They will have good prices at the Atlanta Quilt show. Unless you have found what you want and need it now, I'd wait. I live in Arkansas and have kids who live in the Atlanta area, so I drive and don't have to pay freight home. I bought a Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0 at the show last year and I got a good deal from the dealer. If I had bought one used in the classes, I think I could have gotten a better deal.

I make a list of things I'm looking for and can't get locally and then I buy other things that I didn't know I "needed" until I saw them :) I've even bought comfortable shoes and chair rests in addition to sewing and quilting "stuff". All I can say is plan your budget ahead of time because you can spend a fortune.

Since the MQS in Overland Park, Kansas is in May, I have received my Mother's Day and birthday treat to visit my DD and the show at once. A few years ago, the show was on my birthday. Fun! I was admiring some of the continus line stencils. I lost my DD for a while and as we were leaving, she handed me a bag with more than a dozen of the stencils!! Sweet gal and great collection of stencils.............Aren't I lucky?

Went to quilt show in Crossville TN in June. Saw Pineapple Ruler and pattern on sale at show for $23. Didn't have $$ at the time. Cannot find it for sure not knowing exactly which one it was. Looked really slick from demo given. Want to kick myself now for not making myself buy it that weekend. Did anyone else on this board attend that show and know which one I'm referring to? Looking online there are several choices.....

I look for things that are new and different. No point in buying and carrying around things I could get at my LQS where I get a discount. Each year I find I'm buying a little less because there's just not that much that's new

I have never been to a quilt show so not sure what I would buy but I am sure I could find a lot of things.

Occasionally I have gone with a plan, like one year when I was specifically looking for cat/kitten fabric. However, mostly I look for unusual patterns and fabric, either in yardage of fat quarters. I usually try to get something a little different or unusual.

I have been to Houston Quilt Festival twice. Went two days each time, and if I had not been so worn out I would have gone a third day. I have never seen so many vendors under one roof. The first year I had my heart set on a Roxanne Sterling Silver thimble. I spent the $99 and never regretted it. I hand quilt and it has really increased my accuracy. Also I buy hand quilting thread in many colors because I can only find white and off white at my LQS. I bought several stencils the first year and have used all by one of them. The first year a lady who does tiny gorgeous crocheted earrings had a display. I really wanted a pair of the earrings, but I had already indulged myself with the thimble, so I didn't buy. But the following year, I needed to buy a birthday present for my step-daughter, who used to crochet, so I did buy a pair for her. Maybe this year I will get mine. Jenny Doan at Missouri Star Quilt Co had demonstrated an eye spy quilt made with blocks that looked like jars. So I found a bunch (and I do mean a bunch) of fat quarters in prints of every imaginable fruit, vegetable, nuts, etc to 'fill' the jars with. Still haven't made the quilt, but have what I need when I'm ready. It is just so much fun to look at everything, even if you don't buy a lot.

I look for fabric that catches my eye. I look at the quilts on display in the vendors and if I like something I see, I will buy that pattern. Visit the demonstrations some vendors put on using a product they are selling like rulers or a new technique. You may see something that strikes you as making your quilting easier. It's fun to learn about what's out there. Have fun and enjoy the show!

I go to the Vermont Quilt Festival every year, and my budget varies. Some years, I can buy whatever I want, within reason. Other years, I have to be more focused. One year, I bought no fabric at all. This year, I allowed myself to buy fabric only to go with a series of quilts - all from the same part of my fabric stash -- on which I'm working. I have been collecting fabric for this series for eight years now. This year, I bought four pieces of fabric yardage, two yards each, a dozen threads I needed from Superior Threads, and several books. I told myself that if I did not buy much there, I could afford the order of sale thread from Connecting Threads that I wanted and have now ordered.

In 2008 and 2009, when the economy was so bad, the vendors complained that they did not make enough sales to justify coming back. Some refused checks as one check was a large part of their sales then and if it bounced, they were in trouble. The Aurifil dealer was skittish about taking a $300 check from me; it was a bigger sale than all their other sales combined that year. I think all the vendors did better this year.