Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Where do you buy fabric?


This is not the holy war of quilting question.... Joanne Fabrics vs 100% designer fancies.... This question is when you are ready to buy a lovely Amy Butler print or a piece or two of Katie Jump Rope, where do you go? Do you have a local quilt store that you go to or do you buy fabric on-line?

I have shared my fortune in finding some outlets that carry wonderful fabrics at bargain prices. I have been lucky enough to find some of my favorites there but sometimes I see a print in one of your creations that I really want. Such was the case yesterday when I had a very unfortunate experience at the LQS and will now try my darnedest to not return there... (they shut off the lights in the store very much on purpose at 4:59 when I had fabric in hand ready to be cut... not the first time I have left this store seething).

My option is to travel about 20 miles further, which is not bad but a hike, or enter the world of online purchasing. So far I have only purchased pre-cuts from Missouri Quilt Company (LOVE the deal of the day). I just received the Snippets turnover yesterday from them ... deal of the day on Friday this was FREE! I found the other in a dark corner in a interior design outlet yesterday and thought they matched nicely.

Do you buy fabric lengths on-line? Do you use Etsy, Ebay or an e-store? Whats your favorite?

8 comments:

  1. I have several big quilt stores in my area - one has 15,000 bolts- but I still go to Fat Quarter Shop online, or try Cotton Charm Quilts online.

    ReplyDelete
  2. In the past 10 years, I've probably purchased 90% of my fabric at a wonderful quilt store that I loved. Unfortunately, the owner decided to retire this fall and close the store. So it looks like I may be doing a lot more buying online now.

    I've made purchases from Bonnie Blue Quilts, Connecting Threads, and Hancock's of Paducah with success. The downside of purchasing via the Internet is that it's almost impossible to always represent all colors as they truly are and I've had one or two disappointments when the fabric arrived.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I buy only online! I love having it shipped to me and not having to drive to the store to look and see if they have what I'm looking for. I buy from so many places, many shops on etsy, hancocks of peducah, fabricshack, equilter, cias palette, quilted castle, fabric.com, sheree's alchemy, and the list goes on and on, and on!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have bought on line before but to tell you the truth it has been a couple of years because I do so much applique that I don't buy a lot of yardage and I have several nice quilt shops in my town where I can usually find what I need. And I don't think they would turn the lights out on me either.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That doesn't sound like good customer service to me. I buy from LQS and also online. I've ordered from Fabricdepot.com, Quiltedcastle.com, thousandofbolts.com & Keepsake Quilting and I've had good service.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've never bought fabric online. I'm too worried about the colors not being what my monitor shows them to be. I usually shop at our local Bernina store bz they have very high quality fabrics and I know when the sales are. I've found the fabrics I've bought from JoAnn's just don't hold up or hold their shape as well as those from Bernina.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like to support the LQS if possible but the prices are awfully high. Still, you get what you pay for I guess. My favorite shop is Red Hen Fabrics. there are about three LQS's near me but the other two are kind of snooty. I haven't purchsed quilt fabric online yet.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We are lucky around my hometown there are 4 really wonderful quiltshops within 30 minutes of my home. They each have a different atmosphere, but in one way or another I like them all! The one that I go to most happens to be 25 minutes away, but their classes and clubs are so much fun. The shop closest to me is picture perfect and has the loveliest fabrics so I do a lot of shopping there too.

    ReplyDelete