The Salvation Army has a fabric and craft sale every year. I’ve picked up incredible deals in the past. This year I was much more limited in budget, but I still found a couple of great deals.

The wood spools were only a quarter! There were several bags of spools, most labeled at 2 dollars, but this one was only a quarter. I didn’t see anything different about these spools, so I snapped it up. The other bag was full of belt buckles that I thought would be great on bags. Again, just a quarter! Not pictured is the stack of about 15 quilting magazines, mostly American Patchwork and Quilting, for only two dollars! They were all dated between 2001 and 2004.

Later that week, we went to the International Quilt Festival in Rosemont, IL (just outside of Chicago). It was huge, as usual. I was pleased that I was able to stick to my budget, so my purchases are limited. I absolutely had to get white thread. You wouldn’t think that would require a special trip, but I prefer to use Aurifil and while a couple of local quilt shops carry it, they were all out of white in the weight that I use (50/2 – the orange spools). I prefer the really thin stuff because it helps my piecing to be accurate.

I also wanted to get a Moda Layer Cake – I wasn’t certain which fabric line, but I knew I wanted a set of 10″ squares. I have an idea for a quilt that uses them, and no one around here carries them. I found a booth that had a dozen different fabrics, and I settled on the Recess line by American Jane. Mom picked up a birthday gift for me – a Turnover in the Patisserie line by Fig Tree & Co.

Finally, I happened upon a booth that had fabric for just $5 a yard – and it was good quality stuff, too! Sometimes you can find inexpensive fabric, but all too often I recognize prints that I’ve seen at JoAnn Fabrics for less than they’re selling at the show. That is not a deal! This was older stuff from the major fabric companies. I picked up some of the brown marble because it’s the same fabric I used in a sample square of my first quilt pattern, Neapolitan. I did it in shades of blue and green with the dark brown corner pieces, and I’d love to make up the whole quilt in those colors. I went back to the booth at the end of the day to spend the rest of my budget – the orange check was calling me, and as I stood there the other two orange prints jumped from the shelves into my arms.

That nail file laying across the fabric? Well, I broke a nail and it was driving me nuts, so I had to buy one. That makes 145 nail files currently in my house.

My aunt purchased an Alto’s QuiltCut2 – the cutting tool that all of my purchases are stacked on. I bought one for my mom for Christmas a couple of years ago, and she absolutely loves it. Mostly because I cut all of her fabric on it. Honestly, though, I love the thing. I can cut a lot of fabric very quickly and accurately, and it makes preparing to sew much easier. The best part of my aunt’s purchase? They ran out of the product and she had it shipped to her house free of charge! That means I didn’t have to carry it for her. It’s a big, sturdy cutting system, which means that it isn’t light.

All in all it was a good day, except for the aching back and throbbing feet.