Local Quilt shop went to M*

I was happy to receive an email from my nearest quilt shop saying they had spent a
weekend at M* learning from them!
They are starting a Daily Deal and have reduced fabric and have ordered more Charm packs
and other pre-cuts. That will be great! I rarely found much that I liked and when I did
I realized even with shipping I could order online and save money. Hated not supporting
them but it just wasn't practical. Hopefully their business will increase. I will try to
support them the best I can. They are also going to demo designs they learned from Jenny.

Have others found their LQS to be so overpriced you can't buy from them?

The one that I go to tends to be reasonable with their prices but not a lot of pre-cuts available. Since that's all I use, I only shop there for small amounts of yardage or to match colors that can't be done accurately online.
I haven't even asked them if they've heard of or been to M*QC. :|

Yes, the one I go to is severely overpriced and it makes me sad because I want to support them. I will buy from them, but it will be no where near what it could be if there prices were a somewhat lower. Somehow I miss something in this because wouldn't all people spend way more if they could get it for a bit less.

They will do a quilt class for free but you have to buy your fabric from them. At 10-12 dollars a yard, its killing me. I can get double the fabric and sometimes more shopping elsewhere (mostly online). I would rather pay for the class and buy a bit from them and the rest elsewhere or from my stash which is plentiful.

I am wordy these days. Sorry.

They do have higher prices but the stores I've been to have really nice fabric. Being a newer quilter I would rather not cut my teeth on the highest price stuff as I'm learning.
I'd rather do more quilts at medium grade fabric to practice and then would be more than happy to spend more and support locally when my skill level warrants.

The closest store to me does have precuts. You can find a good selection of civil war prints and they have bundles of batiks. But they dont have many precuts other then charm packs, and all the fabric, while beautiful, is traditional. I am not 100% modern, but there is more to life then florals. I would say the prices are about 10/yd. There aren't any classes, which is a shame.

When I was in the Lancaster area, at least at the stores I went to, there wasn't a precut or even a FQ bundle to be found. I was almost scared to ask in case I got thrown out.

I think it was a wise decision for your LQS. I hope this helps update them in the market and brings in more quilters. I am also proud of M* for helping stores like this, even at the cost of a little business. It's a great attitude to have.

Try $17 - $22/meter up here for good cotton.
This is the same fabric I go across the line for at $6 - $9/yrd.

I too have a tough time supporting my LQS with these kind of prices. Their thread pricing is through the roof too, so that I order online.

Sometimes we just can't afford to shop local.

One of the LQS I go to is just starting up and her fabric/notion prices are very reasonable. But fabric inventory is small, that's not a bad thing, as she grows (and she will, the word has spread!), so will her inventory. Very outgoing, friendly ladies which is awesome! Classes are exceptionally reasonable as well. Another LQS about 30 minutes from me is like walking into an ice castle! Fabric pricing is outrageous, as are the notions! However, that particular town (which we lived in for over ten years) is notoriously clique-y. More of an "exclusive" LQS for the generational founding families..................don't get that, nor do they get my, or my GF's (and clubs) business!

My favorite LQS went out of business in August. I have only been quilting for a little less that 4 years, but in that time, 7 shops have gone out of business. Most of them for reasonable reasons - retirement, moving, and so on. But for the rest, I guess they just could not keep up with the online competition. I believe the LQS can't compete with the prices from online shops. They don't have the volume to do so. And when these local shops go out of business, we don't just lose a place to purchase material, we lose all the human resources affiliated with the shop.

I think it's a smart business person that takes the time to check out "what's working" and see how they can incorporate some of the successful moves into their storefront!!!!

When I'm looking for high quality fabric, my LQS is pretty competitive. Prices are similar to online. I have to pay tax, which pretty much offsets shipping costs. It's a wash, usually.

But, I often just throw a quilt together for a not-very-special purpose, in which case I use Hobby Lobby or JoAnns fabrics, and a quilt shop can't compete with those prices. But then again...HL and JA can't compete with the amazing selection and quality that my LQS offers.

Verenaerin - no precuts or FQ bundles in Lancaster? You didn't find the right shops, my dear. The Fabric Shack on Rte. 340 on the way to Intercourse has the best priced pre-cuts out there. They have oodles of charm packs, huge basket of mini's, jelly rolls, and some layer cakes. That's where we get our pre-cuts. The Old Country Store in Intercourse has fat quarter packs, jelly rolls, and layer cakes which are a bit more pricey, but they have them. Burkholders in Denver, PA also has lots of pre-cuts - priced about the same as you would get at the Old Country Store. If you want flannels - make sure you hit the back room at The Fabric Shack.

I don't support our local LQS mainly because any of them are at least 45 minutes away from me in any direction. If I am going to drive that far and pay $10. and over a yard for fabric, I'll just drive an hour and a half and spend all day in Lancaster and get the same fabric for $4.50 ish to about $6.99 a yard. It took quite a few years to find the best places to go for fabric there, but we've got it down to a science now. Don't even need a map anymore to find them all, haha.

Hugs,

I look for bargains too Kgrammiecaz- In Canada our quilting cotton at the LQS is routinely $15-$16 per metre which is only 3 inches longer than a yard. We love shopping at quilt stores in the U.S. as there are so many more bargains. We do have a couple of discount stores like Fabricland which is similar to Joann but you have to be careful what you get. Some of it is good but some is cheap.

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Originally Posted by Kgrammiecaz

Yes, the one I go to is severely overpriced and it makes me sad because I want to support them. I will buy from them, but it will be no where near what it could be if there prices were a somewhat lower. Somehow I miss something in this because wouldn't all people spend way more if they could get it for a bit less.

