i truly truly believe that a book, accessible to a wide reading audience concerning the political economy of textiles is desperately needed.

i think you might have compelled me to finally stop my pure research project and just write.

aileen

Buy lot's and ship it home, then buy more and fill your suitcase, enjoy!

I just finished a flannel quilt for DSIL - at £14.00/$23 a metre (39")................

The problem is the distributor or middle man. He is the one people here say "you have to know a man to know a man that knows a man that has what you want". Then he greases his pockets. Business is always better when you can go around the middle man.

Everytime I go to our fabric store (Fabricland) I am amazed at how expensive it is getting to be. We still have some at $12.00 to $14.00 a meter but we are seeing lots at $22 - 24.00 a meter in Canada & a meter is only 3 inches more than a yard. If things don't improve it is going to stop some crafters from quilting. Fabricland does have regular 1/2 price sales & that is the ONLY time I shop there now. Just another note, the price of spray 505 is $25.98 for the small can here. I recently found it at Walmart for $14.98 so explain the difference !
As I said thank goodness for 1/2 price sales !! Could part of the reason be that quilting has made such a huge come back in the world of crafting???? When there's a huge demand for things I'm sure it drives prices nowhere but UP..............

I am sorry that so many US quilt stores are going out of business because they cannot make enough to justify staying open. However I have to look out for my budget too. Therefore I will not pay quilt store prices for fabric because I have a large stash that I use as much as possible, only purchasing what I really NEED to go with what I have. I have a friend who does not use her scraps so she gives them to me. I pick up "freebies" at our local quilt guild meetings and I watch garage sales and thrift stores for good useable fabrics. We really don't have to pay outrageous prices for fabric. It is available to us for much less. When we decide we are no longer going to pay such prices, shops will go out of business but the price of fabric will have to come down. Even Walmart prices have gone up on fabrics. it's the old law of supply and demand. My daughter called yesterday and said their local quilt shop is closing and another about 140 miles away is closing. One 50 miles away is for sale and has been for several years. I simply can't afford to support them.

I refuse to pay $10.99+ per yard, no matter how much I like the fabric. It's just not in my budget.

If you can buy one bolt for $2.00 a yard that would be $20.00. Buy the same bolt here @ $13.00, that would be $130.00. Yea I would be shipping some home too. Can I give you my list? Have fun and enjoy.

I understand nice quilt shops charging $12 a yard for the good stuff, but what I don't understand is JoAnn's selling lesser brands for the same price! All their "designer" cotton is $12 or more. Some of the latest ones they have put out are $14.99! More than at the LQS... I guess they figure everyone will wait til it's on sale or they have a coupon, but still... why so high a starting price at a JOANNS?

(Speaking of JoAnn's, their Keepsake Calicos are 50% off this week, plus with a coupon you can get another 15% off your total sale. President's Day sale!)

An extra suitcase costs another $100. Why don't you WEAR IT? In Peru, men make skirts for their girlfriends/wives. One woman had 19 skirts, and she wore them all. They put about five of them on the same waistband so that they are easier to put on and take off. When they go to the bathroom, they loosen all the waistbands and simply step out of them for a while. :D

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