Where do you get your fabrics and supplies?

15 years ago

Not a deep question, but Janice's comment brought this to mind. How far do you have to travel to get to your quilt shop? Do you do most of your shopping from stores, catalogs or the Internet?

I got so lucky. One month before we moved to the boonies, my shop, Quilting Cousins, opened in Clifton, Texas. It is about 4 miles. If I go into Waco, it's 37 miles. I have ordered fabric sometimes from catalogs, but as yet, not from web sites---before I stopped quilting, there was little Internet shopping.

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Comments (21)

kathi_mdgd
15 years ago
I have Eleanor Burns Quilt in a Day shop 15 to 20 minutes from my house.Of course i don't really need to shop anymore,i could start my own shop,if ya know what i mean.LOL
Kathi
solstice98
15 years ago
Kathi, I'm sitting here laughing about your comment! I've been cleaning up my sewing room, folding fabrics and trying to sort by color, and arranging fabrics in plastic bins by planned projects. I think I could sew for 3 years without buying another fat quarter!

Having said that, you probably won't be surprised to hear that I buy at a handful of local quilt shops, at Joanns, and on line. Oh yeah, did I mention eBay? There, too. And quilt shows! I think I forgot to mention that I've been known to leave a quilt show with a huge bag of new goodies from the vendors. Apparently, I'm either weak or addicted. Probably both.

Kate
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I'm still working on my organization and even the type of cleaners that I use regularly. I also very much wish to purge much of the "cleaners and cleansers" stuff that I have. I still have 3 packed boxes from my move (U-Haul smalls) with everything from sifter refills to cat deoderizers in them. Much of this stuff I don't use anymore. For instance I don't have the swifter anymore, but I have refills for it :( I find that my "main stuff" is: 1) a bottle of Green Apple Lysol spray cleaner. I use this almost everywhere. 2) a bottle of no-drip Windex. Windows, mirrors, glass. 3) dishwasher detergent 4) hardwood floor cleaner in a spray bottle. I had hardwood floors installed in my new home and this is essential. Don't know what the stuff really is. Probably something "common", but I got it since it was recommended my floorer. I use the microfiber pads that attach to a mop thingee and have several of them. I've gone thru a few and have to put all of this stuff into a "rags" load of laundry. Haven't yet. I also use just clean whites rags and often just paper towels with this stuff too for wiping up spills that happen on the hardwood floors. 5) a sprayer bottle that I keep a mixture of water and clear dish soap. I use this for most spills and spot treatments on my carpets or rugs. For most things this is all I need. Anything more complicated I wick up the spill with clean cotton rags and use the soap mixture and then call Coit for same day service. Okay I'm lame, but I don't like messing up my carpet. A whole cup of full strength espresso got spilled on my carpet at my old condo and while I got a lot out, Coit (a professional carpet cleaner) got most out and if I had them in right away I think it would have all gotten out. 6) clorox wipes. I know lazy perhaps. But I find them way too conveinent. I have containers of them all over the house, even one in my car.. 7) Orange-glo "wood cleaner". This is the slimy stuff. I use a clean rag and then desiginate the rag for only this stuff. I use this to dust and shine up all my wood furniture which is just about everything: dining room table, night stand, chest of drawers, telephone stand, end tables, TV tables, etc, etc. And then other stuff that doesn't get used as often, but has gotten used since I've been in my new house: 1) orange soft scrub (has bleach). use this on the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, the bathtub and its tiled walls. 2) stainless steel cleaner that came with my new frig. only used there. works like a charm. I'm too afraid to use anything else on the SS frig. I follow the "directions" on this. Is this a sham to sell this stuff? Would good ole Lysol spray cleaner do the trick? 3) disposable toliet cleaner doohickies. I used to just use jonny mops (oh and when I had multiple baths, one in each) and toliet bowl cleaner. but now I use the wand thing and the disposable thing. I think I have the Scrubbing Bubbles kind right now. That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there's more. But truely if this is all I really seem to be using, when I get around to emptying those 3 boxes, it means I can just purge them. I guess time to freecycle, or something? I guess these could just be tossed? Or I guess put out on the curb when we have our Annual Cleanup done by the City. But I get the impression that these, some of the stuff at least, is considered "haz waste"? Thanks for any advice :) Cheers, --jans
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drawers. I like drawers for this sort of stuff. easier to get out, easier to sort, easier to store. Open draaer, stash stuff, close drawer. Get those Sterilite 3-drawer sets (or an Iris-brand cart w/ the shallow drawers, if you want), and put in dividers. iris makes a nice one for this that I use in my Sunday School classroom--it has two shallow drawers on top and a deeper on one the bottom; I got it at Office Depot. I put the scissors, glue sticks, etc., in the upper drawers, and the paint and playdough in the bottom deep drawer. I used those "score and snap" drawer dividers from the Container Store (actually got mine at Target, though) to divide the drawers so stuff doesn't slide around everywhere. At home I have those little drawer organizing containers from Rubbermaid, which work almost as well, but not quite. For markers, the secret is to have a drawer that's EXACTLY as wide (well, OK, an extra inch is OK, but NO MORE) as the marker is TALL. Then, the markers can't end up at an angle. I was lucky to find a little skinny 3-drawer set exactly wide enough, but I can't find them anymore. Though maybe the small Sterilite ones would work. And Rubbermaid makes a small one--not sure if it's skinny around side-to-side If all else fails, put some sort of divider inside a larger drawer, to keep the markers from sliding end-to-end, and ending up tipped at an angle. I just cut cardboard into strips and taped in place w/ packing tape in one of my drawers. I do find that I keep too much. Right now I've used drawers and other containers to fill a shelf intheir room, but most of it just never gets used. I need to weed out. I have actually thrown away, in the past, and entire shoebox full of crayons. Here is a link that might be useful: Sterilite's three-drawer chests--other companies make similar ones
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teresa_nc7
15 years ago
There is Thimble Pleasures about 25 miles east of me in Carrboro, Randy's Quilt Shop 25 miles west of me in Greensboro, Joann's and Hancock's also in Greensboro. Then there is Mary Jo's in Gastonia, about a 2 hour drive and once a year I go to Lancaster PA which is an 8 hour drive (one way) from North Carolina.
toolgranny
15 years ago
I'm between three quilt shops, each within 5 minutes, and between two JoAnn's. I'm very lucky that way. I do use the internet for a lot of things and I also buy at quilt shows. Our big one comes to Santa Clara in October and I always take a shopping bag with me.
Linda
petalpatsy
15 years ago
I'm twenty minutes south from Stitcher's Garden. It's a truly amazing quilt fabric shop. Absolutely huge selection, packed with more quilt fabric than I ever thought existed. The owner's name is Myrna, and she's obsessive! She tells it like she sees it, without sugar added. Naturally, I love her to death. She always tells me if I run into to trouble to bring my project in and show her the problem.

