Could I please use your saying about dust and patina? I love it!!! And my house has a lot of patina.

Don't forget Craigslist. In my area there is usually a store that is closing or a grandmother who has passed away. A lot of times they are just anxious to get rid of it and you can score big.

I just discovered that IF you purchase an entire roll of batting (it comes at this store at 80 yards per roll) it is cheaper if the employee doenst have to "do" anything to it (like measuring and cutting)..it sells for $1.50 a yard if you have it measured, but in buying the entire roll of 80 yards, I got it for $1.00 per yard.......of course it will last for a year and its a huge roll, but that is a lot of $$ saved !!!

we went in with a couple girls in my group, and got the roll of batting..we wait until we have the 2 coupons to use..the 40 or 50% and the extra 10 or 20% off your total order. we have done it with bolts of muslin. we just share.
i use the local freecycle to get fabric also.

I long ago decided to save $$ on thread by keeping just 3 colors of the good stuff.Superior thread in light beige is my choice.Not cheap, but I use the cone size & it lasts & lasts.Also keep one each of white & black,but the beige works fine with everything else.I usually make a sample block before starting a quilt.These can be used for totes,pillows etc.
Decide on a string block size,cut cheap/thin backing to size & cover with strings.They pile up pretty quick & make nice throws,quilts or table runners/pillows.Nice for gifts.

I haven't bought fabric for a while, but when we used to get it at Joanns, we got to know the mgr. If we were getting the whole bolt she would let us have it at the sale price even when the sale was not on. We only bought for backings and borders so could use large quantities.

remnants! always half price and at Joann's for instance, if it's on sale already, the remnant is half of the sale price. Lots of patterns/possibilities for scrap quilts out there.

I think now with the economy so bad and funds so limited, I'm going to start really saving by not buying any fabric and totally depending on my stash. I'm sure I can come up with some pretty creative ideas and think of all the gas I'll save.

At my age, I don't want to even think of my sons having to give all my beautiful fabric away that I spent years collecting. This new sewing year should be very interesting.

I do the same thing.

Your right, you can drop some money in the fabric stores, ( I love it) but my best bargains comes from garage sales or estate sales. So far I have no one that have offered donations, but I am waiting :)

I recycle my books and sell them on-line at different sewing/quilting sales. I have not used these classifieds, but I'm getting some together. I ususally recoup most of my expenditure b/c I also buy them on these lists. It's a great way to save some $$$. I have not bought much fabric this year - just a couple of on-line sales that couldn't be missed. I really have cut back. I'm just not paying over $10/yd and it's going up. I never pay more than $5/yd. Not much of that this year either.

wonderful! wonderful advice, since I was just told to budget!!!!!!!!!!

:lol: Absolutely!!

Lots of great tips here!! Thanks for asking that question.

I save a lot of money by using the library for quilt books. I've found that as much as I like to look at quilt books, I don't actually make that many quilts directly from them, I just use them as a reference for techniques, or block designs. So checking out a book is as useful to me as buying one, most of the time, and much cheaper.

I also use Bookmooch to get books. A lot of the quilting/craft books available aren't current, but the great thing about quilting is that the classics never go out of style. I got two Georgia Bonesteel books that way, and I've used them a lot.

When you are on a budget, it is difficult to "buy up" even when material is on sale. I use flat sheets for the backing. I go to garage sales every week looking especially for good sheets and material. I have made some fantastic buys of material at garage sales. Most of the time flat sheet are in excellent condition. By the time garage sale season is over, I have a pretty good supply. Only when the budget allows, I buy new material on sale, usually at Hancock's. I never go to quilt shops. Anything "made for quilting", I mean anything, is going to cost more.

All these are great tips...I too haunt the thrift shop. I buy the toss pillows for the stuffing, towels for the insides of pot holders, Flannel baby blankets for a heavier flat batt and good condition flannel for a lightweight flat batt. I find lots of lengths of fabric. I have found, silk, faux suede, wool and gingham. I look for clothing with good fabric in the thrift shop sale bin, or go in for bag sales and stock up on men's cotton shirts. Not to mention jeans, linin tablecloths and wonderful novelty dishtowels, and pillow cases for all sorts of sewing. If you look around
you can find lots of fabric to upclyle. How ever that does not mean I don't have a stash of newer fabs, or an over flowing scrap bin. Ahhh so much fabric and so few decades left to use it up.

love the thread on budject quilting, I already told my whole family got any clothes you cant ware anymore send them my way i was learning to quilt and can use them, I never thought about saveing the zippers etc from them Guess it helps to read LOL well yall have a great day , i am finally getting the old room sorta cleaned out so i will have my very on crafteing room of course my sons kittens are helping me
HUGS Dora

Yes, I agree 100%; a wonderful resource!

i just want to thank you ladies for all the great tips. Please keep them coming.

Those remnants, as well as leftovers from other projects, are great for scrappy quilts. I just finished a "scrappy bulls eye" and it's my favorite to date.

