Frugal or Extravagant?
 

There are some things I'm willing to spend the money to have the 'best' that I know about -

Gingher scissors, for example.

There are some things that I'm more interested in getting 'adequate' for less money -

Those rotary cutter blades from ?? for $1.98 for two. (Got some a while ago - but don't remember name now)

How about you?

ETA: But it seems like something newer and better is always becoming available. WAAAAAH!

Harbor Freight?

Yes - the only thing I was able to come up with was Northern Hydraulics.

i am frugal. i like cheap but good stuff. if that makes sents( spelling).:)

i do not have a harbor freight near by. i do not have a fabric shop either. only walmart. i do not have a long arm to do quilting of my quilts. we have nothing in this area. wish i knew how to advertize that we need these things hear. :(

There are certain fabric designers that I can say when I see their fabric .. I never look at the price on the bolt, as I just have to have it. Peggy Toole has some of the most irresistable fabrics I have ever seen.
As for tools and supplies...
1. spray basting ... having used some off brands that either left me cleaning my needle ever 2 minutes, or didn't adhere, or smelled bad..
2. Invisable thread .. just not worth the frusration to go "off brand".
3. Specialty presser feet... I stick with the manufactures .
And yes .. I am a scissor snob!

I like what WORKS, but I think often the name brand version is just a little better. For me, rotary blades is one of the things I'm very picky about! I tried Harbor Freight blades and they were no good for me. I use Olfa and love them; Amazon sells 5 packs of the 45mm blades for around $15-16. But I did try the other blades and would try others because you just never know until you try something yourself.

Rulers are something I am not brand-picky about. If I see something useful and sturdy I'm likely to buy it - I probably have at least one ruler from every manufacturer by now! I love rulers...

I've spent way more than what Ginghers cost for scissors. In my scissor collection Ginghers are actually midrange in price. I pay for Gingher rotary blades. I get them when Jo-Ann's has them half price.

I would say I shop smart. There's no point in just buying the cheapest thing there is when you can have the best there is for the same price or a little more if you're willing to buy things on sale. I have bought LQS fabric for $1 to $3 a yard. Almost every LQS I've been in has a sale rack.

You're sitting in front of the world's biggest research and shopping tool, use it.

I am of the school that you try different things and yes sometimes those choices are driven by budget. If I buy something and it turns out not to as I expected or just didn't work, then I won't buy it again. There have been a few times that I opted for the cheaper item(s) and wound up spending more $ trying to be cheap than if I would have if I had bought the tried and true more pricier item. I decided a long time ago that there are certain items that I buy, not just for sewing, that I will not compromise on. I refuse to purchase any ranch dressing other than Hidden Valley because I know the store brands have never lived up to the taste of it! If I don't like it, I'm not going to use it and then no matter how much less it cost, it is still going to go to waste.

Since I've started reading the posts on this board, I've learned about many products that I didn't even know existed.

I'm frugal, but i will spend a bit more to qet a good tool, Gingher scissors for example. things that tend to be disposable like blades i will look for bargains.

hmmm... I bought Kai scissors and love them. They were recommended by a former Gingher user. How do you know that another brand is not just as good if you don't try it?

I bought a bunch of HF blades, and so far haven't found a bad one. I know that others have had problems with them, but I was lucky.

I always comparison shop, using the internet. I do pay more for a better product, but like to feel that I'm still getting the best buy. I think the key is that I'm almost always willing to wait until what I want is on sale.

There are very few things that I buy for full price. Maybe a piece of fabric that I am desperate for to finish a quilt, but then I buy the smallest piece I get get away with. Almost all my supplies come from Hancocks, Hobby Lobby, occasionally JoAnn's and Staples. They all have good sales and coupons for those non sale days.

I always consider the value for the money and use over price. My time and frustration level is factored into the value part. I've never been cheap even when money was tight because buying value saves money. The five pack of name brand blades on sale is a good value. I know they are good and will do the job I want them to do. I just bought a pair of Gingher 8" dressmaker knife edge scissors for $15.54. and free shipping at Amazon. My quilt secret pal Christmas limit is $20. This is a great value buy for me because no stress when it's time to decide what to do about the Christmas gift.

I don't consider buying quality products to be extravagant. I bought a 45 mm rotary cutter (Olfa) in 1994. Still using it. The cheapo rotary cutter that I was given as a door prize broke in 2 years (and it was only used at Quilter's Night Out!). On the other hand, some of you go through a LOT of blades, so it makes sense that you might make do with adequate. Pay attention though on how often you change blades vs. the brand name.

I go round and round with my Mom on this stuff, but the fact is, if I can't get good quality, I don't buy it at all. Saves me money to buy other nonsense (like my fairly new Itouch that is sucking up all my quilting time).

