Sewfisticted Fabrics has great prices. Dorchester & Sommerville .but you have to buy more than a yard. Sign up to be notified of special sales. They just had a good one Christmas week. I find lots of fabric t thrift shops too. Batting at Joanne's with 1/2 off coupon is what I do. It doesn't have to be so expensive to quilt. Pace yourself and don't get too many tops ahead. Dig those heels in & start machine quilting!

It sounds to me like you are really hooked. Check our Goodwill for material. Curtains and such. You don't need all of the expensive tools. Good luck.

Don't throw away any unused batting strips that you've cut from finishing other quilts. There is a tape that you can get from "Clotilde" which can be used to join batting strips. Or if you are couragous enough you can use the zig zag stitch on your sewing machine and join the batting strips that way. Good way to save money especially if you are making smaller quilts.

Way back when - people managed to make make usable coverings with only fabric, a scissors, needle, thread, templates and some sort of marking tool.

My advice is DON'T BUY PATTERNS unless you find you really need them. You sound like a resourceful person and I bet you can start putting together an idea of what you want to do next, make some sketches, and start in. Not all of us can even follow quilt patterns, which are pricey, but you can look at pictures on this board and you'll know when you see something that lights your fire. Many of us don't buy patterns, or use them, except what we make for ourselves. It amazes me that people will look at a beautiful scrappy quilt with the design very clear, perhaps just nine blocks to the square, and ask for the pattern. Go for it Lady!!

Should you quit? Heck no! Quilting can be discouraging when you're starting out because you have not accumulated a stash of fabric yet, which is more discouraging when you don't have the funds to build one. When I started out I was forced to buy only what I needed for a project I planned out because I wasn't working regularly at the time.

Check out local quilt shops and see what sort of deals they have. Many quilt shops have a spot reserved for heavily discounted fabric and items. A quilt shop I frequent to has "bag lady day" on the first Thursday of the month: any fabric you can fit into their reusable bag is 20% off. They also list any big sales they have planned on their website. A quilt shop I just visited for the first time gave me a punch card that gets punched for every $5, $10, or $20 I spend---I'll get $20 in merchandise for FREE when I punch the whole thing.

Online shopping might be an option for you as well. Depending on where you look you can either find reasonably priced fabric or score an awesome deal. thousandsofbolts.com claim to have over 5000 fabrics for under $5 a yard. missouriquiltco.com has reasonably priced fabric and you also earn "quilters cash" on each item, which you can use on a later purchase to get a discount off your total. Joann and Hancock Fabrics have online exclusive deals (by the way, there's a sale on every yard of fabric on joann.com until tomorrow ;)) Even you can find decent fabrics for cheap on ebay.

When I started out I bought lots of solids (fabrics that are a single solid color). Solids are cheaper than fabrics with prints on them. Sometimes the cost of solids is half as much as prints. I think Missouri Star Quilt Co. sells Bella Solids for a little over $5 a yard. Hancock's carries Kona Cotton and I've seen them go on sale for 30% or more.

Usually when I go buy fabric for my stash I buy either 1/4 or 1/2 yards (full yards when I can afford it). So if I go into a shop with $20 and all the fabric I want is $10 a yard I can get 4 1/2 yard pieces or 8 1/4 yard pieces. This gives me some variety. I can either make smaller projects or wait until I've built up enough pieces to make a quilt and supplement them with a larger amount of white or black fabric. Also, after you've cut your fabric and you're left with any large scraps: save them! I save anything I can cut at least a 2 1/2" square out of. I have a project going on right now that had me cutting out circles and I was left with a lot of scraps...I had enough of them to cut out enough squares to make another quilt!

And your nephew totally has it wrong. Since you're doing all the work on the quilt YOU should get 95%.

You all are so very generous and supportive and knowledgable and wonderful - I LOVE THIS BOARD!!!

I will stick with it. I really do enjoy it so much!

Thanks for the encouragement.

Go to quiltville.com and look what Bonnie Hunter does with clothes from the thrift shop. You really do not need to spend lots. Just a little effort in deboning as Bonnie calls it - she shows you how.
Andy would you send me a private message with your address?

Hi AndysC,

I read your posts and my heart goes out to you. It appears you have been bitten by the bug. It is a good thing. Yes, it can be expensive at times, but you can learn how to make do by shopping at thrift stores (flannel shirts are great to cut up to be used for quilts, as are jeans, cotton blouses, etc.). Plus they may also have fabric somewhere. You sound like you have decent supplies to work with, and that is also a big plus.

I would love to send you stuff. I have way too much now, and would be more than willing to share. I think there are lots of people here that feel the same way. Send me your address; I will put a care package together.

We can't let a new quilter not have anything to work on!

Anita

If by quilting you wake up in the morning with a smile, or give someone else a big smile when you present them with one of your creations, then don't stop quilting. We all need our 'passion' - and you can quilt on a very limited budget now that you have the basics. Shop at thrift stores and yard sales - put up an index card at laundromats and other places asking for free fabrics -- you will be amazed at what people will give you. Fabric means nothing to a non quilter, but its the world to us. When someone blesses you with fabric like that, make them a tablerunner or a small quilt as a 'thank you', and keep going. Enjoy your craft!