How to Value a Fabric Lot

Many factors go into thrifting fabric online. Unlike stores you can visit in person, online you can only see a few photos of the fabric. You don't know how it smells, if it's been staged to hide soiling or imperfections, or if it's not suitable for use (some very old fabric can be dry-rotted; I recently had a lovely-looking quilt virtually disintegrate when I washed it.) Price is always a factor as well.

This is a lot that was up for bid last month on ShopGoodwill.com, and it appeared to be a full Orchid Mega quilt kit from Robert Kaufman, with new Kona fabrics. Everything looked pretty good in the photos.

I did a little research when I saw it, putting the name of the kit into Google and checking all the listings for new kits. This particular one makes a king-size quilt, and retails on Etsy for $145.00. Bidding started at $9.99, and went all the way up to $114.11. With at least $16.00 minimum additional charge for shipping and handling, that makes it close to what you would pay for it new, so not really a great deal.

Here's another quilting fabric lot that was auctioned last month. Those Stripz jelly rolls retail at the cheapest for $25.00, and the fat quarters are sleeved, which indicates they're new and clean, and are typically priced $1.25 - $2.50. Based on what I'm seeing, I'd put the value of the whole lot at $150.00. It was won for a bid of $61.01, which is a great deal, considering the approximate value. P.S. I didn't bid on either lot -- I was serious when I said I have enough fabric now. :)

Not every fabric lot is so easy to value, however. This pic of a tote of fabric came from the 40 lb. lot I won on a whim bid in August. The quilting idea book from Missouri Star was the main reason I decided to bid on it; I thought anyone who shopped there was definitely a quilter, and probably had a nice fabric stash.

The side view of the 40 lb. lot, which shows some pieced patchwork. That clinched it for me, although I was sure I'd be outbid. I think the reason I wasn't is that the other bidders either didn't look carefully at the listing pics, or skipped over the listing because of the scant pics and details.

If you decide to bid on thrifted fabric at online auctions, look at all the listing photos carefully. I've seen lots of what was listed as fabric for quilts made up of cotton knit, dressmaking and synthetic fabrics, which are actually tough to use for quilting. If you see something like a quilt kit or jelly roll, find the price for new to give you an idea of the value. Finally, consider the condition of the lot. It's tempting to get a lot of fabric for a cheap price, but if it's soiled, fraying or torn you may not get a great value.

Image credit: all of these photos came from actual auction listings on ShopGoodwill.com.

T-minus Day

This was our little Thanksgiving dinner last year, when it was just the three of us. Time keeps whittling down my favorite holiday; this year it will be just me and my guy, and we likely won't even have a turkey.* That will be a first in 35 years. I feel about Thanksgiving the way other people do about Christmas, and while it's a lot of work it's my favorite holiday. Of all the Thanksgivings I've had in the past sixty years, only three were truly terrible: one when I was a kid that I don't talk about (#1 most miserable); the time I roasted two turkeys together and hosted fifteen people whom I cooked for and served with zero help (the largest and #2 most miserable); and the one I spent in basic training (the #3 most miserable.) I have no pictures of any of those, thank heavens. In addition to doing all the cooking I'm the one who takes all the pictures, washes all the dishes and puts away all the leftovers. I suppose no one else cares because to them it...

Fell Off the Wagon

I did cut up that plastic dollar tote to make into something stronger, but got caught up with work and set it aside. Then last night some hand-dyed silk and pretty threads called my name, and, well . . . Felt SO good to do some handwork, except my neck began hurting about an hour into it. I tried changing the way I sit and work, but it's pretty obvious that the doc is right.

Old Loves & Such

My guy kindly bought me my favorite Chinese take out the other night, and my fortune cookie offered up an interesting story starter: This sounds sweet, right? Only the first thing I thought of was an old love coming back from the dead . . . . must be October. In other lovely news, my favorite hand-dyed thread artist, Lorraine from Colour Complements , is moving her business from Etsy to her own web site. Many of my favorite sellers on Etsy are leaving due to the whole "free shipping" coercion debacle, which has also soured me on the site. To show support I did a little shopping at Lorraine's web site and got in these: I love her threads and trims; you simply can't buy anything like them anywhere. Her work makes my specialty thread box look like a treasure chest: At night I'm spending just as hour working on quilting the scrap project runner, and I'm making slow progress: I'll keep quilting the runner while I try to decide on a design for t...

Valerean

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