QUILTKNIT1

A recent newspaper article about the price of cotton going up 55% at the end or beginning of this month (I don't remember which) will cause of anything cotton to rise considerably. Do not blame your LQS.

Debra Mc

Well I don't know if that is the reason for the tax but I got to have my diet Dr Pepper every morning or I get a headache & am crabby. :evil:

peabee

QKO-thank you for so much inside info. would you give us some examples of family owned online businesses? you named some of the big box shops, who are some of the little guys nationwide? i shop both online and local. would have no problem supporting the online "little guy". now, i DO have to watch my dollars, but i'm old enough to know it's not always about the lowest cost. as you explained, there is a long term price to pay for what LOOKS like the lowest price.

DYXIE

Prices are bad every where ,I wait for sales. The really disgusting thing is that small towns here in Texas like Del Rio,Uvalde and many others that only had fabric available @ Walmart don't even have that. Walmart removed the sewing departments! Now anyone that sews has to drive to San Antonio 95-130 miles to shop for fabric. I have mostly stopped shopping @ Walmart. The only thing I HAVE to go there for is to buy diabetic socks for my husband. As soon I find them elsewhere at a reasonable price I will stop that.So the price of fabric and the drive makes it very difficult for most and impossible for some.

Ada Shiela

Earthwalker from Western Australia is absolutely correct - good 100% cotton prices here are up to A$27.99 a metre (3 yds 3inches) and rising as new stock arrives. I mostly shop at Textile Traders when "buy 2 get 1 free" sales are on every few months for fabrics averaging A$11.99pm or even less for Homespun(calico in US I think) or Spotlight when their sales are on. Up to A$6.99 per fat quarter is not unusual. Many of us are buying poly cotton sheets for backing fabrics!! We only have one proper large 'quilt shop' near Perth City and that is over an hour's drive away but prices are top dollar. The World recession hit us all very badly even in Australia, where we're supposed to have avoided the worst scenario - sadly, we must grin and bear it if we want to keep our sanity; maybe one day I'll be able to afford a lottery ticket!! Postage from the US costs more than any book I've wanted to buy so I use Alibris, Amazon etc and buy second-hand mostly.

Ada Shiela

That's a long journey for you, I have disabilities so anything over 20 minutes driving is not good for me; but what are "diabetic socks"?

Ada Shiela

We had news report recently of a toilet costing $250,000 (I think it was, definitely exhorbitant) - music etc onboard whilst one does their own 'business' - don't remember if or not meals were served to ensure one sat long enough to appreciate the 'mod-cons'!!

We must remember, of course, the likes of Al Gore with his supposed $3,500per month electricity bill for his 'home', and Robert Mugabe living in a colonial palace whilst people in Zimbabwe don't have any kind of lifestyle worthy of note and starve to death :!: :!:

butterflywing

someone recently complained to me that teachers shouldn't complain about the money they make. around here if they haven't lost their jobs, many have gotten a 3% raise. when i said that it doesn't keep up with the cost of living, i thought he would bite my head off. he said the economy is flat or spiraling downward. he said the gas prices haven't risen in months. WHAT? that's because they can't possibly go any higher!! i said he obviously doesn't do the food shopping in his house. any teacher's out there making more than the cost of living?? my daughter is now paying $12 each day to go to work, where she hasn't had a raise in 3 years. that's because the commuter train has dropped the discount for round-trips, monthly tix and even seniors. she also has to furlough one day each month without pay. the state also wants to take away her health benefits and part of her coming pension. great government job, right? she thought she could take early retirement after 30 years. nope!

and we worry about the cost of fabric.

Annya

You are lucky to have fabric for $10.95 a yard. here in Australia prices are up to and passing $25 per metre, that is 3 inches more than your yard. I am also on fixed income and I do not like paying big prices for fabric. By the time you get all the fabric, backing and wadding for a quit it is an expensive hobby. So I go to fabric shops that sell at reasonably prices.

quiltaholic

I totally agree, prices down here are jumping too. I have been using up stash and filling in when necessary. I do try to shop the few shops we have in the area but I find myself waiting for 50% off sales to purchase backings and 20 to 30% off sales to buy fabrics to fill in.

I'm afraid our quilt shops are going to be a thing of the past if this economy doesn't settle down. I have a longarm and do quilts for friends and guild members for a low price and that has really slowed down. I am fortunate to have built up a large stash so I'll still be quilting for awhile.