What do you buy at Quilt Shows?
 

I'm headed to Hershey tomorrow with my guild on a bus trip to the quilt show. I'm thinking about what I want to buy, what I'm looking for and what I need. I asked my friend this question and she said nothing in particular and that was dangerous! Hahaha! I know one thing whatever money I take with me won't be coming home with me!


Do you go to shows with a list or a plan or do you buy whatever catches your fancy?

I plan on picking up some thread from superior, some pantographs and look at some rulers. I carry a tote bag with the rule that once it is full I am done shopping.......btw, you can stuff alot of things into a tote bag :p

A lot of the booths there have special pricing, so it would save money and allow me to buy more.....sigh, this is very dangerous

A bit of both ....

I went to Paducah one year and specifically wanted a large cutting mat, the "clear" type. Got a good deal on one made by Beba.

I also went with a shopping trip to Hancock's of Paducah high on my list as I heard the sales were to die for (and they were!).

I went to DesMoines another year specifically to see the Egyptian quilters and their quilts, and hopefully purchase one. I bought TWO!!

All the other shows I went to (as well as the two above), I also made purchases of things that just caught my fancy. With the exception of purchasing the fabric in Paducah at Hancocks and other shops outside of the "show", I don't buy cotton quilting fabric at the vendors in the show. I've not seen prices that are any cheaper than I can get at my LQS.

It depends. Sometimes I have a certain fabric theme that I look for such as when I made an all polk a dot quilt. Sometimes I just wait to see what moves me! At one show this year I ended up buying some special pendants to be made into a necklace and I don't even make jewelry:) I have band myself from buying anymore specialty rulers, I've learned they are not for me. Have fun, don't stress!

What a great question!!! I'm headed from Mexico (where quilting notions are not to be found) to the Atlanta, Ga show in Mid Sept. It'll be my first one. Since I'm relatively new to quilting, I'm debating Amazon buys or wait until I see what to get at the show. I'd like opinions about which place to buy the Brother PQ1500S - Amazon or wait for the quilt show? How about notions?

I always take 2 list, my I need list, and my want list. My need list has things like needles, bobbins, and thread for my long arm. Thing's that I will have to order because they are not carried locally. I put the price for these items on the list too, including shipping. A few times I have just come home and ordered it anyway. because the show price and the order price including shipping were the same. It depends on which vendor I deal with at the show. My want list is for those thing's I have seen and really would like to try but just can't bring myself to pay the price for, and think I may find less costly at the show. RIGHT what was I thinking? LOL While at the show if I see something I think I want I make a note of cost,what it is, and what booth it is in. After making the rounds, I sit down have something to eat and a cold drink, than ask myself, do I really want it and would I use it. This cuts down on impulse buying. Not as much buyers remorse on the trip home. LOL

Mostly gadgets and patterns I can't find locally, sometimes fabric but thats rare unless I have a project in mind. I also tend to buy kits I can't find locally.

I would take my iPad and compare prices online after I left the booth, of course. If it was a bargain I'd go back, if not no problem.

I do buy unusual type fabrics at quilt shows things I don't see everywhere. I have a list of needs, but if something sends me over the moon I forget about the needs list. LoLol

I like to talk to people too, I had a nice discussion with John Flynns daughter about the virtues of 301A sewing machines at the last show I attended. She was piecing on a 301 exactly like mine. She was a very sweet person.

Friend of mine takes her iPad with her. We went to one here in February! She compared the prices at the show with what she would find on her iPad. She has her iPad in one hand and credit card in the other. She even makes a list on the iPad on Evernote. She works that thing like nobody's business.

I always look for hand-dyed fabrics, especially bright colors. Can't find them anywhere near where I live, and I love being able to look (and buy!) the variegated hand-dyes. Seeing them in person is so much better than looking at them online. Oh, and I always stop at the Cherrywood Fabrics booth - I adore their fabrics!

I take my list of things I've seen on line or in a magazine that I want to look at (and possibly buy) - notions, tools, rulers etc. I may not necessarily buy these things for a variety of reasons such as:
- found they didn't seem as appealing when I could actually look at them
- thought they weren't worth what the dealers were asking for them
- ran out of money because I bought other stuff.
Or I may buy them after looking at them.
For fabric, I used to buy alot of fat quarters but recently I have stopped doing this unless the fabric has a purpose (ie vs adding to my stash of FQ). Now I will buy a kit or some 1-2 meter or yard cuts instead as it seems more useable. Very rarely I buy a charm pack or a jelly roll etc.
I try and leave my pocket book and my mind open to new gadgets, tools, patterns and fabric.
My test of whether I purchase or not is "how unhappy will I be if I don't buy this today" or "how likely am I to see this again" Often, if something is new on the market, I know I will see it in my LQS in a few months.
Have a great time and enjoy the experiences. Seeing the wonderful works and the variety of work presented makes the quilt shows worthwhile regardless of what I buy (or don't buy)

I like to look with an open mind, but also have a few things in mind before I get there. This year I purposely didn't go to the Hershey show because I've put myself on a spending budget and I just got some things last weekend. I am not tempted by fabric, whatsoever. I've been organizing my fabric and I'm deeply embarrassed by how much I already have. Oh, it's probably not as much as some, but for me, it's far too much. I am tempted by rulers, both for cutting and for my long arm. I usually find good prices on thread, but both can wait.

