Hmmm- time to think up an appropropriate Fourth of July WOVEN
project! I do love holidays!

Re: sewing classes

Agreed! For me, it's also about not scheduling any classes for evenings or weekends so that those of us who work can participate.

I understand, as I posted above, why LQS prices are higher, but the *attitude keeps me from feeling guilty when I buy online or at Alco or Hobby Lobby, all of which have really nice fabrics if you're willing to hunt a bit or be okay with their not being the current designs.

:lol: does anyone lie in the new jersey area. there is a man that out there that lives in colonia and he has been trying to send me a puppy. i just wanted to find out if anyone might know anyone around that area

:lol: just wanted to comment you on your quilt i love it is there a pattern for it can i get it

No one should feel the need to defend where they shop for fabrics or explain that they can only afford certain types of stores. We are all in quilting because we love the "whole" process. I have seen some really ugly fabric from top dollar stores. I have had LQS fabrics, after washing, only be fit for rags. I have found great bargains at some Walmarts (name brands at that) and some junk too. This type of thread always reminds me of the "Quilting Snobs" that I see at my LQS. They all belong to the same local guild and hang out at the shoppe. While some are really great people, others look down their noses at me when I check out the sale rack. Wish I could tell the shoppe owner how much this offends and at times I swear I will never go in again. When I used to make hand hooked rugs, ALL my fabrics came from thrift stores. Amazing how many people tossed wool garments as if they had no value. I saved a boat load of money and could get just about all the colors of the rainbow. What I couldn't find, I dyed. It met my need and I helped to recycle fabrics which would have other wise gone to the moths. I completely agree with those that buy via the internet rather then local stores. Consumers have always shopped around to find the best prices, why should fabric be any different. Our dollars don't go very far anymore and if I have my heart set on making a certain project, I will shop around so that I can make it. Period.

i heard that there is a 100% mark up on fabric

very good suggestion
I did that with my Jem Gold - quoted a much better price elsewhere and my LQS met it.

Hancocks of Paducah (a different venue than Hancock Fabrics)
is very expensive but ALWAYS has a good sale selection at $3.98 and $5.98/yard.
Their prices are always listed at 1/2 yard. For sale items you must purchase at least 1 yard.
A Kaffee Fassett jelly roll is 60% off right now

http://www.hancocks-paducah.com

I love Alco fabric! But Alco is not going to sell fabric any more. Once what's in the stores now are gone, it's all gone.

I've never heard of Alco. They must be a chain that's not in N. CA.

What is a bali pop?

It almost seems like price fixing. We have 5 or 6 LQS here. I was looking for a specific fabric to match something I was doing. All asked the same price, $9.98. Maybe their supplier sets the price, I am not sure. The same item (and quality) went from $3.98 to 7.98 at various fabric dealers on line. If I can buy it from them at that price, so can LQS's. There is a lot of competition here, but it does not seem to make much difference.
Hobby Lobby locally has a lot of some of those fabrics at a lower price and offers a 30% in addition. They also have coupons once every other week for fabric, etc. I have purchased fabrics for pillow cases from an LQS. then found the identical item with the same markings on the fabric for almost half. Granted, they probably buy in larger quantities, so it pays to really look around if you have the time.

I shop an online shop that goes the extra mile for their customers. I had a focus fabric that had a color in it I needed and didn't have time to search it out, so I sent an email to my online quilt shop and told them what I needed. Within 1 day they had selected and offered me 2 or three fabrics to choose from. It was awesome!

That aside, I do shop at my LQS once in a great while when I am in a pinch, because they do charge so much. I don't shop at Wal Mart - mostly because it is more convenient to shop online (I only get to Wal Mart once every 3 months or so). I do shop at Joann's when I need notions, or batting or an emergency fabric selection.

I think wherever one is comfortable shopping, is the right place. :-D

[quote=cjomomma]I agree that's why I shop WM quote]

I'm assuming WM is Wal-mart. Unfortunately, our local store is cutting down on fabric and some have eliminated fabric all together. What ARE WE going to do?

Average rent for a quilt shop is about $1500-$2500 in our town. That does not include utilities, supplies, payroll, insurance, and incidentals. Not even counting the initial srt up costs. How many yards of fabric do they have to sell to cover their operating costs? A lot. I am not a shop owner but I can understand their plight. Where I used to live, I was loyal to a shop because of the service, the help I could get when I had a problem, and other perks. Because of Ike I do not have a local quilt shop, so I have been buying some on line. My favorite now is Missouri Star Quilt because it is a real shop, prices are a little more reasonable, great service, fast shipping, and I appreicate their tutorials. I also know if I have a problem they would be able to help.

For the quilters that only can afford Walmart fabric, I think they have decent fabric, so go for it! Remember that they sell in such volume, that they can charge a lot less.

Three cheers and AMEN, Sister!

Well said. Remember no one can make us feel less without our permission. I think that was from Eleanor Roosevelt. Snobs are everywhere and they usually have to have the best money can buy to make them feel good about themselves. I feel sorry for those people, they will never have peace. That is not to say, that all peoople who buy the best are snobs.

There is a difference, though, in proclaiming you only buy the best - and buying the best and keeping your mouth shut about it unless someone wants to know! My mom has a neighbor who ONLY buys her plants at the most overpriced nursery in the region and tells everyone she sees about it. Of course, she's like that with everything she buys/has/did/does or will buy/have/do in the future! No one can stand being around her.

do you know what they pay in rent/mortgage?? how about thier labor costs?? or god forbid, what they have to pay for medical insurance?? several shops here have had to close, because they couldn't make the overhead...

if you don't know what the shop owner's numbers are, how can you say their profit margin is too high?

you don't need to go stand in a corner, because you are exactly right!! i raised my first 2 kids alone, working 2 jobs & doing the laundry, including the cloth diapers by hand in the bathtub... i used old clothes, old sheets, and whatever scraps my grandmothers (both dressmakers of a sort) tossed me... and was glad to be able to create anything.

