LOL! :lol: :lol:

now that's a retirement hobby we can all afford....sorting it all out!

LOL! :lol: :lol:

now that's a retirement hobby we can all afford....sorting it all out!

i don't know what happened there :roll:

:shock: :P

One of the comments above reminded me, my very first quilt ever I used a black bed sheet to back it with, I couldn't afford to by backing fabric. It's still going strong, that quilt, my son drags it around with him, and it's been through the wash a number of times.

Thank you for the offers to go shopping! :-) I hadn't thought of that, and it's a really good idea. I set up a paypal account when I bought off ebay, which makes things easier. The websites are all cool, but unless it's a print or a certain type of fabric you're looking for, it's hard to know how "real" the colours are.

I will be in touch! :-)

are there any yard sales or flea markets where you are? sometimes you get more yardage for your money buying used clothing than buying new fabric. and you know it's been washed.

Hi from the UK. Im not sure how to put that in the location box. Can anyone tell me please.
I thought that you may be interested to know that I bought 2 fat quarters and two metres of fabric last weekend and it cost me a little over £30. I wasn't paying close enough attention when I selected the fabrics so the bill was a bit of a shocker! I think that equates to about $42 US and Im not sure of the exchange to NZ. Im coming to the US this summer with an empty case and a big bag to mail stuff home!

My Word! I never thought about that. You just erased all of my guillt from my fabric spree yesterday!
I don't know how many of you have a Wal Mart but they are not going to carry fabric any longer. While I do not buy all of mine there I do find some so I am going to stock up.
Happy Quilting!
Jeannie

30 pounds (can't find the little symbol on my keyboard!) is about $90 here. That IS a scary purchase! :-)

We have our own auction site over here called Trade Me, and sometimes there will be people who are giving up quilting and selling off their stash. But it's not very often.

We have garage sales (like your yard sales I think) too, but so many people cruise them full time looking for stuff to resell on Trade Me for a profit it's become a bit of a wasted exercise.

I'm one of those little old ladies who has everything paid for and a monthly income. However, this governmemt has managed to totaly foul up everything so my income just about covers my expenses.

I do have a good stash to rely on but as you all know, there is never JUST the right fabric or it's the wrong color or shade. Cost here in Florida is getting higher and higher. $5.95 is now twice that. I can occasionly find a good piece at Walmart at $1.50 a yard and I buy it. I love to work in certain color ranges so if I like it, I grab it. JoAnn's just had a sale on fat quarters for $1.00. I bought what I could afford.

I have wondered about the quality of the fabric. I know some is much better than others. But I wonder if we are cheating ourselves by not using cheaper fabric. Do we want our quilts to last forever or be used and replaced?

With the easier patterns today, we don't have to spend hours and hours on a quilt unless you're going for a judged show. Some of my earlier wuilts (ten yars) of cheaper fabric are going strong and tho a bit faded, are still just as warm.

How do you all feel about this?

Some Walmarts are still carrying fabric.

It's a really good point actually, maybe I do need to adjust my thinking somewhat.

I bought a kit really cheap a while ago, on sale, and just "threw it" together as a couch quilt for the kids. It wasn't quite big enough so grabbed some extra fabric that matched and just extended either end to make it bigger.

It turned out nicely, but is for "using", so between the kids and the dogs I don't expect it to last forever, and I won't scream when I find my six year wrapping the wet dog in it so she doesn't get cold! LOL

It didn't cost a lot to make, with the kit being super cheap, but I still like it. I could have bought really cheap fabrics and made something similar.

We have the American Sewing Quild here in the US. It's national. In Florida, we have many retired people. When a wife dies, the husband gets in touch with an ASG ember and donates boxes and boxes of her leftover stash. We use a lot of it for charity quilts since we have so many nursing homes here.

Sometimes, we will divy it up among ourselves. We also have fabric trades. Somebody's "Why did I buy that?" will always look good to someone else.

Hancocks of Paducah is having a sale this weekend - no shipping. i don't know how this translates into overseas, but check on it.

I shop yard sales, Goodwill and Salvation Army all of the time and find some great things to use. I do wash all of it.
If you have a place close by that sells fabric for curtains, etc and they have all of the samples to chose from....ask if you can have them or pay just a little for them. The fabric companies generally send reps in twice a year to weed out the discontinued fabric. Many shops throw them away. I have a lot of it and use it all the time.
A local upholstery shop saves me all of their scraps which are wonderful. A bit heavy for a quilt but perfect for a purse.

another resource is wallpaper stores. many wallpaper books have matching fabric samples glued right in. when the book is outdated (all the time) they get thrown away. ask if they will save them for you. mine does.

Great idea!

boy oh boy!

we quilters have got to be the most frugal people on earth! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Our area Walmart threatened to close their fabric department a couple years ago. There was a big letter and emailing campaign and they kept the Fabric! Yeah! Now the new Walmart about 6 miles down the road does not carry fabric.

I agree that Walmart has some good fabric. I depend on how it feels. If it doesn't slide over my fingers, it doesn't slide in to my cart!!