There's another smaller shop that I pass on the way that has a tiny selection of repro fabrics, but I go there, too. And a JoAnn's is thirty minutes away, but their fabric is not consistently high quality, although I have found some GREAT pieces there. I also got some fabric off Ebay.

Since I started out with an Apple Core and Cathedral Windows charm quilts first, I bought five hundred different fabrics over about six months. If it was a piece that wowed me, I got a whole yard. A few fabrics grabbed me by the throat and I got several yards.

I have enough fabric to make ten quilts. It was good for my mom, since she's finishing a Grandmother's Flower Garden and collecting for her future Clamshell charm quilt. We really had a blast examining each other's stash and swapping little bits.
nanajayne
15 years ago
I have the Quilter Travel Companion and since we are retired we travel in the spring and fall. It is my desire to visit each and everyone listed!!! I get a lot of fabric and gagits that way but I also use the internet and catalogs (not as much). The LQS is about 10-12 miles away and not as large as I would like. Ofcourse there is JoAnnes in a pinch but usually not for fabric unless I am in a big hurry. I like a lot of others, too much but never enough. A friend and I shop hop on occasion and then do lunch. Jayne
karpet
15 years ago
Well, the fabric dept. at our local walmart closed last month so there are no fabric depts. close by. I have been working on using from my stash for the last 2 years with minimal purchasing. I still have a lot of stash to go through, so I won't worry about where fabric will come from until I need it - I always want it, just don't need it! It is causing me to be more creative with my tops and probably generating more interesting quilts than if I was purchasing coordinated fabrics for each project.
calliope
15 years ago
Yes, that's a good way to look at it. Choosing from whay you have one hand does make you use combinations you might not have opted for given the varieties in stores.

I cannot justify buying one more inch of material until I use my stash down. I want to, but it's a disease..addiction......and I have been doing well controlling it.

I have my own stash from my sewing days. Some new stuff and scraps from other projects. A friend wants to give me her mother's decades old collection of quilt material. I have my mother's huge stash including a stash she inherited of real 40s and 50s fabrics, not repros. And add to that I recycle. If it's an utilitarian covering or project, I use tough, recycled fabrics from my own salvage operations, LOL.