This summer I bought a dark green duvet cover at a $5 bag rummage sale. I rolled the cover very tightly, and still had room to add a couple more sheets and some curtains. I used my dearly beloved Fons & Porter seam ripper and now have quite a bit of usable fabric for just $5. The two greens (duvet cover) look brand new. One set of curtains ended up as the lining and pockets of the mat & ruler carrier that I made.

Last year, I bought a slightly used Dan River king sized flat sheet for $3. (Goodwill) Made myself a very cute summer dress, using the top ruffle of the sheet as the bottom ruffle of my dress.

Another collection I've got is from bed ruffles that I usually pay about $2 for (thrift stores). I buy the eyelet and lacy ones------------rip them apart and have plenty of 12-16" wide eyelets.

OHHHHHHHHHH and the $2 white eyelet shower curtain that I made into a light weight jacket. (church thrift shop)

Also, our Goodwill store sells fabric for 50 cents a yard, if they have it. Got to watch, since some of the clerks don't have any idea what a yard is. Just got a kid's vest panel for 50 cents last week.

I'm SO guilty of that in the GROCERY store. Good to keep it in mind for quilting. I also have the basement, my spare room, and parts of my den with quilting stuff, so really I can't remember what is in each spot. The basement stuff is from my mom, so I didn't do a mental inventory when purchasing, but the stuff I have bought, I pretty much know. Now, to do that with canned peaches!!

I also use ugly fabric that I don't like and know I'll never use as the backing for doing foundation squares for a string quilt.

judjo

Have a tote party. Invite fellow quilters to bring fabrics in a tote that they r not attached to and exchange

yes, visit thrift stores for cottons. Make quilts with squares and applique on top after its pieced.
It's easy and very pretty and faster than much more complicated patterns. Plus it uses up small scraps. :-D

Yard sales are great! I hit the jackpot today - I found several flat sheets for 25 cents each, and shirts for 50 cents each.

Quilts for Downy, they provide everything but the batting :D as well as some of the other organizations.

I have spread the word to save all clothing for me to go through, and have received a LOT of jeans that will make great quilts.

Sweat shirts make good fabric too, add one layer of cotton fabric to the front, and no batting is needed :D :D :D

I use the library for books on almost any subject...esp. sewing,ornamets and quilts. Try not to buy patterns unless I absolutely have to. Love blogs....and of course this group.

I'm fairly computer literate so when I help all my quilter friends with their computers they pay me in fabric. I have business cards that say "I work for Fat Quarters".

4dogs, me too! I also use ugly/thin/cheap fabrics for foundation. Usually putting it wrong side up so that any darker colors won't show thru to the light colored strings!

I'm starting to run out of the 'ugly' fabrics and thinking of using my 50% off coupon at Joanns to purchase the cheapest muslin they carry.

warm quilt hugs, sue in CA

On a similar note, www.paperbackswap.com is a good site to use to access quilt books. You list books you no longer are attached to (any type book...novels,etc). When someone wants one of your books, you get a point. You can use your points to get what you want when it is available or look through quilting category to see what is available. All it costs you is the postage to ship your book to the person requesting it (usually about $2.50). Not bad when you can get a $25.00 quilting book.

I go to Alibris Books on the web and buy beautiful quilt books for .99 shipping is usually 3.00.

Church rummage sales are a great place for bargains on all kinds of sheets and blankets and clothes at the end they are usually $1.00 a bag.

Wonderful, great tips, thanks so much everyone for all the sharing.

ask for gift cards to your favorite quilt shops for christmas birthdays, anniversaries, etc. That's the only way i get the nice fabric, coupons from stores like joanns, or sales, some catalogs have sales and free shipping.

I, too, use scraps of batting, especially for my mini-quilts or wall-quilts. But I sew the straight edges of the scraps by hand using large basting stitches in a running overcast stitches. Then, when I am at the end, I simply open up the piece, gently pulling apart until the edges butt up. If you stitch loosely, not sewing too tightly together, it will lay flat without any overlapping of the edges. I do this while watching t.v.

I always use 'stash buster' patterns. By that, I mean that there is no wastage. I make the scraps into fancy borders, or cut the fabric from strips so that there is nothing except a minimal squaring up scrap that is left over. Not much fussy cutting in this house! One criticism I received from a member of the quilt guild I belong to was, "I don't like your quilts - they always look like you've made them from scraps." AND THAT IS RIGHT.

If you drove that far in my country, the cost of petrol would be too prohibitive and not worth the effort...such a shame.

I have found wonderful cotton napkins in sets of 6 or 8 at garage sales.....they're always large enough to use....some with very pretty designs. I don't usually buy the solid colors..just the prints, etc. I always check the Walmart fabric, EVERY time I go in. You just never know what you'll find.

My mother and I used sheets many times as backings. I have found some at thrift stores, too.