Makes more sense to spend X one time than 1/4X six times!

There are better quality brand of scissors then Gingher, such as Dovo for one. Gingher is fine for what I need them to do but Heritage spring scissors are the only ones I'll use to snip a rag quilt even if Gingher is cheaper to buy.

I'm probably both. My pinking shears are Gingher. My (multiple) sewing shears are Fiskars. My rotary blades seem to last a good, long time; I buy Olfa. I check the sales bins, first . . . then buy whatever other fabric I want. I buy fabric from wherever, if it's nice fabric. I don't believe in wasting money, regardless of the item. I don't believe in buying things, "for bragging rights."

That said, I do believe in paying more, in order to not have to replace an item, a few years down the road. My cordless drill has (so far) outlasted two of DH's drills. I allow him to use mine, as well. DH - "If mine breaks, I'll get a new one. I can buy three, for the price of yours." Me - "When you're on your fourth drill, we'll still be using my first one." :p Needless to say, I also take much better care, of mine!

My DH always say's you get what you pay for. I will buy cheap if it is something good that is on sale, or cheaper fabric if I love it. But my tools are top brand tools because I have had bad luck with the cheaper ones. If I am going to pay high prices for fabric I want to cut it with good sharp tools.

...........and I can't get my hands on!!!!!!! Grrrrrrrrr! :mad:

LOVE this reply....it is the truth...why spend money on a lesser quality TOOL when the tools are make the craft? That would be like a home builder using a staple gun, duct tape, and elmers glue to build a house...TOOLS need to be the best;..and to me things like Gingher's are an heirloom item to be handed down...I just hope my boys like my collection..hehehhe

I give Gingher scissors as wedding gifts. The bride my look at it strange but when she needs scissors for any job and they perform great time after time she'll realize what a great gift it really was. I use Ginger scissors as household scissors and my sewing scissors are left alone. I've never paid more the $20 for Gingher scissors since internet shopping!

I am frugal to the max when it comes to fabric. This does not mean walmart or double knits but does mean garage sales, estate sales, guild sales, and auctions. I also let my friends know to pass me the fabric and scraps they don't want rather than tossing them. I have even gone thru the trash at retreats to collect great fabric and selvages that were thrown out.

We are lucky here to have a large city with a lot of quilters who all love fabric. About four times a year or so, there is a fabulous sale of some kind that results in lots of interesting fabric. Since i am not all about matching fabrics and like to try mixing up and scrap quilts, this is great.

Right now I am waiting on a phone call from a gal that had a garage sale in the spring and called me to tell me she was having another. The great part is that she is a fabric representative for two companies and handles four states. She gets all kinds of fabric in precuts, packages of fat quarters, yardage, etc. and cannot use it all. She remembered me and wanted me to know. Hey, high end fabric at $3 per yard beats any shop around (except the wholesalers) and she has current stock. I got 60+ bright coordinated fat quarters for $36.

I told her about our charity quilt making for a residential children's home and she is going to give me her excess boy fabric for these quilts. She is great.

Someone here sent me a big box of scraps of kid prints for the cost of postage and I got enough for 3 or 4 (maybe more) twin sized quilts of wonderful colorful fabric once I cut it up.

I always buy the best of everything. I tried Walmart fabric, but ended up giving it to a second hand store because it felt so stiff and horrible. I don't buy anything at all from Walmart. Nothing for the household. I buy from LQS for my sewing and good online stores also. I tried Harbor Frieght blades and they skipped something fierce, so I learned my lesson there. I'm not a snob at all. I just don't want to waste my money on crappy stuff when I can pay a little more and get really nice quality things that will last. Also, the fabric from Walmart...I would have been embarrassed to make a quilt out of that and give it to someone. My Walmart sells the worst fabric. I know there are other Walmart's that sell better fabric, so don't think I'm bashing all Walmarts, just mine.

Frugality rules, so long as I don't sacrifice quality ... the quality I need vs. overbuying a higher end quality, that is perhaps beyond my forseeable needs.

Top of the line purchases are important to me, only if they offer what I need, and there is not an alternate suitable choice.

Buying the "best" of something doesn't necessarily give me a better end product or end use, than a lesser brand name. And yes, sometimes buying "the name" is important as it is truly The Best! I try to balance how important is the best, vs. what is good enough.

I guess you can call me a blend of ... "Buyer Beware" and "Shop Wisely"!!

On this date two years ago, I bought a 2 series Bernina right before they went to the 3 series, purchased 2 pairs of gingher scissors, a olfa rotary cutter and a cutting mat. I have taken at least 8 classes and today I finished my first quilt ever. It is a wall hanging and it is about 3 feet x 3 feet. I have several works in progress and all stages.