I don't mind at all making a quilt from cheaper fabric. I love the process and I'm proud of the finished product because I made it from start to finish. I buy nice printed cotton tablecloths at yard sales and thrift stores when I find them. They make good backing fabric for a wash and use quilt. Also kitchen curtains can be a good cotton find. And I don't mind using a poly/cotton blend for some patterns.

Ladies-

Some wonderful ideas hitting the board here in the last little while!!!!!!! Thank you so much for the help and info.

Michelle

I still enjoy shopping online. There are some LQS here, but their prices are outrageous, some over $10 per yard. I'm a bargain shopper, so rarely pay full price for a piece of fabric. I shop a LOT online and I'm sure my mailman must think I'm crazy!! Some people say that you're paying extra for shipping, but it all averages out. You pay for gas to get to your LQS, and then pay full price for the fabric. Online, you can shop in your robe with a cup of coffee at your beck and call. I've never had a bad experience with online shopping.

I just purchased a number of clearance quilt kits online simply for the fabric. I didn't much care for the patterns and won't use them. Fat Quarter Shop even offered to take out the patterns and knocked a few more dollars off the prices of the kits. Some of these kits had 10 to 14 yards of fabric for an average of about $4 yard. This was Danhui Nai for Wilmington, April Cornell and 3 Sisters for Moda, Lakehouse and Northcott, as well as Moda Batiks. This fabric on the bolt wasn't even on sale on the sites, just the pre-packed kits.

I shared my idea with a few ladies at the LQSs Quilt Club last week and they said they had never thought of using a kit for any other reason than that kit, but it has worked as a great stash builder for me.

Take Care, Maribeth

I guess I'm pretty fortunate. I live in Maine and we have a store here that sells great quality fabric from $2.69 to 3.99 a yd...

Some of the fabrics are from previous years but who cares... your talking RJR, Moda, Northcroft etc. Fat quarters are $.59ea. :D

Hi blue chicken i go to estate sales, garage sale, thrift stores hobby lobby, and most of my fabric come from estate sales, do you all have any of these places in N.Z. that you can go to and may save you some money. if any one ever come to USA i will be glad to send you some fabric. we are so blessed here in the USA. some one is always giving me fabric i went to an estate sale and this little lady had 3 barns of fabric 50cent/yd. the last day the vendor told me to take all i want and what was left she gave it to a church. i am so blessed, so let me know. [email protected] make sure if you write put chicken from NZ or i want open my box. lol Annette

Where is this store in Maine and what is the name? I have a brother in Maine. Maybe I could send him a few bucks and he could get me some fabric. I can't believe fat quarters for .59.

The store is called Mardens... they have several locations with an excellent choice of fabrics.

The one I shop at is in Lewiston.

Cotton tablecloths for backing! Never thought of that. What a great idea.

Amen to both comments

Teacher, I'm chuckling, because I used to travel to London a lot. I always included shopping at Liberty's for fabric in my trips. Now the shoe's on the other foot! Liberty's fabrics were never inexpensive, though, but they are BEAUTIFUL! I found out the hard way that only the heavier Liberty cottons hold up in quilts. The beautiful 'lawn' fabrics should not be used in quilts that will be washed very much.

Another thought about fabric quality - I often use BOTH sides of fabrics to get a lighter color for contrast, so I ALWAYS look at both sides. Someone mentioned that lesser quality fabric dyes don't show on the 'back' - so I guess I've been doing something right without knowing it!

Mardens has a web site. Plug in Mardens Fabric and there you are

Fabric that doesn't show it's pattern on the reverse side is stamped fabric and the colors will fade in a shorter time. Fabric that is the same on either side is woven of dyed threads so color lasts longer.

I've just been pricing some fabrics up and thought you may be interested Iin some of our Average prices over here....Moda Jelly rolls and Layer cakes....£22.50. Moda animal prints...£2.50 per 1/4 metre. Solid colours £1/50 per 1/4 metre . 8 fat quarters....£17.10!
Those prices are the reason that I trawl round the charity shops at every opportunity! (And I've made a few quilts that are a mix of polyester /cotton )
Mind you, I'd start chopping up my clothes if I got really desperate for fabric! lol!

Karen xx

karenmay,
why is fabric so expensive in england?

I guess I was asleep in world economic class too. Makes no sense to me fabric cannot be imported there the same as it is here. The boat could make a pit stop there on the way here!

I have always thought it is because the raw cotton has to be imported. England doesn't have a good climate for growing cotton. Aside from the costs of transport, I suppose imports are all taxed at a high rate.

I think you're probably right about that...and we also have VAT (value added tax) added which is 17 1/2%

Karen xx

Many ladies save up and get to Pennsylvania Dutch Country (Lancaster Co. PA) and do a years worth of shopping there. Look up our favorite B&B..Frogtown Acres. Reasonable rates, centrally located and great people. I have met many an out of country lady there for the great shopping. hapytlk

But the thing with Mardens is that you have to be willing to take the time to dig thru... The one in Brewer always felt dirty...