deerviewquilting

If Hancocks now carry Moda, I'll shop there! I didn't know that. I'm addicted to Moda and their designers (Fig Tree and 3 Sisters, especially).
I "try" not to pay $9 a yard. I'll wait for a line until it's on closeout, 30% + off.
I'll shop for my wide backs at Joanns. While I was there, I was surprised at some of the prices. They have gone up since last looking. There are some at $9 a yard.
I'll buy some of the licensed stuff at Walmart. I did have one experience with their fabric that I didn't like. I made a top with Avlyn's Zzoom fabric. I used the checkered flag as a border. For the backing, I found a different checker flag at Walmart. The first wash, the Walmart fabric faded from black to gray, whereas the Avlyn was still dark black.
As a machine quilters, I found that buying quality fabric from a quilt shop doesn't guarantee a good piecer. I've seen some badly pieced tops from quilt shop quality fabric.
When first starting to quilt. I shopped exclusively at Joanns. Mainly for the prices. I didn't want to pay more if I were to mess up. Took the stress out of piecing. If I screwed it up, I wasn't out too much. I'll still shop there if I'm trying a new pattern. Just did one recently like that.
Sometimes I wish I didn't discover Moda. Then all the new fabric lines they come out with wouldn't always be screaming my name!! :lol:

Barbm

I find I can tell the difference but it doesn't matter to me. I use whatever I get my hands on. Yes, the qs quality feels nicer but when you need to live within a budget, you shop Joann's and Wal-Mart too.

I make my quilts to be loved and used, so I just want something appealing to the recipient. Swaps, this is my first, we'll see how it goes. I know that I'm like Patrice, sometimes life gets in the way and you get slow and other times, I'm fast to the post office. I just pick swaps far between.

nor'easter

I stopped participating in swaps, not because of fabric quality, but because, after three trips through the washer, I could still not get rid of the stale cigarette smell in the last fabrics I received. :shock:

As for quality, if the receiver does not want to use "inferior" grade fabrics in a quilt, they can use it for trying new blocks or techniques, a pet quilt, or swap it again with someone else. It's that old looking a gift horse in the mouth thing as far as I'm concerned.

farscapegal

The Hancocks I go to doesn't have good quality fabrics. They use to but now they don't. You can feel the difference.

I am a batik fanatic and it is hard to find good batiks at Joannes or Hancocks.

Batiks are over dyed and should be washed before using because most (not all) of them will run. I use a color catcher sheet in my wash when I put them in. The color catcher comes out a gorgeous color and I send them to my friend who is an art teacher. Her students use them to make collages.

I love Moda fabrics too.

Sybil

beetle

Hancock's of Paducah, KY is well known in the quilting world and their quilting fabric is the same you'd find in any "quilt shop". Just make sure you're shopping in the quilt fabric section.

http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/

MsSage

Hmmmm sounds like me, get busy being busy LOL
I understood what you were saying. I know everyone is NOT a snob just trying to get people to look at themselves. :wink:


Moda hmmm how to put this I refuse to buy their products due to personal political reasons. I will leave it at that.
Yeap LOVE their fabric but ..........

Lynda in TN

I am rather new to Quilting Board and have found most of my postings to be ignored, i.e., not commented on. I have sent several personal messages and got wonderful, quick replies. I love the QB and have kept my mouth mostly shut and learned a lot. But this subject is near and dear to my heart. I am a fulltime RVer, 62 years old, who learned to quilt in a campground recreation room several years ago. I am told the quilts I have made are beautiful and even sold one for $300, which totally blew my mind. We had a JoAnn's closeby. I had never sewn ANYTHING prior to the quilting and was amazed at the beauty and quality of fabrics from JoAnn's. Then, I got to go to a real quilt shop and was just in awe...still am, usually, when in a quilt shop. I am also amazed at the differences from one quilt shop to another! And, of course, we also bought fabric from the local WalMart. Now, I am on a very low, fixed income which prevents me from most activities. Making a quilt, even with WalMart fabric, is quite an expense for me. What I was taught was to look at the fabric, feel it, and choose good fabric...wherever I might be. I, personally, think that is the key. I do join a few swaps on another board, but usually go to a quilt shop for fabrics (fqs) I send in, if I possibly can. If I make blocks to swap, I use a combination from my stash (a lot of that was gifted to me by other quilters when I first started quilting). When I join a swap, I always wonder if what I send in will be good enough. I wonder if my blocks will be good enough. (I often include a note saying if they don't think my entry is of good enough quality to either keep it, toss it, or return it...they never have.) Judging by what I have gotten back, my blocks are as good as most I receive. My fabric is, too.

Having said all that, I might also add that I know exactly what Patrice was saying and was so appreciative of someone else saying it! Moving around a lot, I try to find local groups to quilt with. One thing I have found over and over are the quilters who are authorities in their own minds. For instance, I walked in the local Sr. Center a month or so ago to check out their quilt group. Three ladies were there...one was labeling pictures in photo albums, one was sewing buttons on an old shirt, and one was actually handling quilts (not sure what she was actually doing!). They welcomed me and wanted me to start coming to join them. And the only one handling quilts let me know in no uncertain terms that she would teach me how to quilt correctly. Now, she had not seen any of my work, my fabric, or my tools, yet she assumed I needed her to teach me. Don't get me wrong. I learn from every quilter I meet. Mostly from the ones who are not trying to teach me anything, but are just doing a wonderful job on things they are doing their way. Or sometimes from the ones who are doing a really poor job on something, I learn what not to do. And I have even had some thank me for what they learned from me!

There are all qualities of fabric, tools, quilts, and quilters. But I find you have to pick and choose among all of those.

Thanks for listening. I hope I haven't talked too much or offended anyone. I find the folks on this board to be wonderful, friendly, and helpful and I appreciate every one of you. Right now, I am not getting to do much sewing or anything else and it's wonderful watching you folks and getting great ideas from you.

Happy Holidays to all with warm, quilty hugs!

Cathe

Goodness, Lynda, please don't be hurt or take offense when people don't respond to your posts. It's never ever intentional. Sometimes this board is so active I miss half of the messages.

I am not a fabric snob. I am a cheapskate. However, I have found that www.thousandsofbolts.com carries the "name brand" fabrics at Walmart prices, and I have never been disappointed in the fabric or service, so I like to shop there. One thing about LQS fabrics is that they tend to be prettier and develop new lines of fabric more frequently.

Think of the fabrics that our grandmothers used... they weren't even close to the quality of Cranston/VIP.

And Cranston/VIP are wonderful suppporters of their military reservist employees and their families, so I like supporting them! :thumbup:

Lynda in TN

Cathe, my feelings were not hurt and I was not offended when my posts didn't get commented on. I don't comment on a LOT of stuff I read here...whether I am impressed or disagree! I have always felt welcome here, even when I had not posted at all! Of course, now that I have put my two cents worth in.... :lol:

jstitch

The quality of the fabric depends on the goods that it is printed on and generally, the printed goods done for the discount stores is of a cheaper base fabric than that for the quilt shops..

Now, that being said.. you will find good fabric in a discount store.. I recently purchased 200 thread count solids at Hancocks and I cant even find a thread count that high in a quilt shop..

So, what I do is look at all of the sources and buy the best where I find it.

I have a small online fabric shop and I do the same when selecting fabrics for my store.. I must feel the fabric before purchase..I have had some nice fabric and some not so nice straight from the manufacturer.

If you purchase a nice fabric for you swap, who will know where you got it?