That is one of the things I use the plastic bags for also. And they are perfect size for the small bathroom trash containers.
Congress has to pass the tax on the bags first. We can hope and pray that they decline passage of this guys tax.

One shop here has what they call Bag Lady Day - 3rd Sat of each month. You buy a cloth bag with their name on it, take it in on that day and get 20% off your whole purchase.
Another does punch cards and you have to fill up the card - takes a long time though before you get the $$ discount.

' was wondering - do you think there MIGHT be a new trend in "synthetic quilts" - just a thought..

I think someone may have a go but I don't think you will get any quilter away from their beloved cotton for quilting. With batting there already is a couple, Bamboo and one made from Plastic bottles :shock: are ones that I know of, but they are expensive, although the Bamboo one is fab, IMO

I just love the fabric from Connecting Thread - order there all the time

I love Connecting Threads fabrics too!

Search for Connecting Threads - lots of opinions. Some love it, others not so much. Myself, I think it's between Joann's and LQS quality.

As for the plastic bags, I think there should be a tax on them. We need to start paying for what we use. If you choose to use something that is wasteful and polluting to produce when there are relatively harmless alterntives, you should pay for it. It's a sin tax just like any other. I never take a plastic bag when shopping.

As for fabric prices, let's not panic until there's something to panic about. I'll wait and see what prices actually end up being at LQS's and online before worrying too much.

Me too! Their service is GREAT! And I love their quilt kits!! :thumbup:

Just like gas, and wheat a few years ago (remember when the cost of a bag of flour tripled?), cotton will go up and down. For the Americans on the forum, I don't think you realize how very inexpensive your consumer goods have been for decades, as compared to other countries. You are now beginning to catch up to the rest of us. In Canada, I've been paying $16-$22 a metre (about a yard) for batiks for years, and a metre of batting at a national fabric store has run between $20-$30.

I wonder what is going to happen over here in Britain - I often see cotton at £12/metre!

I agree. Products in the US are usually much cheaper than elsewhere. Just compare gas prices!

I went into one of my LQS, it was empty, and I looked at a particular coloured fabric that I wanted, when I asked the price she said "£9 per metre" without thinking I said "No wonder your shop is empty" :shock: I apologised and we spoke for a while but I walked out without buying anything. I know that they have to hold stock for such a while and our Import duty is enormous but............

Quilting is an expensive hobby so I shop around. As I have said in other postings I buy my fabric from thousandsofbolts and a UK store http://www.abakhan.co.uk/acatalog/Craft_Fabrics.html which I am fortunate enough to live close enough for us Ladies to have a day out, lunching n shopping :P but they do a good postal service.

Until the UK government does something about the Import duty, which will not be in my lifetime, we have to suffer it although I don't know how much longer our LQS will be able to continue.

From wht I've heard, it's safer and healthier to make our own grocery/shopping bags since "they" have said that lead has been detected in the some of the reusable bags being offered. I suppose those are the ones manufactured in China.

I find it interesting that there is such an uproar over the plastic bags since it is made from the otherwise unuseable by-product in the production of natural gas and would otherwise be wasted, along with the jobs for those involved in the process. I'd rather get rid of the junkie plastic toys - also loaded with lead.

Making our own bags would be a great way of using "ugly" fabric (only ugly in the eyes of the beholder) and satisfying the urge to sew and be creative at the same time.

it's cheaper to buy at wally world than to even think of making things now.

Grocery store where I shop has recycled on the bags. They are doing something to keep the junk trash down.
One might think oh it's only 20 cents a bag - hey it ADDS up over time. With everything else going up, that added cost means you can't purchase as much when it comes to things like food.

There is also the problem of cross contamination with your reusable bags if you don't wash them between uses.

Same here, only will buy fill ins.

how can people afford to buy them. before long quilts will be so much to make no one will buy them.

