On June 21, DH and I drove to Dry Ridge (isn't that the cutest name for a town?), KY to catch the big once-a-year sale at The Quilt Box. It is an hour and a quarter drive from our house. It was well worth the trip.
They set up the sale in a barn on the property and all fabric in the sale is $5/yd. Wow. What a perfect opportunity to get backing fabrics. I went prepared. I made a list of all of my tops waiting to be quilted that needed backing. I measured each of them and figured the needed yardage. We arrived about 15 minutes after they opened and the place was already packed.
Here are the fabrics I picked up.
Apple Cider by P&B. I got 8 yards. It will make a good backing for anything. I didn't plan it for anything specific but I have several quilt tops it would work for.
June's Backyard from Clothworks. I plan to use this as the backing for my Lori Holt Row Along quilt. The turquoise will work nicely with the colors I used in that quilt.
Present Juliet from Windham. I will use this as the backing for my Pansy quilt that has been a flimsy for years. There are a lot of purples in that quilt and this soft lavender will be a great backing.
I found it hard to shop for the specific quilts I had in mind. I think I would have been better off to just grab the fabrics that appealed to me (the way I usually shop) and make the match up later. I was too focused on looking for a certain color for a certain quilt. The other thing that made it hard to shop was that by the time I got there, the place was half filled with people standing inline with their bolts of fabric. Most of the fabric was in the line rather than on the tables. As we waited to get our fabric cut, we were all checking out what other shoppers had in their arms. "Are you going to buy all of that bolt? If not, will you pass it to me when you are finished with it?" Actually, that is how I got my hands on this sweet little thing:
Patisserie from Fig Tree. I love Joanna's colors. This was an impulse buy. I took the rest of the bolt and got 3 7/8 yards. I know I will be able to use it with some of my other Fig Tree fabric to make some of the projects that are swimming around in my head (table runner, placemats, pillows, doll quilt for granddaughter, etc.).
Here is my sweet little pile of goodies. These fabrics will help me get some of those flimsies completed.
Here are the things I learned and will remember for next year:
1. Be on time. That means, be there early. The first people in the door get to see all of the fabric.
2. Be prepared. Experienced shoppers brought carts or tote bags to handle the bolts. This is especially important while standing in line. We were in line for a loooong time. I had DH to hold my purchases, but some women were really struggling to hold all of their bolts.
3. Grab what you want the first time you see it. It won't be there the second time around.
4. Don't be narrowly focused on a specific fabric. If you do, you will pass over some other potential choices.
Thanks for stopping by.
They set up the sale in a barn on the property and all fabric in the sale is $5/yd. Wow. What a perfect opportunity to get backing fabrics. I went prepared. I made a list of all of my tops waiting to be quilted that needed backing. I measured each of them and figured the needed yardage. We arrived about 15 minutes after they opened and the place was already packed.
Here are the fabrics I picked up.
Present Juliet from Windham. I will use this as the backing for my Pansy quilt that has been a flimsy for years. There are a lot of purples in that quilt and this soft lavender will be a great backing.
I found it hard to shop for the specific quilts I had in mind. I think I would have been better off to just grab the fabrics that appealed to me (the way I usually shop) and make the match up later. I was too focused on looking for a certain color for a certain quilt. The other thing that made it hard to shop was that by the time I got there, the place was half filled with people standing inline with their bolts of fabric. Most of the fabric was in the line rather than on the tables. As we waited to get our fabric cut, we were all checking out what other shoppers had in their arms. "Are you going to buy all of that bolt? If not, will you pass it to me when you are finished with it?" Actually, that is how I got my hands on this sweet little thing:
Here are the things I learned and will remember for next year:
1. Be on time. That means, be there early. The first people in the door get to see all of the fabric.
2. Be prepared. Experienced shoppers brought carts or tote bags to handle the bolts. This is especially important while standing in line. We were in line for a loooong time. I had DH to hold my purchases, but some women were really struggling to hold all of their bolts.
3. Grab what you want the first time you see it. It won't be there the second time around.
4. Don't be narrowly focused on a specific fabric. If you do, you will pass over some other potential choices.
Thanks for stopping by.
1 comment:
Great advice for making the most of a big quilt shop sale!
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