I do buy a length now and again, like for participating in the quilt lotto here so my stuff will be the same type of materials everyone else uses. Usually at JoAnns.
vicky4x4
15 years ago
I buy from Joann, Walmart, LQS, Keepsake Quilting catalog and e-bay. Yep I spread it out.

Vicky
solstice98
15 years ago
My favorite on-line places are:

- keepsakequilting(dot)com
- equiter(dot)com
- rtailor(dot)com

They are all worth checking out even if you don't order fabric on line.

Kate
grammyp
15 years ago
I have Wal-mart for a little while longer, they will be closing down their fabric department soon. The embroidery supplies are all ready gone. The next closest is Hancock, about 35 miles, and it is almost 50 miles to a good quilt shop. There are several really close to my mother, so I go there when I visit her. I get most of mine on line. Some of my favorites are:

Keepsake quilting
Equilter
Webfabrics

I do prefer to "see and feel" my fabrics before I purchase them, and sometimes I am disappointed, but usually I am pleased with on-line.

beverly
easystitches
15 years ago
Living in Portland OR I have many shops within a fairly short diving distance. I even have the famed Fabric Depot only about 3 miles away. Seems like latley I'm trying not to buy! I have had some weak moments at quilt shows lately. I may weaken today as a shop is having a 20% off sale including Sunday when they are normally closed. I work Mon-Sat so that saves me a little money :)
My fav on line shop is Overraibbow.com shes a sweety & her prices are less than $8
toolgranny
15 years ago
I also love Fabric Depot in Portland. But, my favorite online is Connecting Threads. Their fabric is $5.99 and they close out lines at less than $5 with free shipping if you go over $50 - which I often do, unfortunately.
Linda
socks
15 years ago
Joanns, but I really don't like it much. Some of the cotton fabrics seem very thin, and the employees always seem cold and unfriendly. Store is often messy. There is a local quilting store which I much check out.
gillian_41
15 years ago
I do just about all my fabric-patterns & quilting books online have only one quilt store here.
I have to many stores bookmarked to list but have found out if I stick to the name brands fabric its well worth it and often get it on sale.
Gillian.
carolek
Original Author
15 years ago
Quilter's Travel Companion vacation--boy, doesn't that sound great, at least for me. I don't think my husband would be that thrilled unless we got a Woodcarver's Travel Companion to mesh with it.
imrainey
15 years ago
I use quilt shops because the fabric choices are so much more broad and appropriate to quilting. Where else would you get reproduction fabrics to get the mood as well as the patterns and colors you're looking for?

I also use JoAnn's sometimes. Sometimes they've just got what I want, but, generally speaking, I don't think the quality of their fabrics is what quilt shops carry.

I have a quilt shop just a couple miles from my house. I quilted long before we moved so close but that was a lucky accident. There are also a number of quilt shops within a 20 mile radius of my house. They're not all the same size and vibrancy. The best one is the farthest away.

Two of them either have sewing machine sales & repair in them or are next to it.
nanajayne
15 years ago
Carolek, I have been doing the Quilt Travel Commpanion thing since '98! Great fun and my DH seems to enjoy my inthusiasm at finding a new store. Have found some great spots. The Wood Travel idea sounds good too if it's for real. Need a new book though. Jayne
mary_c_gw
15 years ago
I have a wonderful local quilt fabric shop. They are pricey, but they give me a discount if I buy the end of a bolt (even if it is 1/2 yard), and every time I bring my machine in for service I get 25% off any other purchases. I have purchased some quilt batting from them, too. So once a year I get really good deals.

I shop the local Walmart occasionally, especially for quilt backing fabrics. Our Walmart has the occasional quality fabric, but I have to be really careful.

The JoAnn's here is so far away, (well not all that far, but really inconvienient), and the store is badly laid out, and really unpleasant, with snotty salespeople.

I shop online at both Hancock's of Paducah and Connecting Threads.
damascusannie
15 years ago
I live in the middle of nowhere, but have one quilt shop within 15 miles, another about 30 miles away and a third about 40 miles away in the big town where we do our serious shopping. On top of that, there's two on the way to my parent's house, so I often plan my visits to them to allow for a stop or two. For unusual tools and books, I use the internet--shipping is going up, but sometimes I have no other choice.

Annie
freekie
15 years ago
I have a quiltshop at the corner of the street but I do envy you because the fabric in your country is so much cheaper than it is here. $5.99 is about 5 EuroÂ´s but I have to pay at least 16.00 - 18.00EuroÂ´s. I could order it in the U.S. but the shipping is very expensive. I like to look at the internet to see what is available. I do buy fabric only when I really need it.
Ankie

Where do you get your fabrics and supplies?

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kathi_mdgd

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