Don't Buy Cheap, Support Your Local Quiltshop!
An area where old and young agree, however, is in the need to use nothing but the best materials. As Cindy maintains, it’s infinitely preferable to spend a little more cash on good material than to waste valuable time on inferior cloth and have to re-do with better fabric. Cindy speaks from bitter experience, “I know I have one of those in my unfinished-and-never-will-be box!”
Chain stores sell inexpensive fabrics of a lesser quality than that of the dedicated smaller quiltshop. Tis naturally attracts the unsuspecting quilter welcoming a “bargain”. Tis can have the harmful side-effect of taking business from your reliable, high quality local quiltstore.
Hooked on Quilting has been going long enough to know the true value of quality which may cost more but will still be splendid when inferior materials have faded or even worn out!
Cindy leaves us with friendly words of caution, “Just be careful about staying away from your local quiltshop for too long, else when you plan a visit for tomorrow you might just find it gone...”
Closing of Shops
Hooked on Quilting expresses concern about quilt shop closures. Shops close for several reasons.
• Burnout due to long hours working alone as they cannot afford to employ help
• Retirement due to advanced age with nobody to take over
• Lack of support from the local community Lose your local quiltshop and you lose not only a quality place of supply but a place of learning, a forum for discussion and a place of social interaction. Cindy is not one to express concern without proffering some solutions:
• Share your love of quilting with interested but inexperienced novices
• Recruit as many as possible to take up quilting
• Check your inventory regularly and replace what you need with high quality fabric Tis will offer steady support to local quilt shops.
• Shop in the smaller quiltshops as better quality and value is better in the long run.