilting, I bought some rulers, most that I've rarely if ever used. The rotary blades-I ordered some from Harbor Freight, am using them, but will never buy them again. Fabric - probly most of mine is from walmart, ordered from people on here, but since living here, we do have a LQS, I shop there, she has sales, and some reasonably priced fabrics. As far as other things, I'll only buy Heinz ketchup! LOL!

sewmom

I like gadgets and things to make my quilting easier and quicker so i can make more! LOL . I rarely buy when not on sale. But I've got to say- I have totally, totally fallen in love with the Vintage Modern line from Moda! I have decided that even though it's not on sale at my LQS, i am going to get it! They have a punch card system. I looked on line but it's about the same price everywhere.

bearisgray

For some fabrics, it's get it now or forget it!

With hindsight being so wonderful, there are a lot of things I may have done differently.

burchquilts

That was what my Mother always taught me. She saved her "pin money" for several years to buy a cashmere winter coat. Everyone thought she was crazy to spend that much $$$ on a coat. But that sucker wore like iron for YEARS! So I, too, try to buy for longevity.

GramMER

Where I live the saris and other ready made garments are fabulous! But, try to find good quality cotton that will not shrink every time you wash it! I have shopped at one place years ago, but now they do not carry what they call "foreign cloth." I can understand they want to cater to their own looms, but that prejudice surely frustrates a quilter. It also frustrates anyone who is used to cool, cotton blends for clothing that can be worn without ironing.

We go home every year and I do my best to find good cloth, scissors, cutting blades and or mats every time we go. I usually can't order online unless I want to ship it to a US address and then wait to get it a year later. Shipping overseas is out of the question. Now that the airlines limit us to one suitcase and one small carry-on, I have to be judicious about what I bring back.

QuiltE

And I'm sure as she waited to save enough, that she had many pleasant dreams of that coat ... and then oh, the pride in wearing it long after!!

What a different world today ... the disposable society, seldom thinks about longevity and wear and tear! More so, something that can be worn for a year or two (and for some, just a season) and then toss it! Or hard goods that will do the job for a short time and then onwards to something else.

GramMER

I have enjoyed my Fiskars, and they seem to last a long time. My experience with Gingher scissors has been mostly good, but there was a time when I get a bad pair. They had a snag on them from the time I opened the box. It was like some little kid had cut wire with them or something--of course the company I bought them from denied any responsibility. I have never appreciated that company for cloth or tools even though there seems to be a shop on every corner.

Then another problem with Ginghers has been the person who sharpens them. Once I sent a pair in to be sharpened by a "certified" Gingher sharpener and was to pick them up the next week. They were not done at the appointed time, and I was desperate to have them before we flew back here. Supposedly the man who was to do them would get to it that afternoon, so I agreed. What happened? He took off part of both sides and from that day forward there was no point. I guess the best way to esplain it is to say I could not cut cloth to a point after that. Make sense? My ddil has taken them to several places to see if they could be repaired and each shop has said the scissors are ruined. I do not think it is the fault of the Gingher company, but it probably is the fault of the ones selling or sharpening them.

Neesie

I would pack just a few sets of clothes and keep washing them, over and over, in order to save suitcase space for fabric!

Friday1961

What you've described so well is a common sense approach to buying/spending. I try to always buy quality (not as easy to be sure as it used to be, though, it seems to me) in goods and appliances for the long term....and I agree about the bells and whistles. If you don't need/use them, why pay for them? Disposable goods are something else and I buy those depending on how well I like the cheaper or store brand once I've tried it. I won't buy watery ketchup no matter how cheap, nor rock filled dried beans or cheese that doesn't taste anything like cheese. But, as I've said ad nauseum, those who insist on buying only name brands (Del Monte, as an example) should realize that the canning factory that canned those beans are also canning Kroger brand beans, Wal-Mart brand beans, and Albertson brand beans. Same beans out of the same cooker, same conveyor; they just changed the labels. (We had a food canning plant in my town and I know people who worked there).

I guess I'm not a product snob. If it works and lasts, it's fine with me and I don't care about the brand unless personal experience has told me to stay away from it. The truth is most of what we buy these days--whatever the manufacturer--is probably made in China, anyway.