irishrose

No, you don't need to quit and I wouldn't spend money on online classes, either. Leah Day's website has a lot too offer as do many other websites and utube videos - Bonnie Hunter's patterns at quiltville.com are great. You have found good sources for fabric. My grandmother made fantastic quilts with fabric, a pair of scissors, a spool of thread and some templates. She probably would have used cereal boxes if she hadn't had a SIL who cut them from steel for her. That being said, there is one item I find invaluable as a semi disabled quilter. The June Tailor shape cut keeps my strips straight and done easily and quickly.

I would use the best fabric you can find in your price range. The biggest difference to me is in the clarity of colors. I am using a mixed bag of fabrics for a scrappy quilt right now and the color difference is amazing. I would also slow down the buying and up the sewing. Having too big a stash is not a plus, IMO.

Welcome to the wonderful world of quilting.

fairydawn

Once you start, you get hooked. No quitting now! You can do with out a lot of the gadgets, most are not really needed to make what you want. Some church groups/sewing groups get fabric donations. You could check them out and join in for a bit of social fun. A lot of us have limited funds for fabric, we just find other ways to acquire it. People on the board here are also very good hearted and generous, if you have a need someone always seems to fill it. Some of us also find that we need to down size our stash so we always know there may be some special person we would "trust" with our special fabric finds. Enjoy the adventure!

Mariah

I also was overwhelmed when I got into quilting. Going to our guilde, everyone seemed to have everything but me; different sizes of cutting mats, several rotary cutters, quilting boxes, several sewing machines, fabrics by the yard; you name it! All I had was some fabric a sewing machine and thread.
After belonging for awhile, I went to the guild garage sales and bought supplies quite inexpensively. People gave me fabric, garage sales in town had fabrics and supplies. Pretty soon I was brimming over!!
Then I got on qb, and noticed that people just use what they have. So, I just forged ahead and little by little, I have more than enough supplies and fabrics, and just use what I have.
One lesson I have learned the hard way is to quilt any minute that is free. When we go out of town, vacation, ect, it is hard to get back into the swing of it. People might think that is all I do, but they don't know what it REALLY is like!
Good luck, and most of all, enjoy it!
Mariah.

QultingaddictUK

Quilters are not Quitters and you are a quilter. You don't need all the fancy stuff that will come in time, if needed. Try and find a local quilting group, they will keep you straight. Make local Charity shops your favourite haunts, you can always find good quality bed linen at good prices. It does not have to be 100% cotton for backing or kiddie-wink quilts, in fact the couple of charities I do them for prefer Poly-cotton because of the heavy laundering they can get. Remember a pair of ordinary pillowcase, when unpicked gives you 14 yards, yep 14 YARDS of binding.

The only thing you haven't mentioned is Thread. You do need to use proper thread but a huge spool of good quality Egyptian thread from Threadart.com will only cost you $5.75 + pp but at present it's on sale for &4.25! It will last you through quite a few quilts so choose a neutral color. http://www.threadart.com/c-6-heavy-d...on-thread.aspx

The other great saver is to buy machine needles by the 100s http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORGAN-15X1-S...item19cd51d5d2 here you can get any size of "Organ" needles for $9.99 with FREE shipping, that is a good buy and it's false economy to try and make your needles last longer. Ask my poorly terminally sick sewing machine how I know

StashJunkieJan

No! Don't give it up! I understand that the cost can seem outragious, but there are ways to get around that. Or at least a big portion of it. Besides thrift shops keep an eye on garage sales in your area. I've found a lot of fabrics that way. Also, if you have a guild, or even a senior center that offers quilting classes they are a great way to make quilting buddies and find fabric and supply sources. I joined a quilting group at our local senior center and found a wonderful group of ladies that are very helpful. You don't need to buy a lot of gadgets to quilt either. A good mat, rotary cutter, couple of good rulers, and a lot of imagination is all it takes.

I also have some fabrics that I know I'll never use so if you're interested please send me your address and I'll be happy to send it to you. I'd rather see someone use it and appreciate it instead of it sitting in my stash.

Best wishes for a wonderful 2013.

Shirlrh

Sounds like you're hooked! Welcome to the world of quilting. You don't need a lot of gadgets. Sounds like you have the basics. I have no idea what a bobbin washer is - so maybe you wont need those. :0) Enjoy!

jcrow

Okay ladies and gentlemen! Where are all the offers of free fabric for this gal? We all have big stashes and I know if we dig through them, we can come up with 3 or 4 pieces that we can part with. How about helping out a "newbie" in a big way. Make her day! Almost 3,000 people have read this thread and I saw 2 offers. We're better than that!!! What about an old line that you don't like anymore? Take a few pieces out and let's get her address and send it to her. Make her a big time quilter!!! I am doing my part!! I can help! So can you!!!!!

Heylure

I would be glad to contribute. Just let me know where to send it. Also, I don't know your age but some senior centers have quilt groups. Maybe you could check that out. Good luck & God bless. Happy quilting.

BellaBoo

95/5 split? Your nephew is taking advantage of you no matter what spin he puts on it. Honestly I would be very cautious having money dealings with him.

4dogs

Please dont stop doing this fun, totally contagious, addicting fun hobby/ life goal.............I check the sales tables eveywhere I go that might have fabric............ I find good buys at WalMart, Tuesday, any and all thirft stores......I go to Linus meeting every month, usually with about 4-5 quilts each time.......almost always, there is a FREE table at the meeting, often small pieces that work great for scrap quilts.........tell every friend and relative that you have, that you want any and all fabric scraps they may have, also any good cotton type clothing they dont want any longer. you will be surprised what you will find to use.....................