KalamaQuilts

I quit buying fabric in 2001, so none of the above

I am starting to see holes in certain colors, and friends here on the board have been sending me some scraps for postage. Don't know if that makes current purchase thrifty or way over the budget. I'd say thrifty, well below market.

zozee

I'm pretty disciplined when it comes to buying fabric. I won't buy just willy-nilly, but I don't always have a quilt pattern in mind when I do see a fabric I love. Rarely will I pay full price, unless it's exactly what I'm on a mission at the moment to find. When I go into an LQS I'm on a mission, and if I don't find what I want, I walk out (after really, really trying!). But I always first make a beeline for the clearance and sales items, then work my way up the price scale. This is how I shop for anything. I curbed my impulse buying long ago, because I just don't like having fabric stuffed and overflowing, nor do I want to make more room for what I don't need anyway.

Jingle

Since I donate quilts or give them away. I mainly buy from Wal Mart or Hobby Lobby. Plenty good as I don't know how they will be taken care of,

Treasureit

I inherited my mother's depression years thriftiness...thankfully not to the extent that she did it, but still careful about cost...and I still had 3 of the 4 kids at home. So, shopping for bargains was my entertainment! One day I went to an estate sale and found a fabric hoarders sale. I had so much fun looking through everything and bought a ton of fabrics, notions, books etc. After that I started looking for fabric sales and discovered some great deals....then I was finding people who wanted to sell it all to one person...I have made all 13 of the grandchildren quilts...plus many other things. I had to buy a shed to store it in.

With so much fabric I decided to start selling some online...these days I have trouble finding time to sew for me! Funny how one thing morphs into another.

Quiltngolfer

I usually only buy fabric for a specific quilt. I buy at quilt shops and mostly my local quilt shop. I used to buy yardage just because I thought it was pretty, but stopped that.

Iona D.

For fabric supply build up, I shop mostly at the fashion/garment district in the central part of Los Angeles-don't miss my other post-Guess What Store Type These Photos' Subject Matter Are From! for more information including photos, Joann's in the inner & outer suburbs for their numerous discounts (the quilt I finishing up on is 100% Joann's consisting of bolt ends, remnants, and at least a possible additiona 50% off that much, saving up the resulting trips over roughly a year of stockpiling these assorted fabric). plus more & more closing stores which seems to happen al the time around here for some reason or another. I don't run out of fabric for a specific quilt design. I seem to always have what I need surrounding me.

letawellman

Like MadQuilter, I too am on the FM thread. So, I have only purchased two bolts of backing fabric from Foust back in February. While I DO like to patronize the LQS's, I just really, REALLY do NOT need any more fabric.

However, BEFORE the moratorium, I have to admit it just really depended on my mood. Some days, I would go into the store (LQS, Mary Jo's, even a Hobby Lobby sometimes) and not see a single thing that tickled my fancy. Other days, I would go in and see something that I just HAD to have (and that's why my closet runneth over). Or, I would see or already have a pattern that really grabbed me, and I would just HAVE to get enough for that pattern (again, this is why my closet runneth over).


I'm trying to think of my family - if something happened to me, they wouldn't have the first clue what my stash, tools and machines are worth. So, I'm trying to FINISH UFO'S and USE MY STASH for the foreseeable future.

Of course, in the middle of that, I also quilt for others, have a "real" job (sometimes) and am growing a garden.

Jarty

I'm surrounded by fabric snobs who wouldn't think of putting their skills to anything except "quality" fabric from their LQS. So happy to hear of others who shop thrift sales and big box stores. I've found some of my favorite fabric there. I would go broke if I only shopped in my LQS - or at the least make fewer quilts. I prefer to quilt more and spread the love.

Onebyone

I have my favorite brands of fabric and I stick to those for the majority of my buys sale or no sale. I would never put craft fabric in a quilt, not because I'm a fabric snob but because it is yucky fabric.