They will do a quilt class for free but you have to buy your fabric from them. At 10-12 dollars a yard, its killing me. I can get double the fabric and sometimes more shopping elsewhere (mostly online). I would rather pay for the class and buy a bit from them and the rest elsewhere or from my stash which is plentiful.

I am wordy these days. Sorry.

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Yes our LQS is over priced because they are the only game in town now. We had a great, very large shop, the owner decided to retire and rather than turn it over to his daughters that already ran it he liquidated it. I asked the girls why one of them didn't buy the business and she said her father want a million cash for it's inventory. What a shame. It was such a good on going concern and now it's just a big vacant building. BUT...... Once they closed I found M*. Things turn out well after all!

I'm glad that your local quilt shop is looking into what is working for other quilt stores especially the M*.
I think that people's local quilt stores can stay competitive with both on-line and large fabric/craft stores. One of the biggest things is customer service - to get to know the customer, greet the customer, be glad that they are in your store, and find out how you can help your customer be it reasonably priced classes, ordering a specific type of fabric or assisting them in their quilting.

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Originally Posted by Sylvia H

My favorite LQS went out of business in August. I have only been quilting for a little less that 4 years, but in that time, 7 shops have gone out of business. Most of them for reasonable reasons - retirement, moving, and so on. But for the rest, I guess they just could not keep up with the online competition. I believe the LQS can't compete with the prices from online shops. They don't have the volume to do so. And when these local shops go out of business, we don't just lose a place to purchase material, we lose all the human resources affiliated with the shop.

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I try to buy as many supplies from my LQS as I can. I too have seen many shops close down, and I would hate to lose the customer service, help in selecting fabrics, machinie knowledge, classes, and other intangibles that a LQS can provide!

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Originally Posted by quiltingtrish

Verenaerin - no precuts or FQ bundles in Lancaster? You didn't find the right shops, my dear. The Fabric Shack on Rte. 340 on the way to Intercourse has the best priced pre-cuts out there. They have oodles of charm packs, huge basket of mini's, jelly rolls, and some layer cakes. That's where we get our pre-cuts. The Old Country Store in Intercourse has fat quarter packs, jelly rolls, and layer cakes which are a bit more pricey, but they have them. Burkholders in Denver, PA also has lots of pre-cuts - priced about the same as you would get at the Old Country Store. If you want flannels - make sure you hit the back room at The Fabric Shack.

I don't support our local LQS mainly because any of them are at least 45 minutes away from me in any direction. If I am going to drive that far and pay $10. and over a yard for fabric, I'll just drive an hour and a half and spend all day in Lancaster and get the same fabric for $4.50 ish to about $6.99 a yard. It took quite a few years to find the best places to go for fabric there, but we've got it down to a science now. Don't even need a map anymore to find them all, haha.

Hugs,

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It would figure that the two places I go on a Lancaster trip are very old school hand quilting throw backs. This is awesome if that's what you are looking for, but I am the opposite. If I get there again I will check out the stores you mentioned.
Thanks!

Our LQS does not EVER have a % off sale. They have an end of the bolt sale once a year but you have to buy all that is on the bolt to qualify and that is usually 10 to 20% off. There are no precuts and her inventory doesn't turn over very fast.

A QS that is about 50 miles away has a couple of 30% off everything in the store sales each year and their inventory changes pretty rapidly.

A QS that I really LOVE is about 90 miles away and is on the route that I take when I visit my daughter. They have an amazing store crammed full of precuts of every type with yardage to match. The owner of that store told me that her MODA Sales Person said that precuts are 1/3 of Moda's business and she has found that precuts have become 1/3 of her store's business. There is always something new in her store and it is my favorite place to shop.

I don't like going in a store where the inventory just stays the same. I like a fresh new look and I do enjoy buying precuts.

My closest quilting shop used to have great prices. They did not have a big selection and hardly any precuts but the prices were lower than some. They are under 5yrs old. Well..they have just become dealers for a certain sewing machine company and when i went into the shop last week to peek at some of the machines and see how they redid the shop...most of the prices have all gone UP..fabric that most would charge 9-12$ yrd was all now priced at nothing lower than 12$ in the entire quilt shop! They claim to be adjusting to the current times. I will now continue my online ordering and not be overcharged.

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Originally Posted by janbee

Our LQS does not EVER have a % off sale. They have an end of the bolt sale once a year but you have to buy all that is on the bolt to qualify and that is usually 10 to 20% off. There are no precuts and her inventory doesn't turn over very fast.

A QS that is about 50 miles away has a couple of 30% off everything in the store sales each year and their inventory changes pretty rapidly.

A QS that I really LOVE is about 90 miles away and is on the route that I take when I visit my daughter. They have an amazing store crammed full of precuts of every type with yardage to match. The owner of that store told me that her MODA Sales Person said that precuts are 1/3 of Moda's business and she has found that precuts have become 1/3 of her store's business. There is always something new in her store and it is my favorite place to shop.

I don't like going in a store where the inventory just stays the same. I like a fresh new look and I do enjoy buying precuts.

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I really relate with your tales of traveling over 50 miles to shop. Utah may not be near as big as Texas but from where I live everything is measured in miles rather than minutes. I drive 45 miles to my favorite closest shop, then 88 miles to the other shops I like but my most favorite is 365 miles away in the southern part of our state and I live in the northern. Sadly I'm unable to attend their classes. Gratefully I've got Jenny's darling tutorials.

There are so many great tutorials online. I think I spend more time watching them than I do sewing HA
For sure Jenny's are the most fun to watch. She's always so upbeat.

Thank goodness for the tutorials. I've only been to one real live quilting class. It was great. I wish that there were any in my area- but the shop closed down.

I get that things are more expensive, but seriously, I doubt Moda is hurting. 9/ yd is enough. 12/yd is just ridiculous. If they want younger people to pick up the art, they need to price it for them to afford.