I look for things that are fairly unique. Specialty fabrics, particularly cats or music. Wooden quilt blocks as pendants, earrings, Christmas Ornaments.

I went to the Hershey show on Thursday with a short list. I wanted more of the Clover Wonder Clips (I love them), but only one vendor had a 10 pack for $10.+ and I wanted a new Micron pen - nobody had them. My favorite notions vendor was not there...bummer. I came home and got online. The Micron pen was on Ebay for $3.45 with free shipping and my clips were also on Ebay - 50 for $15.39 and free shipping.

So at the show I only bought 2 yards of clearance fabric ($7.00 a yard) for a pending project. Now I have enough yardage to finish it. And a fleece jacket with a quilt block embroidered on it for $24.00. Nothing else really "spoke" to me.

I buy things I can't find locally. I hate that feeling of remorse that I didn't get it while I could :)

Sunnie your pups are beautiful!! I rescue boxers! Love love love dogs!

sorry off topic lol back to our regular programing!

For me that is the fun part, I have no idea what I will buy. Love all the new goodies!!!!!!!!!

The last quilt show I went to I came home with a vintage Singer 404 for $5 and a pair of earrings. I guess I go to see quilts, not shop.

I went to a one-stop quilt shop hop today. There were 28 different shops represented. I carried a tote bag I had made in a class several years ago (my daughter calls it my Mary Poppins bag) because I can put so much in it! When my friend and I first arrived at the site, we walked completely through and looked at all the booths. As we went, we jotted down things we saw that we were interested in and which booth we saw them in. I try not to purchase things that I can readily purchase at my favorite LQS. Today I purchased a panel to make a fabric book for my granddaughter and a farm animal quilt kit that I will make for her (her farm animal sound book is her favorite...she will be 1 next week). I also picked up a couple pieces of embroidery software. I generally go to get ideas and if I find something unique, I will get it. One thing I do is I take cash and when it is gone, I'm done buying. That helps me not spend too much making impulse buys. Cash makes the checking out process go faster, as well. I also snap a lot of pictures with my cell phone. That helps me remember special things I really liked...but I always do ask permission before I take pictures.

Anything that catches my fancy and fits my budget.....I never regret....it is about the whole experience for me. Plus, I like instant gratification....no waiting just for a lower price...

I go to Mid-Atlantic in Hampton, VA in February with a friend. Our rule seems to be to walk through and see everything first. Then walk it again and look more closely at things we liked. Lunch break. The third time we walk it, we usually buy what we decided to get on the previous rambles. Then if we feel we've missed anything, we do it again. I don't take a list, she does. Whatever we do, we have a great time, buy some fun things and fabrics to add to our stashes, and get good exercise doing it! I look forward to it every year!

I've only been to one (in Wichita, this year), and I bought fabric, some quilting gloves, some of those easy thread needles, and a book. Mostly fabric. I used some of it today.

I purchased books I know I can't get at my LQS ,and notions just new to the market. I've purchased two kits that I fell in love with - in fabrics and color combinations I knew would never be available at my LQS. My favorite place for vendor mall is the Houston Quilt Festival. This year I'm going to Des Moines and looking forward to it immensely. I'm hoping to find something do with hexies.

Money is very tight, so I set a cash budget and stick to it. I only buy what speaks to me at a good price that I can't buy locally, and rarely buy anything on my first pass through the Vendors. Quilts in the show give great inspirations for patterns and fabric, so I see the show first. In better times I bought what I liked- within reason- as I know it's a tremendous amount of hard work for the Vendors to haul in and haul out, in addition to booth fees, staffing, transportation, bookkeeping, etc. I honestly don't see how they can break even, and if they aren't supported they won't do the shows. Before the internet exploded with options my shopping was "buy it when you see it". I do make note of the locations of the Real World shops in hopes I'll have time to visit, and I'll tell them I saw their booth at the show. I love scrappy sewing, so something has to be really interesting to hop into my large stash or pattern box. I carry a list of things I need and fabric swatches for coordination. Don't forget to oogle the quilted totes and clothes of the crowd and give compliments freely. I usually go to show with friends or sisters, and we share! You may splurge a bit more when shopping at the show, but I agree with Alikat 110- it's part of the experience.
Don't forget a tote bag!

Paducah quilt show, I go each year and lets see last year I got my Nolting mid arm, never thing I will buy fabric as I go to Handcocks of Paducah several times a year, but there is always some fabric I just have to have, I got thread for my Nolting, and lots of other colors I do not think I have. Then there is this wonderful jewler who comes, and I have gotten 221 bobbin ear rings, little tiny ones, a thimble in a cage on chain I can wear. a couple of really nice chains, a chatalaine pendent. I get all my polar notions at the show, (love those boards to wrap my fabric on) Patterns I always get some patterns, now need to use some of them. Fabric paints and inks, I add to each year. I look at the Signer 221s and the repainted ones, I'd love to have a really hot pink one and a nice deep purple one, LOL no room for more machines but still would love to have those colors. Novels about quilting to add to my collection, and I love gadgets and new things so I pick up some new goodies. I like to do this all after I have seen all the quilts first, and I just go to have fun with lots of other like minded folks.

