My Loyalty as a Customer

I started out buying the fabric for my first quilt at Spotlight (giant chain store selling housewares, linens, craft supplies and fabric). I was happy enough with the fabric that I bought. For the most part it wasn't terribly expensive and for my first project, well, paying $12-14 per meter for most of the fabric certainly seemed more sensible than diving in at the $22-26 per meter end of the pool.

I did have one very unhappy experience there, however. I'd bought some cheap red cotton at $5.99 a meter. Prewashed that with the white-and-black prints that went into Quilt 1 and had no trouble. But then I decided that I wanted that same inexpensive red for the backing fabric. Thank heavens I also bought half a meter of the white-and-black. I prewashed this second lot of cheap red and threw the half meter of white-and-black in with it.

Well... the white and black came out of the wash PINK and black! And I was seeing red for sure.

The gals at Spotlight - up against company policy - could not do much. I was livid. In the end a manager agreed to replace the half meter of white-and-black, but I was stuck with umpteen meters of bleeding red that continued to bleed after a 2nd and 3rd wash (can you say "Bleedin' USELESS FABRIC"?). It was an eye opener.

I've been sewing for over 40 years and never had a "washable" fabric bought at a fabric store bleed like that. NEVER. And I was disillusioned about 'cheap fabric' at that point - you can bet that "prewash with something white thrown in" will be standard practice from here out.

For project 2, Spotlight just didn't have the colours I wanted, so I went to "Foothills Fabric and Threads" - a small quilting shop not far from my home. I was delighted there with the selection of fabric, the quality, and the truly lovely ladies who own and staff the shop. I do not recall the name of the woman (one of the owners) who helped me that day - but I can tell you I've rarely had such a charming "retail experience." She was supportive, helped pick out the fabric (she's got a fantastic eye for colour and pattern, almost as good as friend Pauline), and gave me just the right mix of encouragement and advice. By the time I left the shop I felt more like I'd spent an hour or so with a good friend than like I'd been shopping with a stranger. Everytime I go in that shop I have the same experience. Even when there are other customers in the store they make me feel so welcome and so important.

Their store became my favorite.

Later on in my adventures, friend Pauline (the same one mentioned above) introduced me to "Patchwork With Gail B" - a quilting superstore. One look at the thousands on thousands of bolts to choose from (and fat quarter table bigger than my kitchen) and well, "...Gail B" became my favorite.

And now?

Well.. hm... I've gotten "sophisticated."

If I want cheap backing fabric - Spotlight. And they do have a few very pretty prints. As long as I'm wanting to keep costs down and am willing to risk the possibility of "bleedin red" again - they do just fine.

"...Gail B" wins the prize for variety. Holy cow - you could go nuts in a place like that... so MANY fabrics! But if you want something in particular, it's the place where you're going to find it. And they have a nice selection of "oriental" prints, too - which you don't find in abundance at the other two stores. Their staff is lovely, too - helpful if you ask questions and certainly knowledgeable.

But "Foothills Fabric and Threads", well... I love that store. Was there today and "Sandra" waited on me. And you know what?!?! She REMEMBERED ME! How charming is that?!? OK... my American accent is a giveaway - but still. It's sweet to do business with a small business owner who actually remembers who you are. And so that shop has a real grip on my loyalty as a customer.

And - because of how lovely Sandra was today... I'm probably never going to buy batting anywhere else.