Be Honest With Yourself (& Us)-Where Do You Actually Purchase Your Fabric?
 

I been away for a long while. Not that I forgotten all of you my online "family." I am now in the physical production of my yearly supply of new quilts for the Late Fall/Winter/Early Spring seasons. Yesterday while I was in the middle of patchwork assembly, I came up this new topic. Not only just fabric purchasing chain store vs. LQS or the like. But do you separate the types of quilts everyday utilitarian ones from the best occasion gift-ish "Sunday" ones by fabric selection from these sources.

For myself, I no longer give away quilts as gifts. Never very appreciated anyway in my personal experience. Plus the major financial and time expense for something so precious and time comsuming & costly! Best quilts require more storage space than I have available. right now. The utilitarian ones do not require any special space or treatment and last & last just as much as the better store's ones-with careful selection at the time of purchase. Although I do fancy quilts (with the resulting trips to the fine LQS pr similar fabric stores) at times for tiny projects right now.

What is your personal experience with fabric selection and quilting style choices by these constraints?

The body of your post doesn't really match your question, forgive me if I'm not seeing it.
I mostly buy online, and I know the brands I like so I don't get surprises. I only go to quilt shops when I'm out of town, mostly.

JoAnn's mostly but I have bought from Hobby Lobby also.

I don't have constraints. I have fabric from JoAnns, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, LQSs, thrift stores, garage sales, and many online vendors. I don't discriminate when making a quilt(like saving the "good stuff" only for special quilts). I see a pattern I want to make and choose the fabrics based on what colors I think will look good, not where the fabrics came from. I don't make show quilts, I make quilts to be used up and worn out no matter how beautiful(or not) they are when I make them. I put the same care and effort into everything I make whether it's for donation or intended to be a future family heirloom.

Cari

I buy most of my fabric from online stores. I do have a LQS, not very far from my home, actually I can walk there .... lol ..... not good for my pocketbook at times. I will occasionally buy fabric there but mostly I go there for their monthly sew-ins.

Now as far as my quilts go .... hmmmm ... I do give many of my quilts away to family. I don't categorize my quilts as "every day" or "special gift" quilts. I make a quilt because I like the pattern or some fabrics spoke to me. If one of my daughters or other family members say ...... oh that looks nice or those are my colors, that quilt usually becomes theirs. I make quilts because it makes me happy and I give them away because that also makes me happy.

Since I managed a LQS most of my stash is from there. Now that I am retired and $$ is in short supply am now sewing from my stash. On some quilts, I don't have all the colors that are needed so a trip to the LQS or online shopping. I stick with fabric vendor that I like and most likely order Moda, Marcus Brothers, RJR, etc. I have shopped at Walmart or JoAnns for novelty fabrics but mostly for Notions and sewing supplies. Only one of my quilts is hand quilted most of the others are either tied or machine quilted. Most of my quilts are donated to friends and or family members. I have five that I rotate on my beds.
I am not a fabric snob, it's just that thread count matters and I don't like a lot of sizing on my fabrics, I just like the hand of some fabrics more that others.
Fabric costs are a factor in what I buy and mostly shop sales.

You said what I would have said. I made my then 7 year old grandson a bedspread from Walmart $2 cheapo cotton. He turns 18 in December and is still using it. I probably have to put a new binding on it soon, though. He told me he loved it because he watched me make it.

The quality of the fabric makes no difference when a child sees love in a quilt.

Just to be clear, you are asking if the end use of a quilt influences where I purchase the supplies for a quilt?

No.

It is interesting, where I live the chain fabric store, Fabricland, has a quilt shop inside of it. So they sell their discount quilting fabric, as well, in a nearby section, they sell LQS brand quality fabrics. I buy more from the LQS side, as the colours, prints and fabric quality appeal to me. As well I frequent 5 LQS within an hours drive of my home.

Walmart does not sell much fabric in my town anymore, they just have a few precuts and they are coarse material, I would not use them for any project.

It is rare to find quilting fabric at thrift shops, but I have found a few pieces and picked them up.

Now what do I quilt?

Family quilts, couch quilts, pet quilts. If I am making a beach quilt, I would use the same quality fabrics that I use on a bed quilt or a gift.

If I am needing a certain fabric or color I buy from Hobby Lobby or Walmart. But most of my stash are thrift store finds that I buy whenever I see something I like.

I buy mostly for my stash, and then pull out fabric depending on the quilt I'm wanting to make.

So it's rare that I even have something specific in mind when I'm buying fabric, so no - the end product has very little affect on my buying decisions.

I also buy fabric where I find it, thrift, garage sales, online, LQS local and while I'm traveling, and warehouse places like SR Harris or Marshalls.

I have about 10 years until retirement, my kids are both far enough along to need no financial support. So I'm at the point in life I have the most disposable income ever and am enjoying buying fabric for the joy of buying it. I know this won't last, but I hope to have a huge stash by that time.