I went to the Houston Quilt Festival for the first time last year. I've been quilting almost a year at that point. I found stencils and thread (Aurifil) for a quilt in progress, but my real find was a sewing cabinet. It was great to be able to compare 5 different brands. I went with Koala. I'm going again this year and planning to look at and compare
sewing machines, but I don't think I will be purchasing, at least not this year.

My friend (Deb Watkins from the board) and I went to Hershey on Thurs. Too bad I didn't know you were there Sunnie, we could have met for lunch or something.
I had three things on my list and bought all three. I took money with me and said when it's gone, it's gone. I actually came home with about $70 so I did well.
In addition to the things I had on my list I got 8 fat quarters for a project and found a bundle of Thimbleberries 5 yards of fabric for $34. Probably from a year or two ago but I like it and plan to make my DIL's mother a quilt with it. It also came with 4 free patterns. Also got a Deb Tucker ruler, Aurifil thread and a pedal stay mat. I was very happy with the show but up and back driving was over 7 hours. We were tired when we got home.
THis was the first quilt show I had attended in about 6-7 years.

I have gone and looked for particular things but I also do impulse buying especially of books and rulers. I also like to buy fat quarters of fun fabrics. It is a great time to research things or buy larger items if show specials are offered. I haven't gone for some time as I have no $ to spend. Part of the fun is getting goodies.
If you want to stay in budget only bring cash and leave your credit cards home.

I look at the quilts first. If there is something you haven't found locally it is a good place to look for it. Its good to walk through first if you will have the time to go back. But note the booth if you see something you might go back for. I'll try to note if someone has a really good show price, or something I won't see locally, sometimes if I see either of these I will just get it while I'm there if I'm sure I want it. If I have a limited amount of time as I visit vendors I will pick up the things that really move me when I see them. Generally I do make some purchases and the vendors support the cost of putting on the show, so without them there might not be a show at all.

I'm going on a bus trip to my first quilt show in Jacksonville at the end of September. I am sure I will be overwhelmed and better check my budget before I go.

I do the "whatever catches my eye" shopping. A couple of weeks ago I went to the Redmond expo before being bussed to the Sisters Quilt show and bought a cute Christmas wool kit that I've never seen anywhere else and a couple of patterns that were new to me. In Paducah I went crazy, bought Eleanor Burns book and quilt kit after going to her show and downloading coupons I saved about $40 on both! And bought a who carry on suitcase full of fabrics because everything was at such a greatly reduced price!

I usually enjoy looking at all the project demos. If I really like something I will buy it, but lots of time just a pattern or two, maybe some special fabric. I have too much "Stuff" already.

I have gone to only one quilt show and it was in Paducah, KY. I bought a Flynn quilting frame, some fabric, some sewing notions, some embroidery software and a Bernina sewing machine. I had a great time and my DH encouraged me to purchase all the items.

I haven't found any terrific fabric buys much inside the quilt shows I've attended (so far) but shopping in the area's fabric/quilt shops seems to be where you find the real bargains. I've found good deals on thread and patterns. I am pretty set for tools but it doesn't hurt to look! If you are interested in getting on mailing lists for things, take premade address labels for yourself. That saves a lot of time. You can make these yourself or use those that come in charity solicitations in the mail.

I'm so excited. I talked to my SIL yesterday and was telling her about all these posts. Well, to make a long story short, she's wanting to start quilting again, like all of us life got in the way, and wants to come down here and go to the Houston international quilt festival with me this year. She was really impressed when I told her there was a men's section for our hubby's. don't know if they'll go or not. Mine has trouble with his back and my brother has trouble with his legs. All well, they'll probably be more comfortable at the house and we won't have any quilting police on our heels. :)

The Houston Quilt show is awesome. The vendor side is so wonderful I usually don't have time for the exhibits. You can't do both in one day...not possible. I usually have some gadgets in mind. There is a vendor there each year (Fabric Fanatics) that has good prices on batiks. Of course, I can't pass up something there. Just dress comfortably and be prepared to walk, walk, walk.

It's my dream to go to Houston!! I will make it happen maybe next year. Have fun Misty!

I occasionally go looking for a particular fabric, otherwise, I get whatever fabric looks too good to pass up. Every fre years, my Alto's Quilt Cut needs a new mat, so I get that at the Pacific International Quilt Fest. Mostly, I look for good deals on prewound bobbins in neutral colors and buy several dozen. And books...not quilting books per se, but usually reading books by Jennifer Chiaverini and Earlene Fowler (two of my favorite authors!)

I always look at my stash and see what's missing as well as see if the next quilts I want to make have enough fabric. I then feel comfortable looking for what I need as well as pick up things that just catch my eye. Sometimes I take a pattern with me and buy the fabric. Paducah and Hancock of Paducah are two very dangerous places to go because the whole place is just a blooming "buy me !" area. I have so much fun at quilt week in Paducah, love it.