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Fabric is so much more expensive here in Canada than in the States. I purchase a lot of fabric online - even with the exchange and postage I save a lot of money. I drool when I see fabric online for $3.99 a yard when its probably about $15.99 a yard here. Road trips to the States for a week are fun because stopping at quilt shops is a priority. In august 4 of us ladies are going to Lancaster for 5 days to shop for fabric.

I buy a lot of fabric online - have never paid duty!! SOmetimes a couple of us will order and ship together to save on shipping prices. Recently I purchased about $75.00 worth of fabric from thousands of bolts - no duty!! Here it would have cost me about $200.00 for the same fabric.

My main reason for not ordering online is because I don't buy cotton .. if I were a quilter or used cottons for my bags, I may .. but when I inquired with a US company about shipping for 2 yds of their tapestry at $20.00 a yd (I would pay $32.00 here for similar) .. the shipping was going to be astronomical .. far more than the gas I would burn going 15 km to buy it locally .. for me, it just wouldn't balance out .. and yes, I would pay tax/duty and GST because of the weight and the cost .. in addition they used UPS which would have incurred a brokerage fee .. plus I couldn't feel the quality ... I know gals who go to their own quilt shop and see, feel the fabrics and then order it online and of course if you are ordering Moda or something like that, Moda is Moda no matter where you get it ..

Toby

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsColumbo

I live in BC and yes, our prices are a lot higher than what you pay in the US .. I moved here from the East Coast (of Canada, in Newfoundland where I spent 18 yrs) 5 1/2 years ago and it's even higher there due to the high cost of getting it up so far and across the water ...

Salaries in Canada are higher than in the US by far, particularly here in BC ... the cost of living in BC is extremely high, especially in Vancouver where I live ... people here just don't bat an eye about the fabric prices .. to order from the US isn't feasible when you tack on exchange, taxes and possible duty (depending on method of shipping) so we just pay it ... I just paid $20.00 for a meter of cotton today at Fabricland .. I just got my regular membership 20% off ...

If you get a chance to visit Fabricana you will really be blown away .. I dont know where you are holidaying but there is one in Richmond and one in Coquitlam ... I've only been to the Coquitlam one .. they have Amy Butler, Kaffee Fassett, Asian prints, etc ... great store but also expensive and nothing off unless they happen to be running a sale .. they do have sale fabrics on the side wall though ... probably our sale equals your regular price fabrics though.

Toby

Any good shops in Bellingham? Doubt Blaine would have much, but Bellingham might or is it worth a day trip to Seattle?

(I'm still a Canadian.)

I hear there are good shops over that way, about five ..
unfortunately I am unable to travel to the US.

Toby

Could you maybe go to place like secondhand shops, purchase shirt, blouses,etc and use that kind of fabric? After all :) the pioneers did that.
Good luck - Karin

Yes, I probably could however I've always lived in Canada so I've never known any other prices for fabrics and I dont mind paying ... when I lived in NL I had to order my mohair for my teddy bears from CA till I found a supplier in Toronto ... the US company did send it through duty free and I usually only ordered 1-2 meters at a time as it was between $70-100.00 a yd .. the shipping wasn't too bad and I didn't have to pay any conversion or tax then ... once I found the Toronto shop, I would bring back 3-4 meters when I'd go up 1-2 times a year on business .. now I've traded mohair for fabric .. far cheaper.

Toby

I feel bad about my previous comment - making a scrappy quilt out of whaterver is one thing - making an heirloom piece is another. I mean, why would I want to spend 1-2 years on a quilt pieced out of salavation army remnants? So, ladies, there are always two sides to a story.
however, I did make a nice t-shirt quilt out my granddaughters hand-me-downs. And the dog received a quilt out of flannel scraps. What a lucky dog :)
Karin

Hi,
I live in Calgary as well and find the prices here very high at the LQS. What online shops have you found that you like and have had success getting here at cheaper prices? Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarinSt

I do think there is a place for hand me downs definitely (I speak as someone who is from a family of 8 boys and 6 girls and a seamstress mother) .. I have gone to consignment shops and bought a couple of very elegant blouses which I used in some of my crazy quilted bags ... however, the last piece I brought home smelled so bad that I couldn't even use it .. I didn't notice it till I got it out of the store and into the car ... it met the first trash can I could find on the way home ..

Toby