The Woodstock one opened a couple years ago and when I was in it this summer, it was the best Lens I've been in ... neat, tidy, spacious. Guelph is good, but can be very messy and all over the place. The Ladies in Woodstock seem to care a little more and I chance to guess that more of them are sewers than in Guelph. Even one of our posters here on the QB works in Woodstock. Waterloo is a different feel, very crowded, but kind of a fun place. London is huge and incredibly well organized too. Haven;t been to the others for awhile. I know Guelph was re-organizing this summer some, though I don't think they are keeping up with it, even with that being done.

There's some men stuff there ... but the real attraction I would expect would be for you! Of course, what would I know, I'm not looking for guy things! :) Be sure to check their site before you go, as sometimes there are some good $ $aving coupons online.

And if you do come to Guelph, let me know and perhaps we can rendez-vous!
Good Luck!

The best batting ? Quilters Dream is now probably the best batting. But they have a large selection. They offer three different thickness in each type of batting. They make cotton, poly, wool, dream angel, (a fire proof batting). The easiest, would depending on what you are doing and the out come you want. You can choose bonded batting or needled batting also called needled punched. Most all cotton batting is needled. Most polyester, but not all, is bonded. Needled or boned is the different methods of putting the fibers into a batting. See www.batt-mart.com for a wide selection.

I use Warm and Natural for quilts and wearable art. I will use thick, fluffy poly only if I want a wall hanging with parts of it standing out.
Bamboo is expensive or I would switch and use it for everything. I love the warmth, feel and it is environmently(sp?) friendly.

I love bamboo also. The feel is so soft, the quilt drapes beautifully, etc. I try tofind the bamboo/cottn blend on sale. I also have a bamboo/cotton fabric on bolts from Joann's. It too is soft and drapeable and silky feeling.

As to the environmental issue, it is probably no more nor less friendly, than manufacturing poly (chemical product) or spraying cotton for pests.

I like Warm and Natural.

Quilter's Dream "Dream Orient" is the most wonderful batting containing a blend of bamboo, organic tencel (eucalyptus ), silk and cotton. It drapes beautifully, washes well, warm in winter and cool in summer.

I so agree with you. Warm and Natural is lightweight but still very warm, easy to work with and yes, the coupon saves the day! And you can always be sure that the quilt will turn out without any lumps or bumps with W&N! It's the only way to go! IMHO! Edie

For quilts that will get a lot of wear and washing (kids, babies, college bound, nursing home etc.) nothing beats Hobbs Polydown. It's the batting our guild uses for all of our community quilts. It washes and wears well, unrolls evenly with no thick or thin spots, is 108" wide, hand quilts or machine quilts beautifully and is just easy to work with. Best of all the price in Canada works out to about $5 a yard if you buy the entire 30 yard roll. I love this batting!

I agree with 117becca. If you are handquilting the QD Request is wonderful. I'm going to try the QD wool on my next quilt because I've heard it's as good if not better than the QD Request.

One of the most important things about batting IMHO is how much it will shrink. My first quilt shrunk 6 inches. When I read what was on the batting package, in teeny, tiny print and at the very bottom of the bag, it stated that the batting would shrink between 4 and 6 inches. What that means is that it will shrink 6 inches. The quilt no longer fit my bed. From that point on, I only buy batting that is prepackaged. (you never know for sure about a big ole' roll of the stuff) and I look for 1% or 2% shrinkage. You can prewash batting but it is messy and a pain.