I have heard dont be surprised at $12.00 a yard batiks

I guess we can look at it a couple of ways. In the 70's there was a BIG price hike in sugar. We women knew life could go on without that little pack of sugar. Women drove the prices down. Gas, well it has gone up little by little, however more people are car pooling OR just not going to town as often. NOT spending the money. YET the gas war of the 70's also put the little man out of business. When I see price hikes like this, It makes me wonder, can the little shops survive? How can we quilters HELP the little shops stay in business? They are out teachers and there for us. Can the little shops sell more at whole sale and make their money in the class room (sort of speaking)? When people learn to WORK TOGETHER helping each other, we on a whole will get our needs met as well. (for instance) IF I were to lose my job, had difficulty paying house note, before I gave up, I'd rent rooms out to save my home.) So I guess I ask you other quilters, HOW can we help the little guy stay in business??????

oh no! I need to stock up! I could probably only last one lifetime with the fabric I have.

And we all know that fabric will never come back down again!

My pressies this Christmas to my friends, my family has them already, were Eco-shoppers, similar to this: http://thumb4.webshots.net/t/76/176/...4OVTAPl_th.jpg no problem with cross contamination as they are washable :-P

I have loads of totes/shoppers and there are so many freebie patterns on the WWW.

I feel that quilters will just think more before they buy fabric, really work out what they want to make and lets face it, we are all prone to adding to the stash without thinking. Good quality will always win, and quilting has been going for a long time and has survived wars worldwide so it will survive this too. Shops will probably have to rely on more teaching to add to their income. In my country quilt fabric is very high priced compared to yours and we all still quilt. I guess we just have to be careful more with what and how much we buy.

your bag is cute! I use ones i made, too. I have a number of ones that i bought at my local stores. They are not quite as happy when they get washed.

How about putting this in a little perspective?

USA - Average price increases in various items, 1990 - 2010:

45" Flannel Solids - 32%
45 " Premium Cloth - 33%
Coats/Clark thread - 69%
Bread - 284%
Ground Beef - 270%
Gasoline - 200%
Taxes - Let's not even go there...

That's great! Thanks!

So what else is new. I'm so happy I have a large stash and only have to buy the odd piece here and there. DH used to wonder why I bought so much fabric...oh, for a project. But I never said what or when!

Prices went down during the depression for some things because people couldn't afford to buy them. This caused supply to be greater than demand, therefore prices went down.

Cotton is in high demand now, and the supply is low, therefore prices will continue to rise. See Economics 101.

Manufacturers don't have an agenda, other than to make a profit in order to stay in business. When that becomes impossible, they'll go out of business and more people will become unemployed.

It really is as simple as that.

I also read that JoAnn's is going to be taken over sometime early in this new year. Who knows what that will do to the cost of material and such???

See Economics 101.

Manufacturers don't have an agenda, other than to make a profit in order to stay in business. When that becomes impossible, they'll go out of business and more people will become unemployed.

It really is as simple as that.[/quote]

Yeah, I never took that...guess it shows.

:roll:

Have heard this - but know we can buy goog fabric on line.

Yes it IS cheaper ... but that's exactly what got us into the manuf. dilemma & trade deficits we are in NOW
I fear soon China /Asia will own us ALL and our grandkids will all be working for them !! :(

and I remember when I thought $7 yd at LQS was TOO much to pay!! I'll be sewing up all my stash now ... badly need to, anyway!

Our LQS owner said she receives a magazine for quilt shop owners which had an article in it (which she showed us) that the cost of cotton has really gone up in the past year, now the price of our fabric is starting to climb.

Due largely to the floods in Pakistan which wiped out a great deal of the cotton crop. Where are our Texas cotton fields and why aren't they producing what we need. We HAVE it!!

That is hard to take. I don't like the local chain fabric store but with their 50% off coupons maybe I can just double the fabric when I use it?

Or how about Connecting Threads? Or other online companies? Is it going up there too?

CT just raised their prices.

I NEED to buy charm packs immediately ;-)