Prices of fabric

And, to my dismay, cotton clothing has become thinner and thinner. Much of the time, my costume of choice is a nice t-shirt and knit pants. The last 3 that I ordered on line are so thin you can read the brand name on my bloomers. There are beautiful cotton fields less than 10 miles from here. We just may have to learn to gin. Gin? Yes. That sounds good. Polly

Just looked up LQS's prices for Moda - between $17.5 and $19 a metre (approx 3" more than a yard). No impulse buys for me, use stash and only really buy for borders (tone on tones so can use up in other projects) unless the quilt is really special - like new grandson's - and of course I use the 'Sale' boxes! It always surprises me how much just one focus fabric makes a difference, and how little you actually need of a special fabric.

Backings are either pieced, often with a 'special' pieced strip echoing the front, and I have a little stash of fabric from friends who have changed their bedroom colour and have replaced their perfectly good bedding with new. Recycling is good if the fabric is nearly new. (I don't hand quilt, only machine since my hands went on strike!)

DSisinL usually gives me fat 1/4s for birthday/Christmas. At the moment she is visiting the US - solves her present problems and my purse, and even the pieces that aren't my colours always fit in somewhere and look good!

Quilt> Will the price of fabric mean the end of the quilting industry or just

Went to the Flea Market last Thursday and my favorite vender has a bundle of

100% cotton pillow cases about 14 X 24", 13 in a bundle for $2. There were 2 different designs and I got a bundle of both. I figure 2 pillowcases will made my DGD a pair of shorts or a top. One design is rose buds and the other has a small blue flower. And I am remembering that she might want to learn to sew next summer while school is out. That means $4 for 2 short sets and 2 sets for next summer. I talked with another lady who was going to use them to make aprons for gifts. Barbara in cold Florida

Neither. Kay Ahr in Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Howdy! I agree, Kay. Those of us who want to buy fabric, will. When the price of milk went up, how many stopped drinking it? The price of petrol has not taken many people off the road. (I use diesel in my VW, it costs more than the gas I buy for the Cruiser, and I get almost double the mileage per gallon in the VW.) We adjust, we find a way.

Susan, if you need more reds, give me a holler. Or any of us here who will gladly add to a stash, by swap or gift. Every few years, our guild, or a bee within it, calls for a swap. It may be 5" squares (Nickel Swap) or some other size, just one or 2 of each charm; we all fill a baggie or 5 and add it to the pile on the table as we enter, noting how many we're swapping. The Swappers do their work during the meeting, then we pick up our new baggies on the way out. It works fine, and where do these quilters find this fabric? Amidst the local quilters, we all have fabric in our stashes that others don't have. Love it! Meanwhile, I'm watching the sales. Gotta' have a fabric fix....

Cheers! Ragm> Neither.

Everything is going to cost you more for good reasons or no reasons. Just the way things are going. The new normal is going to change how we all spend the lesser amounts of money we make or are allowed to keep.

We were fussing about something at my sewing group not long ago and it was noted that women pieced with very little fabric to work with in pretty bad situations. We will make do as we need to. Maybe the process will become more of a joy again than just hurrying through to be done.

If things get really bad come on out to so cal and we will take you to M&L and get their fun discounted stuff. I used to be able to get bags of fabric at the thrift store. Some was some really nice quality quilting stuff. Some not so much but it was like a treasure hunt. There was a guy that used to sell cut offs from medical scrubs makers. It was really nice and good for patchwork. He hasn?t been in this area in years but I just saw a quilt in his fabric show up in a quilt being quilted this morning. We will find a way. They can't stop us!

Taria

Will the price of fabric mean the end of the quilting industry or just the local quilt shop. Fabric purchasing is my one vise. I don't buy designer clothes or drink or gamble. I buy lots of fabric. But at $12.00 to $15.00 a yard I am thinking twice before purchasing. Recently our local quilt store had a 50% off sale on much of the inventory. Normally I would have bought yards and yards knowing that I would eventually find a use for it. But that was when half price meant $3 a yard. This sale was $6 to $7 a yard for half price. It made me stop and think before I bought.

Scrap quilts are becoming increasingly popular. With a scrap quilt at the most you should only have to purchase the sashing or borders. I prefer to make scrap quilts without borders when possible. Of course last week I started a Red, White and Blue scrap quilt but didn't feel I had quite enough scraps in those colors so bought fat quarters at two shops. Spent $95 for additional "scraps"! Must rethink that attitude.

My bee has started a scrap quilt using the Snowball block. Anything works. To each bee meeting we are to bring our finished light and dark Snowballs and swap. If you bring 12 blocks you take home 12 blocks of

12 different colors. There is no pressure to make a certain number of blocks. No one is to purchase new fabric. Just use what is on hand of quilt shop quality. At least this should make a dent in the stash. We did this last year with a different pattern and I had enough blocks for two twin size charity quilts.

