jodimarie

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....but, I have run into a few salesclerks at LQS that really push their fabric on you.....like your wrong if you don't buy from us!!!! That attitude usually sends me right out the door to shop elsewhere! I buy what I can afford and if I find a fabric with a good feel, I will buy it but please, don't push your $12.50 - 13.00 a yard fabric on me!! I've never had a clerk at the big box stores, try to push only their fabrics....they are just there to measure and cut and occasionally, help me find a color or two to match a fabric that I have bought at a different store.

mary123

Ladies,
I so appreciate all your answers. Thank you for taking the time to respond.
I usually buy almost all of my quilting material at a friendly local quilt store.
I try to buy on sale. Love quilting. Wish it were a little cheaper hobby. My husband
loves that I had quilting for a hobby. He has received 4 nice queen quilts from me in the process.
Have made a lot more than that, but those were the ones we have used on our bed. Love this website!!!
You ladies are a wealth of information. I spend way too much time reading posts, because I so enjoy
quilting and love hearing other people's experiences in their quilt journey. Keep up the good work in your quilts, and your advice. Wishing all of you a beautiful day today!!!!

mary123

DebraK,
Funny that you said that expression---they could tell you, but they would have to kill you.
My husband loves to cook, and he does a wonderful steak. He has jokingly used that same expression about his cooking. But he actually glads shares his recipes.

jeank

i have been purchasing a lot of the premium fabrics at Joann. It is nice and yes, the priced marked is about the same as LQS, but then you always have a 40 or 50% off coupon.

DebraK

thank you for enjoying my humor ;-) I enjoyed your previous post. life is good.

Quilty-Louise

I seldom buy fabric from any of my LQS because I can't afford their prices.

The only except to this is we have a LQS who buys fabric by the pound from
their customers. If it is LQS quality they sell for $5 yard, the fabric will be in
very limited quantities (FQ, 1/2 yd, 1 yd maybe more), also most of the time
it may be an out of print fabric that is several years old.

They also have Chain Store fabrics that they sell for 1.99 per yd. But again
quantities are always limited.


Hancocks is to far away so I seldom go there, the only WalMart that sells fabric
is also to far away so again seldom go there. This leaves me with either Joann's
or Hobby Lobby for fabric. Although there is 2 HL stores fairly close to me I don't
go there unless I am in dire need of something that I need from there (person
reasons why I don't shop there much anymore).


Personally I buy what I can afford and turn my nose up to those who look
down on me for not buying LQS. This IS however only my personal thoughts and
feelings. It is by no means to imply that it is the "right or wrong" way to think.

LynnVT

There are always differences in opinions, and very great differences from one store to another. Big boxes differ greatly in their merchandise, from one to another, and all retailers vary in the individuals who wait on you. All the local shops in my area are owned and run by folks who are passionate about quilting and about giving good service. They hire knowledgeable people who are there to help the customers. But maybe other shops are different. Everybody has a bad day now and then, and if the last customer was nasty to a sales person, she might respond inappropriately to you. I feel so lucky to have good shops and nice people, for the most part, in my rural area. So if you are nearby, come to Vermont and join our shop hop next week - March 15-24. Some of them have good sales going, too. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to afford the backing for a quilt I just finished, and may have to resort to whoever has the best price.

kamaiarigby

I agree with quilt Louise, I buy what I can afford and for me that means buying on line from USA. I have a friend who says we must support our LQS but with their price of $28 per metre it is way beyond my means. I make quilts because I love to, I love to give them away to charity, and let's face it the person or persons who receive my quilts are not going to turn a offer of a quilt away, just because I didn't spend BIG
Dollars at my local quilt shop

Emma S

Just a reminder there are sources on line that sell LQS quality at resonable prices. There have been many threads listing these outlets. I look at the manufacturers and trust that the quality is there. Recently two had premium fabric for less than $5 per yard. As others have stated its nice if you can afford LQS but if you can't bargains are great.

costumegirl

I agree with many of the comments here. Each fabric, no matter what the source, should be judged on its' quality by the feel, weight, thread count and design. With the differences in prices, it is economical for me to buy from a variety of sources and online seems to be my current 'go to'. I try to find out about the quality of a particular fabric that I want and then order online if I can. Even when shipping is taken into account the cost is usually better than buying local. I would like to support our local businesses and do when I can but every dollar saved allows me to buy more.

There is a fabric chain here that used to be almost an equivalent to JA that has recently increased their prices to $18 - $24 a meter, which is way too costly for my budget. The LQSs are selling fabric from $12 - $18. Unless there are good sales, buying supplies are expensive - it is not a cheap hobby.

Really, when you think about all the different fabric companies and fabric lines that are continuously being released and all the thousands of quilting/sewing products, from pins to machines that are available for sale, overall, it is a multi billion dollar business.