I'm totally with you Renee 765.

I know, sigh....I've been looking at rummage sales, but its so hard to find fabric at rummage sales![/quote]
----------------------------------------
No Honey, it isn't all the time. Just look carefully at sheets, you'd be surprised
at how lovely some of them are. I have one I'm looking at to see if it will tell
me what it wants to be, it is a lovely flower pattern I've never seen before.
Quite lovely and soft, obviously washed a lot but still will last for many years.
I think it is telling me it wants to be the lining in a light denim jacket to match
my long denim skirt. With a wonky ankle that should be supported, I wear
boots a lot, and long skirts that more than cover the tops of them.

Also, try FreeCycle. If you word the request nicely, you might be lucky
enough to get someone's stash who is moving or just has far too much
"stuff" to keep around.

Well, I never knew that. Do you think they came Down Under first? After all, the place was settled by deported English convicts. LOL.

As for the Bali pops: OMG, what a shock. I have yards of it - saris, great big circle skirts, great big round tablecloths with matching serviettes I will never use, all bought from locals during mine and my mother's trips to Bali years and years ago. Funny thng: some sixth sense has always told me "Keep it", keep it".

It just shows: what comes around goes around. I have this stash of BPs upstairs, just laying there, while still paying $24 a yard for CW and Moda.

I have learned to purchase online instead of quilt shops. I purchased a bendable LED Daylingt for my machine at a local QS for $50!! and found it online (at many sites) for $28!!! Even with shipping it is cheaper! I find this with purse patterns as well. the latest one is the steel ball purse handle, online $18 at the QS $24! Quite a markup! I am all for shopping locally and supporting the Mom and Pop businesses, but I have to do what I can to stay afloat too!

AMEN

This is totally off topic but your kitten is ADORABLE! I love black and white cats! That's all, have a great day! :-D :-D :-D

Not for me--I found a whole fabric store closeing--I bought two van loads for $67.00--my husband is still in shock on how I can find fabric at sales.

TanyaMas,
I totally agree with you. I have never had any problems with Walmart fabric. However we no longer have fabric at our walmart. Some people believe that if they are not spending a large amount of money then they are not getting quality. Just like those who insist on buying name brand at the grocery store.
They would not dare buy the store brand. They come from the same place they just place the stores name on the packaging. I do agree that some store brands are not good.
As for the fabric you can judge mostly by the feel. I agree the private shops charge way too much for their fabric.
There is nothing wrong with looking for a bargin and buying on sale. Just because you pay top dollar does not always mean you have gotten quality.

I shop at walmart and I know the fabric isn't the best but it works for me and its affordable. Thank goodness for Walmart.

Bingo

If any of you want to get fabric back in your local Walmart (if it has been taken away). If they get enough letters they will put the fabric dept back in the store. It happened here.

Hmmm...Wal-Mart Tea Party!

I disagree that people shop at LQS because they want to have brand names. I am happy to buy store brand until I try one and it is clearly not as good as the brand name. Then it's back to brand name for me. Same as with fabric - if I find a cheaper substitute for really nice fabric, I am happy to buy it. But I have not found much at WM that is an adequate substitute for fabric from a LQS - I can tell by the feel. It has nothing to do with brand name and everything to do with buying what satisfies me to use. Top dollar does not always mean quality, but you don't typically get high quality for bottom dollar. And I don't see many quilt owners getting rich - more of them close because they can't make a living, so I don't think that you can make a blanket statement that fabric at LQS is priced too high. It might be too high for you and that's fine.

Why does everyone seem to care so much about what other people buy? You might have a nicer car than most - no one tells you you're dumb to waste your money when a cheaper car would get you where you're going. It's important to you - that's good enough. If it's important to someone to buy really high quality fabric, that should be good enough for the rest of us.

Well guys, let me tell you. I have bought at my LQS, Walmart, online, at estates and at rummage sales. I cannot tell you which is my favorite. But I can tell you this. I love to quilt. If it pleases me, that is all that matters, because it is one of my many hobbies. If I had to make my living at doing this, then I would buy the most expensve fabric I could find and would not enjoy doing it half as much. Anyway, that's my two cents worth.

I agree with you Ramona. I too shop at garage sales. I look for sheets, pillow cases, mens shirts (expecially large men), napkins, fabric, blankets, bed covers, placemats, towels, etc. I have also used freecycle and have received quite a lot of fabric and even one unfinished baby blanket. And guess what? I didn't know about any of this until I got on this board and I am still learning every day. Things that I used to throw away now have a use.

Nicely put, IrishNY.

I agree some of the prices at the LQS are getting very high.
I have never been one to buy much fabric from Walmart but lately specially if I'm doing tablerunners or pocket books I have been buying at Walmart I can than make two instead of one. I have noticed that they are starting to carry some very nice fabrics. I shop my LQS when they are having a sale or if I'm making a something special. I also have gotten some very nice fabrics from Connecting threads and if you spend $50 the shipping is free and it doesn't take long to reach that sometimes a couple of use go in together to get the free shipping.
Happy Quilting

:lol: how close to colonia new jersey are you

I'malong the NY Pa border
where is colonial nj

I'm all for supporting your local quilt shop however I live in Chicago and there are not that many to choose from. But like you said, you can always find a better deal online and it usually is tax free and sometimes free shipping. Plus, and here is the biggy for me, the selection is enormous when ordering onling!