This just reeks! My favorite all time favorite LQS is having a terriffic sale on friday. They open their doors at 7 a.m. and they are having fat quarters for a dollar and under. There are scrap bags and tons and tons of deals to be had. Woe is me! The shop is 45 miles away and I drive a cargo van (im a painter/paperhanger) that gets 14 miles per gallon and gas is almost 4.50 here. It just doesn't make sense to go all the way there and buy more fabric because I have a good size stash and I've got a husband who has been laid off for 13 months and just got another job and yadayadayada. You know- two years ago- I wouldn't have even thought about it. I wouldn't have even bothered to think about the gas vs. the savings- but things have changed- I'll just have to be content with the fabric i have. *sniff *sniff :?

Sell some of your stash on here and only spend what you make!

We'er all in the same boat(the sinking one). I've quit going with our group to quilt shops because I can't stand to just look and I have more than enough. Someone said well you can go and look- No I can't!

Perhaps you could post some of your fabrics that you would like to trade and get something different in return.

I can sympathize with you - I've been out of work for a year, and my unemployment ran out last week. I did my last fabric shopping for a while.

I feel your pain about the gas. On a good note gas did drop 19 cents over the last 2 days here. Hopefully it will drop everywhere.

I feel for all of you and it is same with us,on fixed income.I drive a large truck and was going to trade it in. But then..car payment..full coverage ins. and taxes.
maybe we could all just start a fabric exchange.....
oh well, such as life

I know I don't go out very often now since gas prices are too high

so I just stay home

We are soon going to be just like those who went through the recession before, using old cloths and scraps, to bad we no longer have feed bags to purchase or we would also do that. Lets hope we do not have to go through rashining and get those little stamps to purchase things.

I feel your pain. We have to drive about 25 miles just to get to any store so we can't even avoid it.

Can you find a friend to go and split the gas using her car? Sometimes just buying a few dollars worth of something new for quilting is a good tonic to take the edge off or awhile.

I see you are in Illinois as I am. Our gas dropped below $4 today. Maybe a drop is headed your way and will give you a bit of relief.

Still hovering right around $4 here. haven't seen any drop yet although the news forcasters said it would. Hmmmmmm

I agree it's rough everywhere! Stores are 1/2 hr away for little store and 45-1 hr for walmart. Now my furnace and hot water tank r shot and on a fixed income!! Ouch. Can't save for these things like u could yrs ago!!

Find a friend with a smaller vehicle and go go go!

The price of gas is going down here, so hope the same goes for you.

I know that this has hurt our local shop hops around here. One of the shops is a long way away from the others.

me too...just need to stop looking at the qb's classifieds!

Do you have a friend who drives a more friendly gas guzzler who would like to go with you.. you buy the gas.....good luck

this is the same conversation i had with my aunt on sunday :)

Wow, .19. Ours hasn't dropped one penny unless it did over night and it's at 4.07, central NY

GOOD WOMAN TO ADMIT IT!!!!. LOL I HAVE FINALLY ADMITTED TO IT AND I DID IT ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB. :lol: :lol:

Have a road trip! Get some of your sewing buddies close by to go with you and split the cost of gas. OR, make it with your usual run to the WalMart or grocery, assuming you shop at a chain grocery. They have them in every town and I just take coolers with me for the stuff that can't go for long without keeping cool.

It's hard for everyone, especially those on a fixed income or who don't make very much. I try to combine trips so I don't have to use so much gas, I also ride my bike to the stores and work in the summer so that really saves me money.

The last baby quilt I did was a joint effort. My sister gave me the backing and the batting for it. Gas is high here also and I do not go anywhere that I do not have to and I drive a small car.

I hear you sister!! Times are tough! Because of the economy, my husband works 4 hours away from home and I only get to see him every few weeks. With gas prices in Chicago being so God awfully high, we were forced to cut back on his number of trips home to save our budget. Hang in there!!

I'll bet you could car pool with some fellow quilters that would love a bargain also. Our gas dropped to around $3.66

about 3 yrs ago I talked hubs into a new car (we needed one, ours was ready to die). Looking things over, I wanted a Prius. He thought they were too "new" and needed the bugs out first, so we settled on the stripped down version of a Yaris. An 08 bought in 08 for 13K. We drive this everywhere. It only has a 10 gal gas tank, but gets @ 38 mile to the gal. We still have a big V8 car we use to haul a boat and stuff, but drive the Yaris everywhere. Id love to sell the V8 and find a V6 small truck to haul with, gas is nuts. In a perfect world Id own an all electric and have a huge solar panel to plug it into! lol! sharet

I feel your pain my car gets 28 city and 32 highway last May it cost me $27.to fill -I filled up on tuesday for $56. I'm moving to the city to save on gas but so far I've spent $148 just moving things in the car -I went to Missouri and back on less than 148$ [aprx1200 miles in 2 wks] I want a Harley Trike

I haven't even tried to fill up my car. Mine was a pass down from my stepmom to my brother to me. A Park Avenue!! NOT my choice in a car I would love something smaller but it was free so I have to suck it up since I cannot by any stretch of the imagination afford to buy a car. Not on my fixed income. I just don't go anywhere I don't absolutely have to go and I try to combine trips.Other than that I stay home.

I have so much in my stash. I think that I'm going to do my best to use it up or just buy the one fabric that I need to put a quilt together. Glad to hear the hubbies found a job. God bless you for being considerate of your situation.

It is discouraging isn't it. I remember when we use to drive around and sight see for cheap entertainment. Can't do that now! :|

Damaquilts, Park Avenue is a wonderful car though. My BF is a mechnic, and gave me one when we first started dating, 10 years ago! Drove it forever, then gave it to DD. She had an accident with it, we fixed it, then got her a car with lower miles when she moved to Milwaukee, but the PA is still kicking. BF says they have great engines!

Us too, Grammysharon, we used to drive around and see the lakes, ect. No more "joyrides" for us now!

You are thinking wisely! Sometimes common sense has to rule!

I feel for you. I have had to consider carefully the cost of gas to get to a great sale in the past, and made the sad decision that it would erase the savings from the sale.

Cheers, K

I know how you feel. Not to long ago I would have thought nothing of driving to the next town over to just go to a store because they have what I "want". I've been un-employed since 07 and we live on my husbands once monthy paycheck. With the price of gas, I don't drive anywhere unless I have a very good reason ( Drs. appointment , job interview, ect.) or if I can make it a multi purpose trip by going to 2-3 places while there. It really sucks when I can't justify spending gas to go to a big sale at JoAnns or Michaels. Oh well, i'm learning from this whole lack disposable money thing.

I feel the pinch here also. no work for myself, 7 months now wife final found one. my unemployment ran out about 5 weeks ago... What i dot like is being told over qualified...
is got to get better for all of us..

First I shop my stash. Online postage charges are now less than gas so I buy online what I HAVE to. It's not as much fun as lunch out and shopping!

At least we already know how to quilt and sew! :D

I'm under-employed too... ALL my trips have to be combined, evaluated for practicality, etc. I don't go to a lot of things I used to.