The fabric price increase was blamed on a failed crop last year. When the price of raw cotton goes down will the fabric companies drop their prices? There are additional reasons for the increase. Countries where many people are moving from the farm to the city are using more cotton. Those moving to the city want several pairs of blue jeans and more t-shirts than they wore on the farm thus using more cotton. American farmers are switching from growing cotton to a more lucrative corn crop. Our world is changing. Maybe the quilting industry will have to change with it.

I could sew the rest of my life without purchasing any fabric but could my nerves stand it? The withdrawal would be difficult. Our local quilt shop has a new owner. Hope she is able to make it. Gone are the days when customers purchase at least a fat quarter of any new fabric available from their favorite designer. Think I will go sew on a few UFO's.

Susan

I agree with so many of the others. Prices of fabric have absolutely sky-ro cketed. My stash is large enough to never "have to" buy again. Sometimes I will wan der through a local shop just to get a color fix, but the fabrics are rarel y something that jumps out and yells "Ya gotta have a half yard [at least!] of me!" My projects are now more scrappy. Recently I saw an article that spoke abou t using colors in the same color group if you don't have enough of a given choice.

We are members of the quilt resistance - ya can't keep us from sew> Everything is going to cost you more for good reasons or no reasons. >

Y'all should come to sunny Australia where fabric can cost up to $32 a yard (remembering that our dollar is near as d@mmit to the US dollar ATM)!

I thought it was the last word in irony when I had to buy my 'Under the Australian Sun' fabrics from an American vendor. If I'd bought it from my LQS, I'd've had to spend a couple of hundred dollars on it. :(

Ditto to what she says.

I now spend a lot of time going through pillowcases, tablecloths, old dresses and sheets -only looking for cotton - at op shops (thrift shops) and have been reasonably successful.

I also look at what's available in the USA when browsing quilty websites 'cos it is much cheaper to buy from there.

Di Vic Aus

It looks like we are going back to history, using those scraps "make do and mend".

What would our ancestors think, buying new fabric to make quilts, not recycling worn out clothes, etc?

Funny how histroy repeats itself, now all we need are some feedsacks and we'll be there! ;)

I have lots of fabric, but can't remember the last time I went shopping in a quilt shop, as we seem to have had one bill after another here, for way too long! One car broke down last week and the other has to be booked in for a service next week, but can't be without them and after living in the countryside for about 10 years with no car and no public transport, for me it is worth the sacrifice.

Hey, there is a lot of fun searching through old scraps to make a quilt, lets us stretch our imaginations maybe?

Janner France

Well, I've made a start on a thrifty project. I've cut up all my husband's cast-off cotton twill shorts into 4" strips. One of these days, I'll piece them into a picnic blanket.

LOL! I've gotta *big* hubby, so there's lots of fabric.

That's a vice we all share! And we probably all own too much, whatever "too much" is. But then we all own too much of everything, and we expect shops to always be full of more at the cheapest possible price. We are unreasonable. So much for my soapbox.

I could tell you what fabric costs over here (where the sales tax is

19%, >Will the price of fabric mean the end of the quilting industry or just

On Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:29:22 -0600, Susan Laity Price wrote (in article ):

I hope it doesn't mean the end of either LQS or quilting. But I think, with the price the way it is, we will see LQS go out of business as quilters buy less fabric. I know I'm trying to cut back and use up stash and scraps. Who knows, maybe my quilts will get more creative. And of course, for borders and backs that I don't want to piece, I'll still be buying fabric.

But I'm not going into the LQS very much any more, and I'm trying to be a lot more choosy when I do buy.

Maureen

I can't tell you the last time I went to a proper LQS. The nearest one is f ar away and I don't have a vehicle right now. The bus would take 2 1/2 hrs to get there....not worth it. I do, on occasion, hop a ride with my DD and SonIL to the mall to TSWLTH and try to pick out some decent 1/2 yds. I did stumble upon some good deals on backing fabric at Wally World last week. $2 /yd. But only good for backings. {{{sigh}}} My stash is(IMO) too small. 2 b ins, one of FQ's and the other yardage. I can remember the old days when Mo m and I would jump in the car at random and go fabric shopping....I miss th at.

There's a Yahoo group called SewIt'sForSale, and there's always fabric for sale on there. Of course, you'd have to pay postage, but there's good deals frequently. I've bought a lot of things from there. Gen

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------------ Another way of seeing fabric to recycle:. I've been eyeing all of the too-small cotton shirts in my closet, which tak e 2 & 1/2 yards to make, and am always on the lookout what I go to thrift s hops. Half-price items yield a lot of fabric, especially summer skirts. Bag sales are even better, when you can fill a grocery sack with garments, che aply. Last week I passed-up two beautiful Scottish wool kilt skirts, because I couldn't immediately call to mind a project. I did get a nice linen skirt (

2 yards of fabric) for another project, though. Cea (mostly eavesdropping)

I did finally get to go to an LQS last saturday! yay! The girls were wonderful and I purchased some beautiful RedRooster fabric and some notions. My poor SonIL had to wait for me for 2 hours, but he said it was worth it as I bought lunch!! Can't wait to finish the WUH i'm doing so I can make a quilt for myself! {{{Happy Dancing}}}