I'm not saying that we are doing horrible- But , it has been hard. My husband was laid off for 13 months, and we are trying to help our kids with their student loans etc--yadda yadda- yadda- so I'm looking at all of the threads about 1. stashes 2. yard sales. I think I'm going to start really really thinking about seeing how much fabric- cheap fabric- i can obtain from yard sales. I mean- you can have a lota lota fun for a little little bit o money! And someone with my tastes- the yard sale circut is perfect because I like the retro- but not quite vintage stuff--perfect! and as i said in another post- u start with the stash- and then you go to the LQS and add to it if you need to. only thing about that is- i know we should support our local businesses- but- you know what- what if we cant afford to?

I get my fabrics where I can. Some on line, some at LQS and some given me. The fun is in the hunt and then creating a quilt. :)

dont forget your local thrift shops. I find tons of stuff cheap there

If you can't afford it, don't feel guilty! I went in the thrift store here a few months ago and found a whole rack of plaid flannel shirts that screamed QUILT at me. I was good and left without them, but... now I keep getting the urge to sneak up behind this guy at work with my scissors! LOL! You make the best of what you have and enjoy it!

yea- i am too impatient for estate sales which i think are probably a good place to look- but i really want to start looking at the yard sales. I had to work this friday but next week???

Dont forget that you can always cut up clothing to get good yardage, and I find that most yard sales have clothing really really cheap...........

My mother used to cut up little girls dresses because they always had the cutest patterns. Put the word out among your friends that you're looking for old clothing and old sheets. If your WalMart has fabric on the bolt, check out their $1.00 and $2.00 a yard bin. Look in the remnant bin at both WalMart and Joann's.

Check out FreeCycle, never can tell what will come up there.
And if you have something to give, you can ask for any extra fabrics anyone might be getting rid of. Moving, divorce, cleaning out parents' homes, etc, lots of folks just want rid of it and don't want to throw it out.

I know what you mean about not being able to afford the LQS fabric's. I stay away from ours. I shop Goodwill and other thrift shops, I hit yard sales and the Walmart clearance on fabric. No shame in being frugal in tough times.

sadly i just can't afford to support my LQS and neither can most people in my area.

when i first started quilting 9 years ago there were 5 LQS in my area along with 2 joann's and 1 walmart.

back then the LQS charged $8 a yard for fabric and $10 for batiks and joann's was the only reasonable place in town.

fast forward to today and there is only 1 LQS and 1 joann's and walmart never stopped selling fabric in my area.

walmart is very reasonable in prices, joann's is mixed in pricing some high some low, and the LQS is insane - they sell typical quilter cotton for $12.99 and batiks $16.99.

when i first started 9 years ago i didn't know how to hand dye or screen print but i taught myself very quickly because who can quilt for fun or business at those prices.

what is really sad about our LQS is when the prices started going up they shut down the quilt shop for a day to raise the prices on everything in the store not just the new bolts.

some fabric has been sitting on the shelves for 6 years but they decided to up the price to today high prices.

they have lost many customers over it - it was a huge discussion at our guild and the guild decided to never invite them back to our meeting for demo's or to sell product because of it.

I've never set foot into a fabric store but every week come home with something to add to my fairly large stash obtained via thrift stores. I'm always on the hunt for things I can cut up as well. If it's cotton, it's fair game.

We can only do what we can do. LQS is nice, and should be supported IF you are able, but I see nothing wrong with Joann's, Walmart, or yard sales, or the thrift stores. Quilting originally began because people were using what was left from making their own clothing. Or re-using clothing. We're just going back to the beginning.

I can't afford to always go to LQS either. So go too thrift stores, yard sales. Buy from here. Trade whatever u gots to do what u gots to do!!

Don't forget you can purchase clothes (cotton) for as little as $1 a bag at yard sales or thrift stores. Keep being frugal there's nothing wrong with that.

we have a Joann's and a Hobby Lobby. There used to be a lady who sold fabric out of her home I had heard a few yrs agol don't know if she still does or not. I usually buy material at auction sales or where ever I see it.

I feel that I am helping someone in the community when I shop at yard sales and such. they are trying to make $$ as well. My mother bought a pellon printed pattern (enough for a queen size quilt) they charged her $50. There were no instructions. Mom called LQS The lady at the LQS told my mother that the pattern was in a book and it would cost her $20. I think they took total advantage of my mother. I will NEVER shop there again. TG we have a small but nice LQS in another town.

I agree - there's no need to stop quilting, just think of ways you can continue within budget. There have been some stunning quilts produced out of very humble findings.

I get it where I can find it. Variety is the spice of life. Someone else may have something that I never would have bought before I saw it mixed with their fabric choices. I love yard sales, estate sales, Goodwill, Salvation Army, Cancer Thrift Stores and anyplace I can think of to shop for fabric. I agree that it's time to get back to our roots. I have too much fabric now. So many quilts, so little time.

Isn't it always the case?! We're supposed to shop local and support our LQSs but they don't always take our budgets and financial constraints into consideration. We sorta understand why, but maybe it's more one-sided than it's considered politic to acknowledge.

