Road trips and buying fabric on-line.

I love shopping for fabric on line. I know that this does not make sense to some, who like to touch (or pet as one friend calls it) their fabric. I understand the concern about quality when you  shop on line. I have discovered that once you know your manufacturers you can be assured that quality standards are maintained. If I am shopping and see something  by an unfamiliar manufacture I might purchase smaller quantities, say 1/2 yard, and test it to see how I like it. That being said, I am always up for a road trip to a fabric store.

After months and months of my co-worker, Linda Sansone, telling me you have to go to Fabric Shack, I agreed. Fabric Shack is located in historic Waynesville, Ohio. I am familiar with them because they also have an on-line store. Still I must admit fabric stores are delightful places to visit. Fabric Shack is a wonderland of fabric and other quilting supplies. They have a great selection and wonderful people. There are fabrics floor to ceiling, and books, books, books, (my weakness). I had only intended to purchase some complimentary fabric for a quilt I want to start. I was a yard short and did find something that worked well.  Did I stop there? Of course not! I lost control in the Christmas Fabric section. I purchased a sweet little snowman fabric, a few complimentary fabrics, and this pattern.

The inspiration

 I am making a Christmas quilt using the pattern Square Dance by Gigi's Thimble. I plan to use the snow men for the 5" squares. I have a off white Moda Grunge to frame the squares. As you can see, the center blocks are framed by smaller blocks (sort of like a square dance). So I have some green grunge and a print from the Aspen Spirit to go along. I may add a border or make the quilt 3 sections wide. I am not sure. I only know I want it larger, so I will change it in some way. I'm sure I have more fabric in my stash if I decide to make the pattern larger....and of course I can order on-line.

Aspen Spirit by Moda

Speaking of on-line shopping. Here are the highlights of my favorite places to order fabric on line.

Fabric Shack:
Since I just returned from there today,  I will start with  Fabric Shack. There are lots of things to like about this site. One thing is they seem to have the entire collection of a fabric. For example this summer I did Tula Pink's quilt Tranquil Waters. This was the only site that had the entire collection. I was able to order everything I needed at one time. It seemed to be the same for the Aspen Spirit line. And if it's Moda, I bet they have it. There is a quick turn around and their shipping is very reasonable. Finally they have something called a sell-abration on their site. This is name brand fabric at under $5 a yard. This week I discovered I needed two more yards of fabric (there is a pattern developing here) for a project. I checked all my usual sites and it was half off here. This sale is only for on-line purchases.


E-Quilter.com:

I admit I am hooked to this site. It has the best selection I've seen. There are many fun features to help you design that special project, or build your stash. There is a "find this color" feature, related fabrics tabs and patterns where you can paste selections from your wish list in the pattern to try out different looks. There is a design page to display your wish list or chart so you may check out how your selections work together. They have a clearance tab, and sometimes will have 40% off on blenders or other categories of fabric. At times they have free shipping offers. I also like the description for each fabric selection. It is very detailed and tells you the names of the colors used in each selection. This helps when trying to create your own collection.

The fabrics are full price, which may seem pricey at times. But, everything I purchased from this site has been excellent in quality. They have fabric I have not found on other sites. Lastly a portion of all sales goes to charity and you can designated which of the groups to support with your purchase.

Fabric.com
The last site I frequently used is Fabric.com. What attracted me to this initially was that any shipping is free on orders over $35.00. They have a huge selection and their prices are reasonable. The clearance tabs are a great way to build a stash. They have good quality fabric.

Since I don't know what I am doing, I can't figure out how to insert the links for these sites.. Sometimes I do it right, sometimes I don't. Today is not my day I guess.These are easy to locate on-line so I am sure there will be no problems giving them a once over if you are so inclined.

Well my shopping is done. I am waiting for a few orders to arrive and will begin a baby quilt for a co-worker. The next month for Craftsy BOM is around the corner. And rumor has it Bonnie Hunter will post the fabric requirements for her next Mystery Quilt in October. Oh, happy, happy, happy days.