In the tradition of our forebears...(sort of)
 

There was recently a thread about "which kind of fabric shopper are you?" that asked if people were LQS, online, bargain hunters, etc. Well, I'm definitely in the bargain hunter category and am finding that my special niche in the quilting world is repurposing fabric. I really enjoy taking others' cast-offs and making something from them. Some folks said they never find fabric at the thrift store. This picture is today's "haul" from 1 thrift store. The green fabrics and bright blue are new, (I think a quilter was destashing, there were a lot of new pieces, many had designer names on them), the others are all vintage sheets which I love using. Side note...I saw an ad for a famous designer's new line of fabrics, they look an awful lot like my vintage sheet stash, but I didn't pay $12-$15/yard for mine :D[ATTACH=CONFIG]573676[/ATTACH]
My most recent finish was a grandmother's flower garden made from giant hexies...all from vintage sheets.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...s-t288249.html

So, don't give up on finding bargains! I think it's mostly being at the right place at the right time and keeping your eyes peeled.

I love thrift shop finds and use those old sheets when I can find them, they make the most comfortable backs for quilts, just love them.

wow, wish i had a charity shop near me. Everything is so very far away from me now. sigh. good haul!!

very nice haul

I know what you mean about vintage sheets. I'm the same way. I use them mainly for backings. I'm lucky that I have two good thrift stores near me, where I always walk away with something! Last time was five 1-gallon ziplock bags of homespun cotton for a quarter each! Good for you for carrying on the thrifty tradition that quiltmaking originated from!

I shop like you do.

When visiting the local Goodwill, I found two pairs of battenburg valances. Too good to pass but had no purpose in mind when I brought them home. Well, they made into a very pretty dust ruffle for my twin bed.

I've found the neatest fabrics at thrift store and then figuring out how to use my finds. I think that's real creativity.

I love vintage sheets too! I'd amassed quite a stash...

I do this too!!!! If I'm super-lucky I'll find 'real' fabrics - otherwise sheets used for backings are wonderful for all the charity sewing done by my church group and local quilt guild! Happy Hunting!

Nice find! I LOVE vintage sheets for quilt backs.

Kudos to Faintly Artistic and all the people who re-purpose good used items! I seldom use anything else. I go to my Saver's store on tag clearance day (Monday here) and buy beautiful sheets for 99 cents. I can buy 100% cotton sheets because almost all sheets have a tag on them listing fiber content. My favorites are Egyptian cotton. Sometimes I find bundles of new fabric there too. I can quilt all I want without breaking the bank! I use starch when I quilt, so the fabrics work up like new fabrics. Yes, there are times when I pick up some bright print to accentuate my re-purposed fabrics, but I get some gorgeous colors and PRINTS that no one would ever guess came from sheets. My grandmothers both quilted using scraps and hand-me-downs and those quilts are coming close to being 100 years old. My grandmothers' quilts stand as proof that used fabrics do last.

I've got a lot of fabric from people de-stashing, and from the families of two of my quilting friends that unfortunately have passed in the last few months. I've certainly put them to good use!

Goodwill on Senior Day this week netted 19 quarter yard pieces of purples from very light to dark $3.50. Tuesday is Senior Day at Value Village and the first place I go is to bedf and bath where the fabric is. Tomorrow, St. Vincent dePaul thrift store has 50% off everything. I scored a roll of cream (linen at least 15 yards & 60" wide) a month ago for $7.50. Love linen and will end up dyeng most of it.

Quilt9226...great finds! I also head straight for the linens section. If hubby is with me, he heads to the electronics/stuff. We make a good team. (we resell stuff on EBay) I turned 2 pillow shams into a bed runner and am about to make a bed runner and 2 shams from 4 very colorful napkins I picked up. I think it's an adventure, you never know what you'll find and then you get to challenge yourself to make something new from something old. So much more fun than plunking down a bunch of money for a designer line and making something that looks like the other thousands of quilts just like it...just sayin';) Oldest daughter and I are about to embark on dyeing a bunch of thrifted cones of crochet cotton for hand quilting. I big stitch and my favorite threads are 30 & 40 wt crochet cotton, but they are typically only white and ecru...

Would love to see pics of your hand dyed linen!