Reuter's News describes the impact since June 2010, of Rising Cotton Prices on everyone, all the way from the manufacturers right up to the end consumer.

And it appears these increases will continue, since many of the initial causes which prompted rising prices, continue to occur.

http://www.reuters.com/article/email...77145G20110802

Very interesting article, all-be-it somewhat depressing, - we quilters will have to tighten our collective measuring tapes (or belts, as the saying goes ) :XD: :XD:

Hopefully, Mother Nature will smile down on us in the next few coming months (years?) and the Cotton Crops can be rebuilt and harvesting will become plentiful once again. :roll: :roll: :roll:

Yes perhaps Mother Nature will be nice to the quilters of the world.

I hope so! Sigh!

Yes it does have an impact on the end consumers. I say look for sale and use coupons.

if you join the 'fabshophop' you will find access to anywhere from 130-180 quilt shops all across the country-
you will also find prices vary from $5 a yard right on up to $12 a yard---location seems to matter-
i am lucky to have an lqs that keeps their prices down-
it pays to shop around

And the classieds here are a great place to find bargins too!

And my husband thought I was nuts to "stock pile" all of that fabric! HAH!! Maybe I should start buying again so he can feel the pinch of the new prices!!

Signed "The Woman Whose Quilt Fabric Shelves Caved in Two Weeks Ago",
Marcia

Hopefully the cost of lumber hasn't risen - sounds like you need some new STRONGER shelves for that Stock Pile :?: :oops: :oops: :shock: :shock: :lol: :lol: :thumbup:

I like the post about the lumber. I really only buy when on sale. And Craigslist for fabric is my best friend.

Honestly, I've found some great bargains even though I know prices have gone up.
There are bargains online but the best are already in my sewing room lol :D

I still love Fabrics.com. Fabric pictures are great. They also have a connection where you can click several pieces of fabric. Almost like a wall and can move the pieces around to see how well they go together. The Enlarge button is great.You can even see the threading. I have enlarged to full screen and placed my fabric close to the screen for comparison. Also sell 1/2 yards and $35.00 purchase is shipped free. Great sales also.

I'm printing your post for my daughter. She and SIL came to stay a while when I bought my first home back in December. She laughs about how much fabric I have and calls me a horder. I told her that she should actually be amazed at how thrifty I am because the news talks every night of the prices of cotton going up so I was simply buying in bulk in anticipation of the increase. This way I can continue to make 2-300 quilts without paying the higher price and will hold me over till the market calms down.

I can attest that prices are rising. I just looked on one of my favorite sites and their new fabric was $13 a yard! I almost choked!

Take heart, though... we can see from our wholesale sources that prices seem to be stabilizing. So while it's probably too much to hope for, that prices will go back to what they were last year, I think we can expect the prices to remain pretty the same now without any more major rises.

That said, I seem to have misplaced my crystal ball...

Up here in Canada, the price for good quality Quilting Cotton averages between 15.99 - 17.99 /meter and sometimes, if it is a very special print, it can cost 18.99 - 19.99/meter.

(For those unfamiliar with our metric sizing up here in Canada, a Meter = 39.37 inches or 1.09 yards which is little bit larger than the US yard).

Regardless of the tad bit larger length, it's still expensive to purchase quality Cotton here so I always have to search out the best bargains/sales I can.

Purchasing from the US and having it shipped up usually doesn't save much, if at all, by the time I pay shipping charges.

Good thing I have a VERY LARGE STASH (from previous years of purchasing) so I have a pretty good selection of colour/prints for what I'm working on now plus many of the future projects down the road.

Worse case scenario is I might have to buy the occasional blender if I don't have the desired shade/tone.

I don't think prices will ever go back to what they were 2-3 or more years ago (history very readily shows us on a continual basis about a lot of things) - things are never the way they used to be but hopefully, they will at least level out at what they are now and remain that way for a good while. :?: :roll: :?: :roll: :?:

:XD: :XD:

Other than some parts of our anatomies, what hasn't gone up recently?

And maybe she could be kind to the cotton growers too.
All the heat & floods, not good for crops.

prices seem to be rising on everything these days.