Currently I have working on machine quilting another wall hanging, that I started in a quilting class I took last year. I love quilting it is sort of like vegetable garden.

You can invest a lot of money in gardening tools and plants, seeds etc. but in the end it is the love and care that makes it a vegetable garden.

I should have worded the original question better.

I have finally learned - that for appliances, etc. that much of the time the best value for us is in the 40-75% range - not the top of the line, not the bottom of the line, but around the middle of the line.

Sometimes all the bells and whistles are just too complex for me to figure out. Sometimes those seem to be the first things to fail. A lot of the time it's the budget that says: This is what you can afford. Deal with it.

I buy quality or I do without, and I don't buy anything on impulse...except maybe chocolate. :o It's not frugality or extravagance...it's just plain Yankee heritage.

It is fortunate that you can order from the internet ... maybe not feel or touch the items before sale, but still an effective method.

Sewing and quilting is my hobby and should be fun and not an exercise in frustration so quality matters. I really believe in having quality tools, ie. sewing machine, notions, and fabric. In the same breath...I love a bargain too. I use coupons whenever possible and watch for sales to get the best for less.

I also save in other areas. I'd venture a guess that I have fewer clothes and shoes than most women. In addition, I save a cosiderable amount of money on food. Again, I stock up on things when they are on sale and make use of coupons. I cook and rarely use convenience foods.

In years past I had to shop price before quality. Today, our budget is larger, but old habits die hard so I always try to get the best for the best price. Quality doesn't have to break the bank...you just need to hunt a bit.

I assure you the boys will love the Ginghers --especially when they find out they can fix the edges after they use them tying flies! LOL The nicks from wire cutting however necessitate fessing up and forking the $$$ over for replacements. Just ask my son! LOL

Bear - this what my father always said about buying a car that was loaded with extra options. The more bells and whistles something has, the more that can go wrong with it!!!

I guess I can go either way depending on how much I have to spend at the time..usually on the frugal end tho:(

I understand what you mean about buying mid-range appliances. My requirements are: does it do what I want it to do; does it have a good track record on repairs; is it easy to use; and can I afford it?

When it comes to quilting, I tend to be a little fussier, believe it or not. I believe in quality -- not just highest price -- in my tools. Yet I'm frugal as well, and I do that with sales. For instance, I just found my favorite brand and type of sewing machine needles - the ones I use all the time - on a fabulous sale - 75% off - Gasp! - so I bought 100 needles. That will last me at least 2 years. There was a big sale on Olfa 45mm rotary cutting blades -- 60% off - so I bought 50 blades. Big one time investments. Means I can't, for example, buy fabric this month. But then I won't need to buy needles or blades for the next two years or so. Unless I need a special needle, something like that. So I always keep a "stash" of cash for these kinds of sales so I can stock up on the quality items I know I'll both need and use when they go on a crash sale. It saves me big time, with the prices going up all the time, and I'm not forever running out of things. People have been surprised by this -- the same people who wouldn't​ be surprised to find a basement stuffed with a fabric stash! Same thing, just different items. LOL!

I prefer to use quality equipment, but that doesn't necessarily mean expensive. I am a frugal shopper and look for bargain prices on name brands. I like my Olfa ergo cutter & mat. I love my portable Brother sewing machine that was very inexpensive and consistently works well. I won't skimp on thread, learned a lesson there. Not a scissors snob, I have a pair of Ginghers that were my sister's but don't like them. I prefer Fiskars because they're lightweight.

I don't worry about getting the 'best,' 'cheapest ', or whatever. If I want something bad enough and I have the money, I get it. Like my new truck with all the bells and whistles.

I like the think I am frugal. I look for the best buys, and stock up when I see a good sale if I can. I do use Harbor Freight blades and am good with that. If I get a bad one, which has been rare, I just use that blade to cut Christmas, birthday paper and other crafty items with. (a tip from my neighbor).You would be surprised at the life still in a blade.
I like good quality material and don't compromise on that. I find quality in many things that doesn't have to cost a fortune, like an old Singer for instance. It is all good!

I guess it depends on what I'm getting. When I bought a new machine I looked for one that had everything I wanted and then at the price. I buy fabric mostly at Hancocks's. A couple times I have bought a kit on the spur of the moment and then regretted how much I paid for something I did not love. I guess it's a process. No matter where we are at in our quilting journey we learn what is frugal or extravagant for us as individuals. Just my opinion. ;)

Aurifil thread is the only brand I use, the machine is happy (almost no lint) so I am happy, too. Also, the Harbor Freight cutter blades always seem to have a dull spot, so I don't use them, now. Back to Olfa!!

I agree with you bearisgray, I learn a lot everyday. Thanks everyone for posting your ideas etc.
Pat