My great Aunt Ina (short for Wilmina), whom we called Aunt Mike (evolved from fact her older siblings had a hard time saying Wilmina and took to calling her "Little Mite" which became 'Mike') took to handquilting after retiring after 47 years in the drycleaning industry. After their husbands died, she shared a small trailer with her older sister in affluent Marin County, CA. I think she was only getting about $300/mo in Social Security and maybe $100/month from her union. They both lived, as they say, on a shoe string.

That said, she hand-quilted like crazy all the while living within her very limited means by shopping a local charity thrift store, "The Bargain Box," for used clothing. Her quilts were exquisite and she was happy as a lark pursuing her art and passion for beauty--if she felt constrained she never said so. It certainly didn't affect her art and she loved every new piece of cloth--however fashioned--she 'discovered' there.

I just got 5 yards of white fabric with black music notes for $1.00 per yard, so check them out.

I went to my LQS today and got several good buys. Every Friday they have baskets of $1 fat quarters. They also had a whole bunch of $5 a yard fabric. I got 2 yards to go with some fabric I already had.

I get my fabric from all over too, the search is definetly part of the fun. We go garage saling every week in the summer and i am always looking for fabric, sheets and cotton clothes. So far this weekend, i got a pillow form, new in package for 10 cents and a pkg of jumbo rick rack for 50 cents.

I too try to get fabric as reasonable as possible. The most I have ever spent on fabric was 1 yard of potato fabric - it was $10 a yard. made me sick so I just bought one yard. Figured out I didn't need to use the potato fabric for the inside where no one would see anyway so am getting twice the number of bags!! i love to go to rummage sales at churches. there is always fabric there plus clothes if you are into cutting them apart. Somehow I have always managed to get decent fabric the last day at rummage sales which is usually half price or fill a bag. If I mess up on sewing something with it i don't feel bad.

In these days and times, you gotta do (and MAKE DO)with whatever you can. I think that's what most of those pioneer women did too!

I dont know if I have a strange mind or what, but I can't see cutting up clothes that could be used by a needy person. I know when my sister and I had yard sales when our children were young, people came in early for the children's clothes. And I saw that same clothes at school the following year. Also, when we had things that didn't sell, we brought all leftovers to Goodwill or Social Services.
I have bought bedding for fabric.

I totally relate---my DH has been out of work for 2 years now with no prospects. It is really tough out there. I just cannot afford QS prices for all the pieces in a quilt. I love going to yard sales and thrift stores. The choices are greater and you certainly cannot beat the price. I mean if you cannot find the fabric at the sales, take a look at the clothes. I have found some gems.

These are some great ideas!! Thanks so much!

AMAN WE DO WHAT WE LOVE AND STILL SURVIVE THESE HARD TIMES TO.

I buy from ebay and yard sales and local shops. When I see a good buy, I buy a lot.

Check craigslis also. I saw a few out there and asked them if they would ship and they said yes. One add said 10 for a 30 gallon bag of fabric. I will look for the ad and send you the link.

My daughter goes to yard sales more than I do. SHe has a baby and would like to stay at home with him so that is where she gets his clothes etc. She called me last week and said she found a box of fabric marked $10. Not my kind of fabric but cheap/ It is almost all 30"s reproductions, I am a batik girl. It was about 110 yards of fabric for $5. Couldn't pass it up. I am working on various donation quilts out of it.

I was layed off in January 2009 and was devistated. I tried to go back in December 2009 in the same industry, but it just was not the same. I have been doing like every one else. Don't forget to check Goodwill. Sometimes the have some great finds but the prices have increased. Good Luck on all of our searches for fabric.

I get a lot of my fabrics from yard sales and trades and someone on this board was gracious enough to send me some. I think we are all in tight spots right now.

There are some really great ideas in this thread. Thanks for starting it. Yard sale clothing - good idea.

I got off the Freecycle list because it was 90% people asking for things, not giving away. Wonder if that's just in my area?

The other day was cleaning out guest room closet and came across a blanket that I have no idea where it came from. It is off white, nice and soft. I had a charity quilt top done so I pinned it to the blanket and quilted it with meander stitching. It came out great. I saved by not using fabric for backing and not using batting. It is nice and soft and snuggly. Then the lightbulb came on, Why can't I do this with other quilts, especially with the nicer blankets you can find at yard sales, at least with charity quilts or those I give away to friends and family.

Also, watch your local area announcements and newspaper ads for church rummage sales. I would ask them if they had anything that they didn't find worthy to put out for the sale and see if they would be willing to let you have them. When they are finished they usually donate the left overs to a local charity. Also the thrift stores throw out tons of clothing that they don't feel worthy of putting out for sale because they may have a rip or missing buttons. You can always ask them to save some of them for you as rags. I have seen dumpster loads of clothing thrown away behind the local thrift stores. They simply don't have time to repair or wash items unworthy of sale but would probably be glad to know that someone can use them.

Hello, Aside from fabric help, if you have children with student loans, are you aware of IBR? IBR was hidden into the Obama health plan, it has given GREAT relief to my two sons. You should check it out:

http://www.ibrinfo.org

sometimes Goodwill or Salvation Army has fabric or cotton clothing that can be cut up. Yard sales are a good way to go too.Ya get what ya can when ya can. What you make of it is up to you. We all could learn a lesson in frugality(is that a word?)