Solids Frustration :(
 

I bought a rather pricey Kona Solids card last year.

The first frustration I have with it is trying to get the colors from any single source. I made a quilt this year that called for several shades in cream through wheat colors and a range of golds. I think I wound up spending more on shipping and handling than I did on fabric as it was impossible to find everything I wanted at one place.

The second frustration is, having paid for the color card, I now find there are lots of NEW Kona Solids that are not on my card. Will I fork over more $$$ for the supplemental card? I think not.

Okay, I can live with the second frustration - my bad to think this would remain static for any length of time.

But trying to find a single source for a range of colors is really getting to me. Has anyone found a solution to this dilemma?

You think the Kona card is expensive, I looked into a Moda Marble card and it was a WHOLE lot more!! I have shops for some fabric for a project of mine and noticed that Hancock of Paducah has quite an assortment of Kona Solids. And you won't pay more than a $5.00 flat rate for shipping. I think it may have been 1000 bolts I think carry Moda solids with quite a section of colors. I do understand your frustration. Hang in there and good luck !!

Thanks for the tip on Hancock's. I just looked and they do seem to have a wide variety. The trick is to not get that subsequent email that says "Thanks for your order but we are sold out on half the colors you want." That's what happened to me with the last quilt. Anyway, I will likely give this a try.

I didn't really mind paying for the color card. What I mind is not being able to get the fabric when I need it.

I do order Bella solids from Thousands of Bolts and that is a much simpler task since they put the colors in sequence instead of bouncing all over the color wheel. Their minimum cut is 1 yard unless they have a FQ and I don't really need a lot of any one color.

To be honest, I'm tempted to just order a FQ of every solid that Connecting Threads carries and just work with those. They don't have the range of colors but at least I know I can get it and I think their quality is good.

I didn't know there were supplemental cards. I thought I'd have to keep buying new ones. Do you know who sells the supplements?

I agree about the frustration. I spend hours just trying to find a shop where I can get all of what I need to save shipping and handling $$. Usually I fail or I end up having to settle for something different.

The one I have folds up so the samples are on the inside.

That's really what I wound up doing - settling for something else, but it still took forever. I will likely post a photo of the problem quilt next week but this is a small sample from it. The colors don't photograph well but there are three shades of beige in there and I was trying to match the blue (which is actually a teal) and the green with the colors in the print. That did turn out okay, but not without a lot of effort.

I did see something on Pink Chalk Fabrics that made me think they had a supplemental card but maybe I was mistaken. They do seem to have something that is less expensive than the original one I purchased.

Have you ever tried Shadow Play, I like it better than solids or marbles, one shop has all 120 colors, I think its called the Quilt Bug. Shadow Play is what is used in Keepsakes Quiltings Bargello " Mystic Nights" they are beautiful!!

This place is advertising over 182 colors of Kona Cotton in stock.

http://www.marmaladefabrics.com/bsol...-c-102_82.html

Last week, I bought a new Kona cotton color chart. My previous chart was 10 years old. To me, the chart is well worth the cost. I purchase much of my fabric on the Internet and I don't trust my monitor to give me the correct color. I often use Kona cotton as a background fabric and I want to be sure that the color I order will work well with the other fabrics I am using. Since I am usually purchasing only one color of Kona cotton at a time, I haven't had to purchase from multiple sites. I do, however, look for the site that has the lowest price.